We were rightly outraged to see Justin Trudeau shamelessly reneging on his promise to change the voting system, but he at least did so openly.
The hypocritical way in which François Legault tries to drown the reform to which he had committed himself in writing, assuring then that he did not want to make a Trudeau of himself and thus contribute to fuel the cynicism of the population, is even more shocking.
For two years, Mr. Legault has maneuvered to ensure that, contrary to his commitment, the 2022 elections are held according to the current rules, despite the significant distortions they generate. The way things are going, it’s as if he wanted to make sure that they will still apply in 2026, even in 2030. After all, we have been talking about this for fifty years.
Initially, there was never any question of having the new voting system approved by referendum; the Prime Minister said he would be satisfied with the support of two of the three opposition parties. However, it was difficult to oppose such a fundamental reform being submitted to the people.
Holding the referendum at the same time as the elections, as provided for in Bill 39 which was tabled in the National Assembly in September 2019, allowed substantial savings, but had the result of postponing the entry into force of the new rules. to 2026.
The Chief Electoral Officer had first warned that the bill had to be adopted before February 2021 – or June 2021, at the limit – so that the necessary preparations for the holding of the referendum were completed on time. We can now wonder if it will be adopted by mid-June 2022 or if it will die on the order paper when the Assembly is dissolved for the elections. In this case, who can know if and when it will reappear?
Since its adoption in principle, on October 8, 2020, it has languished in parliamentary limbo. Mr. Legault had assured the New Democracy Movement (MDN) that the clause-by-clause study of the project would be undertaken at the appropriate time, but that moment never seems to come.
We first mentioned the pandemic, then the need for the President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, also responsible for the reform of the voting system, to focus on the renewal of collective agreements in the public sector. In several other cases, the government has shown that it can walk very well and chew gum at the same time.
The DND representatives tried in vain to obtain a meeting with the Prime Minister in order to get the facts straight. Last July, he was given a grant of $ 75,000, like giving a cookie to a child to calm him down.
It is true that the reform of the voting system does not unleash passions: the media are no longer interested in the issue, and even the opposition parties now seem to find it pointless to return to it. If Mr. Legault has decided to permanently close the file, he should at least do as Justin Trudeau and say so clearly.
From a partisan point of view, it is obvious that a proportional system can have serious drawbacks. Applied in the last federal election, the compensatory formula provided for in Bill 39 would have given the following results: 117 Conservative MPs, 115 Liberals, 61 New Democrats, 26 Bloc members, 14 MPs from the People’s Party and 5 Green MPs.
This would still have allowed Mr. Trudeau to form a government based on the NDP, but Jagmeet Singh would have been able to set his conditions. We can understand Mr. Trudeau’s preference for the “preferential ballot”, which would have earned him 160 MPs and 31 in the NDP.
During the presentation of Bill 39, Mr. Legault had said he was ready to be satisfied with leading a minority government if this were to be the consequence of the establishment of a proportional voting system. However, he has been able to appreciate the advantages of a majority since.
The bill was designed to give a “winner’s bonus,” which the CAQ reportedly already received in 2018 and will receive even more next year. But polls are so favorable to him that the current fashion could result in a real sweep, which would only leave crumbs to other parties.
The ins and outs of proportionality are well known. Rather, the question has become an issue of political ethics. Never has a Prime Minister spoken out in favor of reforming the voting system as much as Mr. Legault did. It is high time he explained himself.