Electoral Alliance continues to build
Front page - The Bulletim, Downtown Toronto newspaper Feb 2014 issue
Hundreds of voters have shown their support for an electoral alliance at two recent Downtown events.
Over 230 people attended the It’s About Time! Action on Climate Change through Electoral Reform town hall on November 28, 2013 at the Ralph Thornton Centre.
Moderated by Ward 24 Councillor Adam Vaughan, the audience heard from Elizabeth May, Green Party of Canada, Stephan Dion former leader of the Liberal Party and Craig Scott from the NDP.
Wing Wo helped organize the successful meeting and was very pleased with the large turnout. She sees the connection between action on climate change and fixing the electoral system to make it more democratic.
"Climate change is an important issue that will increasingly affect the daily lives of all Canadians but not all have put a link to the problem with our electoral system. 40% of votes led to a ‘majority’ government that do not represent all Canadians and certainly not the ones that want action on climate change.”
Read more
Proportional Representation--a Reform whose Time has come –
This letter is sent to all Liberal MPs. http://electoralalliance.ca/proportional-representation-reform-whose-time-has-come
Dear Liberal MP,
A Liberal Party Convention in Montreal in February will be considering a resolution on Proportional Representation, along with other measures for making Canada more democratic.
A strong contingent within the Liberal Party sees Proportional Representation as crucial for the country. Current Liberal policy, however, is for Alternative Voting, which was adopted with little discussion in 2012. A close cousin to First-Past-The-Post, it is NOT PROPORTIONAL. (Voters mark their ballots 1,2,3... if no one gets 50% plus 1, the person with the least votes drops off and his/her votes are re-distributed until someone does.)
Why PR? Our existing First-Past-the-Post system, also known as “Winner Take All,” allows for a Harper majority government with under 40% of the popular vote. Large numbers of voters effectively go unrepresented--e.g., Liberals in Alberta. Twice in provincial elections the second party won a majority government!
With MMP (and some other PR systems), the share of seats in the House closely matches the share the party won in the election. With Alternative Voting, this does not happen, and the gross disproportions continue. But, with MMP, every vote counts fairly.
Countries with Proportional Representation have greater citizen satisfaction, higher voter turn-out, elect more women and minority MPs, adopt better laws on environmental protection and use energy more effectively--for starters.
Pierre E. Trudeau as prime minister left the Charter of Rights as his great legacy. Justin, what is your legacy going to be? PR is the advance needed, and it does not need a Constitutional amendment to be enacted.
Proportional representation has the support of 70% of Canadians, according to a 2013 Environics poll. Liberal support was 77% (Conservatives were a lower 62%, also a majority).
Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) is the system we recommend. It was the unanimous recommendation of the Liberal-appointed Law Commission of Canada in its report, Voting Counts: Electoral Reform for Canada, 2004, online at http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/J31-61-2004E.pdf
Unfortunately, the Liberal government did not act on it, and the commission itself was disbanded by a later Harper government.
Sincerely,
Canadian Electoral Alliance
Green jobs news
“We deserve an energy plan, a climate plan, and the new industrial revolution of clean-tech and renewables. The first step is for Harper to get out of the way.” Elizabeth May. Read More
Hundreds of voters have shown their support for an electoral alliance at two recent Downtown events.
Over 230 people attended the It’s About Time! Action on Climate Change through Electoral Reform town hall on November 28, 2013 at the Ralph Thornton Centre.
Moderated by Ward 24 Councillor Adam Vaughan, the audience heard from Elizabeth May, Green Party of Canada, Stephan Dion former leader of the Liberal Party and Craig Scott from the NDP.
Wing Wo helped organize the successful meeting and was very pleased with the large turnout. She sees the connection between action on climate change and fixing the electoral system to make it more democratic.
"Climate change is an important issue that will increasingly affect the daily lives of all Canadians but not all have put a link to the problem with our electoral system. 40% of votes led to a ‘majority’ government that do not represent all Canadians and certainly not the ones that want action on climate change.”Solar Jobs Increase 20%, Rise to 143,000 In US - The Solar Foundation just released its latest US solar jobs census, National Solar Jobs Census 2013. The key finding is that US solar jobs were up to at least 142,698 as of November 2013. That’s about 20% growth since the last solar jobs census, which had data up through September 2012. Overall US employment grew 1.9% in this period, so US solar jobs grew about 10 times faster! Read more
Climate Change and related
Nathan Cullen stands with British Columbians against Northern Gateway!! How can only one voice be heard and ignored the majority?! Watch what he said.
Canada’s carbon emissions projected to soar by 2030 - Tar sands expected to help drive 38% increase in emissions, Harper government admits in submission to the UN. Read More
Oil sands Pollution: Government Study Provides Conclusive Proof Development Damaging Alberta Lakes. Read more
Global Average Temperatures Set to Rise by 4 Degrees Celsius by 2100 - Global average temperatures are on track to rise at least 4 degrees Celsius by 2100, and twice that by 2200 if carbon dioxide emissions are not reduced, according to a new study suggesting the global climate is more sensitive than previously believed. Read more
The Silence of the labs. Scientists across the country are expressing growing alarm that federal cutbacks to research programs monitoring areas that range from climate change and ocean habitats to public health will deprive Canadians of crucial information. Read more & Watch the video
MORE NEWS
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says the next federal election has to be fought on the issue of democracy in Canada — or the lack of it — before it’s too late.
“We are on a slippery slope to the los...s of our democracy,” says May, mincing no words as she looks back on how 2013 unfolded in Parliament and what’s ahead for the new year.
Power is now so concentrated in the Prime Minister’s Office and its unelected staff members, says May, that Canadian democracy already resembles “a dictatorship punctuated by elections.” Read more
Income Splitting - The Conservative government's plan to extend income splitting to families is skewed heavily in favour of the wealthiest, with the vast majority of families receiving no benefit at all, a new study has found
by Kelly Carmichael, a 20 year Communications professional and the Executive Director of Fair Vote Canada, former Chair of the East Toronto Community Coalition, Kelly spearheaded the successful NoBigBox campaign in Toronto.
former MP & environment critic, university professor emerita at the University of Guelph and director of the Collected Works of Florence Nightingale, Co-founder of JustEarth: A Coalition for Environmental Justice and is a member of the Board of Directors of Climate Action Network Canada. 
founding treasurer of Fair Vote Canada. John Deverell was a journalist for 25 years with the Toronto Star, author of 3 books, one of which is Democracy, Eh? A Guide to Voter Action.
It's About Time!!