Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party are going back on a 2015 campaign promise of Electoral Reform in Canada.
Trudeau wrote in a mandate letter this week to Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould that changing the electoral system is not in her mandate.
“There has been tremendous work by the House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform, outreach by Members of Parliament by all parties, and engagement of 360,000 individuals in Canada through mydemocracy.ca,” Trudea wrote in the letter.
“A clear preference for a new electoral system, let alone a consensus, has not emerged. Furthermore, without a clear preference or a clear question, a referendum would not be in Canada’s interest. Changing the electoral system will not be in your mandate.”
Electoral Reform was a commitment by the Liberal Party of Canada along the 2015 campaign trail.
“We will make every vote count,” the Liberal website states.
“We are committed to ensuring that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system. We will convene an all-party Parliamentary committee to review a wide variety of reforms, such as ranked ballots, proportional representation, mandatory voting, and online voting. This committee will deliver its recommendations to Parliament. Within 18 months of forming government, we will introduce legislation to enact electoral reform.”
Bev Shipley, Member of Parliament for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, expressed his thanks to his constituents for their input on Electoral Reform.
“The feedback rate from you on this issue was one of the highest I have ever seen in all my years as your Member of Parliament,” Shipley said in a press release.
“Your voices could not be ignored.”
Shipley said the vast majority of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex residents called on the government to give Canadians the final say by way of a Referendum if any changes were to be made on how Members of Parliament are elected.
Changing the electoral system was a personal ambition of the Prime Minister that he repeated over 1,100 times to Canadians, Shipley said.
The Prime Minister has broken a promise he never should have made and the Liberal government mishandled the electoral reform file from day one, he added.
Shipley said he is glad the government took the Official Opposition interim leader’s advice to park electoral reform and focus on the real priorities of Canadians.
“Canada was, is, and will remain a democratic country with a voting system that is respected worldwide. It is time to focus on lowering taxes, creating jobs, supporting small business and fostering economic stability,” Shipley stated.
– Photo credit: pm.gc.ca
