I'm an educator and a scientist, and I want to put forward a broader perspective that was already raised earlier in the context of the issues we're facing over the long-term, so-called, wicked problems of diversity, and climate change, etc. It was a discussion about the impact on the decision-making process. Another aspect we have to look at is the impact on alienation and buy-in. If we don't have an engaged citizenry, then we're going to see what's happening in the States. I don't think the U.S. is going to be well-situated to deal with these kind of problems. In Canada we could be heading the same way unless we have a system that promotes engagement. To me PR would be the only way. There are issues with the mechanics of it. With MMP you could play around with the lists. I think that's where there could be a lot of creativity with add-ons. It could be an open list. It could be people who are running in the ridings. There's a lot of play that I think you could work with. To put that context on, part of your role is going to be selling whatever system you're providing, and putting this long-term perspective on that I think is important.
What I say to my classes is that if you haven't voted, then it's hard to stay engaged if your vote doesn't count. My vote hasn't counted. I just want to contradict the earlier point. I can understand why not everybody's vote gets to count. In PR it would count, right? I've been voting for 36 years, and not once has my vote really counted in a federal election. I would also echo the point that we don't need simpler systems. If you look at the Australian system, it's crazily complicated. Canadians aren't any stupider than the Australians. It doesn't have to be a complicated system, but we don't need simplicity.
The last point is on the mechanics. We don't have to get it exactly perfect. I'm a scientist, and you learn by experiment. If we went with MMP, then I think the issues would be around how you do the lists. You could say we're going try a few different things and explore. It doesn't have to be fixed in stone. They can take that kind of scientific approach to help make a transition. We're never going to get it perfect on the first try, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try it. Kids would not grow up that way.