Human Rights Commission offers recommendations for electoral reform bill

In a brief presented at the National Assembly, the Human and Youth Rights Commission welcomed electoral reform Bill 39, which has proposed a new voting system be established, and presented recommendations to allow for better representation and the ability for individuals to fully exercise the right to equality.

Currently, when casting a vote, the first-past-the-post system is used. Individuals vote for the candidate of their choice, and the candidate who receives the most votes wins. The commission, however, believes that the adoption of a mixed system is a step toward better representation of the political currents in Quebec society.

The most common type of mixed electoral system is known as mixedmember proportional representation. Here, voters are able to cast two votes; one to decide the representative for their constituency, and one for a political party. National Assembly seats are then filled first by successful constituency candidates, and then by party candidates based on a nation or region-wide percentage that each party received. For constituency representatives, the first-past-the-post system is still used.

While the Human and Youth Rights Commission is in favour of Bill 39, they expressed concerns about the potential impact of certain aspects of the proposed system.

The Commision made seven recommendations after the submission of Bill 39, four which directly relate to representatives. Specifically, they recommend that each political party present a parity list for regional seats that includes strict alternation between men and women and must include minorities from groups protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Bill 39 also includes measures to promote parity between women and men in the National Assembly. According to the bill, after an order instituting a general election is issued, every authorized party must send the Chief Electoral Officer a statement on the parity objectives they have set for themselves. Before polling day, the party must send the Chief Electoral Officer a report on the achievement of those objectives.

The Commission expressed disappointment that the gender parity measures contained in the bill are essentially symbolic.

“The Commission regrets the absence of measures to address the lack of democratic representation of racialized people,” Myralande Pierre, Vice-president of the Commission said in a press release. “Concrete measures are needed to remove the barriers faced by members of certain groups protected by the Charter in accessing elective offices, barriers that they also face in other spheres.”

The Commission that, following the recommends first general election held under a new mixed voting system, political parties submit a report to the National Assembly outlining the measures in place to ensure equality among running candidates.

There are also certain technical measures in the bill that could have the effect of significantly limiting the announced representatives, the commission pointed out. Commission President, PhilippeAndré Tessier, said that the proposed model is likely to considerably restrict the chances of third parties to gain access to representation in the National Assembly. “This would undermine the rights of all citizens to play a meaningful role in the electoral process and to participate in government through the election of representatives,” he said.

The bill also states that a new electoral system will only come into effect if, after a referendum, a majority of votes is cast in favour of the new system.