Source
r/canada•
MechaBlue

Questions for all you proportional representation fans

If proportional representation were to be enacted, would there need to be more than 1 MP per party?

In the case of a minority government, wouldn't we just be selecting a council of men and women to sit down and negotiate our future through concensus, possibly in private, than through the (semi-) open process we have now?

In the case of a majority government, wouldn't we have just installed a dictator, albeit a constitutionally limited one?

Posted May 10, 2011, 4:27 PM UTC

05
Pxtl•

If proportional representation were to be enacted, would there need to be more than 1 MP per party?

There woudln't. However, most PR systems still have the party submit a list or something similar of reps, and each N votes gets them 1 rep.

In the case of a minority government, wouldn't we just be selecting a council of men and women to sit down and negotiate our future through concensus, possibly in private, than through the (semi-) open process we have now?

How is this different from what we have now? Thanks to the party whip process, it's basically that Layton has X seats and Harper has Y. Layton and Harper could sit down, negotiate a deal, and then order their members how to vote.

In the case of a majority government, wouldn't we have just installed a dictator, albeit a constitutionally limited one?

See above.

3
MechaBlueOP•

What happens in the case of a conflict in a PR system? Would the party be able to strip MPs of their seats and award them to someone else? Now, all they can do is eject someone from the party; the MP keeps their seat.

Even with the whip system, it is possible for MPs to vote against the party. At the least, there are more voices and someone has a duty to advance the agenda of smaller places. Right now, Greenwood BC, a tiny town, has someone that represents them, along with a large area. In PR, Greenwood would be competing for attention with Toronto in order to get any representation.

1
aGlassofWaterOntario•

i think you mean more than one MP per voting district? but yes, this would mean that we would elect multiple MP's in a single riding.

i dont understand the second question... what you described is government.

in the case of a majority government, an actual majority of voters would have elected his party. (or maybe if we made the switch to proportional representation we would also then elect the prime minister via popular vote?) instead of the 40% of the 60% of the eligible voters that elected harper this time around.

2
abolishcopyright•

Im not a PR fan, but I'm not sure I understand your question. What are the differences between PR and the current system that you're pointing out? Like, why would a majority be any more dictatorial in PR than it is now?

In any case, I much prefer Instant-Runoff Voting. I still want a local candidate who needs to be elected directly by a riding.

2
StormkittyBritish Columbia•

How would it be any different from now, MechaBlue?

2