Former elections chief says there’s no time for delay on electoral reform action
• It’s time for the federal government to hit the gas pedal on electoral reform, now that there’s a road map for replacing the current first- past- the- post voting system, say former elections chief Jean- Pierre Kingsley and a group of prominent Canadians.
The 26- member group, including artist Robert Bateman, singer- songwriter Neil Young and former Harper government strategist Guy Giorno, is urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to get on with changing the way people choose their government.
With just 34 months before the next federal election, Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould should introduce legislation within months to ensure a new system is up and running on time, Kingsley told a news conference.
“The earlier the govern- ment tables its proposal, the greater the opportunity for Canadians to consider it, to debate it and to understand it,” he said.
Kingsley, chief electoral officer from 1990 until 2007, said the government needs to get serious about the plan for so- called proportional representation, the system recommended amid much controversy by a special Commons committee last month.
“The government has said it would be introducing legislation ... by May,” said Kingsley. “I’m expecting that to be respected.”
Trudeau promised during the past election campaign that the 2015 vote would be the last held under first-past- the- post, although he has since shown signs of backing away from that commitment.
During a town- hall meeting in Kingston, Ont., last week, Trudeau was asked by a woman in the audience whether he believes a proportional- voting system would be best for Canada. The prime minister said that while he prefers a ranked voting system, he’s open to a broad range of perspectives.
Gould has also so far refused to say definitively whether she’s committed to ensuring the federal Liberals honour their campaign promise.
The Commons committee’s report recommended that the federal government hold a referendum on some form of proportional representation. But that recommendation was not unanimous.