Re: “System of government we have is a good one” (Citizen, Sept. 30)
I suggest that a system of government which enables a political party to have a majority of seats in the House of Commons, when more than 60 per cent of the voters vote against it, could benefit from some improvements.
I am looking forward to reviewing some of the proposals which are being made to the special committee on electoral reform. I agree that a problem with proportional representation is that governance coalitions are deemed necessary for political survival. One of the briefs submitted to the special committee proposes a proportional representation system using the same electoral districts, ballot forms, and ballot counting procedures that are currently used, together with having the prime minister selected by a majority of the elected members of parliament using secret ballots, similar to the protocol used for selecting the speaker of the House.
This would emphasize the prime minister’s responsibility to parliament and would enable the prime minister to select a cabinet from the most capable and experienced members of parliament, regardless of their political affiliation. If needed, the members of parliament could replace the prime minister, using another majority-selection process, without the need for calling a general election. Perhaps such a proposal could extend true democracy to the House of Commons as well as to the electorate of Canada.
Robert Radford
Duncan