A voice for change

Andrew Coyne has already earned plenty of plaudits for his willingness to call out those who blindly support the Cons. But while that post's appeal may have itself rested largely on a partisan base, his column today on Ontario's Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform looks to have potential appeal across the political spectrum, as it offers a strong mainstream voice in favour of a move to PR:

This weekend, the assembly will decide whether to recommend sticking with the present system, known as "first past the post," or whether, as seems all but certain, to propose adopting a form of proportional representation, the system in use in most of the democratic world. The issue would then be put to the voters in a referendum, to coincide with this fall's provincial election. And if Ontario goes for it, you may be sure the idea will take on new life elsewhere.

By rights, the referendum ought to overshadow the election, a pallid affair between two cautious centrists that will change nothing. Change the electoral system, on the other hand, and you change everything, not least the predominance of cautious centrists: poll-driven, essentially interchangeable brokerage parties who wouldn't know an idea -- or a principle -- if it bit them in the leg. Electoral reform holds the potential, as nothing else does, to transform our politics, from the present squalid auction of state favours to a genuine contest of philosophies.

Which is why the two main parties, Liberals and Conservatives, are already lining up against it. (The NDP is in favour, though for scarcely less self-interested reasons.) Expect to see other interests, heavily invested in the status quo, campaign strenuously to defeat it. The Citizens Assembly? It has the support of a handful of geeks like me. But stay tuned...

Coyne notes some personal concerns with the exact model chosen by the Citizens Assembly, but ultimately concludes that the proposed system is still a significant improvement on the status quo. And if voices like Coyne's are leading the fight publicly, then the odds of Ontario blazing a new Canadian trial on needed electoral reform figure may become much less daunting than they may have seemed.

Update: Greg has more.