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The point of asking this question as was this. Given Canada’s 140-year-old national economic policy that favours economic development in the central region but not Atlantic Canada, will there ever be a serious attempt by the national government to create a prosperous regional economy in Atlantic Canada?

In the general election of 2000 the party that formed the majority government was NOT supported by 3 out of 4 electors. How low can a government’s electoral support go before it becomes illegitimate?

Can Atlantic Canada be prosperous as part of Canada?

In a democracy can a government be legitimate if elected with less than 50% of the votes?

Currently we are a fledgling party. We decided to keep the core policy group small for the start up, we wanted to get a coherent set of policies out there on the web and in print. Now our goal is to increase the size of the Executive, and then start to build a party that will contest provincial elections in the four Atlantic provinces. We have interest already from people with regards to membership and being candidates. However what we really need right now are a few good people to help join the Executive. Please contact me anytime. We are also looking for a few good people. As to 'advertorials', we are currently posting to quite a few political forums in Canada. Our original post was somewhat shamelessly self promotional but we were on topic and earnestly meant to engage interested forum participants in meaningful debate on issues that are important to all. Currently we aim to just ask tough questions, without direct references to ourselves, because we have something to say and we do want to hear other’s opinions, especially the intelligent people on this forum who obviously have an interest in politics and debate. As to ‘anonymous’ most of the posting is done by me at the moment, Jonathan Dean, Leader Halifax Nova Scotia You can reach me anytime though the party website (but I won’t mention the link, too promotional) jd

"Parliament's not working at all. It hasn't been working for a long time." - Joe Clark So why not finally wind it up? There are many advantages to abolishing the Canadian legislature (parliament and the senate): 1. Save many tens of millions of dollars a year, over 100 million for MP salaries and expenses alone, (salaries, staff, offices, travel, The Library, … ) Money that could be put towards programs for poorer Canadians. 2. Speed the implementation of bills by allowing smaller committees of only civil servants and ruling party members to hash out policy. 3. Help the PMO and ruling party focus more on policy, less on politics. 4. Free the media (and the public) from having to focus on parliament and the senate. 5. A more effective elimination process for private-member bills and opposition motions not supported by the PMO and the ruling party; they simply never occur. 6. Raise the standard of politics by eliminating the ineffectual debates in parliament and the senate. 7. Allows for fewer active members of the majority party since backbenchers are no longer needed. 8. It frees the government from stall tactics and criticism by the opposition until the next election. 9. Allows the PMO and the ruling party to finally consolidate power allowing more efficient governance. 10. Opposition MPs and senators would be freed to return to a more productive private life. 11. The parliamentary buildings could be put to a more useful role. Abolishing parliament seems a logical step for our current system, doesn’t it?

Do you mean division of powers or legislature(s)? We are Canadians. Why not simply improve the system?

What do you mean by power sharing? Power sharing aka a division of powers. We stress the importance of separating the executive from the legislature (both federal and provincial). Currently the legislature is controlled by the executive, voting is dictated. Why bother with the expense of a legislature? What purpose is it serving? Along with any electoral reform (not just voting systems), as has been mentioned, there has to be fixed election dates, direct democracy structures, etc But most important power must be shared so that the legislature can restrain and oversee the executive. Voting should not be a forgone conclusion. And this is not a ‘republican’ system, it is simply the more original version of the parliamentary system. tap

Several have mentioned minority versus majority governments when discussing this issue. Should electoral reform be discussed at all given the current political system or should changes also be contemplated for the political system also along with any electoral changes? Consensus versus minority versus majority governments? A parliamentary system versus one with power sharing?

Should we keep FPTP (first past the post) for our elections? Or should the system be reformed to use STV (single transferable vote) or PR (proportional representation)? Why? If you think there should be reform how will it happen? Or is electoral reform not important?

Thank you. We are provincial in the four Atlantic provinces.

We are a fledgling party. We are currently looking to expand our Executive with dedicated and interested people and we are working our way through the registration process in NS, PEI, NB and NF. Any suggestions for us? tap

We have just released our first ever policy platform! The Atlantica Party will introduce Single Transferable Vote (STV) for provincial elections and ban election contributions from all sources in favor of equal election financing for each candidate. These reforms are needed to ensure fairer elections, allow more political voices to be heard, encourage citizens to become engaged in elections, and present voters with more electoral choice. The Atlantica Party will reform the provincial political system by re-establishing the independence of the Legislature from the Executive. This sharing of powers between the citizen's representatives in the Legislature and the Executive will encourage freer debate, better decision making, and establish stricter public oversight of government operations. The Atlantica Party will also institute in a prudent fashion several direct democracy tools for use by citizens, including Citizen's Initiative and Recall. The Atlantica Party commits to increasing the voice of the region within Confederation in order to reverse the neglect of this region by the Federal Government. To learn more about our policies or about the party please visit us at www.atlanticaparty.ca You can email us at [email protected] or reply to this email. For discussion please visit our new discussion forum at www.atlanticaparty.ca/forum Enjoy. The Atlantica Party Executive. Leading The Movement For Real Reform.

Hello, If Easterners are 'backward', 'third world', with no economy and no political power are these not even more reasons to reform our systems, political and electoral and give serious consideration to our place in Confederation? Easterners where none of those things in 1867. If we are all of these things today then who is to blame? Also we are not affiliated in any way with AIMS, we are private citizens who are going to make a difference. Please check out the web site www.atlanticaparty.ca The Atlantica Party Executive.

Atlantica is simply a concept dreamed up by corporations like the Irving's so that they can more readily move things across the U.S./Canada border. A mini-FTA if you will. This is a concept not only about the Atlantic provinces, but a good part of southern Quebec, and parts of Ontario, as well as the Northeasten United States, like Maine, NH, MA, NY, VT. etc. We just had a conference on this issue held in Saint John, NB at which admission fee was $600.00 per person, and just like the APEC Summit in BC, peaceful protestors were arrested. This is not a concept or political party that should be supported, because one of the goals of Atlantica is the lowering of labour standards to the lowest common denominator. Mr. Irving and his political lap-dogs including the Premier of New Brunswick, Bernard Lord think that this is a great concept. Well if anyone knows anything about the Irving's they do nothing unless there is something in it for themselves. Greed is what motivates proponents of Atlantica. Hello, The Atlantica Party is not affiliated with AIMS or the Atlantica Economic Region concept. We are private citizens seeking reform of our electoral and political systems. Please see our web site. Thank you. The Atlantica Party Executive

A new party representing the region of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador. Electoral Reform Political Reform Regional Reform The Atlantica Party Executive www.atlanticaparty.ca