Press Releases from past elections
Letter to the Editor: What kind of Canada do you want? May 24, 2004.
Media Articles from past elections
Hundreds cram hot hall to see candidates, New Tecumseth Free Press Online, June 15, 2004.
Peter Vander Zaag: You only reap what you sow in life, South-Simcoe Hall of Fame, May 26, 2004.
Christian Heritage hopeful says Canada needs a morality check, The Wasaga Beach Connection, June 4, 2004
They're Off, Editorial from the Alliston Herald, Wednesday, May 26, 2004
They're Off and Running, The Enterprise Bulletin, Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Vander Zaag enters federal race, Alliston Herald April 7, 2004
Farmer Takes Christian Heritage Reins, Stayner Sun, April 7, 2004
Ask Now, The Alliston Herald, March 31st, 2004
Use proportional system for elections, report urges, The Globe and Mail, March 31st, 2004
Hundreds cram hot hall to see candidates
Published in the New Tecumseth Free Press Online, June 15, 2004.
http://www.madhunt.com/fedsallcandidatesmeeting.html
A political diet rich in "moral fibre" is the road to salvation in Canada. So said Dr. Peter Vander Zaag, Simcoe Grey's candidate for the Christian Heritage Party (CHP), last night at an all candidates meeting in Alliston.
Dr. Vander Zaag told the crowd of about 300 people that Canada was a lot like his old farm house built in the 1850s, still standing, yet has shifted a bit off its base. He said Canada was founded on the Christian notion that God "shall have dominion from sea to sea."
"I'm passionate about making Canada a country that was built on the solid foundation it was originally built on," he said. "And it's my goal that we can restore this house to what it was meant to be; a house that will have moral fibre, that will have ethical men in power who will rule this country with respect for the supremacy of God for the rule of law, and govern not for what I can get for myself but what can I do for my fellow citizen."
On the other hand, Helena Guergis, the Conservative candidate in Simcoe Grey told the audience that all good things flowed through her party's plans to cut personal income taxes by 25 per cent along with reducing corporate tax rates.
"Our goal is to create as many jobs as we possibly can because we believe the best social program is a job for every Canadian," said Ms. Guergis. "That's why we believe lowering business taxes will create more jobs for businesses and create a larger tax base so we can fund our social programs."
Liberal incumbent Paul Bonwick was buying none of it. Calling the Conservative fiscal campaign promises "irresponsible" because they are costed on the assumption that Paul Martin has been purposely underestimating the size of projected operating surpluses.
"Like President (George W.) Bush, Stephen Harper is going to be telling you he is able to increase military funding to the tune of many billions of dollars. He is going to tell you he is able to reduce your personal income taxes by more than 25 per cent. In the same breath he's going to tell you he's able to increase health care transfers several billions of dollars per year," said Mr. Bonwick. "While this sounds all well and good, in reality, the cost is somewhere between $58 and $60 billion dollars. There are two choices, go back to significant deficit financing, or not fulfil all the commitments that are being made."
Peter Ellis of The Green Party and Colin MacKinnon of the NDP, weighed in heavy with the environment as a key priority in their respective platforms.
Mr. Ellis said his party would "tax the bad and give the money to the good." Oil companies bad, green energy projects good.
And though heated exchanges between the candidates was virtually non-existent, there were the odd flashes of sparks that flared on the "hot button" issues of same sex marriage, and abortion. Following are the candidates' opinions expressed last night on those items:
Abortion
Vander Zaag - "The (CHP) is very much pro life. We as a party believe it's very important whenever there's an unwanted pregnancy that we have in place a social system for those mothers to be able to help them through their journeys with whatever they need whether it's social, physical, essential to get them through the process to help bring a child into this world."
Bonwick - "I do believe the majority of Canadians, and certainly speaking on behalf of myself, that I do not have the right as a politician to make a decision on what a woman does with her body. To stand here and pretend I know all the circumstances that are surrounding a woman's right to choice would be completely inaccurate and false. It is important to offer the necessary support should a woman choose, but there are literally countless scenarios where a woman may in fact choose to have an abortion, and I do not believe, nor does the charter of rights and freedoms that any politician, male or female, should be making a decision for the women in this audience."
Ellis - "It is absolutely vital woman continue to have control over their own bodies. It is their decision. We don't know what they've gone through. We do not know what the problems are. We can't judge for them."
