Changing the shape of Ontario's democracy
Comment
by Chris Simon

Another election day is upon the residents of Ontario, and few people seem to care.

Some political pundits have already suggested the turnout for today's provincial election could be the lowest, percentage wise, in Ontario's history. Last week, New Democrat leader Howard Hampton blasted the media and Progressive Conservative leader John Tory, for failing to focus on important topics of concern in this election, besides premier Dalton McGuinty's broken promises and faith-based school funding. Child poverty and the plight of the elderly are being shuffled into obscurity, according to Hampton.

However, there's also one other significant item voters should be concerned with today. There's a referendum question on the ballot, one which asks voters to select between two different types of electoral systems.

Despite government advertising, pamphlets in the mail and websites dedicated specifically to explaining the choice, few voters seem to understand exactly what they're faced with. The decision will have a major impact on future provincial elections.

Local media have done a generally poor job of informing people about this referendum, and it's showed. On television and in print, the general public has had a difficult time even acknowledging the referendum is taking place. Even fewer people can explain how each of the systems work.

The first electoral system - called first-pastthe post - is our current method for electing politicians. Our municipal mayors and councillors, MPPs and MPs are all elected under this system. Essentially, the person with the most votes in a riding, or electoral district, is awarded a seat in the Ontario legislature. There's only one winner from each riding, regardless of the closeness of the race. Ontario currently has 107 provincial electoral districts, also known as seats. The provincial government is formed by the political party whose representatives have won the most amount of electoral districts.

The new system being proposed is called mixed member proportional representation. If this system were adopted, all future provincial elections could be radically altered. The number of electoral districts would be reduced to 90, while 39 proportional representation seats would be available. Voters would have two options on their ballot. They would be asked to select an MPP from their electoral district as well as a preferred political party. MPPs would be selected from their electoral districts in the traditional way, while the remaining 39 seats would be divided among political parties, based on the percentage of the overall vote they receive. So, if the Liberal Party earned 33 per cent of the overall vote, they'd get 13 of the seats specifically designated for proportional representation.

Each party would have to list names and information on their proportional representation candidates prior to an election. Parties would also have to gain at least three per cent of the popular support, before they could earn seats. It's a bit more work and research for voters, compared to the current system. However, the proposed method gives smaller political parties a chance to earn seats, more accurately reflecting the political climate of the province.

Today, voters will decide whether it's fair that the Green Party has nearly 10 per cent of the popular vote, according to some recent preelection polls, but may not have enough concentrated votes in a riding to win a seat in the legislature.

The NDP struggles with similar problems, usually earning between 15 to 20 per cent of the popular vote, but winning few seats in the legislature by comparison. The larger parties spend millions of dollars specifically targeting traditional stronghold ridings, simply to boost the number of seats they earn.

Before heading to the ballot box, check out www.yourbigdecision.ca for more information on each system. The future of provincial politics is being shaped today.