Once again the sabres are being rattled for proportional representation, when it is the whole representative system that is at the heart of many of Canada's political problems. I suggest that any politician who advocates for proportional representation Google "direct" and "participatory democracy" if they are actually sincere about furthering the democratic process.
Democracy - real democracy - is participatory and direct, meaning that those who are governed have direct input into the political decision-making of their government. It was direct democracy in the form of a referendum that the people of B.C. rallied around to say "no" to a tax that they had been misled about, and it was direct, participatory political action that repealed the harmonized sales tax in this province. In fact, it was the representative model which created the problem in the first place by misleading and then not representing the interests of the electorate.
All proportional representation does is put more snouts in the public trough while retaining the same corrupting influences that have always haunted the representative process. These political parties do not represent the voters. Instead, they represent the ideologies and agendas of the party leaders and convention attendees.
Proportional representation does not empower the voter to have direct input into the decision-making process, nor does it give the people who have to live with the consequences of those political decisions any sort of effective voice in those decisions.
Staying informed and involved is a small price to pay for real democratic freedom.
William David
Gabriola Island
