Electoral Reform committee  I'm not going to hedge and I'm going to say what I think. I think that our democracy will be improved once the work of your committee is done and the decision is made by Parliament and Canadians about what the best system is for us—or the least worst system, as Shakespeare would

Electoral Reform committee  Well, sir, from my international experience, since you raised it, I can't think of a country that went with a first-past-the-post system when they were installing a democracy, because of known difficulties. Now, there may have been one, so I can't say there were none, but you're

Electoral Reform committee  Given the fact that Parliament is focusing on this in such great detail, if you do not come out with a new system, then the people who are complaining about the system that's in place now will simply have to understand that this is the way the matter has been settled and it is pa

Electoral Reform committee  Do I agree with that or do I not agree with that? That is another issue. I wish to see a fair process undertaken here, which is why I'm here.

Electoral Reform committee  What it was, and I know—

Electoral Reform committee  Okay. May I come back to that later, sir?

Electoral Reform committee  State funding has been more equitable in the past, back when a subsidy of $2 per vote cast for a party was given to that party, every year, on a quarterly basis. I think that was a significant improvement. I personally recommend going back to that formula, but without necessarily

Electoral Reform committee  I heard Mr. Mayrand talk this morning about the six months' minimum that he would require, and I generally would agree with that. One must remember that the experience of the 1992 referendum is easy to trace. There's a lot of documentation at Elections Canada, in the media, and

Electoral Reform committee  Sure.

Electoral Reform committee  The Canadian reality now is that we vote for one person among a group. A linkage exists. If you don't know who your MP is, you can find out. If you need to be represented in the bureaucracy for some reason, you can reach your MP. That's an important value, and you can hold that p

Electoral Reform committee  The fact that some writers interpreted it to mean that some people did not do their work is not fair. It's as simple as that.

Electoral Reform committee  The very fact that you're raising the question is an indication that I did perform a public service, effectively.

Electoral Reform committee  Sir, you're absolutely right, and that's exactly what I meant. I wanted to thank you for the question you raised yesterday, which made it very clear that I was speaking in a non-partisan manner when I said this. I do not care what political parties say or do as individual politic

Electoral Reform committee  First, thank you very much for reminding me of those wonderful times that I had with the Forum for Young Canadians. I enjoyed each one of those opportunities, and it's good to be reminded. Second, with respect to the present mandate, Mr. Mayrand explained this morning just what

Electoral Reform committee  Mr. Chair, I want to thank you and the committee members for providing me with the opportunity to appear before you today, especially since you are beginning work that is of vital importance for Canadians. I must commend you for sitting during the summer. I know how demanding yo