Bortron

Well I think the voting is a great idea to make the whole family happy, but I would hire a carpenter to implement the ideas we voted on, which is why I said we would elect officials to implement the legislation.

Well I suppose the people we would elect to implement the legislation would also propose it. With this kind of a system our elected officials would simply lose the power that they really shouldn't have anyways. They would bring up the issues and we would decide what course of action we want them to take on the issues. This would be true democracy, no party nonsense. In fact party politics could be eliminated altogether. We would lobby our elected officials to propose the legislation we want; once proposed we vote.

We have the technology to allow everyone to have the opportunity vote on every piece of legislation, so why are we still electing people to make our decisions for us? Why not have a referendum on every issue? We no longer need to elect anyone to make decisions just to implement them.

lol

I'm from a rural area and I enjoy hunting safely and responsibly; I see no need to register long guns. Ending the pointless gun registry is the only thing I like about the Harper government. Good job Conservatives and NDP, I'm glad you guys can get along on this one issue. I've been against the gun registry since I was a a kid. As for the RCMP, shouldn't you guys be trained to always assume there is a fire arm present when arriving at a private residence? I fail to see how knowing there is a gun present in a home will affect you strategy; if anything I'd say the registry would breed complacency.

Maybe they are....

I have to say you have actually given me some things to consider; I like your views.

I never said the PR system is perfect people and the majority of people I've personally come into contact with agree its superior despite their political affiliation, but it's not something I talk about a lot. I see many of the posters on here disagree, that's fine. I wasn't intending for this to be a debate on the PR system just on the consequences if it was implemented.

I usually disagree with my profs actually. Most of them are left-wing nut jobs.

Yeah I'd agree with that, it's not a hard sell to me. Your 100% correct about the cohesion issue and I pretty much agree with you on most points. The main issue I was hoping people would discuss is the fact that Conservatives in Canada are over represented in Parliament and that parliament poorly represents the dominant political culture in Canada. lol Didn't think we were gonna get into electoral process and the advantages and disadvantages of the PR system.

Machjo I think you should look at this more pragmatically. You can't change things over night, specially in a country like Canada. One step at a time my friend.

Interesting... I'd still have to say that PR is a good next step to eliminating parties, it's not too drastic but if implemented correctly could put us on the right track. Preferential voting isn't perfect I just think that overall it is better then FPTP style in giving people the most value for their vote and better represents the political climate of the country. I really believe this is the next step we need to take in Canada.

don't know didn't think you guys would know what it was probably, sorry for the under estimation.

Your obviously anti-party and I said that there is a lot of different ways this could be done, perhaps there is a way we could eliminate parties all together, I know I'd like to see it happen. I think we're on the same page. You may be right about me mixing up Germans with the Australians, I didn't think this was gonna turn into this sort of a debate and I was ill prepared, its been about 6 years since I read anything on electoral process in a PR system.

lol I know what it is and I got all my Poli Sci credits.

It certainly seems new to you.

I'm not a fanatic and I don't think in absolutes. Ya don't have to like one man and hate the rest, but granted if your a conservative in Canada ya don't got many options hence this thread.

Seriously are you screwing with me? lol Yes to a certain degree you are voting for the party BUT the candidate comes first. The guy that gets the most first place votes gets the seat. It's very complicated and not perfect, but your obviously a thoughtful individual and you must be able to see the merit in this system. To me it is far far superior to the one we have now in Canada.

Man I really don't want to explain all this, look it up on your own. You rank the candidates you don't just vote for the party. You rank the guys running in you riding, ya know like 1st 2nd and 3rd. look at the German system it will explain everything, it's complicated but it works, when ya understand it come back and post.

You vote for more then one candidate, so you rank them basically.

lol

Independents actually have a much easier time getting elected, this really is a step away from the partisan system, I wouldn't lie to you.

You vote for candidates too. Once again I'll say look at the German system. It makes perfect sense.

So you don't think everyone deserves representation and they shouldn't get the most power from their vote that they can, got it. I like knowing my vote means something and if PR gives my vote more importance I'm all for it.

By non-partisan I mean I support no single party and I think this is a step away from the partisan system actually. There's different models for this style of system I would recommend examining the German system to start. Personally though I don't think this is the best form either, but it's just obviously superior to the one we have and is the next evolutionary step so to speak.