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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The letter to Jack contains a number of points
complimentary to the New Democratic Party position.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I just didn't understand this:" <FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>The Harper Conservatives have themselves<BR>laid
the groundwork for a referendum on Abolition stating that Abolition<BR>would be
preferable to the status quoi, if the idea (awful) of an elected<BR>triple E
Senate cannot be achieved,"</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Could anyone believe that "Abolition" is on the CPC
agenda? Does the author of the letter?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>George Burrett</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=lanickerson@b2b2c.ca
href="mailto:lanickerson@b2b2c.ca">lanickerson@b2b2c.ca</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=fvc-wat-announce@listserv.thinkers.org
href="mailto:fvc-wat-announce@listserv.thinkers.org">fvc-wat-announce@listserv.thinkers.org</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, March 15, 2011 3:10
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [fvc-wat-disc]
[fvc-wat-announce] Fwd: [FVCchapters] Senateabolition & proportional
representation: An open letter toJack Layton</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>For anyone who wants to send feedback to Ron Brydges on his
letter to Jack<BR>Layton, please feel free!<BR><BR>Anita<BR><BR>-----
Forwarded message from "B. Hopkins" <<A
href="mailto:brianhopkins2@sympatico.ca">brianhopkins2@sympatico.ca</A>>
-----<BR> Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:18:57
+0000<BR> From: "B. Hopkins" <<A
href="mailto:brianhopkins2@sympatico.ca">brianhopkins2@sympatico.ca</A>><BR>Reply-To:
"B. Hopkins" <<A
href="mailto:brianhopkins2@sympatico.ca">brianhopkins2@sympatico.ca</A>><BR> Subject:
[FVCchapters] Senate abolition & proportional representation: An
open<BR>letter to Jack Layton<BR> To: FairVote
messagelist <fvcchapters@yahoogroups.com><BR><BR><BR>The message below
was posted to a Yahoo group to which I belong. It is written<BR>by Ron
Brydges, a St. Catharines, Ontario resident and long time NDP supporter.<BR>He
is very concerned about the health of democracy in Canada and
would<BR>appreciate hearing responses to his letter. I too am interested in
hearing your<BR>responses and will forward such to Ron (without your name or
email address<BR>unless otherwise requested).<BR>Brian<BR><BR>P.S. Ron's
writings have appeared in the Niagara Falls
Review<BR>(http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=1342724)<BR>and
elsewhere. A recent letter appeared in the St. Catharines
Standard<BR>(http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2982918)
and the<BR>Toronto
Star<BR>(http://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters/article/939412--democracy-2-0-coming-to-a-country-near-you).<BR><BR><BR>Posted
by: "Ron Brydges" gardcity@sympatico.ca<BR>Sun Mar 13, 2011<BR><BR>This was
sent to all sitting members of the Federal NDP<BR><BR>Open Letter to Jack
Layton and the NDP<BR><BR>Remembering with appreciation the words of Federal
NDP leadership candidate<BR>Pierre Déclassé's signature campaign refrain "To
have the result you have<BR>never had, you must do what you have never done",
the following election<BR>proposal offers a way for putting his thought into
play.<BR><BR>Democratic reform deserves serious consideration as a lead issue
in the<BR>upcoming federal NDP election campaign. There can be little argument
that<BR>our democracy is broken, especially so when a good number of
political<BR>pundits such as Andrew Coyne and the esteemed CBC political panel
have<BR>emphatically and repeatedly declared that to be so.<BR><BR>Fixing our
democracy by way of electoral reform is a ready made issue for<BR>Jack Layton
and the NDP. Jack has already laid the groundwork in declaring<BR>the need for
election reform (proportional representation) and the need to<BR>Abolish the
Senate for which he would have a national referendum. There are<BR>already
strong currents and active citizen involvement - Fair Vote Canada -<BR>to
bring forward some form of P.R. The Harper Conservatives have
themselves<BR>laid the groundwork for a referendum on Abolition stating that
Abolition<BR>would be preferable to the status quoi, if the idea (awful) of an
elected<BR>triple E Senate cannot be achieved. It is obvious Harper has
abandoned that<BR>project and has made his Senate appointments and Senate
abuses a strong<BR>point for Abolition.<BR><BR>The NDP could take ownership of
the Democracy issue as the Liberals have<BR>been absent or obstructive to P.R.
