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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, September 22, 2016 | 30 Electoral reform discussion draws diversity of views by Jon Kuiperij Special to the Beaver A Town Hall on electoral reform hosted by Oakville North-Burlington MP Pam Damoff Sept. 14 drew a crowd of about 60 people. Held at the Haber Recreation Centre in Burlington, the evening featured Canada's Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Democratic Institutions, Mark Holland. More than 20 people took advantage of the opportunity to make Damoff and Holland aware of their questions and concerns. Among the topics of discussion were mandatory voting; the importance of educating voters; voter apathy; proportional representation; the desire for local representation; better collaboration between political parties in Parliament; improved accessibility for the physically challenged; online voting; improved access for aboriginal Canadians to Parliament; and the possibility of a referendum being held on electoral reform. "We heard from a really broad crosssection of people, who touched on principles in a way that was engaged and meaningful," Holland, the Ajax Liberal MP , who has attended more than 30 similar meetings in southern Ontario so far, and plans to conduct about 30 more, told the Oakville Beaver following the meeting. "The conversation about mandatory voting was much more here than anywhere, both the pros and the cons. Other than that, it was a lot of very similar themes and principles. The more (meetings I attend), the more you see a commonality in what is working and what is not working." Several residents linked the argument for mandatory voting -- low-voter turnout -- to a lack of education about the electoral system, particularly in youths. Oakville's 12-year-old Sanad Alajrami, who became interested in politics after his mother took him to a debate last year said Damoff "talked to me like I was an adult, not a kid." He said schools should teach children about Parliament more often than in just Grades 5 and 10. "In Grade 5, sure, we were excited to learn. We knew who the PM was and who the mayor was, but we didn't really understand the difference between MP and MPP ," said the West Oak Public School Grade 7 student, who volunteered his assistance to Wednesday's meeting. Oakville North-Burlington MP Pam Damoff "It just (phased out) after a while... maybe make it not a subject, but something you bring up in geography, and how geography ties to politics, stuff like that." Burlington resident Mariam Manaa, 23, of the Canadian Muslim Vote, a national, non-profit, non-partisan organization with the aim of increasing the participation of Canadian Muslims within the democratic process, noted a concentrated effort to better educate people about Canada's election system in 2015 resulted in the group doubling Canadian-Muslim voter turnout (from approximately 30 per cent to 76 per cent). "We tried to engage people, just to get them to vote. It wasn't about parties, but voting in general, and knowing that you had the right not to vote as well," said Manaa. In his opening remarks, Holland explained the Liberals' motivation for changing the first-past-the-post voting system that has been in place in Canada for 149 years, noting "if it's not a Constitutional obligation, then it's a moral obligation to make sure... Canadians are fairly represented by a system that represents their will." He then discussed the five main `families' of election systems used throughout the world, and their strengths and weaknesses. They include: · First-past-the-post (doesn't matter how many votes a candidate wins a riding by); · Alternative vote (voters rank their choices in order of preference); · Proportional representation (percentage of votes a party receives is the percentage of seats they get); · Mixed member proportional (some seats are awarded based on riding results and the remaining seats are divided based on the percentage of votes each party receives); · Single transferable ballot (several MPs can be elected through ranked voting in multi-seat ridings). Many at the meeting expressed interest in the proportional and mixed member proportional systems, as long as there was still local representation and voters had a say in who their MPs were. "On the issue of party lists, I will reflect a unanimity of opinion: people don't want parties to choose the lists (of MPs)," Holland said. "I hear this in every room I go in." The Sept. 14 meeting was one of hundreds being conducted across Canada this fall to help an all-parties committee determine what Canadians would like to see in a modernized electoral system. Holland said the committee hopes to finalize its recommendations by Dec. 1, and the government plans to table a legislative response next spring. A video recording of the meeting can be viewed on Damoff's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ PamDamoff. ALL YOU CAN EAT Lunch or Dinner DiNe iN foR AllYou cAN eAt We are currently transitioning to monthly billing for all residential and small business customers. Monthly billing will be effective in helping households and small businesses manage their electricity costs and understand consumption habits. oakvillehydro.com/monthlybilling Learn more at 280 North Service Road W. @ Dorval 905-338-6228 10% oFF Dinner only. cash only & with this ad. www.august8.ca