[fvc-wat-disc] Two Fair Vote Announcements!

[Anita]

Hello Fair Vote Canada supporters,


The hard work of our teams, including Fair Vote Canada Waterloo region, combined with a hugely successful facebook campaign has put us within 170 signatures of our goal of hitting 25,000 signatures on our Declaration of Voters' Rights this week. Can you help us reach 25,000 by asking friends to sign, and/or sharing on facebook? If you scroll through our national facebook page, you'll see the posters we've been using there - David Suzuki (hands down the most popular poster), Tom Mulcair, Elizabeth May, Bob Rae, and Maude Barlow.


Secondly, we are excited to announce the details of our Make Every Vote Count campaign launch event, Thursday September 19 at 12:15 PM on Parliament Hill. The Make Every Vote Count campaign is aimed at making a commitment to proportional representation a key issue in the next federal election. Please spread the word to friends in Ottawa, and if you can, show up on the Hill to support Fair Vote Canada! The details are on the front page of www.fairvote.ca and pasted below (this press release will go out Monday). The facebook event page is here.


Thanks for everything you do to help us achieve votes that count, and especially to our Fair Vote Canada's amazing Waterloo chapter, led by Sharon Sommerville. I Iook forward to seeing many of you Monday evening at our Walk, Rally and Talk for Democracy event!


Sincererely,

Anita Nickerson
Interim Executive Director, Fair Vote Canada


Fair Vote Canada Launches the Make Every Vote Count Campaign 



Fair Vote Canada officially launches the Make Every Vote Count campaign on September 19, during Democracy Week in Canada. The goal of the campaign is to make a commitment to a more proportional voting system a key issue in the next federal election. 



At 11:30 AM there will be a press conference in the Charles Lynch Press Gallery with Fair Vote Canada Interim ED Anita Nickerson, FVC National Capital Region Chapter President Julien Lamarche, Official Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair, Liberal Democratic Reform Critic Stephane Dion, Deputy Green Party Leader Georges Laraque, Leadnow Campaigns Manager Matthew Carroll, and Greenpeace Campaigns Director Yossi Cadan.



Following the press conference there will be a campaign launch event for public and supporters at 12:15 PM on the steps of Parliament Hill. In addition to a colourful theatre activity demonstrating how our current system wastes our votes, Liberal MP Joyce Murray, NDP MP Paul Dewar and Deputy Green Party Leader Georges Laraque will join other advocacy groups speaking about the need for proportional representation.



“A growing number of Canadians find it unacceptable that our archaic voting system should hand any single party with 39% of the popular vote 100% of the power”, says Doug Bailie, President of Fair Vote Canada. 



Already the Make Every Vote Count campaign has generated thousands of new signatures on Fair Vote Canada’s Declaration of Voters’ Rights - the group is close to hitting 25,000 signers, and aims to reach 100,000 by 2015. Recent polls show that 76% of Canadians favour adopting a proportional voting system.



Active endorsers of the Make Every Vote Count campaign include non-partisan experts such as the University of Ottawa’s Common Law Dean Nathalie Des Rosiers, and prominent Canadians from across the political spectrum such as David Suzuki, Maude Barlow and former conservative MP Patrick Boyer.



“With First Past the Post, every federal election 7 million voters cast wasted votes which elect no representation”, says Fair Vote Canada ED Anita Nickerson. “Voting in a representative democracy should not be about making winners and losers out of voters - it should be about having our voices represented, more cooperative politics, and fair results in Parliament.”



For more information visit www.fairvote.ca/campaign2015 



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Fair Vote Canada is a grassroots, non-profit, multi-partisan citizens campaign for proportional representation at all levels of government.519-503-3331




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