Ontario’s democracy is in dire need of defence. Buried in last week’s COVID-19 bill, Doug Ford introduced legislation to take away the freedom of municipalities to improve their local voting systems ― including their ability to consider proportional options.
With a large majority of Ontario municipalities electing their councils at large or in multi-member wards, the addition of ranked ballots to those particular municipalities would have resulted in the Single Transferable Vote (STV), a form of proportional representation. Undermining the will of the people, Ford’s decision would force London to reverse its use of ranked ballots (used in their last election) and silence voters in Cambridge and Kingston, who said yes to reform. Much like the decision to scrap Ontario’s basic income trial, this reversal is another example of policy lurch, an unfortunate side-effect of our archaic first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system.
Rather than being a stand-alone system, ranked ballots are simply a tool used within systems to reallocate votes based on voter preferences. They can be used in proportional systems like STV (Single Transferable Vote) or in non-proportional systems with single-member districts (Alternative Vote or AV).
Fair Vote Canada advocates for the right of citizens to decide how their municipal councils are elected. Ford’s move takes away local choice and empowerment and is nothing short of a top-down power grab. With all three Ontario opposition leaders committing to reverse Ford’s ban on ranked ballots, it’s not enough to simply reinstate what was taken away. As this overreach comes from a government that 60% of Ontario didn’t vote for, we must go further in our defence of democracy and improve the legitimacy, integrity and inclusiveness of our provincial voting system. We must give Ontarians an active role in designing this new system by creating a Citizens’ Assembly. Then we will have the power to truly make our voices heard.
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Almost 200 people joined us October 21st for our second webinar of 2020, A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency, and How Proportional Representation Would Help. Author and activist Seth Klein joined us to discuss what political obstacles are preventing effective action on climate change and how Proportional Representation would help produce lasting solutions.
If you were unable to attend the webinar, you can watch the recording on Fair Vote Canada’s YouTube channel.
Upcoming Events
Graphic Design Workshop – TONIGHT!
Ever wanted to create a poster or image for social media, but didn’t know where to start? Join us tonight, Wednesday, October 28th from 7-8pm EST for a crash course in graphic design! We’ll be using Canva.com, a free and intuitive website that anyone can easily pick up.
We’ll guide you through the tips, tools and resources you’ll need to get started on your graphic design journey. This is a workshop for everyone, no previous experience required. With our help, you’ll be making posters and creating images in no time!
Letter-Writers’ Drop-In – Thursday, October 29, 7-8:30 pm EST
Fair Vote Toronto writers keep electoral reform in the public eye by getting our letters published in mainstream media. Six writers contributed multiple letters in the past month, and all three Toronto newspapers published one or more of our messages! If you’d like to join us in writing letters, register for our next Writers’ Drop-In.
When a Special Joint Committee of Parliament recommended in 1948 that “Indian people” be allowed to vote in federal elections, politicians worried about the impact on their political fortunes. C. D. Howe, then Minister of Trade and Commerce, feared Indigenous votes in his Port Arthur riding and elsewhere could tip the next federal election in favour of the opposition CCF party (forerunner to the NDP). Predictably, he and his government decided not to support this voting initiative. It wasn’t until 12 years later, in 1960, that Parliament finally passed the law giving First Nations people the vote without forcing them to give up their status in return.
Indigenous women faced yet another form of discrimination under the Indian Act. Women marrying a non-Indigenous man or a non-status Indigenous man lost their status and all the status rights described above — but coincidentally gained the right to vote. It wasn’t until 1985, another 25 years later, that An Act to amend the Indian Act finally removed this form of discrimination, allowing First Nations women to retain their status when marrying and vote as freely as all other Canadians. (A History of the Vote in Canada)