Fair Vote Kamloops is drumming up support for federal electoral reform.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Fair Vote Kamloops
January 22, 2024 - 6:00 PM
An effort to get electoral reform considered by the federal government could have ordinary citizens making suggestions rather than politicians.
The federal government will consider whether a randomly-selected pool of citizens will examine how elections should be changed in Canada, years after Justin Trudeau promised reform during his first successful run to be prime minister.
"The beauty of this process is that it is specifically designed to find consensus,” Fair Vote Kamloops organizer Frances Monk said in a news release issued today, Jan. 22.
The local chapter said Conservative MP Frank Caputo hasn't publicly stated his position on the issue and it's looking to him for support.
Caputo, who represents the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo region, wasn't immediately available to comment on his position.
Fair Vote Kamloops is part of a national organization that lobbies for proportional representation elections, as opposed to the current "first-past-the-post" system.
Fair Vote Kamloops volunteers have been collecting signatures for a petition meant to encourage Caputo's support. The news release didn't say how many people have signed the petition.
BC voters denied an attempt in 2018 to make a similar change provincially with more than 60 per cent of voters deciding against a ranked ballot system.
The House of Commons will vote on a motion, Feb. 7, to decide on whether to create a national citizen's assembly on electoral reform.
Members would be chosen similar to jury selections, operating at arms-length from elected officials to then give recommendations on potential changes.
The motion was initiated by NDP MP Lisa Marie Barron and has the support of 20 other members of parliament, but only one of those so far is a member of the Conservative Party.
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