1132 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
Jimmy Jack
I found the response from the
PM a bit condescending towards this woman. Using Kellie Leitch,
directly, to sway the opinion of this woman is nothing short of a
dismissal. Talk about a short sighted argument.
Proportional Representation (although I am not in favour of it) is a reasonable and viable alternative to FPTP and this person who voted for Trudeau on this matter, deserved a better response.
"Should Kellie Leith have her own party"? Well, if she wants one...yes. This is a free country after all, is it not??
The good thing, you could see she wasn't buying into his double talk. The Trudeau Liberals knew "fringe parties" were possible when they made the promise.
He then blames the NDP for not budging, but yet the Liberals wouldn't budge off ranked ballot. Speaks volumes.
Proportional Representation (although I am not in favour of it) is a reasonable and viable alternative to FPTP and this person who voted for Trudeau on this matter, deserved a better response.
"Should Kellie Leith have her own party"? Well, if she wants one...yes. This is a free country after all, is it not??
The good thing, you could see she wasn't buying into his double talk. The Trudeau Liberals knew "fringe parties" were possible when they made the promise.
He then blames the NDP for not budging, but yet the Liberals wouldn't budge off ranked ballot. Speaks volumes.
David Raymond Amos
@Jimmy Jack In my humble
opinion Prime Mr Minister Trudeau "The Younger" asked a profoundly dumb
question. As far as I know former Cabinet Minister Kellie Leitch does
have a political party and now she wants to be its leader. DUHHH???
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-electoral-reform-1.3976345
1657 Comments
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John Smith
Disgusting hypocritical
actions. This will not be forgotten. You cannot foster national unity by
stifling ANYBODY'S voice, if these people are truly fringe they will
have no power in parliament compared to the majority.
Trudeau has lost ALL of my respect. Even successfully passing reasonable cannabis legislation will not undue this injustice. Trudeau is FINISHED in 2019.
Trudeau has lost ALL of my respect. Even successfully passing reasonable cannabis legislation will not undue this injustice. Trudeau is FINISHED in 2019.
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David Raymond Amos
@John Smith
I agree with your opinion of Trudeau "The Younger" I have had no respect
for him out of the gate. Old Pierre's Pretty Boy had shown me his Fancy
Quebec Arse before he became an MP .Trust that the genes of my Scottish
forefathers makes it hard for me to never forget a slight. Furthermore
it is particularly hard for me to do when Trudeau's English assistants
such as Telford kept rubbing it in over the years. I don't think the LIEbranos will be finished in 2019. However with Lady Luck on our side the Red Coats could be restricted by our fellow voters to a slim minority mandate with all the other fringe parties each enjoying nearly as many seats in the House Of Not So Common People. Perhaps then democracy would be served upon the rest of us N'esy Pas?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/electoral-reform-trudeau-leitch-1.3975354
'Do you think Kellie Leitch should have her own party?' Trudeau asks voter upset over electoral reform
Proportional representation would let 'fringe voices' hold balance of power in Parliament, PM says
By Chris Rands, CBC News Posted: Feb 09, 2017 9:43 PM ET
'Do you think Kellie Leitch should have her own party'
2:25
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pointed to Conservative leadership
candidate Kellie Leitch on Thursday to argue that one of the reasons he
abandoned his electoral reform promise was to prevent politicians with
"fringe" views from gaining the balance of power in Parliament."Do you think that Kellie Leitch should have her own party?" Trudeau told a voter Thursday during his visit to Iqaluit. "Because if you have a party that represents the fringe voices … or the periphery of our perspectives and they hold 10, 15, 20 seats in the House, they end up holding the balance of power."
- The Pollcast: How electoral reform fell apart
- NDP wants Liberal to apologize for dropping electoral reform
- With electoral reform off the table, minister defends first-past-the-post
Trudeau was at a community tea and bannock event at Inuksuk High School after a day of meeting territorial and Inuit leaders.
The prime minister was walking through a crowd when Robyn Campbell approached him to ask why he had killed a 2015 election campaign promise, when he said that vote would be the last under the first-past-the-post system.
Campbell is the director of the Iqaluit Action Lab, a non-profit group which hosts community events.
"Proportional representation in any form would be bad for Canada," Trudeau responded.
Campbell, visibly taken aback, said she "very respectfully" disagreed.
'Sad to see elites vilify the majority'
Trudeau pointed to federal Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch as an example of a "fringe voice" that could hold the balance of power in Parliament under proportional representation.
The Ontario MP has sparked debate across the country by arguing in her leadership platform that new immigrants should be screened for "Canadian values" at the border.
The Leitch campaign responded to Trudeau's comments with a Facebook post calling for donations to "show him that we aren't the fringe — we are the majority of Canadians who want to stand up for our shared Canadian values and identity."
In a statement to CBC News, the Leitch campaign referred to a Forum Research poll that suggested two-thirds of Canadians support her proposal.
"It is sad to [see] the prime minister and other elites vilify the majority of Canadians who support this common sense policy," the statement said.
