Last week the Liberal government announced they would not be proceeding with the promised changes to the electoral system and the NDP are unhappy about the decision.
“We are very disappointed that it didn’t go into further conversations,” MP Rachel Blaney said.
Last fall Blaney hosted town halls across the region about electoral reform, educating as well as gathering input from her constituents.
“There was a general consensus that they wanted to see something more proportional, they weren’t sure what the system was that would best meet their needs but they wanted to have that conversation,” she said.
The committee produced a 300 page report detailing their findings and recommending a course of action to meet the deadline set by elections Canada to choose a new system. But Blaney said that the minister at the time “really rejected” the report.
“I think when you look at the reality, the committee heard many people and 90 per cent of the experts and 80 per cent of the public testimony called for the government to adopt a more proportional voting system,” she said.
Though there was a cabinet shuffle and a new minister appointed, the Liberals backed out of their election promise to reform the system.
