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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Bob:<br>
<br>
Your response here needs to be posted as an article on the fvcwrc
blog.<br>
<br>
Maybe illustrated with a copy of the FVC postcard picture and an
invitation to people to come pick up a postcard and/or ask
questions at the Fair Vote booth at the upcoming summer festivals.<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
Laurel<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
On 06/29/2016 12:23 AM, Jennifer Ross wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAG=bRSqnmbubXmtWFvKwnwfxqtfoKS17=3=aFgQgZgTcfe=FDw@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">Yes, very disappointing. I couldn't believe you
guys were tweeting it to make people read that piece of
rubbish. I'm sorry you had to be the poster-boy for "but I did
get a second viewpoint" journalism.<br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 4:11 PM, Bob
Jonkman <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:bjonkman@sobac.com" target="_blank">bjonkman@sobac.com</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
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<br>
I get quoted in today's column by Luisa D'Amato:<br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/6743051-d-amato-despite-brexit-we-need-a-referendum-on-electoral-reform/"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/6743051-d-amato-despite-brexit-we-need-a-referendum-on-electoral-reform/</a><br>
<br>
> D’Amato: Despite Brexit, we need a referendum on
electoral reform<br>
<br>
> Bob Jonkman, co-chair of the Waterloo Region chapter of
Fair Vote<br>
> Canada, says there is barely time to put a new system
in place,<br>
> let alone ask people what they think of it<br>
<br>
Ms. D'Amato and I had a 20 minute conversation yesterday and
that's<br>
only a brief and under-representative quote of what we spoke
about.<br>
Among other things, I expressed my opinion that a referendum
on<br>
Electoral Reform isn't necessary because:<br>
<br>
1) Parliament (and provincial legislatures) may change the
electoral<br>
system with a vote in parliament, as they have done for
every other<br>
electoral reform issue such as giving the vote to women
(1917-1918) or<br>
First Nations people (1960!)<br>
<br>
2) A referendum on electoral reform is not a constitutional<br>
requirement. The only issue that affects consitutionality is
seat<br>
allocation to the provinces, and that requirement is easily
met by not<br>
extending electoral boundaries across provincial lines. (We
didn't<br>
discuss it, but there have been many electoral boundary
changes,<br>
notably before the 2015 election, which didn't go to a
referendum and<br>
were perfectly constitutional)<br>
<br>
3) That an effective and equal vote is a right, and that the<br>
First-Past-The-Post system violates that right, and rights
issues are<br>
never decided by referenda.<br>
<br>
I spoke of the rarity of referenda in Canada, that the only
national<br>
referenda have been on issues like prohibition (I thought
that was in<br>
the 1930's, but it was in 1898), and the separation of
Quebec (1992).<br>
Ms. D'Amato pointed out that we had a municipal referendum
on<br>
fluoridation, and pointed out the many provincial referenda
on<br>
electoral reform.<br>
<br>
We talked about the 2007 referendum in Ontario -- that
example is a<br>
great reason to avoid referenda on these topics. Although
the McGuinty<br>
Liberals made it an election promise in 2003, the Citizens'
Assembly<br>
wasn't formed until 2006, leaving them only six months to
become<br>
experts in voting systems and make a recommendation.
Elections Ontario<br>
did not have enough information documents available; Fair
Vote<br>
Waterloo members went door-to-door, and we ran out.
Elections Ontario<br>
themselves were prohibited from giving out information on
the proposed<br>
voting system, and when voters went to the polls in October
most<br>
didn't even know there was a referendum on.<br>
<br>
I expressed dismay that it took the Federal Liberal
government eight<br>
months to form the current All-party Parliamentary
Committee, that the<br>
Committee's proposal is due on 1 December (and consultations
need to<br>
wrapped up by 1 October), that the time it would take to
move a bill<br>
through parliament could be as much as year, what with
debate,<br>
multiple reading, and senate approval, and that Elections
Canada will<br>
need a year to re-tool for a new electoral system.<br>
<br>
And that whole conversation was distilled down to the one
sentence.<br>
<br>
- --Bob.<br>
<br>
<br>
- --<br>
Bob Jonkman <<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:bjonkman@sobac.com">bjonkman@sobac.com</a>>
Phone: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="tel:%2B1-519-635-9413" value="+15196359413">+1-519-635-9413</a><br>
SOBAC Microcomputer Services <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://sobac.com/sobac/"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://sobac.com/sobac/">http://sobac.com/sobac/</a></a><br>
Software --- Office & Business Automation ---
Consulting<br>
GnuPG Fngrprnt:04F7 742B 8F54 C40A E115 26C2 B912 89B0 D2CC
E5EA<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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Comment: Ensure confidentiality, authenticity,
non-repudiability<br>
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o5oAnid3SBuTwZ/Q3yJY8RQYQbotVp02<br>
=uabk<br>
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<br>
<br>
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</blockquote>
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<br>
<br clear="all">
<br>
-- <br>
<div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div
style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10px;background-color:transparent;font-style:normal"><span><font
color="#888888"><font size="1"><span
style="font-family:tahoma,new
york,times,serif"><span
style="line-height:10.909090995788574px">No
other Western democratic country
concentrates as much political power </span></span></font><font
size="1"><span style="font-family:tahoma,new
york,times,serif"><span
style="line-height:10.909090995788574px">in
the hands of one person as Canada does
with her Prime Minister. </span></span></font></font></span></div>
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<br>
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<br>
<p><br>
</p>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<a href="http://laurel.russwurm.org/blogs/">Laurel L. Russwurm,
Author</a> § <a href="http://about.me/laurelrusswurm">about.me</a>
§ <a href="http://libreleft.com">Libreleft Books</a>
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