Iqaluit resident Bethany Scott wanted Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau to know how disappointed she was in his
government's decision to abandon its electoral reform initiative. (Nick
Murray/CBC News)
In making his argument with Campbell, Trudeau said: "The strength of our democracy is that we have to pull people into big parties that have all the diversity of Canada and we learn to get along."
She told the prime minister she is not a strategic voter, and what she does care about is "voting for the person I want to vote for."
NDP partly to blame?
Trudeau said he prefers the ranked ballot system, where voters list their choices in order of preference.
Ironically, this system is being used by the Conservative Party to choose its new leader from a field of 14 candidates.
Trudeau also laid some blame at the feet of the New Democrats for the death of his electoral reform plans.
"The fact that the NDP was absolutely locked into proportional representation, no matter what, at any cost, meant there was no give and take possible on that," he said.
Nathan Cullen, the NDP's democratic institutions critic, is promoting an online petition to revive the electoral reform issue. He said Liberal MPs have been providing various explanations for abandoning the project.
"We're getting to the point now where Liberals are having to rationalize their own broken promise to Canadians in the most obtuse and incoherent ways," Cullen told reporters after Thursday's question period.
Murray Rankin says Justin Trudeau is fostering cynicism with electoral reform blame game1:14
Trudeau's conversation with Campbell ended amicably, with the prime minister saying electoral reform was an issue "we just weren't going to be able to move on."
Campbell told him she appreciated the one-on-one chat and acknowledged that the politics of electoral reform are challenging.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-electoral-reform-1.3976345
Trudeau says national unity more important than electoral reform
Prime minister was asked whether his broken promise will foster cynicism among voters
By Matthew Kupfer, CBC News Posted: Feb 10, 2017 2:54 PM ET
Trudeau says stability of Canada outweighs electoral reform
1:12
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave his longest explanation yet for
his decision to abandon his promise on electoral reform when asked about
voter cynicism at a town hall Friday in Yellowknife.
"I know people will be disappointed," Trudeau said over boos from the crowd. "This was my choice to make and I chose to make it with full consequence of the cost that is possibly going to come to it. But I will not compromise on what is in the best interest of Canada."
In his 7½-minute answer, Trudeau outlined his own preference for ranked ballots and said either a referendum or proportional voting would be too divisive for Canada.
Former N.W.T. Green candidate Eli Purchase asked the question about whether Trudeau thought voters would be more cynical because of the broken promise, referring to his own experience knocking on doors.
"I spoke to a gentleman who said he does not vote because politicians are all the same. They say exactly what you want to hear during the election campaign and then they turn things around and do whatever is convenient for them," Purchase said.
"It does really matter to me that we improve our democracy," Trudeau said as he began his answer. Someone yelled "then do it" from the crowd.
Trudeau said he preferred a rank ballot system for electoral reform, but decided to back away once he faced accusations it would have a disproportionate benefit for the Liberal Party.
"I always felt we could make a clear improvement to our political process by offering people to not ever have to vote strategically again — to give a preference on your ballot, to rank your ballot," he said.
Under that kind of ballot, voters would rank candidates in terms of
preference. Candidates with the fewest votes would be eliminated and
voters who supported them would have their vote transferred to their
number 2, and so on until one candidate has more than 50 per cent
support.
Critics said that system favoured the Liberals too much, and Trudeau agreed, saying, it "favours parties who are good at reaching out to find common ground with broad groups of Canadians" and get second-choice votes.
"I'm not going near it," he said to a smattering of applause. "I'm not going to do something that everyone is convinced is going to favour one party over another."
Trudeau was quick to put aside the idea of a referendum to determine an electoral system, citing recent votes over Brexit and an Italian constitutional reform package — both of which led to prime ministers resigning.
"There is a lot of divisiveness," he said. He added those divisions would be amplified in a vote that was very important to some but not as broadly supported as priorities such as jobs, health care, educational opportunities and reconciliation.
The Conservative Party has been insisting on a referendum, which was included in the final report of the special committee on electoral reform in December.
Trudeau said it is more important that Canada remain stable, alluding to the "unstable and unpredictable political context around the world."
Trudeau said proportional representation would undermine Canada's political tradition of compromise between diverse groups, brokered through the big three political parties that compete in first-past-the-post.
Proportional representation, preferred by the NDP and Greens, could manifest in several systems. The goal is to tie percentage of the national popular vote more closely to representation in Parliament.
"If we were to make a change or risk a change that would augment individual voices — that would augment extremist voices and activist voices that don't get to sit within a party that figures out what's best for the whole future of the country, like the three existing parties do — I think we would be entering a period of instability and uncertainty," he said.
"And we'd be putting at risk the very thing that makes us luckier than anyone on the planet."
NDP democratic institutions critic Nathan Cullen said Trudeau is "using fear to distract from his broken promise," in a statement Friday afternoon.
Cullen said Trudeau is blaming other parties and spreading "baseless myths of an alt-right takeover" instead of apologizing.
