This and that for your Sunday reading.- Heather Stewart discusses the possibility of a 20-hour work week to better distribute both work and income. And without going that far, Andrew Jackson suggests that our public policy priorities should include a n…
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Accidental Deliberations: On double majorities
Nathan Cullen’s proposal for party representation on the Parliamentary committee reviewing electoral reform has received plenty of attention. But it might actually go much further than advertised to validate the results of the committee’s work and legi…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On strategic choices
Christopher Kam’s series of posts on political parties’ strategy surrounding electoral reform is definitely worth a read. But I’ll stand by the view that there’s another alternative interpretation of the likely outcomes – particularly based on the like…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On standards for reform
Others have duly criticized the Star’s editorial on electoral reform. But I’ll argue that it can be brought in line with reasonable expectations with one important change.Simply put, it’s not a problem to insist upon “broad consensus” on a new electora…
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: FPTP Or Not FPTP?
I don’t mind the Cullen/Coyne option, where we adopt a new system, have one election under it to see how we like it, and then have a referendum, where going back to pure FPTP is one of the options. Personally, I like better the idea of ratifying a newl…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.- Nicholas Fitz observes that inequality is far worse than the U.S. public believes – even as it already wants to see significant action. And Thomas Piketty updates his policy prescriptions arising out of Capital:…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.- Paul Krugman discusses the connection between concentrated wealth and extreme anti-social political behaviour:Wealth can be bad for your soul. That’s not just a hoary piece of folk wisdom; it’s a conclusi…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.- Owen Jones writes that the UK’s flooding is just one example of what happens when the public sector which is supposed to look out for the common good is slashed out of short-term political calculation. And J. B…
Continue readingWhy a referendum on electoral reform would be a very bad idea
The need for electoral reform in Canada has never been more stark. We have just endured nine years of government by a political party that over sixty per cent of us opposed. That is simply not democratic. We have an electoral system, but we don’t have …
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On failed diversions
Not surprisingly given my previous comments on the Libs’ electoral reform promise, it’s a plus that they’re sticking with it rather than giving in to any demand for a referendum. And hopefully the temporary diversion raised by the Cons will lead the pa…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.- Desmond Cole rightly slams the stinginess of Ontario’s government in taking support away from parents based on child support which isn’t actually received. And Karl Nerenberg laments Bill Morneau’s decision to …
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On voting from experience
If I have any concern with Nathan Cullen’s suggestion that Canada hold a referendum on electoral reform only after seeing a different system in action, it’s that it may concede too much to the people looking to set up roadblocks in the face of a clear …
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, expanding on these posts as to what might come next as Canada’s political parties map out their strategies on electoral reform.For further reading…- Chantal Hebert wonders whether Justin Trudeau will face internal pressure to renege on his prom…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On blockages
Yes, Bill Tieleman, you’ve left no doubt that people who are opposed to electoral reform generally are also in favour of a needless and convoluted referendum process to try to block it.But for the many of us who don’t see “no change” as the desired end…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On managing the system
Following up on this post, there doesn’t seem to be much prospect of the Cons making any effort to pursue proportional representation as an alternative to a ranked ballot if Tasha Kheiriddin’s latest reflects their’ thinking. But I’ll point out that th…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.- Robert Reich suggests that government should respond to corporations who engage in anti-social activity such as moving their earnings offshore by making sure they can’t simultaneously take advantage of…
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Canadians Prefer Proportional Representation Voting System: Study
A new landmark new study – the left-leaning Broadbent Institute – Canadians want the new Liberal government to fulfill its 2015 election promise to reform Canada’s anti-democratic voting system.
The post Canadians Prefer Proportional Representation Vot…
Accidental Deliberations: On consensus-building
John Ivison is a bit melodramatic on behalf of the Cons in assessing the impact of possible electoral reform. But to the extent the Cons actually accept his argument, it might well lead them toward the best possible outcome in the form of a proportiona…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week.- Tom Bawden notes that inequality is as much a problem in our relative contribution to climate change as it is in so many other areas of life. And Steven Rosenfeld lists some of the ways in which the increasingly-weal…
Continue readingScripturient: Proportional Representation in Canada
Another Canadian election has gone by where the majority government is formed by a party winning only 40% of the popular vote. This has political watchers and pundits increasingly vocal about changing the electoral system. But most of them agree it needs changing. So far, however, the Liberals are mum
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