I think part of the discussion about the electoral system ignores a lot of related policies that aim to protect minorities. I would say that regardless of the system, there are a set of things we can discuss in terms of ensuring fair representation and protecting minority rights. One is charter values. We have a problem in this country with leaving those rights questions too readily just to the courts. I think Parliament could be much more activist about the charter and thinking not only in terms of how we craft policy and legislation to avoid constitutional infringements but also about how we enhance the values of the charter. You can think about how this rule might relate to the electoral system in a couple of ways, the big one being the parties themselves and things like candidate selection.
Professor Melanee Thomas gave a great presentation to the Canadian Study of Parliament Group a few months ago. She pointed out that electoral system reform isn't the most effective way of making changes relating to representation of minorities. The most effective way to get there is to change our political culture and to change how candidates are selected in parties. Some of our parties are cognizant about gender representation and others less so. I know I risk opening the can of worms of how much Parliament should regulate the conduct of political parties, but it's an open one, and I think there are things that relate to the electoral system but aren't inherent in the system that are more germane to protecting minority rights.