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"A system of proporational representation will go a long way in ensuring our government is more diverse, inclusive and representative of the country we live in." — Larry Brown, NUPGE President
Ottawa (15 Sept. 2016) — "This will be the last election under the current electoral system." That's what Justin Trudeau told people during the last election. Since the election of the Liberal government, many opponents against the first past the post system have been lobbying for a system of proportional representation, or PR.
Proportional representation only way to make electoral system fair
Canada’s largest labour organization is marking Democracy Day on September 15 with the launch of a campaign backing proportional representation. The campaign includes a 30-second long animated video being promoted on-line, online ads and with a petition hosted on ChoosePR.ca.
“Our electoral system is broken, and we know that proportional representation is the only way to make it fair,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.
“Canadians agree that no party should get a majority of seats without a majority of votes and that we should be able to vote for who we want, instead of being forced time and again to vote out who we don’t,” he added.
"We've waited a long time for this overhaul," said Larry Brown, President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE). "A system of proporational representation will go a long way in ensuring our government is more diverse, inclusive and representative of the country we live in."
Union members across the county to take part in government consultations
The CLC and its affiliated unions, of which NUPGE is one, are mobilizing members across the country to ensure their voices are heard at regional town halls hosted by MPs, at consultations by the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reform and at consultations held by Maryam Monsef, the Minister of Democratic Institutions.
“We are glad that the government has called for electoral reform and we know that proportional representation works in more than 80 other countries around the world, and will work for Canada,” said Yussuff.
The CLC belongs to the Every Voter Counts Alliance, a diverse coalition of more than 60 Canadian civil society organizations calling for proportional representation.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 360,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE