I would like to thank Dr. Thomas for being here.
Canada has one of the most peaceful and best democracies in the world. If we look around the world, changes in other kinds of voting systems are in some of the most poorly run countries in the world, with violence and chaos not only in the streets but also in the halls of government, and with fringe groups and extremist groups forming coalitions and still fighting with each other. Demanding this kind of change in the Canadian parliamentary system is not reform in any good sense of the word. No one who wants change has proposed anything specific in what they're saying. To people who say their votes don't count, I would say to them, get out and work for your candidate and convince other people to vote for that candidate.
At the town hall meeting that was held in Winnipeg earlier this month, the choices offered for discussion were only voting systems other than the one we have now. There was no discussion about the benefits of our current system, in which each Canadian voter has a secret ballot vote counted once and counted equally with every other vote. Alternative systems allow for one person's vote to be counted more than once in certain circumstances, but not in others.
Some people complain that there can be a majority with less than 50% of the vote. Yes, that means we have more than two political parties in Canada. Anyone is free to form a political party. Anyone is free to stand for election. Canadians are free to vote for whomever they choose, and no one is required to register with a political party to have their vote counted.
People complain about the lack of voter turnout. There was talk of imposing fines if a voter doesn't vote. This is a bad idea for so many reasons, including hardship for those living below the poverty line and for those who are homeless and cannot register.
Simple solutions were not discussed, such as setting up registration booths that are accessible to everyone, including in homeless shelters, community centres, storefront organizations, and so on. There was talk of apathy and lack of interest. How about civics classes? How about incentives to vote? How about Elections Canada becoming more public and within the education system? Don't create problems and chaos where there are none. Thank you.