[fvc-wat-announce] Fwd: [FVCchapters] Fwd: Canadians cheated again by voting system says Fair Vote Canada

Tue May 3 07:57:19 EDT 2011

Fellow Waterloo Fair Vote supporters, as a person who has devoted the last 2
years to Fair Vote Canada, who believes that proportional representation is the
single biggest change that could benefit almost all Canadians, regardless of
party, I am asking you this morning: If you have ever considered joining Fair
Vote Canada, today is the day. It costs $10 a year. If a small fraction of
those who cast a "wasted vote" yesterday, or cast a "strategic vote" that
didn't work yesterday, joined, we would have tens of millions of dollars to
launch an advertising and education campaign that could bring Canada a voting
system that ensures your voice, and the voices of your children, will be heard
and fairly represented in future.

Find below this morning's press release from Fair Vote Canada.

Sincerely,

Anita

----- Forwarded message from Wayne Smith <wayne.smith at fairvote.ca> -----
    Date: Tue, 3 May 2011 06:27:26 -0400
    From: Wayne Smith <wayne.smith at fairvote.ca>
Reply-To: Wayne Smith <wayne.smith at fairvote.ca>
 Subject: [FVCchapters] Fwd: Canadians cheated again by voting system says Fair
Vote Canada
      To: fvcchapters <FVCchapters at yahoogroups.com>

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Wayne Smith <wayne.smith at fairvote.ca>
Date: Tue, May 3, 2011 at 6:26 AM
Subject: Canadians cheated again by voting system says Fair Vote Canada
To: office at fairvote.ca

http://www.fairvote.ca/en/Canadians-cheated-again-by-voting-system

For immediate release

May 3, 2011

Canadians cheated again by voting system says Fair Vote Canada

Canada’s national citizens’ movement for voting reform has released
analysis of Tuesday’s federal election results showing that the
outcome does not accurately reflect the way Canadians voted.

“The Conservative party increased their vote percentage by less than
two points,” says Fair Vote Canada (FVC) President Bronwen Bruch, “but
this allowed them to win 24 more seats than in 2008, when they were
already over-represented. Stephen Harper calls this a ‘decisive
endorsement’, but we call it a rip-off.”

At the time of writing, these were the actual seats won and leading
for each party:

CON 167, NDP 102, LIB 34, BQ 4, GREEN 1

If the seats were won in proportion to the votes that were cast, the
numbers would look like this:

CON 122, NDP 95, LIB 59, BQ 19, GREEN 13

According to these results, the Conservatives have won 54.22% of the
seats with only 39.62% of the votes, one of the least legitimate
majorities in Canadian history.

“This is a classic phony majority,” said Bruch, “and leaves us with a
government that is completely unaccountable to Parliament. As long as
they maintain rigid party discipline, nothing bad can happen to them
for four years.”

The FVC analysis shows that the NDP, historically under-represented by
Canada’s winner-take-all voting system, is now over-represented by
seven seats, thanks to the “orange wave” that vaulted them into second
place.

The Liberal Party, on the other hand, traditionally over-represented
to the degree that they were regarded as Canada’s “natural governing
party”, is now the chief victim of the voting system. While their vote
percentage fell by less than 8%, they lost more than half their seats.

The Bloc Québècois, which has always previously been over-represented
because their votes are concentrated in one region, has been
decimated. Although their vote percentage has collapsed, they should
still be entitled to 19 seats, but they are winning or leading in only
four seats.

The Green Party is ecstatic to have finally won a single seat, but
they actually received enough votes across the country to win 13
seats.

“Across the country,” added Fair Vote Canada Executive Director Wayne
Smith, “vote splits between the Liberals and NDP allowed the
Conservatives to steal seats. Once again, our antiquated voting system
has given us the wrong government, a government that most of us voted
against.

“It is truly time to change our voting system. If we want politics to
be different, we need a vote that makes a difference.”

-30-

Contact:
Wayne Smith
Executive Director
416-407-7009
Wayne.Smith at FairVote.Ca

-- 
Wayne Smith
Executive Director
Fair Vote Canada
416-407-7009

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----- End forwarded message -----

Anita
Want to have a real say in democracy? Want to see a more democratic,
compassionate Canada? Help me make every vote count! www.fairvote.ca