Electoral Reform: Support Motion 262 - My letter to Liberal MP for Guelph, Brenda Chamberlain

Hello Mrs Chamberlain,

I'm a Guelph resident deeply concerned with the state of our democracy. Our electoral process determines the make up of our parliament which is expected to represent the political persuasions of the Canadian people. Unfortunately our current system grossly inflates the popularity of some, stifles the representation of many, and eliminates any chance of proper representation for others. I believe that the Single Member Plurality system we have also discriminates by closing off representation based on: gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality, ability and age. Furthermore, I believe that our current system is dysfunctional from the standpoint of running the country. Parliament is seen to be an adversarial, confrontational arena where MPs do nothing more than exchange partisan quips. Phoney majority governments seize 100% of the power based on having 60% of the seats, and only 40% of the votes. This leads our government in one of two ways: erratic, swings in policy as parties exchange majority governments back and forth; or a consensus amongst governing parties that is wholly out of touch with the sentiments of Canadians. Lack of proportionality is a contributing factor to low voter turn-out, and a tragic sense of cynicism in Canadian politics.

Parliament will soon begin to debate a motion put forward by MP Catherine Bell. Without doubt your party will discuss this at a caucus meeting to determine whether or not you will support Motion 262. I hope that you will argue in favour of the motion, which would start a nation-wide consultation process on the topic of electoral change. Your party's leader, Stéphane Dion has conceded to examine electoral change already; I'm hoping that this process, with the help of the Liberals, ensure that the consultation happens between government and the people of Canada, rather than with lobbyists or pollsters. Furthermore Stephen Harper, and Paul Martin have both called for this process to begin in their respective throne speeches, and simply have not delivered. The Ontario provincial Liberal party has already put in place this process, on which as you know we are now moving towards a referendum in October.

Mrs, Chamberlain, you have chosen to retire at the end of this parliament. I hope, with this motion you will consider the state in which you leave our democracy. I'm sure you have noticed that Ottawa is a city swarmed with lobbyists, all of whom are attempting to accomplish one thing: sway government towards a certain policy. Ultimately some of those lobbyists are working in the people's interest, some are not. I expect that you understand this. I expect that you understand by now that people's voices are shut out from our democratic process by party's who concern themselves with their own interests and the interests of the well connected in Ottawa. Mrs Chamberlain, you have an opportunity to change Canadian politics for the better by supporting Motion 262, and putting the decision in the people's hands on the topic of electoral reform.

I hope that you will consider my letter when debating the motion in the house and caucus. I hope that a majority of parliament will agree that electoral reform is needed in this country, and that a citizen driven process would ultimately be in the best interest of the country. I hope you will agree to play a role in moving our democracy away from cynicism and pessimism, by supporting Motion 262.

Sincerely,

Ravi Joshi