Guergis - "Our party has consistently said that we will not introduce any legislation, or hold a referendum on abortion. We feel this issue has been dealt with, and I'm comfortable with my party's position, I have worked seven years in rape crisis as a crisis intervention volunteer and you never know the circumstances that a woman is faced with."
MacKinnon - "We believe that a woman's right is paramount. The NDP is pro choice."
Same sex marriage
Ellis - "The Green Party agrees with same sex marriage. We don't have a problem with that at all. It encourages greater stability in Canada. It creates greater stability among the people who are becoming committed to each other. If you have a ceremony where two men are swearing to look after each other; to be supportive, that's fine. They are setting out a contract which I think we should honour and support. This helps to create greater stability even among the homosexual and gay members of the community."
Guergis - "Our party believes these decisions should be made by elected officials in the House of Commons. So if we are elected we will pull this back from the courts and we will actually have a free vote in the House of Commons. I've been canvassing this riding for many months now. I believe the majority of residents in Simcoe Grey would like me to preserve the traditional definition of marriage."
MacKinnon - "A country can be nothing without strong human rights. From that point of view, under the Charter of Rights, we believe in same sex marriages."
Vander Zaag - "If you look at what God's word says, marriage is between one man and one woman this would not qualify as an acceptable policy. And we would also take it out of the hands of the judicial system and we would push it through parliament, and it would indeed be reversed."
Bonwick - "We as a government should not be picking on visible minorities whatever they may be. The Charter of Rights is sacrosanct, it's looked at as a model all around this planet as something that has made us a great country. By giving somebody else the same rights as what we have, I fail to see how we're going to lose something. But I find interesting of course, is under a constitutional democracy, courts will interpret the law as it is written by our forefathers. To use something like the notwithstanding clause, which is in place for the national security of this nation, to suggest we would use that because we feel so terrified about a same sex couple getting married, is as backward as I could possibly think. The government of the day has to protect visible minorities."
Other quick quotes from last night's meeting:
Ellis - "We have no relationship whatsoever with the NDP Party. We have no relationship with the right wing. We are a party which appeals to all groups. People from the Green Party come from all walks of life and all kinds of orientation."
Bonwick - "Some of the programs that were put in place did not meet expectations."
"We're liberal because we're liberal in the form of taking care of those that are weakest in society sir. And Pierre Trudeau was not a communist Pierre Trudeau was one of the greatest prime ministers this country has ever had. Pierre Trudeau brought in the Charter of Rights, one of the corner stones of our society. I would suggest sir we have a country that is better off because of the likes of Pierre Trudeau and those that were around him in his particular day."
Guergis - "This election in a word is clearly about accountability."
"Paul Martin clearly admitted he knew there was political direction here (ad sponsorship scandal). He made a commitment to Canadians and to taxpayers that he would get to the bottom of the situation before he called an election. Now he's admitting we'll probably never know. If this Liberal government gets reelected, that's right we will never know the answer to the question. It's shameful and it's disgusting."
MacKinnon - "(NDP leader) Jack Layton can make sure that these two parties, when they get into power, are watched, and also they put in their promises."
Vander Zaag - "This sponsorship scandal is systematic of what's happened in our country. I believe the moral fibre has disappeared or is disappearing rapidly in Ottawa. And that's where the CHP wants to restore our country. The moral fibre and ethics of that place."
Peter Vander Zaag: You only reap what you sow in life.
Published in the South-Simcoe Hall of Fame, May 26, 2004.
by Jason Ballantyne
We all have those moments that are burned into our memories, the ones that, in hindsight, change our lives forever. Alliston resident Peter Vander Zaag has many such moments which, even decades removed, still have him closing his eyes to recall them.
In one of them, he is back in Bangladesh as a 23-year-old, a civil war having just concluded. He had come halfway around the world to teach the Bangladesh people how to farm, for the most part, potatoes. The country was so dangerous, so volatile, that Vander Zaag had a personal guard watching his home at night. During the day the watchman doubled as a gardener.
The gardener came running up to Vander Zaag as he returned from his work one day.
"Sir! Sir! You have a baby!"
Vander Zaag was aghast. How could he, a chaste, single man, have a child?
