If it wasn’t bad enough having to go through the throes of a Provincial election, Ontario voters are being asked to vote on whether or not they wish the system of electing their Government to be changed or not.  Yes folks, we have a referendum on the go.  Now I like to think that I keep myself fairly well informed.  I have a subscription to the Ottawa Citizen, I read the local papers, I watch the television news – but this referendum caught me by surprise.  I entirely missed the fact that our election system was being examined and options for change were to be proposed.  So – I informed myself.

It seems we are being offered two choices.   The system we have now, first-past-the-post, and the system being proposed, Mixed Member Proportional (MMP).  Simply put, our current method of electing a government is based on the British parliamentary system.  There are various political parties who run candidates in the 107 electoral districts or ridings.  On election day, one votes for the candidate of his or her choice.  The candidate with the most votes, wins that riding.  The leader of the political party who elects the majority of candidates forms the government and becomes Premier of the province.

The MMP system does several things.   First of all, the number of ridings in the province is reduced from 107 to 90.  As before, the political parties will run candidates in these ridings.  As before, each party elects a leader.  As before, each elector votes for the candidate of their choice in their riding.  Here’s where it gets different.  Each elector then casts a second vote for the political party of their choice.  Based on the number of votes each political party receives, additional candidates are “elected”.  These candidates – a maximum of 39 – are chosen by the political party, not by the voters.  See where this is going?

In my mind, what is being proposed amounts to a mini Senate being formed in the provincial legislature.  These 39 additional members of the legislature will have no constituency to represent.  They will not represent any citizen of Ontario, except for the political party who put them there.  In other words, the legislature will become a place to reward bag-men, political hacks, backroom politicos and the like.

In Ontario, we don’t need this at all.  I’m voting “No” and I hope you do too.