Re: "Proportional vote won't solve problems," Sept.15.
The clearest, most basic and most powerful fact in our system of government in Canada is that the ruling party - cabinet - holds and wields power and is held collectively responsible and accountable both in Parliament and by the electorate in general elections.
Proposed reforms involving direct or referendum voting by the electorate, or free voting by members of Parliament, would be an abandonment of the ruling party's responsibility and accountability and an abandonment of political parties' identities and raisons d'etre.
A more desirable type of parliamentary reform would be to give individual members of Parliament the responsibility and means to solicit the opinions of their constituents on pending legislation and to give the MPs the responsibility and means to inform their political caucuses of these opinions before the legislation is introduced in Parliament.
This type of reform is solely within the ability of each political party to enact and it would keep the electorate engaged between elections. Political parties that introduce this type of reform would certainly increase their credibility in my rankings.
Robert Radford
Duncan
