LILLEY: Trudeau’s arrogance on full display in answer to student

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The reply from Justin Trudeau was as boastful because it was flamboyant, as condescending because it was dismissive of Canada’s present electoral system.

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On Monday, Trudeau was attending a townhall with highschool college students as a part of the go to of Chilean President Gabriel Boric.

After opening statements from every chief, college students had been inspired to ask questions. When one of many highschool college students requested Trudeau if he would preserve his promise to herald electoral reform and a type of proportional illustration, the PM obtained animated.

“Uh, no! I don’t consider in proportional illustration. I don’t suppose it’s a good suggestion,” Trudeau mentioned.

“I really like the concept of a ranked poll the place you get to choose your first alternative – you recognize, decide the pink man first after which orange lady second after which the inexperienced individual third, and you then by no means get the blue individual.”

There’s a lot that’s mistaken with Trudeau’s reply, from his perspective proper by means of to telling highschool college students that they need to by no means vote Conservative. This wasn’t a Liberal Social gathering occasion. This was a part of an official go to from a international head of state through which Trudeau’s important job was to behave as prime minister of all Canadians.

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As Trudeau went on, he claimed that he has by no means supported proportional illustration and has all the time most well-liked a ranked poll. It’s price asking why proportional illustration was put ahead as an choice for electoral reform when he ran on the problem in 2015.

“We’ll convene an all-party Parliamentary committee to evaluation all kinds of reforms, similar to ranked ballots, proportional illustration, necessary voting, and on-line voting,” the Liberal platform promised.

A Commons committee was struck to check the concept. They crossed the nation listening to from consultants and common residents about what they wish to see if the electoral system had been modified.

The Particular Committee on Electoral Reform spent greater than 200 hours and in extra of $600,000 to compile their 333-page report recommending a type of blended member proportional illustration. The Trudeau authorities then ignored the report as a result of the committee didn’t give them the popular choice of a ranked poll.

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Liberals love the concept of a ranked poll as a result of they consider they’re everybody’s second alternative, and that the system will enable them to win extra seats. It’s not about imposing a fairer system or one which engages extra voters and improves voter turnout; for Trudeau, it’s about discovering a system that’s higher for the Liberal Social gathering of Canada.

Contemplate that beneath a pure proportional illustration system, Trudeau would have misplaced the final two elections after dropping the favored vote to the Conservatives. Or, that within the 2015 election, he would have gained 133 seats and had a minority authorities as an alternative of his 184-seat majority.

The reality is we don’t want to vary our electoral system.

The present system isn’t good, however no system is with out flaws. Proportional illustration, which favours celebration lists of candidates over native decision-making, will all the time put extra energy within the palms of backroom operatives. That’s not one thing anybody ought to assist.

Ranked poll is solely the hope that the second or third positioned candidate can outdo the individual with essentially the most votes and is a recipe for mediocrity.

Our present system has served us nicely for hundreds of years and nonetheless does.

Regardless of Trudeau’s apparent disdain for our voting system and his want to seek out one which works higher for the Liberals, we should always preserve the one we’ve.