From the recent FCP press release:
At election time, the new ballot will have two sides (one ballot, two votes). On the second side voters will elect the package they like (party, party leader and party list). The electorate will have several options to choose from (all the registered parties, currently 9 but could be more). These party list candidates are elected by all the people in Ontario (e.g.: about 6 Million voters) and are accountable to them.
If a bad apple is in the party list, then the whole party suffers. If a party list candidates does not perform, then voters will not vote for that party the next time around, thus it is the interest of the parties to choose the best criteria to select the best candidates.
TO SUMMARIZE:- Local candidates are elected individually by local voters in a riding.
- Party list candidates are elected as a group by all the voters in Ontario.
- Local candidates are accountable to local voters (about 50,000 voters)
- Party list candidates are accountable to all the voters in Ontario (about 6 Million voters)
Frequently asked questions and frequent objections to the Mixed-Member Proportional system:
- "The new system will reduce influence from rural voters"
Answer: The number of people in each riding, rural or not, is maintained approximately the same, as in the current system.
- "The party list candidates will come from the city"
Answer: There is no such requirements. For example, all of the people in the FCP Executive come from outside Toronto.
It is the interest of each party to use people of talent wherever they are.
- "The new system will impose conditions for selection on the party list, based on sex, ethnicity, race and sexual orientation."
Answer: There are no such requirements.
The rules for selection of the party list have to be published by each party before the election, as well as the candidate names in the list.
The voters have the last say and will judge, with their vote at election time, whether the rules as published by the political parties are acceptable to them.
My main objection is that it's just another way for parties like the NDP who don't get enough votes (except fot the one mistake with Bob Rae) to get more seats and influence more policy. As I previously stated the real problem is people don't vote due to cynicism and resignation to governments that either don't have clear policies for election platforms (they just make lots of promises to give goodies), or get elected and vote contrary to the majority public opinions on vital policies. An example we can all relate to is both Trudeau (who originally banned it) and Mulroney, overrode the 91 percent of Canadians who wanted capital punishment in certain cases, by saying "we find the idea abhorrent, and barbaric - it offends our sensibilities and because we are more enlightened than the people, we will NOT allow it".
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