Dear Editor
"If it's never going to happen in my lifetime, why should I even think about it?" "I" being Rick Mercer and "it" being proportional representation. In a recent rant on his television program, Mercer explains PR was for him a leftist fantasy that would change our electoral system "so the number of seats a political party has in the House of Commons reflects the percentage of the vote the party received."
That was, it was a fantasy until a giant from the right, Stephen Harper's former chief of staff Guy Giorno, joined the Every Voter Counts Alliance. Mercer says for him it was the equivalent of "Darth Vader sitting down with the Ewoks to fight climate change." Mercer concludes the alliance is "Smart people, political rivals, coming together with one goal — to improve our democracy."
How would PR improve our democracy? Research shows that PR countries have significantly fewer wasted votes, higher voter turnout, better economic and environmental outcomes, more diversity in their elected representatives and lower income inequality.
Above all, Fair Vote Canada's Kelly Carmichael says, "Proportional representation is not about parties. It’s about giving every voter an equal say, and creating a parliament that represents us."
The Trudeau government has promised to convene an all-party parliamentary committee within 18 months of forming the government. Let's hold them to that promise and let your MP know that a whole bunch of smart people say PR is the best system to make every one of our votes count.
Nancy Carswell
Fair Vote Canada Saskatchewan Co-spokesperson
Shellbrook
