Ian Urquhart, in his (very poor) effort to describe the effects of the proposed MMP voting system in Ontario, seems to be somewhat disassociated from the facts. [Why I'm voting against MMP, Sept 28]
We don’t have a “three party system”, we have a multi party system. And while Linda McQuaig may have rightfully pointed out to the left supporters that MMP would not have afforded Mike Harris a majority government, it should also be noted that neither would the Bob Rae government have been a majority.
And even if you’re comfortable with these false majorities, surely most people wouldn’t support the majority governments in BC in 1996, Quebec in 1998, and New Brunswick in 2006 where, under our current system, the party winning the most seats was awarded a majority status when they actually received fewer votes than the second place party.
But the most blatant and galling of lies told my Mr Urquhart is his characterization of the Green Party as a fringe party, made up of “quirky environmentalists”, clear evidence that he hasn’t bothered to read the platform. It seems inconceivable that a party polling in the double digits could still be dismissed, especially by paid journalists, as “quirky”, or concerned only with a single issue. This reporting is nothing short of laziness, and is irresponsible.
I notice that the article didn’t mention the parties from the slightly larger fringes, such as the NDP (those pesky socialists), the Liberals (the “I’ll say anything to get your vote and then do the opposite party), or the Conservatives (the people will complain if we dismantle social programs so lets just underfund them instead party).
No matter which political philosophy you support or how comprehensive the platform, in all cases you’re talking about a group of Ontario citizens who care enough to have become engaged in the political process and offer Ontario voters a choice. This effort alone is deserving of our respect.
Much more respect is owed, it seems, than to mediocre journalists (zero research hacks).
As for the original intent of the article, there are pros and cons in any electoral system, but on it’s face MMP is better than our current system for providing a legislature that roughly represents the views of Ontario voters and making all votes count.
I’m beginning to think that certain reporters are coming out against MMP since stable coalition governments with multiple parties working together in the interests of the citizens would provide less backstabbing reality TV type fodder, and actually require journalists to understand the party platforms. Too much work I guess.