and Senate Abolition. They can step over<BR>the Liberals while they play a
weaker hand of campaigning against the<BR>Conservative record of abusing
democracy and lack of ethics while the<BR>Conservatives attempt to fight back
with a rerun of the sponsorship<BR>scandal. All this will simply serve to aid
and abet the need for electoral<BR>reform which would bring more women,
aboriginal and other minority<BR>representation into the House. The electoral
play with the Greens whose 7 to<BR>10% voter share is critically important to
the NDP because there is a vote<BR>tradeoff between these two parties. The NDP
carrying the Democracy issue<BR>could appeal for Green support on the basis
that significant growth of the<BR>Green Party will not materialize without the
adoption of a PR voting system<BR>and only a strengthened NDP being elected to
government or forming a<BR>coalition government can or will deliver Election
Reform. Absolutely true.<BR>Senate Abolition is a necessary part of Election
Reform. The appointed<BR>Senate is a significant part of what is undemocratic
and unfair with the<BR>Canadian electoral and governing system. The Senate is
used, between and<BR>during elections, as a publicly paid repository for
Conservative and Liberal<BR>fundraisers and campaign organizers. It is
decidedly unbalanced in<BR>representing the societal makeup of the Canadian
public, especially with<BR>regards to the poor and disadvantaged. It is a
primary instrument in<BR>maintaining a status-quoi neo-liberal globalist view
at a time when real<BR>change is recognizably needed. Prior to the financial
meltdown and<BR>accompanying economic disaster, a Senator declared to
the<BR>sitting Senate Chamber "we are all de-regulators now". The history of
the<BR>financial crisis has shown the lack of wisdom in that approach but
that<BR>mentality still pervades the Chamber. All this put into a strong
narrative<BR>will play well with the electorate.<BR><BR>The NDP is
historically the party of the working class and poor, which we<BR>now call
ordinary Canadians. It is the party that, at its best, most<BR>embodies
revolutionary change. This party of change does not have a single<BR>Senator
in the 105 seat appointed Senate. Neither does the Green Party or,<BR>of
course, the Bloc. This is untenable in a real democracy where the
people<BR>are to make the decision of who shall govern and may someday soon
choose<BR>real change. It has to be reformed or eliminated.<BR><BR>Just
recently, the appointed Senate, in a total affront to democracy, was<BR>used
by the Conservatives, with Liberal Senate support, as a means to<BR>summarily,
without debate, kill the NDP sponsored Climate Change Bill which<BR>had passed
through the democratically elected House of Commons. This bill<BR>was meant to
address the greatest peril facing our planet and humanity. In<BR>the recent
past, the Senate was stacked by Brian Mulroney to pass the GST<BR>legislation
and earlier the Canada U.S. Free Trade Agreement both opposed by<BR>a majority
of Canadians.<BR><BR>Oft stated is the constitutional barrier concern to
Senate Abolition but<BR>there is much reason to believe that barrier can be
overcome with a<BR>referendum victory for Abolition which could not be ignored
at a time when<BR>we are applauding the popular democratic uprisings in other
lands that are<BR>democratizing their constitutions. There is expressed
concern that Quebec<BR>would oppose Senate Abolition but even there the
public, given an informed<BR>choice between electing and empowering the Senate
or abolishing the Senate<BR>would vote for Abolition. Our Ballet Box
Revolution with a cry for<BR>Democratic Reform will be hard to dismiss. The
Conservatives, Liberals or<BR>the Provinces ignoring the people's election
decision would be seen as<BR>opposing the voice of the people. Not good
politics.<BR><BR>Most Canadians would not have a clue as to who is even one of
their<BR>regionally appointed Senators but are aware of their atrocious
attendance<BR>records and their inflated salaries and pensions relative to the
ordinary<BR>worker. Most see it as a waste of money. This is great election
fodder for<BR>an elections style advertising campaign and, of course, fund
raising.<BR>A preferential voting system, P.R., could be part of the
alternative to an<BR>Abolished Senate by replacing the appointed Senate with
additional<BR>regionally elected representatives to the House. These
elected<BR>representatives will provide the regional representation which is a
stated<BR>purpose for having a Senate. A process of legislative House
hearings, as is<BR>utilized at the provincial level, rather than Senate
deliberations would<BR>provide the supposed need for second sober thought.
This is in line with<BR>what Ed Broadbent espoused a generation
ago.<BR><BR>Having an election platform calling for election reform by way of
Abolition<BR>of the Senate and the adoption of a P.R. fair voting system could
excite the<BR>nation and provide a real incentive for youth engagement
bringing to bear<BR>their political clout of social media. It might even
appeal to the right who<BR>want smaller government and less government
expenditure. Well executed, it<BR>would influence voter turnout which is good
for the NDP and democracy.<BR>The political landscape has never been more
favorable for an NDP<BR>breakthrough. To do what we have never done before
with a bold stroke for<BR>democracy could tip the balance. There can be no
more important election<BR>issue than fixing our broken democracy. It is
through an improved democracy<BR>we can then better address other great
societal needs. An unplugged Jack<BR>Layton could make this the political
fight of his life.<BR><BR>My thoughts, welcome yours,<BR>Ron Brydges<BR>-----
End forwarded message -----<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>
<P>
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