Ontairo’s election referendum seems to be full of “Buzz Words”, like “poplar vote”, “lose your vote” and “your vote isn’t being counted”, unless you voted for the winning candidate.  Well isn’t that the basis of our system.  There are lots of places where electoral reform could be implemented but there are no signs of anything-meaningful coming down the pike for a long time.

My greatest fear is that the proposed reformed system will allow the very people who are constantly lying to us now being able to choose un-elected politicians to represent us. Our elected representatives are going to be spread out more thinly so what little representation we did have is going to be weakened.

If you think appointed politicians are going to do anything to represent Joe Taxpayer, just look at the Ontario Municipal Board.  Ontario is the only province in Canada that has formed a board of political appointee’s who overturn decisions made by our local elected officials.  Over 70% of decisions apparently go in favour of the big developers and the like.  I would assume the 30 or less percent is just the OMB turning down the average taxpayer who wants to sever a lot or get a minor variance.  Do we want to put more un-elected officials in a position of power?

How anyone could think that allowing a group of people, who are known for promising the moon to get elected and then breaking every promise they made, to come up with any meaningful election reform is daydreaming.  We should enact an honesty law.  Any politician who breaks a promise that he has put in writing is immediately brought before the Supreme Court and if found guilty is kicked out with no benefits or pension rights. Think that might have a positive impact on all the lying, which we are faced with from majority of politicians.  Look at Tony Guergis, mayor of Springwater, to get elected he put an ad in the paper that he was against site 41, a major campaign issue at the time.  Rumour had it that he was going to support it.  Mr Guergis put an ad in the paper stating that he was against it to enhance his chances of being elected. When the time came to vote, he not only supported site 41 but also was instructing other mayors to vote for it.  Think we might need a little bit of “election reform” in those types of  situations?  Now the irony of the proposed referendum, Mr Guergis could be put on the proposed list and be appointed to power, enabling him to collect pension benefits etc while he quite possibly never would ever be elected by the voters in Springwater again. Is there anything wrong with this picture?

Also we will be adding around 30 more people to the already bloated and rich pension plan for politicians.  Now the parties will have a means of legally getting the public to pay off their political cronies and supporters.  Just appoint them a couple of times and they receive a pension for life.  Do any of your neighbours or people you know have a chance of reaping these kinds of rewards, probably not?

The most dangerous part of this process is that, once you give away your right to elect these people, you will never get it back.  Can you imagine any of the 30 or so elected people voting to end their feeding at the public trough? It isn’t going to happen, it will be lost forever. Think about our Senate, a useless government office, which costs the taxpayers a fortune, and its only use is reward Federal Government political friends and supportors for favours done for the party.  Why would anyone in his or her right mind ever support something that stinks of political patronage and flies in the face of the democratic process?  While only my own opinion, it rankles my mind to think that this might slip by the collective conscious of the Ontario voters.

Remember, whenever you give up a freedom or right, it is impossible to undo. Look to history and learn from other countries past mistakes…..Germany, Russia and the list goes on.