Monday, January 18, 2010

Who does this lazy Parliament represent anyway

Bill Longstaff: Who does this lazy Parliament represent anyway?
Excellent post by Bill Longstaff regarding what the make-up of parliament actually represents and what it does not.
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A telling passage from one letter particularly caught my eye:
Judging from the current “representation” most Quebecois want to quit the federation; most Canadians are reluctant to elect women; there are no Conservative supporters in Vancouver, Montreal or Toronto; there are no Liberal supporters in Alberta. There are no New Democrat supporters in Saskatchewan and remarkably few elsewhere, and no Green supporters anywhere in Canada.
Although it appears farcical, this is indeed what the current makeup of Parliament suggests, and it's a sad and disturbing message. The fact that Conservatives are not represented in our three major cities and Liberals are not represented in Alberta, even though many people in those areas support those parties, contributes to dangerous divisions in an already regionally divided nation. That millions of Canadians are unable to help elect someone who represents them is a democratic tragedy.
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