Tag: canpoli

Q & A on the Referendum

I had an interesting political discussion last weekend. It was a scene from a Joseph Conrad novel. Three old friends and a stranger sitting in the gathering gloom, sipping cool drinks against the summer’s heat, listening to the narrator spin his tale. My audience divided perfectly: one FPTP diehard, one Pro-Rep supporter and one new…

It’s Too Complicated!

This is one of the most common complaints about the referendum on Proportional Representation. It’s to be expected. However, it is important to note from whom those comments are coming. Are they coming from voters? Yes. And that’s fair; it’s a complicated question. If a voter finds a political concept too complicated, then it’s up…

FPTP: A More Civil War

Here’s a little fable for you. A powerful man was unhappy with the rulers of his country and decided he wanted power for himself. So he gathered together all his supporters and formed them into a tightly knit organization. He fired them up with traditions, objectives, slogans, propaganda and a set of ideals opposed to…

PR & FPTP: Let’s Talk Accountability

  Read The Propaganda Carefully In the Vancouver Sun article on Monday, the FPTP bloc made a great deal of hay about the fact that, with Proportional Representation, an “overwhelming number of representatives…were appointed by their political parties…They were not elected by geographical ridings where they are accountable to voters.” This is clever writing, because…