Dear Editor: I am disappointed but not entirely surprised by Justin Trudeau’s abandonment of his oft- repeated promise that 2015 would be the last federal election under our outdated, unfair voting system.
Our present first-past-the-post voting system makes a mockery of democracy. It routinely wastes votes, distorts election results, creates unrepresentative parliaments, produces phony majority governments that the majority of people actually voted against, and discourages people from voting.
Trudeau’s cynical about-face on electoral reform means a lost opportunity to design a proportional voting system to be followed by a referendum as recommended by the all-party electoral reform committee after months of study and consultations.
A proportional voting system ensures fairer election results because political parties win seats in proportion to their overall voter support and makes every vote count. It also provides a more representative and diverse parliament, encourages inter-party consultation and cooperation, increases voter turnout, and strengthens our democracy.
Now that Justin Trudeau has his phony majority in the House of Commons with only 39% of the popular vote, he has broken his promise on electoral reform.
Canadians deserve a better, fairer voting system where every vote counts to reflect our 21st century democratic values.
Yours truly,
Brian Lynch
Cornwall, ON
