A New Opening for Federal Electoral Reform
Kamloops, January 22, 2024 – Electoral reform is having (another) moment: a motion for a National Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform is coming up for a vote in Parliament very soon. Motion M-86 has already been debated once in the House of Commons and will likely come to a vote on February 7. Kamloops—Thompson— Cariboo MP Frank Caputo has not yet declared which way he will vote.
Unlike the previous process which saw politicians in control, a National Citizens’ Assembly would have ordinary citizens examine all the options and make recommendations on strengthening our democracy, including whether or not to change our electoral system. Members are selected by sortition (a civic lottery, like a jury) with steps taken to ensure the assembly is demographically representative of the population. A citizens’ assembly is a neutral and independent “mini public” that does its work at arms-length from government.
Citizens’ Assemblies go through three phases: learning about all the options, weighing the evidence, and then coming to a consensus on recommendations that go to government. It is a process that has been used around the world to find a way forward on complex issues that go beyond the short-term incentives of electoral cycles, and those where politicians may find themselves in a conflict of interest.
Despite breaking the promise he made in 2015, Prime Minister Trudeau reaffirmed last week that he is still “deeply committed” to electoral reform, and that the Liberal Party will work on building consensus on a path forward.
“The beauty of this process is that it is specifically designed to find consensus,” says Fair Vote Kamloops organizer Frances Monk, one of many local voters encouraging Mr. Caputo to support the bill. “Citizens’ assemblies are the gold standard for deep public engagement, and we need to strengthen our democracy before it’s too late. We are not immune to the trouble south of the border.”
Monk pointed out the motion to get citizen input into electoral reform has support across all parties, and hopes that Mr. Caputo will add his name to the list soon.