Liberals move on electoral reform as deadline looms

After months of silence on electoral reform, Liberals announce new committee to study new voting system.

Thestar.com
May 10, 2016
By Alex Boutilier

The Liberals have set aside less than seven months to consult Canadians on a brand new voting system.

A notice posted online late Tuesday proposes striking a special electoral reform committee - where the Liberals would hold a majority - to hold consultations over the next several months.
The committee would have to report back to the House of Commons no later than Dec. 1. The Liberals promised to recommend new legislation by May 2017, but Elections Canada has warned the clock is ticking to have a new system in place by 2019.

“(The committee will) identify and conduct a study of viable alternative voting systems, such as preferential ballots and proportional representation, to replace the first-past-the-post system, as well as to examine mandatory voting and online voting,” a notice posted online Tuesday reads.

Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef will hold a press conference in Ottawa Wednesday to discuss her proposal.

The Liberals would have six seats on the proposed 10-person committee, with three seats for the Conservatives, one for the New Democrats. The Bloc Quebecois and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May have each been offered non-voting seats at the table.

Under Monsef’s proposal, the committee would conduct a “national engagement process” over the summer and fall months including “comprehensive and inclusive consultation,” including written submissions, committee travel, and online suggestions.

The proposed committee would look at the prospect of an overhaul of the entire electoral system - the first in Canada’s 149-year history - through five lenses:

• Increasing the effectiveness and legitimacy of federal representatives.
• Fostering greater civic engagement.
• Making voting accessible and inclusive.
• Maintaining public faith in the integrity of the voting system.
• Ensuring that the principle of local representation is maintained.

Alongside the committee’s work, Monsef is proposing that each member of Parliament be invited to hold town halls in their riding to discuss electoral reform. Those MPs would have to offer a written submission to the committee no later than October.