First-past-the-post has its advantages

Re: “Electoral reform plan would further weaken anglos politically” (Don Macpherson, Nov. 17)

Don Macpherson is quite correct to caution the apparent embrace of something both simultaneously vague and complex as “proportional representation.” Rather than any kind of panacea that will cure all of the supposed ills embodied within our current voting scheme, the specific model of proportional representation as advertised by the Coalition Avenir Québec appears to be nothing more than a scheme to cement the voting power of rural francophone areas at the expense of urban non-francophone regions. In essence, gerrymandering under a more nuanced name. A recent investigation by the Fraser Institute (Proportional Representation in Practice) reviewed the various configurations of this electoral regime around the world and concluded “there are many nuances among the different PR systems that affect the outcome of elections and the party system that results.” With all of its faults, the current first-past-the-post voting system has the overt simplicity of clearly defining a clear winner quickly. There is no second-hand selecting from artificial lists or of having individuals chosen who have not individually stood for election and engaged the local electorate. Sending so-called parliamentarians to the legislature simply as a function of their standing on a political party list cuts the connection between the elected and the elector and drives another wedge into our already questionable electoral system.

Jon Bradley, Beaconsfield