Citizens assembly is looking at electoral system in Ontario
By Bill Rea

A group of residents from all over Ontario is looking into electoral reform in the province, but there are concerns that not many people know what's going on.

Councillor Bill Cober brought the matter up at the last council meeting of 2006, asking the Township to write to the Ontario Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform, requesting more information.

The assembly was formed by the provincial government. It consists of a chair, George Thomson, who was appointed by the government, and 103 other members, with one person being chosen randomly from each of the 103 electoral ridings in Ontario. Aurora resident John Reston is the member from Vaughan - King - Aurora and Edmund James of East Gwillimbury is from York North.

"I was picked at random," Reston remarked, adding he understood the province had sent out some 124,000 letters to addresses chosen randomly from voters' lists, soliciting interest in this endeavour. He thought most people receiving letters didn't respond, but about 12,000 did, and he understood about 9,000 of them indicated interest in taking part. One person from each riding was chosen randomly in June.

Reston explained the assembly's work has been divided into three phases; learning, consultation and deliberation. The learning section took place over October and November, and they are in the middle of a series of public consultation session that are being held all over Ontario. They will be followed by deliberations from mid-February until the end of April, with recommendations possibly coming from that.

The assembly is being asked to consider if the existing electoral system is acceptable. If the members conclude there should be changes, Reston said that recommendation will be put to the government, with the possibility of it appearing as a referendum question in the provincial election expected this fall. He added the status quo is an option too, if that's what the assembly opts for.

Nothing has been decided yet, and Reston stressed that he has not come to any conclusions personally. He hasn't detected any trends among the other assembly members either. "I have no firm views, at this point, of my own," he said.

"This has really opened my eyes to the options that are out there," he remarked.

He pointed out there's the British system of "first past the post" or "single plurality." That allows parties to win a majority of seats in a legislature without getting a majority of votes, which can lead to discontent. "This happens now and again," he said.

"There is a groundswell for change," he observed, "but there are a lot of people who are quite happy with the way things are."

James said he's a cardcarrying Conservative, stating he's been up-front about that since joining the assembly.

He said he got on the same way as everyone else; by responding to letters, attending a meeting with about 20 other residents of York North and being chosen by lot. "My name was chosen out of a hat," he said.

"There's a lot of tax dollars going into this," he added, "and I wanted to make sure it wasn't change for the sake of change."

Like Reston, James said he's been learning from sitting on the assembly. "It's been one heck of an education process for me," he remarked.

He added he expects there will be a recommendation, and it won't be for the status quo.

The mandate of the assembly is to assess Ontario's electoral system, along with others, and make recommendations on whether things should change. According to the assembly's Web site, www.citizensassembly.gov.o n.ca, "If the citizen's assembly recommends a new system, the government has promised to hold a referendum by October 2007 so all voters can have their say."

"Voting is fundamental to democracy," it added. "Electoral systems determine what options we have when we vote and how our votes are translated into seats. What electoral system we use matters because it affects who is elected to represent us and which parties form the government and opposition. Around the world, we find that different systems work in dramatically different ways."

Assembly members have been asked to look at eight principles or characteristics in their work; legitimacy, fairness of representation, voter choice, effective parties, stable and effective government, effective parliament, stronger voter participation and accountability.

Cober expressed frustration that so few people seem to know that the assembly has even been formed. "If I was not a municipal councillor, I would not have known about this," he said.

Although the assembly has been holding meetings, there have not been many in this area. Cober himself attended one in early December in Orangeville, and said he was among 14 participants.

"This is such a significant event to be taking place, and the public needs to know about it and be participating," he declared.

"I didn't draw any conclusions yet," Cober said.

He agreed the idea of proportional representation is interesting, but added there can be valid arguments made for the status quo.

He said his research has indicated that proportional representation generally increases voter turn out for just one election.

The consultation process is almost complete.

Future meetings are planned for Jan. 17 at the Atrium of the George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre at Ryerson University at 245 church St. in Toronto from 7 to 10 p.m.; at Farrell Hall at 186 Gore St. East in Perth from 7 to 10 p.m.; Jan 18 at the Rotary Centre for Youth at 131 Wellington St. in Bracebridge from 7 to 10 p.m.; at the Burlington Art Centre at 1333 Lakeshore Rd. in Burlington from 7 to 10 p.m.; Jan. 20 at 1 Stone Rd. West in Guelph from 1 to 4 p.m.; Jan. 21 at Northern District Library, 40 Orchardview Blvd. in Toronto from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.; Jan. 22 at MacBain Community Centre, 7150 Montrose Rd. in Niagara Falls from 7 to 10 p.m.; Jan. 23 at LAMP, 185 Fifth St. in Etobicoke from 7 to 10 p.m.; the Best Western Lakeside Inn at 470 1st Ave. South in Kenora from 7 to 10 p.m.; the auditorium of St. Clair College at 1001 Grand Ave. West in Chatham from 7 to 10 p.m.; and Jan 25 at Metro-Central YMCA at 20 Grosvenor St. in Toronto from 7 to 10 p.m.

The assembly can be reached by phone at (416) 325-0758 or toll-free at 1- 866-317-3208.