NDP backs referendum on new voting system
But parties must agree on process, Cullen says
OTTAWA • The NDP says it is willing to support a referendum on electoral reform, if it means consensus among parties can be reached in a special committee recommending voting system changes to the government.
The committee, set up around a Liberal promise that 2015’s election was the last with a first-past-the-post system, is set to finalize its recommendations Thursday and deliver them to parliament by Dec. 1.
“The way that we validate this process is incredibly important,” said B.C. MP Nathan Cullen, who made the announcement with Quebec MP Alexandre Boulerice.
“We have some reservations, of course, because referendums are very powerful tools. They have to be handled with a great deal of respect and done properly in order to be effective.”
Cullen said he would like to see another all-party parliamentary committee determine the design of the referendum and its questions. An independent ombudsman could be another option, he said.
“Ultimately, we want the process to be as fair and transparent as possible,” said Cullen. “Any time one party has simply gone ahead, designed it and tried to skew results at the other end, there’s always been a voter backlash.”
Boulerice added this could be a way for the Liberals to confirm public support for their mandate.
Since the beginning of the conversation around electoral reform, the NDP has been reluctant to support a referendum, concerned that a fear of change could inhibit voters from choosing reform — or that referendums often fail because of a lack of clarity, or the presence of too many options. Those are concerns cited by Liberals and the Green party, too.
A recent plebiscite in P.E.I. offered some hope to proponents of proportional representation, the type of system the NDP are hoping to see implemented federally.
Though only 36 per cent of eligible voters turned out, more than half wanted to switch to a mixed-member proportional system, which elects some MPs by firstp-ast-the-post and others via party lists, to balance out seats according to the percentage of popular vote each party receives.
Systems that would make the House of Commons more proportional were recommended by a big majority of committee witnesses and town hall attendees, Cullen said.
While the Conservatives have acknowledged seeing support for that type of system, they have insisted that a referendum is the only way to ensure Canadians’ voices are heard before a major change is made to how they elect governments.
Tories argue a change to first-past-the-post is too major, and has too many implications, not to put it to the public.
Their three MPs on the committee, together with Cullen and Boulerice, would give Conservatives and the NDP five out of 12 committee votes. They’d need to team up with Green party leader Elizabeth May to get a tie, and Bloc Québécois MP Luc Thériault to gain a majority — if the Liberals decide to position themselves against a referendum.
“I personally think it’s not necessary. Legally, it’s not constitutionally required, that’s for sure,” May said Wednesday, adding there are many procedural obstacles to holding a referendum.
“In the effort to achieve consensus on the committee, I’d be open to accepting a referendum,” she said. “We’d need to have all parties involved for me to feel that it was justified to accept something that I think is a bad idea.”
A report would need to carry the support of “at least four out of five” parties, May said. She wouldn’t speculate on what position she would take if either of the two biggest parties, the Liberals or the Conservatives, couldn’t be brought on side.
ULTIMATELY, WE WANT THE PROCESS TO BE AS FAIR AND TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE.