Dear Editor:
I don’t know if I “railed” against Buzz Hargrove’s call for strategic voting at the Labour Day luncheon in Port Elgin but I certainly think it is tragically misguided. Justin Trudeau promised day after day during the 2015 election to fix our electoral system so everyone’s vote counted every election. It is only because Trudeau did not keep his promise that Canadians have to be afraid of a phony majority government be it Sheer, Trudeau, Singh or May.
Trudeau cynically lied to Canadians. It seems bizarre to me that Buzz would then reward him by encouraging people to vote strategically for the Liberals. In 1923 a study of our electoral system recommended proportional representation. The Liberals and Conservatives have known for nearly 100 years how to fix the system, but they have not because it does not suit their interests for power. They may be happy with a system that leaves over 9 million Canadians casting ballots that earn no representation – but it is not OK with me.
Democracy at its best lets us find our collective wisdom as a society – but it only works if we are all fairly represented. It is time we fixed the system- and catch up with most of the rest of the world. We all need to be at the table and our government should reflect what the majority of Canadians support. Phony Majority governments and their associated “policy lurches” are wasteful and destructive. What we need is a cooperative and consistent approach to the crises such as climate change and growing inequality. We should and can do better. As we have seen these past four years, voting “strategically” will NOT make that happen.
Be well,
Tony McQuail
Tony.Mcquail@ndp.ca
