On Parliament Hill

A new poll by Forum Research says 65 percent of Canadians agree that a national referendum must occur before any changes are made to the way we elect our MPs. Only 18 percent said that giving Canadians a vote on the matter is not necessary and the remaining 17 percent had no opinion. In the poll’s summary, Dr. Lorne Bozinoff notes that the strong supportive majority “spreads across all regions and socioeconomic groups.” Yet Prime Minister Trudeau and his Liberal Government continue to come up with new ways to avoid letting Canadians vote on this important question.

In their latest attempt to avoid a referendum, the Liberals have told Canadians they are welcome to consult themselves. Instead of doing the right thing by giving Canadians a chance to vote in a referendum, the Liberals have told Canadians they can talk amongst themselves and let the government know what they think. They’ve even produced a 38-page booklet to help Canadians organize their own electoral reform discussions. Even if Canadians do wish to organize events like this, the Liberal Government has no obligation to legislate what is laid out in the responses. Consulting Canadians is never a bad thing, but no one has ever wanted to do a homework assignment that the teacher never intended on marking.

A referendum guarantees that Canadians – all Canadians – are heard and that our voices matter. Since the federal election saw the Liberals elected with less than 40 percent of the popular vote, it’s disingenuous to suggest that a majority of Canadians gave them a mandate to unilaterally change the electoral system. The notion becomes even more far-fetched when you consider that their campaign platform didn’t bother to explain what their proposed alternative to the existing system would be.

As I’ve asked before in this column; if the Liberals truly believe that Canadians will support their plan, why are they dragging their heels on calling a referendum? To be fair, Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef hasn’t ruled out a referendum, but she has expressed that she doesn’t feel a national vote is needed. She has also made comments suggesting she believes this issue is too complex for Canadians to consider. The aforementioned poll has made it clear that Minister Monsef’s position is out of touch with 65 percent of Canadians. Rather than telling Canadians to consult themselves, maybe it’s time the Liberals stopped ignoring what has already been said.