"In reality, it is the current winner-take-all voting system that offers the best hope for extremist fringe elements, as it did in the U.S., because parties don't need a majority of votes to win," Cullen said.
The American electoral college system is a form of the first-past-the-post and contributed to President Donald Trump's election win, despite having lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton.
On Thursday, Trudeau had said someone like Kellie Leitch could have her own party and hold the balance of power in a proportional system.
The Ontario MP has sparked debate across the country by arguing in her leadership platform that new immigrants and visitors should be screened for "Canadian values" at the border.
Cullen said, in the current system, the Conservative leadership hopeful could form a government by winning the Conservative leadership but she'd be restrained in a proportional system.
"A proportional system doesn't stop fringe elements but, unlike the current system, it ensures they stay on the fringe," Cullen said.
"I know people will be disappointed," Trudeau said over boos from the crowd. "This was my choice to make and I chose to make it with full consequence of the cost that is possibly going to come to it. But I will not compromise on what is in the best interest of Canada."
In his 7½-minute answer, Trudeau outlined his own preference for ranked ballots and said either a referendum or proportional voting would be too divisive for Canada.
- 'Do you think Kellie Leitch should have her own party?' PM asks
- The Pollcast: How electoral reform fell apart
- NDP demands Liberal apology on electoral reform failure
Former N.W.T. Green candidate Eli Purchase asked the question about whether Trudeau thought voters would be more cynical because of the broken promise, referring to his own experience knocking on doors.
"I spoke to a gentleman who said he does not vote because politicians are all the same. They say exactly what you want to hear during the election campaign and then they turn things around and do whatever is convenient for them," Purchase said.
"It does really matter to me that we improve our democracy," Trudeau said as he began his answer. Someone yelled "then do it" from the crowd.
Ranked ballot: 'I'm not going near it'
Trudeau said he preferred a rank ballot system for electoral reform, but decided to back away once he faced accusations it would have a disproportionate benefit for the Liberal Party.
"I always felt we could make a clear improvement to our political process by offering people to not ever have to vote strategically again — to give a preference on your ballot, to rank your ballot," he said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke about his
decision to break a campaign promise to reform Canada's electoral
system at a town hall in Yellowknife. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Critics said that system favoured the Liberals too much, and Trudeau agreed, saying, it "favours parties who are good at reaching out to find common ground with broad groups of Canadians" and get second-choice votes.
"I'm not going near it," he said to a smattering of applause. "I'm not going to do something that everyone is convinced is going to favour one party over another."
Referendum 'divisiveness'
Trudeau was quick to put aside the idea of a referendum to determine an electoral system, citing recent votes over Brexit and an Italian constitutional reform package — both of which led to prime ministers resigning.
"There is a lot of divisiveness," he said. He added those divisions would be amplified in a vote that was very important to some but not as broadly supported as priorities such as jobs, health care, educational opportunities and reconciliation.
Iqaluit resident Bethany Scott wanted Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau to know how disappointed she was in his
government's decision to abandon its electoral reform initiative. (Nick
Murray/CBC News)
The Conservative Party has been insisting on a referendum, which was included in the final report of the special committee on electoral reform in December.
Trudeau said it is more important that Canada remain stable, alluding to the "unstable and unpredictable political context around the world."
Proportional representation 'risk'
Trudeau said proportional representation would undermine Canada's political tradition of compromise between diverse groups, brokered through the big three political parties that compete in first-past-the-post.
Proportional representation, preferred by the NDP and Greens, could manifest in several systems. The goal is to tie percentage of the national popular vote more closely to representation in Parliament.
"If we were to make a change or risk a change that would augment individual voices — that would augment extremist voices and activist voices that don't get to sit within a party that figures out what's best for the whole future of the country, like the three existing parties do — I think we would be entering a period of instability and uncertainty," he said.
"And we'd be putting at risk the very thing that makes us luckier than anyone on the planet."
Trudeau spreading 'baseless myths,' NDP says
NDP democratic institutions critic Nathan Cullen said Trudeau is "using fear to distract from his broken promise," in a statement Friday afternoon.
Cullen said Trudeau is blaming other parties and spreading "baseless myths of an alt-right takeover" instead of apologizing.
"In reality, it is the current winner-take-all voting system that offers the best hope for extremist fringe elements, as it did in the U.S., because parties don't need a majority of votes to win," Cullen said.
The American electoral college system is a form of the first-past-the-post and contributed to President Donald Trump's election win, despite having lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton.
Murray Rankin says Justin Trudeau is fostering cynicism with electoral reform blame game1:14
On Thursday, Trudeau had said someone like Kellie Leitch could have her own party and hold the balance of power in a proportional system.
The Ontario MP has sparked debate across the country by arguing in her leadership platform that new immigrants and visitors should be screened for "Canadian values" at the border.
Cullen said, in the current system, the Conservative leadership hopeful could form a government by winning the Conservative leadership but she'd be restrained in a proportional system.
"A proportional system doesn't stop fringe elements but, unlike the current system, it ensures they stay on the fringe," Cullen said.
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