No MMP for Nipissing committee
Sep 26, 2007
To the Editor:
Too many questions and too few answers.
On Oct. 10 we are being asked to choose between our current first past the post electoral system and the proposed mixed member proportional (MMP) representation system.
We know what is being proposed. If the people of Ontario vote for MMP the number of constituencies will be reduced from 107 to 90. The number of MPPs will be increased from 107 to 129. Ninety MPPs will be elected the same way we do now (first past the post). Thirty-nine MPPs will come from lists drawn up by the political parties. Any political party getting three per cent of the vote will get an MPP. The remaining list of MPPs will be distributed to other parties roughly according to their total vote.
Voters are left with huge questions that have not been answered and will not be answered before Oct. 10. With the loss of 17 seats, how many will Northern Ontario lose? We do not know. How large will the surviving Northern Ontario ridings be? We do not know.
The biggest issue in our minds is the 39 list members. How will their names get on the lists? To whom will the 39 list MPPs be accountable? They won’t represent constituencies. Do we really need 22 additional MPPs?
Supporters of the MMP (system) would have us believe that we are somewhat behind the rest of the world by sticking with our present voting system. MMP is used in five countries: New Zealand, Venezuela, Germany, Lesotho and Bolivia. Our system is used in countries containing 45 per cent of the world’s people living in democracies — Great Britain, USA, India and Canada.
One result of the three per cent rule is that the number of political parties explode. New Zealand has gone from two to 17 political parties — eight of which have MPs in their House of Representatives. Coalition governments or minority governments are inevitable. Supporters of the MMP will argue that there will be majorities by coalition. Call it what you want but coalitions, like minority governments, tend to fall apart.
We encourage you to go to the New Zealand electoral system website and the New Zealand political parties website. We ask you also to go to our website — nommp.ca — in order to see the widespread editorial comments from across Ontario.
In a poll conducted in August, 68 per cent of New Zealanders want a referendum to revisit the MMP. Also in August, PM Helen Clark of New Zealand expressed her frustration with the MMP, saying under that system it is almost impossible to make difficult decisions.
We support our first past the post system —it works,we understand it and it allows us to nominate our representatives locally, elect them locally and most importantly, we can hold them to account locally.
Holly Garnett and Jack Burrows
members of the No MPP for Nipissing committee
Editorial