Soon, he found the answer. A woman, destitute from the famine and poverty haunting the country, told the gardener she was leaving her dying child with someone she hoped could care for it. She herself was going off to die.
Vander Zaag and a neighbour who raised ducks, resuscitated the baby girl by caring for her like she was a baby chick. They fed her, kept her warm with a heat lamp. The girl lived and was eventually adopted by a family in Switzerland.
This is just one story of the innumerable lives Vander Zaag has touched and changed for the better, both through his direct actions and the agricultural reforms he has carried around the world.
Vander Zaag's own story started in 1950 in Alliston. He was the first Dutch kid born in town. He did his schooling at Tosorontio School No. 3, followed by high school at Banting Memorial. Then it was off to the University of Guelph to study agriculture for a bit before completing his Bachelor Degree at Cornell University in the U.S.
After Cornell, Vander Zaag headed out west to buy a farm and, while there, was asked three times to go to Bangladesh to do relief work. It was around this time the biggest influence to ever make an appearance in his life happened.
"I was asked to go and I kept saying no. Then God hit me over the head with a sledgehammer," he says. His life changed forever.
"I realized I couldn't live for myself. I had to live to serve the people of the world for God."
In Bangladesh he helped introduce dry crops, potatoes and wheat, to a country that based a huge part of its food economy on water-based goods like fish and rice.
It led to a revolution of sorts. They received a gold medal for their humanitarian work from Bangladesh's government and the country's Ministry of Agriculture personally thanked Vander Zaag for his work. The fact they were Christians working in a country that was predominantly Muslim was not lost on Vander Zaag.
Vander Zaag spent the next 20 years doing exactly that while living abroad. While in Bangladesh he met his future wife Carla who was living there with her missionary parents. The two eventually married and studied at the University of Hawaii, where Vander Zaag completed a PhD, writing his thesis on tropical soils.
He met two of his biggest influences in Hawaii, two pastors, Hubert Tatum and Dr. Robert Caudill, a Baptist preacher who used to translate straight from a Hebrew Greek bible while at the pulpit. Vander Zaag is now an ordained minister and worships at the Alliston Christian Reformed Church.
After graduating from Hawaii, Vander Zaag took the potato program far and wide, including to Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Uganda, the Philippines and south-east Asia, including China. The program was made up of practical lessons, including how to improve potato variety and farming technique.
Vander Zaag was made an honourary citizen of Rwanda by its president Juvenal Habyarimana just a few years before Habyarimana's plane was shot down, igniting the 100-day genocide that resulted in the deaths of close to one million Tutsis and political moderates at the hands of Hutu militia as well as ordinary citizens.
When he and his family came back to Alliston after so many years away, Vander Zaag looked at the world in a different light.
"It was pretty hard just to even go into Zehrs. Seeing all that food in a supermarket was enough to blow me away."
Never one to sit still, his humanitarian work continued in Canada despite his full-time job running the family farm on the Base Borden Road. He and his wife Carla have two biological children, Andy, 23, and Ruth, 19. They have also adopted four children, Jean An, 21, from the Philippines and Oscar, 18, Olivier, 16 and Odile, 13, from Rwanda. The children lost their parents in the genocide.
Vander Zaag has been involved on the board of directors for the Christian Farmers' Federation of Ontario (CFFO) and has done extensive work with the Canadian Foodgrains Project.
"How do you encapsulate someone like Peter?" says John Clement, with the CFFO. "He's a very educated man with a common touch that allows him to engage with people no matter what their station in life."
Clement says Vander Zaag has brought a real talent for leadership to the board of the CFFO and has helped the organization refine its governance structure.
Vander Zaag says his life is guided by three fundamental philosophies. First he serves God. Second, he takes care of his family and third, he deals with work and charity.
"My wife says I sometimes get numbers two and three mixed up," he says with a laugh.
He is now taking his talents into the political arena, running federally in Simcoe-Grey as the candidate for the Christian Heritage Party.
Christian Heritage hopeful says Canada needs a morality check;
Vander Zaag says Canada's global reputation not what it used to be
Jason Ballantyne
The Wasaga Beach Connection, June 4, 2004.
It has long been said that in polite company, politics and religion are two topics of conversation that are off limits. Not so with Alliston-native Dr. Peter Vander Zaag.
