Don’t always get what you want

Re: Referendum Rules, letter to the editor, Dec. 30. Do those who oppose a referendum on electoral reform appreciate the irony of their position? They complain that first-past-the-post is undemocratic because it often results in majority governments being elected by a minority of voters. At the same time, they claim that the current government — which was elected by a minority of voters — has the mandate to fundamentally change our voting system without subjecting any proposal to a test by a democratic vote. Letter- writer Jane McCall ( no doubt unintentionally) illustrates this irony perfectly when she writes, “I voted for electoral reform and transit tax … and in both cases the referendum was lost by a slim majority.” That, Ms. McCall, is how democracy works: you don’t always get what you want.

Stephen Tannenbaum, Thornhill, Ont. It is long past time that the emptiness of the complaints from proponents for electoral reform as expressed by your letter-writers Jane McCall and Julien Lamarche were put to bed. In Ms. McCall’s case she picked a side, cast her ballot and it lost. That is electoral democracy as defined. There is no “right” to win. In Mr. Lamarche’s case, while certainly correct when he says Canadian governments almost always enjoy a plurality but not a majority, he fails to grasp that exactly no-one will have voted for whatever coalition is cooked up by the various parties after an election. Thirty-nine per cent is not 50 per cent-plus-one, but it is much larger than zero.

Hazen McDonald, Mississauga, Ont. enough for the elite in power to make choices on behalf of the citizens, particularly when the issue is loaded with winning benefits for the supporting parties but disconnects the voter from a winner decided by ranking computations rather than the highest number of votes.

Jiti Khanna, Vancouver. Here’s the election problem as I see it. Thirty- nine per cent of Canadians made up their minds to vote for the Liberals. At the same time, 61 per cent of Canadians would prefer anyone else — including, but not limited to, parties whose support rarely if ever extends beyond one region (I’m looking at you, Bloc Québécois). There isn’t a voting system in existence that will smooth over that wrinkle, and that includes the one the Liberals want to replace. Long story short: if people have 1,500 candidates from which to choose, people are going to spread their support over those 1,500 candidates. Long story even shorter: 39 per cent support for a governing party is pretty optimistic.

James Homuth, Ottawa.