Electoral Reform committee  I would argue that these are two separate issues. I think public financing of parties is very legitimate and could be maintained. That said, as omnipotent as Parliament is, it cannot stop planes from taking off, so I have to leave you now. Thank you.

Electoral Reform committee  Thank you for your question, Mr. Boulerice. I did not have time to speak to that earlier. One of my German colleagues surveyed members of the Bundestag. He asked them how important constituency files were in their work. Most of the riding members said it took up 87% of their tim

Electoral Reform committee  When the question is phrased in a fairly neutral way, it is half and half, but it can be as much as 63%, as I recall. If the question is more difficult, the percentages are very high.

Electoral Reform committee  Here is a clever answer. Referendums are consultative. As Mr. Burns' white book on sovereignty indicated in 1978, there is no need to establish a threshold for victory since referendums are consultative.

Electoral Reform committee  I see you are keeping tabs on me. Regarding your second statement, about the surveys I referred to, my comments were based on the first survey carried out on this issue. I believe that it was conducted by Insight. The survey indicated that two-thirds of people were satisfied wit

Electoral Reform committee  That is hard to say because surveys ...

Electoral Reform committee  I would not say it is a priority, that is quite evident. I would make one point about how the questions are worded. When we ask people whether they think the electoral system should be changed, we often forget to consider what the electoral system represents to them. Does it mea

Electoral Reform committee  The reasons for reform are not as strong at the federal level as I have seen in other jurisdictions, such as in Quebec. First, there has never been an election in which the opposition was completely crushed and shut out of Parliament. I remember, when I was a student, we saw in

Electoral Reform committee  That's a normative question.

Electoral Reform committee  Great—

Electoral Reform committee  The absence of a majority does not equal, as you say, bad policies. I wouldn't be sure if the absence of a majority guarantees that at all times—not at all.

Electoral Reform committee  Yes. I've been particularly impressed by the work of Arend Lijphart on this point. I don't believe that countries with PR systems are necessarily Edens of harmony, except that it's not hell either. It's very important, because I think we all tend to assume instinctively—and I

Electoral Reform committee  Legitimacy is not a scientific concept; it is a normative concept. As a saying goes, legitimacy is in the eye of the beholder. In order words, legitimacy depends on an individual's perspective. Let's look at our system's history lesson, which is something more solid. In Canadian

Electoral Reform committee  Okay, thanks. I am rather under the impression that people have a preference for majority governments. With a proportional system, regardless of the type, there would probably not be any majority governments, for a very simple reason. In our electoral history since 1921, you can

Electoral Reform committee  How much time do I have left, Mr. Chairman?