The 53-year-old is combining the two in his run for the Simcoe-Grey seat in Ottawa on behalf of the Christian Heritage Party (CHP) of Canada.
Grabbing a few minutes of Vander Zaag's time at this time of year is no easy task.
A farmer by trade, his days start earlier than most people's and end much, much later. Vander Zaag's work and his beliefs have gone hand in hand for the last 30-odd years. They are as intertwined as the roots that push deep into the soil of his family farm in Adjala-Tosorontio.
Little did he know the path his life would take when he set out for the University of Guelph to study agriculture. He finished his degree at Cornell University and then moved to western Canada to buy a farm. While there, he was asked to do some relief work in Bangladesh, a country that had just emerged from a bloody civil war. After declining the offer a couple times, his life took a sudden and abrupt turn.
"I was asked to go and I kept saying no. Then God hit me over the head with a sledgehammer," he said.
"I realized I couldn't live for myself. I had to live to serve the people of the world for God."
He was 23 years old at the time, and his globe-trotting days began.
Vander Zaag met his wife Carla — the daughter of missionaries stationed in Bangladesh — and the two eventually made their way to the University of Hawaii where Peter added the title 'doctor' to his name by completing a PhD in tropical soils.
After that, he worked for almost two decades and took a potato farming program far and wide, including to Rawanda, Burundi, Zaire, Uganda, the Philippines and south-east Asia, including China.
The program was made up of practical lessons, including how to improve potato variety and farming training. Apart from visiting 60 countries during his time abroad, Vander Zaag has published around 50 scientific articles on agriculture.
When he returned to South Simcoe in 1991, the change was, as he puts it, difficult.
"It was pretty hard just to even go into Zehrs. Seeing all that food in a supermarket was enough to blow me away," he said.
He and his wife Carla have two biological children — Andy, 23, and Ruth, 19. They have also adopted four children — Jeanan, 21, from the Philippines, and Oscar, 18, Olivier, 16, and Odile, 13, from Rawanda. The children lost their parents in the country's genocide 10 years ago.
Rather than just grow potatoes, Vander Zaag threw his time into local projects. He has served on numerous organizations including the board of the Alliston Community Christian School, the executive board of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, the executive board of Ag CARE and the Loaves and Fishes Growing Project of South Simcoe for the Canada Food Grains Bank.
So why politics?
Vander Zaag said he had been approached by many people about running for office. A one-time Canadian Alliance supporter, Vander Zaag left the party when it and the Progressive Conservative Party merged into the Conservative Party of Canada.
"My journey has led me to get politically involved," he said.
Vander Zaag is a member of the Christian Reformed Church in Alliston and is also an ordained minister and gives talks around the province.
Unlike many other politician, CHP members are pretty easy to pin down. They call for a return to a society based on moral and ethical certainty, and basic Christian principles. Vander Zaag said he looks at today's "liberal" culture in Canada and he doesn't like what he sees. Mass media, movies, music all showing and glorifying sex and violence, he said, has taken the country from the place of pride it used to enjoy in the world.
"When I travelled, people would see a Michael Jackson video on television and ask me, 'Is this what Canada stands for?' Our whole value system has degraded. Our moral standards are not what they used to be."
Vander Zaag said there was a time Canada flexed its political muscle on the international scene when it came to foreign aid. That, he said, is no longer the case.
"People don't look up to Canada like they used to. It's not like it used to be."
He said three hours worth of interest on the national debt — $16 million — is equal to the total amount the federal government gives each year to the Canadian Foodgrains Project. It makes him shake his head. He sees international aid as being an important plank in his platform.
"Every person in this nation has a responsibility to every other person on this earth. We are all accountable on the day of judgment."
Vander Zaag says his life is guided by three fundamental philosophies. First, he serves God. Second, he takes care of his family and third, he deals with work and charity.
"My wife says I sometimes get numbers two and three mixed up," he says with a chuckle.
For more information on the CHP, contact riding association president Mia Colaris at 705-423-9626 or Vander Zaag at 705-435-2827.
What kind of Canada do you want?
