Trudeau adds insult to injury on broken promise of electoral reform

Plenty of politicians make promises at election time, only to break them once they’re in power. But most of them at least

pretend to be sorry. It takes a special kind of cynicism to say that Canadians who are asking you to keep your promise are a vocal minority whose demands are a “potential threat to the country.”

And it takes massive gall to then suggest that it’s the fault of these same Canadians that you kept no part of your promise.

But that’s what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just did.

What an insult to the people in Waterloo Region and across the country who genuinely want Canada to be a more democratic place, and who have attended meetings, spoken to students in schools, circulated petitions, and held discussions.

In short, people who have behaved with the greatest respect and concern for our democracy.

The Trudeau Liberals promised that 2015 would be the last election in which the “first-pastthe-post” system would be used to elect MPs.

Many months of public meetings and hearings later, that promise was abandoned. People are disappointed and keep asking why.

“Moving towards proportional representation, as a few people wanted, would have been damaging to our stability, to our electoral system,” Trudeau told CBC Radio this week in Nova Scotia.

(Translation: It would have damaged the Liberals’ chances of getting re-elected.)

“And when it was obvious that that was really something that was a potential threat to the country, I decided, that instead of ticking off an electoral box, I was going to stay focused on the things that actually mattered” like creating jobs and help with university costs, he said.

(Translation: Promises I make before an election do not actually matter.)

Trudeau went on to say that he likes the idea of a ranked ballot, in which Canadians would put their first, second, and third choice of party.

“But when it became obvious that there was a whole bunch … a very strongly vocal but very much a minority of Canadians who were going to accept nothing else but proportional representation which I think would be bad for the country, and I’ve always said that, it was obvious there was no path forward.”

(Translation: It’s their fault I didn’t keep my word.)

People who want reform aren’t enemies of the state. They’re reasonable; they see that proportional representation works in other places, and they want a better Canada.

“I don’t know where this idea that proportional representation is dangerous comes from,” said electoral reform advocate Matthew Piggott of Kitchener. “It doesn’t seem to be based on evidence.”

Sharon Sommerville, who co-chairs Fair Vote Waterloo Region, said her group is not giving up just because the prime minister dissed them.

They’re encouraged about an upcoming referendum on electoral reform for British Columbia. They’re continuing to visit local MPs to explain their viewpoint. And they will be around long after Trudeau is gone.

Giving back with gift

cards: If you bought bread even once at a Loblaw store, you’re entitled to a $25 gift card to the store. It’s the company’s way of saying sorry for industry-wide price-fixing of bread.

Some people are encouraging others to donate their cards to a local food bank.

The cards are issued to individuals, but the Food Bank of Waterloo Region has confirmed with Loblaw that cardholders will be able to donate it to a charity of their choice.

“This grassroots call to action is a great story about how the public can rally around food banks,” said executive director Wendi Campbell.

Watch this space next week for details on how to donate.