10-07-2007 at 10:25 PM
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Ontario's referendum
Ontario's referendum
Written By Sarah Parent
OK, you have two seconds to answer, 'Yes' or 'No' ...Times up!
Answer what, right?
It's the referendum, don't you know about the referendum? You can vote "yes" for a new Mixed member proportional OR vote "No" let's keep our current single member plurality system. I hope you know what I'm talking about.
Here is a brief description of either option that will make all the poli sci majors cringe:
-MMP stands for mixed-member proportional voting, which can roughly be described as a system where the elected representatives closely match actual votes. This is the new system being proposed by The Ontario citizens' assembly.
-Our current plurality or winner takes all voting system, where the party with the most votes wins a riding and all others lose. The party that wins all in the current system doesn't have to have a majority of votes, just more then anyone else.
You've probably seen the odd flyer or add here and there for the referendum and not thought too much about it. The 'Yes' campaign asks you questions such as, "Have you ever voted for a candidate you didn't support just because you support his party?" or "Have you ever voted for a party that you don't support just to keep another one out of power?" Then if you can identify with any of these dilemmas you should vote, 'Yes' to MMP, the best thing since sliced bread! The "No" campaign says many things, but primarily they attack the legitimacy and practicality of the MMP system being proposed, not electoral reform.
It is true that no democratic system can ever be perfect, but that is no reason to just let things be as they are. Hence, democratic reform right at the heart of democracy -fair and free elections. Both sides of the electoral reform debate agree that there is room for improvement, but they wholeheartedly agree about how it should be done.
Personally I can't do either sides argument justice in this little article. I urge you to check out these links, get informed and make you own choice. This is up to us the citizens of Ontario, it is our choice. If you're not into politics, this is a good time to get involved and learn a little something, it's good for you!
Videos for you from the "Yes" side: http://www.tvo.org/cfmx/tvoorg/citizensreferendum/
A website for you from the "No" side: http://nommp.ca/
Last edited by lorend : 10-08-2007 at 07:18 AM.
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