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10 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday September 15, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com MMP system would require two votes on one ballot "The big problem is people party representative called a list really don't know about it. member. Under this scenario, the They're not going to find it Ontario legislature will have easy to understand." 129 seats - local members would fill 90 of these seats, while list members would fill the remaining 39 seats. Nominate list members In each electoral district, one vote would be used to elect a traditional local member using the FPTP system. The candidate with the most votes in an electoral district wins -- just like how it works now. The other vote would be for a political party. Votes for parties will be used to determine the number of seats - or list members - each party gets. This is proportional representation. Prior to an election, political parties would publicly nominate candidates as list members and describe the selection process. If a political party is entitled to more seats than it won locally, list members are elected to make up the difference, thus making things proportional. In an example from the Citizens' Assembly, imagine a legislature with 100 seats. If a party receives 25 per cent of the party vote, it is entitled to about 25 seats. If it elects only 20 local members, five list members are elected to bring the party's total share of seats in the legislature to 25 per cent Henry Jacek, McMaster University Political science professor Continued from page 9 Oakland Ford Pioneer Cleaners Oakville Senior Residence Halton Auto Electric Kennedy Ford Volvo Rents Fairview (or 25 seats). Important to note is that list members can only be elected from a political party that received more than three per cent of these votes in a given election. In the end, a political party's overall share of seats will roughly equal its share of the total votes for parties in the province. The party with the largest number of seats in the legislature, including both local and list members, forms the government. (Visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSiA UZoDvks to see a page set up by the Ontario Assembly to explain the proposed MMP system). The MMP system is not used anywhere else in Canada; Scotland and Wales have used it since 1999. At least 60 per of all voters and 50 per cent of voters in 64 of the 103 electoral districts would have to support MMP for it to be adopted. Some residents have already let the Oakville Beaver know what they think about the referendum. Some are worried about accountability under both systems. Not easy to understand McMaster University political science professor Henry Jacek said the referendum could prove difficult for the public to understand. That's why he would bet at this point that the current FPTP system would remain in place. One sticking point, he thinks, would be the public's reluctance to have taxes pay for more politicians at Queen's Park. "The big problem is people really don't know about it," Jacek said. "They're not going to find it easy to understand." Referendum ballot counting is expected to be finished the day after the election. In June 2005, the province began a process to review electoral systems. In March 2006, the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform, an independent body representing 104 voters in Ontario, was created. They were asked to assess Ontario's current electoral system and different electoral systems used around the world and recommend whether Ontario should retain its current system or adopt a different one. Its proposal is the basis for the upcoming referendum. To place your business logo or name here, call your Classified Sales Representative today! 905.632.4440