Letter to the Editor, May 24, 2004
Dr. Peter Vander Zaag
Dear Editor,
The four major political party leaders presented platforms on Sunday void of any moral foundation. Paul Martin talked of his party following Canada's Historical Values. What could be further from the truth? Our historical values are clearly outlined in our constitution written in 1867. The Supremacy of God clause, and the rule of law have been totally rejected by all four of the major political parties. Bill C250 (Hate Crimes), Bill C6 (permitting embryonic stem-cell use), and the same-sex marriage legislation are just three examples of how far we have deviated from what our forefathers established for Canada. How can we have effective social programs when our ethical values are upside down?
Martin and Harper both talked about building a strong economy using different pathways. Neither leader addressed the real issue—our 700 billion dollar debt. Again we are stealing from the next generations—this is immoral theft. We must address the debt and pay it off over a 25 year period as part of our overall economic plan for Canada.
Integrity in government was promised by both Harper and Layton. How can a government of integrity be built without the foundation of God's Holy Word, the Bible?
Finally, Paul Martin promises Canada will again become a world leader with its spheres of influence. From my travels, I can tell you that because of the immorality we have lost the respect of many of the world's nations. We can only become a world leader if we rebuild the crumbling moral foundation.
Voltaire, in the 18th Century, viewed Christianity as an infamous religion that had to be crushed. He wanted to replace it with a natural religion of reason, virtue and liberty—sounds good doesn't it? Voltaire predicted that within a short time Christianity and the Bible would be gone. Today Voltaire's home is used by a Bible Society and he is almost forgotten. Let this be a reminder to us that Christianity has withstood 200 years of fierce, intellectual criticism and we will withstand it now again.
The Christian Heritage Party (CHP) has exactly the plan that Canada needs now. Learn more about CHP at: chpsimcoegrey.ca or CHP.ca
Sincerely,
Peter Vander Zaag, PhD
Candidate, CHP Simcoe-Grey
THEY'RE OFF
Editorial from the Alliston Herald
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
The race is on, or so they say.
Prime Minister Paul Martin asked the Governor General to dissolve parliament on Sunday, clearing the way for an election on Mon., June 28. Of course unofficially, the campaign has long been underway as riding associations long ago chose their candidates for the federal race.
Locally, it's shaping up to be an interesting battle all the way to the polls as many of the candidates are better than they have ever been before.
Liberal incumbent Paul Bonwick stormed to victory four years ago with 45 per cent of the popular vote compared to 32 per cent who voted for the now defunct Alliance Party under the leadership of Stockwell Day and local candidate George Demery. The Conservatives came in third with 17.45 per cent for candidate Bill Dunkley. The NDP managed to swing only three per cent under Athlone resident Michael Kennedy.
All the other parties combined managed only to swing a total of two per cent.
This time around however, much has changed. The Alliance Party and Progressive Conservatives are gone, replaced by the much more popular and slightly more left Conservative Party of Canada. Locally they are also offering a strong candidate in Helena Guergis. She's sharp and well known and with the strength of the CPC behind her, she's likely to give Bonwick and his Liberals a run for their money.
Bonwick must overcome the tarnished image his government is carrying with them into the race as a result of the sponsorship scandal. You can bet the other candidates are not soon to let anyone forget.
On top of that there is one top quality candidate running against him for one of the fringe parties in the form of well-known local farmer Peter Vander Zaag.
Will the provincial Liberals and their most disappointing budget play a role in the federal race locally? In all likelihood they will. This riding has been predominantly blue in its politics throughout history and taking everything into account, local voters may have become tired of the red welcome mat out front.
The question over the next 30 days that remains to be answered is if the CPC is true enough and blue enough to swing the vote.
Stay tuned. CW
THEY'RE OFF AND RUNNING
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
By Morgan Ian Adams
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
© 2004 Collingwood The Enterprise Bulletin
Local News - SIMCOE-GREY — Peter Ellis spent the first day of the campaign distributing election signs.
Helena Guergis was out knocking on doors.
Peter Vander Zaag was meeting with his campaign team.
The federal election is on in Simcoe-Grey, as the five candidates — thus far, as prospective candidates have until June 7 to file their nomination papers with Elections Canada — gear up for a June 28 finish line.
Just as the leaders of the three main federal parties — Liberal, Conservative, and NDP — were talking about the nation’s values, so are the local candidates.
Vander Zaag, the Christian Heritage Party candidate, says the values being spoken of by Prime Minister Paul Martin and his main challenger Stephen Harper are misplaced.
