Why a National Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform?

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Make 2015 Our Last Unfair Election

Here is the text of an email sent to our contact list to generate awareness and support for our cause:
MAKE 2015 OUR LAST UNFAIR ELECTION—The Saskatchewan Chapter of Fair Vote Canada (FVC) is on the go! We aim to move MPs and MP candidates to take a shared public pledge, prior to the federal 2015 election campaign, to bring in proportional representation in the next parliament. We invite you to help us make 2015 the last unfair federal election.
How? FVC has already made progress within the national parties. We will add to this effort a considerable number of Saskatchewan voices through local petition drives using Fair Vote's "Petition to the House of Commons." Moose Jaw's drive is already underway, with 200+ signatures demonstrating Saskatchewan voters' openness to electoral reform.
Help us add to a steady flow of Saskatchewan petitions to be read out in Commons by MPs to drive our message home.


To be contacted by a petition volunteer in your area, email fairvotesask@gmail.com . If you are not near a volunteer, there will be a petition form mailed to you as part of an info packet (or you can print one from here). So they can continue to collect signatures before being submitted to MPs, any petition forms with less than the three-signature minimum must be MAILED to Fair Vote Saskatchewan Chapter c/o 510 Main St. North Apt 305 Moose Jaw SK S6H 3K3.
Share the petition with others so they have a chance to support the adoption of a truly democratic and representative voting system! Every little bit of effort helps. Visit a neighbour petition in hand, invite an FVC speaker to your group, write letters to MPs, set up a signing table at a mall….
Above all, share your ideas with us at fairvotesask@gmail.com! Let's strengthen our democracy and usher in parliaments that express all Canadians' hopes for our children's future.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Propose a Saskatchewan Stop for the NDP Democratic Reform Tour


Fair Vote Canada welcomed the news that the NDP's MPs Craig Scott and Alexandrine Latendresse will be touring this spring and in the fall to consult with Canadians about proportional representation.  At the Montreal convention, the NDP confirmed their longstanding commitment to voting reform, in particular, the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system.  In a MMP system, a voter usually has two ballots, one for the seat in their riding, and another ballot for a political party.  The second ballot is used to fill at-large seats so the number of seats for each party reflects the popular vote.

On Twitter, Scott reported a super start of the 2 year tour.  In this video, Scott says, "We must be committed to fixing this incredibly broken electoral system. A system that, with less than 40% of the vote, produced a government that has a non-mandate to dismantle this country, but nonetheless is going about exactly that. Ever since the late 1970s when Ed Broadbent began the process of convincing this party that we needed to change the first-past-the-post system, to Tom Mulcair who was adamant during the leadership race that we also had to change this, the NDP has stood for fixing our electoral system. We have to start with the next election. We have to begin the consultations now.”

We encourage you to email us if you would like to propose a Saskatchewan stop on the tour.