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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Yes, I read it but it left me confused.
What's this guy's point? So I read it again, and I don't think
there is a point. The connection between a voting system (FPTP)
and any particular political outcome is never established in this
badly-composed argument. E.g. would WLM King still have been PM if
PR had been in place? What it says about other voting systems is
very little and mostly wrong. If the title is supposed to be the
topic, the whole piece is off topic.<br>
<br>
You know how some Americans want to fight the civil war over
again? It seems to me that MacDonald wants to fight the rebellion
of 1837 over again. He'd be on the Family Compact side, good
stable government without any riffraff. <br>
<br>
It would be much more instructive to summarize the history looking
at the make-up of parliament (true majority, false majority,
minority, wrong-way minority). We know that with PR false
majorities will normally be reduced to minorities and wrong-way
outcomes should disappear. I would argue that Harper's false
majority (2011) was worse than either of his minorities (2006,
2008) and that Pierre Trudeau's minority (1972) was his best, and
his last and worst (1980) was another false majority. In my view
the gold standard for government effectiveness was Pearson's 2
terms (1963-1968), both minorities.<br>
<br>
Q&A: No, I don't think MacDonald's makes sense. Yes, you are
missing whatever it was that might have explained his thesis but
which he didn't include. <br>
<br>
Take some salt with that as I don't have an expert political mind
as far as I know.<br>
<br>
Please don't ask me to write a critique or refutation. Life's too
short.<br>
<br>
Evan<br>
<br>
On 2/11/2017 6:57 PM, Cathy Scott wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:002201d284c2$a24ef0d0$e6ecd270$@gmail.com"
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Did
anyone else read the article, ‘ Why a Failed Bid for
Electoral Reform is a Win for Canada’ written by William A.
MacDonald?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">I’d
like to hear the understanding of this article by a more
expert political mind than mine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">I
find it rather mind-boggling. It seems to me that the
author is crediting the FPTP electoral system with any
beneficial development in Canadian politics over the past
century or so.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Does
this article make sense and am I missing something?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Cathy
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
name="_MailEndCompose"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">
fvc-wat-disc
[<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:fvc-wat-disc-bounces@listserv.thinkers.org">mailto:fvc-wat-disc-bounces@listserv.thinkers.org</a>] <b>On
Behalf Of </b>Donald Fraser<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, February 10, 2017 9:47 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> FVC Waterloo Region Discussion<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [fvc-wat-disc] Justin's Iqaluit argument re
Fringe Parties gaining power to influence policy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">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<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">========================<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:3.0in">Friday,
February 10, 2017<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">Prime
Minister, Justin Trudeau.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">Hello
Justin,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> 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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> 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
Germany and New Zealand, 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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> 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 Canada
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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">Yours
Truly,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">Donald
A Fraser,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
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<br>
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