<div dir="ltr">Before I send this, I just need to confirm that the remark was made in Iqaluit ... does anybody know for sure? The article was run on CBC National this morning<div><br></div><div>========================</div><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:3in">Friday, February 10, 2017</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hello Justin,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> Your argument
yesterday in Iqaluit criticizing Proportional Representation (PR) for allowing
fringe parties to determine policy is an old one and easily refuted as I’m sure
you must know.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> Most practicing PR
countries use an “Election Threshold” (ET), which is a minimum required
percentage of the national vote that a party must receive before it can have
representation in Parliament. The effect of ET is to deny representation to
fringe parties whose purpose is to destabilize normal government procedures. In
the case of <span>Germany</span>
and <span>New Zealand</span>,
for example, both of which use Mixed Member PR (MMPR … the best system for
Canada) if a party gains local directly elected seats, they are retained
regardless but those MPs are not permitted to decide a critical vote on an
important issue unless the party has achieved ET.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> Your use of this “straw
man” argument is amateurish. Why not just admit that your Party enjoys its
majority and anticipates more of them under FPTP? This admission is at least honest if not
admirable. However FPTP leaves <span>Canada</span>
vulnerable to a Harper-clone-Trumpist majority, the possibility of which looms
as a result of the candidates we observe competing for the Conservative
leadership.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yours Truly,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Donald A Fraser,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p></div></div>