Hold referendum on electoral reform

Re Electoral reform talks are in full swing, sort of, Sept. 2

Paul Wells’s excellent column on the Liberal-led electoral reform meetings was informative; However, it left out some important questions that need to be asked for a truly democratic and transparent process to be established.

First: If all these meeting and discussions are not legally binding on the government and they can implement whatever they want in the end, why have them in the first place? It seems to me a smoke-and-mirrors attempt by the Liberals to legitimize a forced election process — ranked balloting — that only favours one party, the Liberals. This is why Justin Trudeau and his Liberals are pressing for this undemocratic system to be implemented.

Second: Why not hold a referendum on this fundamental change to our democratic process? What are the Liberals afraid of?

It is suspicious that the Liberals, who were elected by just 27 per cent of the total eligible electorate, would withhold the rights of Canadians to choose the way we vote for our government. In fact it is a completely undemocratic process they are choosing.

A majority acceptance on any one of the various options, including the current first-past-the-post voting system, through a democratic referendum would be more palatable to all Canadians. Chris Duncan, Toronto

In a recent statement, the Liberals claimed to be “open to all ideas” on election reform. That is incorrect. If that was so, they would also be considering our first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system. Instead, they have set up a panel of MPs who are mostly against FPTP to guarantee that an election promise will happen.

They want a handful of politicians to do away with a system that has served Canadians for 150 years and not let Canadians have their say in a referendum.

If the Liberals think they have a better plan, don’t hide it, bring it out so that Canadians can decide which system they like the best.

You don’t do away with a voting system that has served Canadians since Canada began just so you can fulfil an election promise. Larry Prout, Peterborough