[fvc-wat-disc] Letters to the Editor Needed

[Donald Fraser]

I'll pick the negative one ... just love a scrap ... so here's my response

======================================================





Dear Editor,


Re: *The political fallout of breaking a promise* by Joanna Smith_Feb3_2017

Ms Smith asks, “But what of the majority of Canadians? Do they care? Does
it matter?” in reference to Electoral Reform (ER).

It matters. In our system of First Past the Post (FPTP), votes cast for a
Green candidate, for example, who loses are useless. The Planet-caring,
environmentally conscious, politically aware voters in the particular
riding have no say in Ottawa. A certain percentage of all Canadians want
Green objectives to be part of the laws of Canada.

It matters because these environmentalists should have their say in the
structure of government. In a proportional system, for instance, every vote
counts to obtain the same percentage of seats for a party as the party
received in the national vote count.

It matters because they may not vote in the next election, knowing that
their votes won’t count.

I matters because, due to discouragement, they may cease to engage in the
political discussion and the environment will suffer for it.

Later Smith states, “Then there is a much larger group that knows little
and cares less about ER” in reference to the Canadian electorate at large.

“… knows little and cares less … “ is simply cause and effect.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to excite the electorate about ER
possibilities when they “know little”. Attempts to educate the public about
ER are generally regarded as “election activity” which annoys citizens
between elections. To be fair there is a small percentage which does
respond with enthusiasm.

New Zealand (NZ) solved the problem by having a trial run at Mixed Member
PR (MMPR) for four terms. The electorate was educated by experience and
when consulted after the trial, voted for MMPR over the former FPTP system.
Their experience demonstrates that an educated public will choose a
proportional alternative to our antiquated and unfair FPTP which wastes the
votes of any citizen whose local candidate did not win in their riding.

Germany has practiced MMPR since WW2. The resulting stable form of
coalition government has allowed Germans to become the master long term
planners we recognize them for. They avoid the 'Policy Pendulum' in which
false majority governments cancel, at great expense to the taxpayer, the
projects of the preceding government. Rather each new government improves
and supports policies of the previous government.

Yours Truly,

Donald A Fraser,

184 Forsyth Drive,

Waterloo, Ontario,

N2L-1A2

519-576-9210



On 2 February 2017 at 23:02, Sharon Sommerville <sharonsommerville at gmail.com
> wrote:

> Hello FairVoting Friends,
>
> Two great articles in today's Record for us to respond to:
>
> http://www.therecord.com/news-story/7100196-the-political-
> fallout-of-breaking-a-promise/
>
> http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/7098054-d-amato-
> broken-promise-may-haunt-liberals/
>
> We should capitalize on these articles with letters to the editor. A
> couple of letters in response to each letter would be wonderful.  Any
> number would be great.
>
> Have sent the request out to our larger discussion list as some new names
> would be helpful!
>
> Let me know if you can take either of these on.
>
> With thanks,
> Sharon
>
>
>
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