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

[Donald Fraser]

thanks, Cathe

On 3 February 2017 at 12:47, <cdcampbell9 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Great letter, Don. It was clear and readable.
>
> Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.
> *From: *Donald Fraser
> *Sent: *Friday, February 3, 2017 12:16 PM
> *To: *FVC Waterloo Region Discussion
> *Reply To: *FVC Waterloo Region Discussion
> *Subject: *Re: [fvc-wat-disc] Letters to the Editor Needed
>
>
> 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 <(519)%20576-9210>
>
>
>
> 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-fa
>> llout-of-breaking-a-promise/
>>
>> http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/7098054-d-amato-broke
>> n-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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>
>
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