“The rhetoric is great... with Paul Martin talking about the historic values and what kind of Canada we want,” said Vander Zaag when reached at his home in Alliston, yesterday. “But (Martin) is massaging our historic values into the Liberal values of today.
“We’ve forgotten the moral values... that’s been thrown out the window.”
“This is certainly about what kind of Canada do we want,” said Ellis, the Green Party candidate.
However, Ellis said those values need to be structured around preserving the environment.
“At some point, people have to listen (to the message) that we’ve really polluted our environment, very badly.”
In a news release issued about an hour after Martin announced the June 28 election, Guergis, the Conservative candidate, stated the voters of Simcoe-Grey “have the opportunity to show the federal government they’ve had enough of Liberal waste, scandal, and mismanagement.
“This election is about restoring honesty, integrity, and accountability to government,” she stated. “It’s also about strengthening our health care system and lowering taxes for Canadians.”
Speaking from his Cookstown residence, Ellis noted health care is certainly an issue, though the direction being taken by the major parties, is wrong-headed and based on “crisis management.”
“We shouldn’t be making people sick in the first place, and we can avoid a lot of illnesses by stopping pollution in the water and the air, and stop providing food that isn’t healthy.”
Vander Zaag enters federal race
Alliston Herald April 7, 2004
Same text as the article below.
Farmer Takes Christian Heritage Reins
Stayner Sun, April 7, 2004
By Janson Ballantyne
Peter Vander Zaag hopes what he sows in the next federal election campaign will lead to a bumper crop come election night. The local farmer and international agricultural scientist said he has accepted the candidacy for the Christian Heritage Party of Canada (CHP) in Simcoe-Grey. Vander Zaag said he has been approached numerous times by people encouraging him to get involved in politics. "I have been a very firm Alliance supporter, he said of the former right-of-center Canadian Party. Now that both it and the former Progressive Conservative Party have joined forces, Vander Zaag has moved to support the CHP. "In the next little while I hope to get a team of people together," he said from his farm in Essa. "There's no way I can do this by myself". Representing a party that has never received more than low single-digit support in previous elections will be a challenge, he said. "It's not easy. The sceptics think you're splitting the vote," he said.
Vander Zaag was born and raised in Alliston. After his university education he spent 20 years helping farmers, scientists and governments with food production related issues. He has traveled extensively and worked in 60 different countries. Vander Zaag has served on numerous organizations including the board of the Alliston Community Christian School, the executive board of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, the executive board of Ag CARE and the Loaves and Fishes Growing Project of South Simcoe for the Canada Food Grains Bank.
Vander Zaag spoke in Clearview Township last fall. He addressed a Canadian Food Grains Project banquet at Stayner Evangelical Missionary Church.
Although the party's core support comes from Christians, Vander Zaag said its message can apply to people from other faiths. "There are many devout Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists that share our value system," he said. The CHP candidate in the York-West riding -one with a large number of immigrants - has been receiving strong support. "I don't think we're excluding anyone," he said. The CHP's platform - listed on its website - stresses the application of "proven biblical principles" in society. Vander Zaag said he looks forward to taking part in any debates during the campaign.
Apart from incumbent Liberal MP Paul Bonwick, the Conservative Party of Canada has Helena Guergis as its candidate. The New Democratic Party has yet to choose a candidate for Simcoe-Grey. Many observers are predicting a spring election For more information on the CHP, contact riding association president Mia Colaris at 705-423-9626 or Vander Zaag at 705-435-2827
Ask Now
The Alliston Herald, March 31st 2004
All the elements are starting to come together to make for an interesting federal election, both nationally and on the local front. Nationally, we are embroiled in a terrific scandal over the misuse of millions of hard working Canadian's tax dollars. Locally, we have some excellent candidates throwing their hats into the political arena. Just two weeks after former provincial political staffer Helena Guergis from Angus won the Conservative nomination for the riding of Simcoe-Grey, another candidate has stepped forward. Well-known and well-liked local farmer Peter Vander Zaag announced Monday he will be running on behalf of the Christian Heritage Party.
Vander Zaag is an excellent candidate. He is smart, worldly and extremely active in the community. He's also of that most noble of professions - farming - and would, and likely will, draw a big farm vote. The biggest hurdle he'll face - in fact the only hurdle he'll face - is the past record of the party he has chosen. Had he elected to run for the Conservatives, MP Paul Bonwick would have a battle on his hands. As it stands, however, he now has two.
