Court has granted Elizabeth May the right to make case for Proportional Representation

OTTAWA -- Elizabeth May will be an intervenor in a court challenge arguing that the first-past-the-post electoral system contravenes the fairness required by Section Three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  Fair Vote Canada has also been granted intervenor status in the case.  Spearheaded by L'Association pour la revendication des droits démocratiques (ARDD), a Quebec democratic rights group, the case (Gibb v. Quebec's Attorney General and Quebec's Director General of Elections) is currently being heard in the Quebec Court of Appeal, and is expected to go all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Both May and Fair Vote Canada will be represented by renowned Canadian Constitutional lawyer, Peter Rosenthal.  With a legal team headed by powerhouse Julius Grey, the case has been winding its way through the courts since 2007. 

“In the research for my last book, I was struck by the fact that countries that still use the first past the post system  -  Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom  --  are the countries where there is a worrying decline in voter turn-out, particularly among young people,” said May.  “Almost a million Canadians voted Green in the last election and under the current system they are not represented in Parliament and that is not fair.  It shows how our electoral system is distorted and prevents meaningful participation in the process of choosing our government.” As Leader of the Green Party of Canada and author of seven published books, including the most recent Losing confidence: Power, politics and the crisis of democracy in Canada, May is a leading advocate for a healthier democracy.

There are a number of forms of Proportional Representation (PR). These include pure PR, Single Transferable Vote (STV), and Mixed Member Proportional (MMP).  Under all of these systems the Green Party would have elected Members of Parliament in 2006 and 2008.  Under pure PR, the 2008 election would have resulted in approximately sixteen Green Members of Parliament, while the other PR systems would have produced between six and thirteen. 

Multiple public commissions have examined and debated changes to the voting system and each time recommended a proportional voting system.  No referendum has yet been held on this question in Quebec though draft legislation was tabled that would have seen elements of proportional representation introduced.  Referenda in other provinces were widely criticized for confusing the public with misinformation campaigns, lack of effective and clear information, too high thresholds to pass and low participation rates. 

In February of this year, an Environics Research poll conducted for the Council of Canadians found that 62% of Canadians support "moving towards a system of proportional representation (PR) in Canadian elections, with support even higher among young Canadians.

“We desperately need a renewal of democracy in this country,” said May.  “This may mean forging ahead with proportional representation and taking lessons learned by other countries who have done the same to come up with an electoral process that is truly meaningful and engages all Canadian voters.  It is a big step and we may need a push from the courts to point out that our current system is not respecting the spirit of the democratic rights and freedoms that our Charter guarantees.”

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Contact Information:
Debra Eindiguer
Press Secretary
Green Party of Canada
c: 613.240.8921
media@greenparty.ca
www.greenparty.ca