[fvc-wat-disc] Fw: Ontario Liberal party platform is out - and it's bad

[David dirks]

Rather than attempt "scissors and paste", I am simply forwarding Anita's update on ranked ballots and the disappointing Liberal platform.  Page 81 of the platform outlines the Liberal approach.
Reminder that the Waterloo Chapter is attempting to organize a door hanger campaign if interested and able.
Apologies for any duplicate mailing and this issue is too important to assume you were up to date.
Be well.
David


Residing on the the Haldimand Tract promised to the Six Nations in 1784, the traditional lands of the Neutral, Anishinaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples. 

 

   ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Anita Nickerson <anita.nickerson at fairvote.ca>To: Chapters Google Group <fair-vote-canada-chapters at googlegroups.com>Sent: Monday, May 9, 2022, 08:36:53 PM EDTSubject: Ontario Liberal party platform is out - and it's bad
 Hello, everyone! 
Thank you for all the hard work on convincing the Ontario Liberal Party to consider anything other than their own self-interest in their platform!
 We tried darned hard!  For three years! On every level! Really proud of this team.
Unfortunately the electoral reform platform is horrendous (in my view).

https://ontarioliberal.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Ontario-Liberal-Platform.pdf

They're running on unilaterally bringing in winner-take-all ranked ballot.

What is FVC doing?
We put out one press release with some more nuanced language talking about both the Liberal and NDP platforms today:
https://www.fairvote.ca/2022/05/09/party-platforms-differ-substantially-on-electoral-reform/

We put out a second one today slamming the Liberals on Alternative Vote:

https://www.fairvote.ca/2022/05/09/liberals-put-self-interest-ahead-of-ontarians-with-ranked-ballot-pledge/

Go ahead and share if you want!! 

I will try to get some more of our social media stuff going tomorrow on facebook - I know Twitter is in great hands already :)
I will also be turning on and cranking up spending on our NO AV ads again. 

More people than I thought are signing up for door hangers... it's smaller groups, quite a few individuals happy to do 500 on their own. Now that people know what it involves, we are getting repeat volunteers for this - what Evan calls our "Door Hanger Specialists" :). Plus an ambitious amount from Toronto, Waterloo Region and Ottawa!

That means, yeah, possibly expect a fundraiser from me...

What are the problems with the Liberal platform - including one that we didn't expect?

"Independent Review"
They say they'll have a "review" of how AV is going sometime after 2026... 
If anybody believes that after unilaterally implementing AV - which could concentrate power more - they'll then become interested in PR via an independent review sometime around 2028... well as an old saying goes, I have some swampland to sell you in Florida. 
I think the only reason they did that is because Dave Meslin has been telling them (he's been quite public about it) that he'll give them a B grade and a big yay if they bring in AV but pretend they'll review it later. So there was nothing to lose by throwing that in there to make it even easier to point to a voting reform advocate who says this is progress. 

Citizens' Assembly on things you don't really need a CA for
They'll also have a citizens' assembly... on things that aren't the voting system! Like for example.... weekend voting. 

Imagine, bringing 124 or whatever people across Ontario together in an inspiring process to talk about...whether we should have weekend voting? Or expand advanced voting days? Etc. 
I'm all for more citizens' assemblies in general, including on other democratic reforms, but seriously. Those are not the kind of things it strikes me you need a CA for.
It's hard not to think they just threw this in in a sop so they could say to anybody who says "But we need a Citizens' Assembly" - "Look, we are having one!" People do not always read the fine print.

Good news

The main good news is that Fair Vote supporters are amazing :). 

I just got an email from a lady in Saint Catharines, where we never have volunteers, who had responded to my "sorry we don't have enough people in your riding for door hanger" email. She told me "I have 9 people and they're raring to go!"
As Ryan pointed out the other day, "It's not Fair Vote Canada, not Give Up Canada." :)

So let's keep on working for what we want, and turn up the pressure on all of them!

With gratitude,
Anita

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