Fair Vote Canada: Highlights from 2014

[Oscar]

Fair Vote Canada: Highlights from 2014

From: Fair Vote Canada
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2014 4:50 PM

This past year has been filled with so many accomplishments for democratic reformers: Over 400 MP visits; a full commitment by the NDP and the Green Party to implement PR; a positive change in policy from the Liberal Party to look at the evidence; a new website that highlights why we need to change the system; 3 new PR-model videos that will be ready in January; lots of media attention; allies talking about making all votes count as a strategic priority; contributing to a change of heart by the Liberal reform critic to support proportional representation; several information webinars with more on the way, a twitter campaign that went viral, doubling the signers on the Declaration of Voters’ Rights.

And, last week the NDP brought forward a motion in the House of Commons that said:

That, in the opinion of the House: (a) the next federal election should be the last conducted under the current first-past-the-post electoral system which has repeatedly delivered a majority of seats to parties supported by a minority of voters, or under any other winner-take-all electoral system; and (b) a form of mixed-member proportional representation would be the best electoral system for Canada.

As a result, 110 MPs said “Yes! We want proportional representation too!”

All NDP MPs, All Green MPs, All Bloc MPs, A majority of Liberal MPs, One Forces et Démocratie MP and Three Independent MPs.

Both the NDP and the Greens will be campaigning on proportional representation in 2015. And, we now know that a majority of Liberal MPs support our campaign too!

We have BIG plans for 2015! Including a real chance to change the federal electoral system. We are organizing to have volunteers in every riding to put pressure on the Candidates. We will have campaign materials for you that will tell candidates that you want every vote to count – posters, social media buttons, flyers, house signs. And, we’ll provide a webpage that outlines where every candidate stands and who will make all our votes count… plus, a whole lot more!

In 2015, we will need multi-partisan support and 170 yes votes to change the system.

We can do it!

It’s going to take all of us to do the heavy lifting!

Please support our campaign for real democracy so we’re ready in 2015 to make every vote count!

Wishing you and yours a fantastic holiday season!
Doug, Kelly, Anita, Wilf, June, Rick, Brenda

Help the campaign here: [ http://bit.ly/1A8kZB6 ]

Fair Vote Canada
408 – 283 Danforth Ave.
Toronto, Ontario M4K 1N2
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Highlights of this past year in the Press:

Fair Vote Canada on CBC’s 180
[ http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/The+180/ID/2570020971/ ]

NDP Plan - The case for mixed-member proportional representation
[ http://www.macleans.ca/politics/the-cas ... sentation/ ]

Fingas: Put first-past-the-post in the past
[ http://www.leaderpost.com/news/first+pa ... story.html ]

Comment: Make the next election the last unfair election
[ http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/op ... -1.1623132 ]

The lost wisdom of the old Harper
[ http://www.orilliapacket.com/2014/12/05 ... old-harper ]

Andrew Coyne: Until we enact democratic reforms, provinces will continue to run wild using powers they don’t have
[ http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/201 ... dont-have/ ]

Analysis: Electoral reform: Which party would benefit most?
[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/elector ... -1.2857321 ]

Elizabeth May: The withering of Canadian democracy
[ http://www.thestar.com/news/ken_dryden_ ... cracy.html ]

Fair Vote Council Member and Youth Activist, John Hoben, shares New Brunswick's voter intentions with CBC news!
[ http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NB/ID/2531740582/ ]

Dan Aykroyd supports Fair Vote Canada’s Campaign
[ http://on.fb.me/1AlOsra ]

Comment: When majority rule becomes illegitimate
[ http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/op ... -1.1351783 ]

Ontario Liberal landslide — with only about a third of the votes — is a powerful new argument for election reform
[ http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/06/13 ... on-reform/ ]

Proportional Representation in Quebec
[ http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/int ... index.html ]

Democracy-driven NGOs gearing up to spur voters to the polls in 2015.
[ http://www.ipolitics.ca/2014/10/20/demo ... s-in-2015/ ]