Proportional representation holds politicians to account

Re Canadians among biggest energy users even as world moves toward net zero emissions, Oct. 14

It’s been known for a long time that Canada punches far above its weight in per-capita greenhouse gas emissions. We do this despite having ample flowing water for hydroelectricity and wide open spaces for wind turbines.

However, we’re also a laggard in public transportation and energy-efficient building, while massively subsidizing our fossil fuel industries — to the point that our government even purchased a white-elephant pipeline so that its owners wouldn’t lose money.

A major reason why Canada and the U.S. underperform compared with Europe is that it uses proportional representation almost exclusively. People around the world want governments to take action on climate change, but only proportional representation allows them to hold politicians to account should they fail.

Gary Dale, Toronto