Trudeau abandons pledge on electoral reform

[Saviolo]

From the Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/trudeau-abandons-pledge-to-change-voting-system-before-2019-election/article33855925/

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is abandoning his long-held promise to change the way Canadians vote in federal elections.

In a mandate letter for newly appointed Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould, Trudeau makes it clear that electoral reform – once top of mind for the Liberal government – is no longer on the agenda.

“Changing the electoral system will not be in your mandate,” the prime minister writes in the letter, released Wednesday.

Trudeau repeatedly promised – both as a campaigning Liberal leader and as prime minister in a speech from the throne – to get rid of the current first-past-the-post voting system in time for the 2019 federal election.

The Liberals have since given themselves some wiggle room, saying they would not go ahead without the widespread support of Canadians.

Canadians made their views known through the House of Commons special committee on electoral reform, town halls held by MPs from all parties, the travels of former minister Maryam Monsef and a much-maligned online survey called MyDemocracy.ca.

The mandate letter shows that Trudeau and do not believe those consultations have produced their desired – albeit undefined – level of support for electoral reform, let alone any clarity on a preferred replacement.

I've already called my MP about this. Her parliamentary mailbox was full, but I was able to leave a message at the constituency office.

This is so disappointing and incredibly frustrating, when this was one of the Liberals' major planks, and to see Trudeau just toss it away is ridiculous. This needs to be brought back on the table right away.

If you need to find your MP's contact information, look here: http://www.lop.parl.gc.ca/ParlInfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC

[True Dough]

1. Just "discovering" the Canada sub-forum

So I'm late in responding to this, but I too am disappointed in the abandonment of this Trudeau pledge. Just because it is likely to be messy and difficult is no excuse to pull the plug. There is an appetite to reform the "first past the post" system, IMO. A referendum would be a reasonable way to gauge how Canadians prefer to alter the existing process.

[Saviolo]

2. They've already had the public consultation

The rumour now is that Trudeau went back on his promise because the responses were not favourable to the type of ER he was hoping for.

Anyway, I marched in Toronto today: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-electoral-reform-protest-1.3978756

And there were other marches and rallies across Canada. Hopefully some of this action will ensure that some attention is paid to this in the House of Commons.

[True Dough]

3. There's also a petition with more than 100,000 signatures

Momentum is building.

Good on ya for marching, Saviolo.