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<p class=MsoPlainText><b><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-weight:bold'>FAIR VOTE <st1:country-region w:st="on">CANADA</st1:country-region>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">WATERLOO</st1:City></st1:place> REGION
CHAPTER NEWSLETTER<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-weight:bold'>ISSUE #<font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>3</span></font>, 2008<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><u><font size=2 color=navy face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'>CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS – FEDERAL ELECTION
FAIR VOTING CAMPAIGN</span></font><o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'> <font color=navy><span style='color:
navy'>Another federal election is upon us and the executive members of the </span></font>Waterloo
Region Fair Vote Canada Chapter<font color=navy><span style='color:navy'> have
developed an activity plan to raise awareness about the need for electoral
reform during the campaign</span></font>. <font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>We are focusing on two tasks:<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 color=navy face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText style='margin-left:42.0pt;text-indent:-24.0pt;mso-list:
l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><font size=2 color=navy face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>1)<font
size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font><![endif]><font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>Sending letters to local newspapers linking electoral reform
to the federal election<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText style='margin-left:42.0pt;text-indent:-24.0pt;mso-list:
l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>2)<font size=1
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font><![endif]><font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>Attending all candidates’ debates to ask questions
about electoral reform and to distribute literature</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText style='text-indent:18.0pt'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt'> Please feel free to use some of the talking
points listed below to write letters to the newspapers or attend all candidates’
meetings to raise awareness about the need for electoral reform. Each of
the Waterloo Region Chapter executive members is taking responsibility for
providing leadership to promote electoral reform in one of the four ridings in
Waterloo Region during the election. Please contact the executive member
providing leadership in your riding if you would like to collaborate to prepare
letters or attend meetings beyond the talking points listed below. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Kitchener-Waterloo
Riding: Angela Yenssen (<a href="mailto:ayenssen@rogers.com">ayenssen@rogers.com</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><font size=2
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>Kitchener</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font color=navy
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:navy'> Centre Riding:
John Milne (<a href="mailto:jdmilne@gmail.com">jdmilne@gmail.com</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Kitchener-Conestoga
Riding: Neil Dietrich (<a href="mailto:neildietrich@gmail.com">neildietrich@gmail.com</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><font size=2
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>Cambridge</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font color=navy
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:navy'> Riding: Donna Reid
(<a href="mailto:donna-reid@sympatico.ca">donna-reid@sympatico.ca</a>) or
Shannon Adshade (<a href="mailto:sadshade@lutherwood.ca">sadshade@lutherwood.ca</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> John
Milne has ordered flyers from the Fair Vote <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region> head office that can be
distributed at all candidates’ meetings. Please contact John to
obtain some flyers at <a href="mailto:jdmilne@gmail.com">jdmilne@gmail.com</a>.
Thanks to all of you who are able to assist with raising the profile of the
fair voting campaign during the federal election. Together we can
ultimately win this fight and bring proportional representation to <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Angela Yenssen<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Co-Chair, Fair Vote <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region> <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Waterloo</st1:place></st1:City>
Region Chapter<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><a
href="mailto:ayenssen@rogers.com">ayenssen@rogers.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>519-747-3825 <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><u><font size=2 color=navy face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'>TALKING POINTS FOR LETTERS AND CANDIDATES’
DEBATES<o:p></o:p></span></font></u></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'>1. Emphasis should be on "ELECTORAL REFORM", not MMP. - What
will parties/candidates do about the issue?<br>
2. Facts: A) In the 2006 federal election, more than 650,000
Green Party voters across the country elected no one. Meanwhile, fewer than a
half-million Liberal voters in Atlantic Canada alone elected 20 MPs. <br>
B) In the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">prairie provinces</st1:place></st1:State>,
Conservatives won three times as many votes as the Liberals, but were given
nearly ten times as many seats. <br>
C) more than 400,000 Conservative voters in <st1:City w:st="on">Toronto</st1:City>,
<st1:City w:st="on">Montreal</st1:City> and <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Vancouver</st1:place></st1:City> couldn't elect a single MP. <br>
D) The NDP attracted a million more votes than the Bloc, but the voting system
gave the Bloc 51 seats and the NDP 29.<br>
E) A majority Government does not need the support of the majority of Canadians.
The last true majority (where a party received more than 50% of the vote) was
with Brian Mulroney in 1984 with 50.03% of the vote. Jean Chretien's
Liberals won a Majority in 1997 with 39% of the vote.<br>
F) The First-Past-The-Post system used in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region> today was developed in the
12th century. Most European countries utilize voting systems developed in
the 19th or 20th century, such as Single Transferable Vote used in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ireland</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<br>
<br>
<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>GOVERNMENT POSITION ON ELECTORAL REFORM
(Possible Debate question)<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'>The Conservative Party of Canada's March 19, 2005 Policy statement
reads as follows on the question of electoral reform:<br>
i) A Conservative Government will consider changes to electoral systems,<br>
including proportional representation, the single transferable ballot, fixed
election<br>
dates, and the use of referendums.<br>
ii) In reviewing options for electoral reform, a Conservative Government will
not<br>
endorse any new electoral system that will weaken the link between Members of<br>
Parliament and their constituents, that will create unmanageably large ridings,
or<br>
that will strengthen the control of the party machinery over individual Members
of<br>
Parliament. <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>A national referendum will be
held prior to implementing any<br>
electoral reform proposal.</span></b><br>
Therefore, possible question: <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To the
Conservative Candidate - The Conservative Party said they will consider changes
to the electoral system and promised a National Referendum on the issue in
2005. What happened? To other Candidates - Would you consider a
national referendum to propose a new electoral system, such as a form of
proportional representation? If so, by when?</span></b></span></font><u><font
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></u></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><u><font size=2 color=navy face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'><o:p><span style='text-decoration:none'> </span></o:p></span></font></u></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><u><font size=2 color=navy face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'><o:p><span style='text-decoration:none'> </span></o:p></span></font></u></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><u><font size=2 color=navy face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'>PROVINCIAL AND NATIONAL FAIR VOTE UPDATES<o:p></o:p></span></font></u></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'> T<font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>he
one day provincial conference on voting reform that had been planned by Fair
Vote <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ontario</st1:place></st1:State>
for October 2008 has been postponed until February 2009. Planning had
been started by the Fair Vote Ontario Council to hold a press conference on the
anniversary of the MMP referendum calling on the <st1:State w:st="on">Ontario</st1:State>
government to complete the unfinished business of electoral reform in <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ontario</st1:place></st1:State>. However,
the press conference has been cancelled due to the federal election call.
The Fair Vote <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region>
national office is currently focused on the federal election campaign but will
be resuming a focus on preparing for the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">British
Columbia</st1:place></st1:State> referendum on STV in May 2009 when the
federal election is over. Stay tuned for more updates on Fair Vote <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region> and Fair Vote <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Ontario</st1:place></st1:State> initiatives after the federal
election. </span></font><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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