REMINDER: Chong and May Coming to Guelph for Fair Vote Event
Green Party leader, Elizabeth May, and Wellington-Halton-Hills Conservative MP, Michael Chong, are coming to Guelph on October 10thto discuss Electoral Reform and Parliamentary Reform. Chong recently edited a collection of 10 essays published under the title, “Turning Parliament Inside Out” and Saanich-Gulf-Islands MP, Elizabeth May, is one of the contributors.
During the 2015 Federal Election, Justin Trudeau promised repeatedly that it would be the last “first-past-the-post” (FPTP) election. However, in February of 2017, electoral reform was decisively taken off the Liberals’ agenda when Trudeau wrote in a letter to the new Minister of Democratic Institutions, “Changing the electoral system will not be in your mandate.” This has not made the issue go away for many Canadians. After the recent BC provincial election, Elizabeth May observed, “Seventeen per cent of the popular vote is a breakthrough in any democracy using FPTP”.
Moreover, each of the candidates in the current NDP leadership race has articulated a position on Electoral Reform. We can expect it to be a central issue in the 2019 Federal Election.
“Canadians are losing faith in their democratic institutions”, says Michael Chong. In the last session of parliament, Chong drafted a private member’s bill, the Reform Act (2014) to distribute power in Parliament more equitably. Chong will update us on the implementation of the Reform Act, how it works, and changes we can expect to see in Parliament and the Canadian electoral system.
Liberal and NDP representatives have been invited to reflect on the main presentations and audience members will be invited to participate in question and answer sessions.
“Turning Parliament Inside Out” will run from 7 – 9 pm at Harcourt United Church at 87 Dean Avenue. Donations are welcome to offset the costs of the event. Copies of “Turning Parliament Inside Out” will be available for sale.
This event is hosted by Fair Vote Guelph. Fair Vote Canada(FVC) is a grassroots multi-partisan citizens’ campaign for voting system reform. FVC promotes the introduction of an element of proportional representation into elections for all levels of government and throughout civil society.