And if the recent buzz around government offices can be believed, that election may come sooner rather than later. The latest rumours are that Prime Minister Paul Martin and his Liberal government are eyeing the end of May to send Canadians to the polls. He knows that the fallout over the Quebec advertising scandal is only going to get worse as the government inquiry continues. It's just a matter of time before someone lowers themselves into the witness chair and points a finger in his direction.
A reminder to municipal councils across our region. Now is the time to get those federal funding requests out to the federal government. In case you haven't noticed the federal Liberals have already started the funds flowing to their ridings to lube up the voters before officially announcing the date we'll be headed to the polls. In new Tecumseth's case, now would be an excellent time to ask for about $10 million for a new rec centre.
Use proportional system next elections, report urges.
System would eliminate majority governments.
Globe and Mail, March 31, 2004
Our federal Liberals, who enjoy a comfortable majority in the House of Commons, would be struggling to hold together a coalition government if a new proposal for electing MPs through proportional representation had been in place during the last election.
Indeed, the proposal, to be tabled today by Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, would in effect put an end to majority governments of all stripes. The report from the respected Law Commission of Canada, a copy of which was obtained by the Globe and Mail, recommends switching from the present first past the post system of electing MPs to a modified form of proportional representation.
It recommends a system that would have seen the Liberals get 47 seats in the Commons in the 2000 election, compared with the 57 per cent the party won. If implemented, the new system could be in place in time for a 2007 or 2008 federal election. From that time on, traditional majority governments could become things of the past. Instead, coalitions would be formed from a potential plethora of parties in the House of Commons representing regional, class and special interests, though dominated by one of the traditional national parties.
In effect, the voters would continue to chose a MP to represent their riding (which would be enlarged), but they would also vote directly for the national government. A separate group of MPs would be elected from provincial lists based on each party's popular-vote percentage.
Although the recommendations are non-binding, the commission's stature and impartiality, and similar moves that are underway in several provinces, will add considerable impetus to efforts to address the so-called democratic deficit. "For the past decade or so, Canada has been in the grip of a democratic malaise evidenced by the decreasing levels of political trust, declining voter turnout, increasing cynicism towards political participation, and growing disengagement of young people from politics," the report, Voting Counts: Electoral Reform in Canada states.
After examining electoral models around the world (only Canada, Britian, the United States and India continue to use the first past the post system of electing governments), the commission opted for a modified version of what is called Mixed-Member Proportional representation. It was adopted for the new Scottish Parliament, which held its first election in 1999. Variations on this method are also in use in Germany and New Zealand.
In the polling booth, voters would have three choices: they would fist choose an MP for their riding from a list of candidates representing various parties. A winner would be elected using the traditional first-past-the-post method. But these ridings would make up only two-thirds of the representation in the House of Commons. (Each riding would be about one third larger than a typical riding of today.) From a second list, the voter would choose a political party that he or she wanted to see form the national government. A voter might select a constituency MP from one party, while supporting another party at the national level.
Within each province, MPs to make up the remaining third in the Commons would be chosen from a list of nominees submitted by each party, based on the portion of the popular vote each party received. The party's first choice would be the first MP selected if it qualified, the second choice would be the second MP, and so on. Parties would be encouraged, through financial and public-pressure incentives, to use the lists to increase representation by women, aboriginals and ethnic minorities. However, each voter could choose to reject the preferences of the party and nominate someone farther down the list as first choice. If a candidate received enough popular support, he or she would be moved to the top of the list, overriding the party's nominee.
In selecting MPs from the party lists, parties who elected more constituency MPs than was justified by their share of the provincial popular vote, would be punished, and parties who were underrepresented would be rewarded. Based on the experience of other jurisdictions, the final representation in Parliament would be roughly - not exactly - equal to each party's share of the national popular vote.
Since in is highly unlikely any party would receive more than 50 per cent of the national popular vote (the last was in 1984 with only three parties in the Commons), elections would almost certainly result in one or two parties having a substantial, but not majority, share of seats; with several smaller parties holding the balance of power. Forming a government could take weeks of negotiations, and any coalition would be less stable than a traditional majority government. However, other countries have managed coalitions without suffering from hung Parliaments and frequent elections.
