Kathleen Wynne: finally a politician showing sense and integrity on coalition issue

I’ve written before about how Canada has the most ridiculous version of democracy in the free world:

1. Primitive voting system awards unfettered power to minority parties excluding the actual majority

2. Appointed senate filled with partisan hacks

3. Stuck with some other country’s monarch as our head of state

4. Corrupt fourth estate: owned by corporations; suppresses voting reform; influences elections

If that isn’t bad enough, over the past few years we’ve had corrupt politicians trying to destroy what little democracy we have — not to mention mangling the constitution — by attacking coalition government.

Outside of the loonie bin

In the rest of the developed world coalition governments are the norm. They tend to form stable governments that serve out the entire term without nonsense.

Here in Canada, we award an unearned advantage in a “minority” situation. The leading minority party gets first crack at forming the government. This is foolish because the parties arbitrarily divide the political spectrum. So the leading party is arbitrary.

In other developed countries, the leading minority party means nothing. After an election parties haggle to put together a government. The coalition that represents an actual majority forms the government. (Crazy idea, huh?)

Wynne

So it’s good to see that Wynne has the courage to grab this ridiculous bull by the horns. (Of course we can’t rely on the corporate media to do its jobs and inform Canadians how our god damn democracy actually works!)

Fixing our democracy

Aside from making Canada an actual democracy with voting reform, (that would be asking too much…) a quick fix could be to demand that coalition governments form in a minority situation — and that they commit to serving out the entire 4 year term.

The UK currently has a minority-government special arrangement like this which makes it very difficult for any party to force and election due to political advantage.

So whether the Liberal or NDP forms a minority government, or both can form a majority government, they should commit to a 4 year term — ending minority government instability — and do what voters put them there to do: govern.

Mulcair

BTW, federal NDP leader Tom Mulcair has also come out in support of coalition government (after reversing an earlier erroneous position on the issue.)