FairvoteWRC meeting 2017-09-27

Guided Discussion for Fair Vote Canada Strategy 2019

These are the resources and meeting notes for the Discussion Night meeting we held on Wednesday, 27 September 2017 at 7:00pm in the Bread & Roses Community Meeting Room.

Resources

Host Guide

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B5wRCtOTJB3wwE3DOcA65-S4vC-btBycaRuImivg3lU/edit?usp=sharing

Fair Vote Canada Strategic Plan

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lIyZ1XIGqv-ykXqCJWW-eBMyyDWuCScbzbj6AE1wmJs/edit?usp=sharing

Survey Results

https://secure.fairvote.ca/sites/secure.fairvote.ca/files/civicrm/persist/contribute/images/2017_funding%20next%20leg_2019plan_donatepage.png?noload

Meeting Announcement

http://listserv.thinkers.org/pipermail/fvc-wat-announce_listserv.thinkers.org/2017-September/000996.html

Meeting Notes

https://sobac.com/wiki/FairvoteWRC_meeting_2017-09-27

Meeting Notes

Meeting notes taken by Bob Jonkman.

Introductions

“Why is this issue personally important to you? What makes you care about this issue enough to join us tonight? ”

• 5 MPs have only 29% support in their riding.
• Furious about numbers. How can we fix it?
• Last few elections elected a majority with only 39%.
• Promises are not kept.
  • (participant has been copying letters to Bardish Chagger)
• Promise broken.
• Need a collaborative or coalition government .
  • Better social programs, &c.
• Have been voting Green, but my vote hasn't been effective.
• Broken promise.
  • But there's still time to pass legislation to implement Electoral Reform!
• Needed to vote strategically because of the promise of Proportional Representation.
• Need a better system for working together.
• Started with the 2007 Ontario Referendum.
• Parties are elected with minuscule numbers.
  • (participant worked with "Vote Together", "Lead Now", &c)
• Annoyed when promises are broken.
• Promises...
• Just getting involved in politics, checking out Fair Vote.
• Wish we had a real representative democracy; instead we have gross distortions
• False majorities, wrong-way winners.
• Hate voting strategically.
• Still hopeful!
• Impatient -- have been voting for decades, still haven't elected anyone.
• Change the rules for voting, but we need approval from the politicians to change.
  • Who were elected with the current system, and so are unlikely to want it changed.
• Had given up on voting, but didn't understand the problem that made the popular vote not equal to the number of seats.
• Can't call ourselves a democracy.
• Promise broken.
• Every election things get worse.
• Working in politics, now understand the wasted vote and wasted effort.
• Politicians promised PR, didn't deliver.
• Heard Brian Tanguay speak.
• Fed up with Liberal promise: Campaign from the left, govern from the right.
• Unfair system (First Past The Post)
  • Canada is only one of three FPTP countries.
• Want local representation.
• It's a money game.
  • More $$ means more chance to win the election.

Where are people from?

Cambridge	0
Kitchener--Conestoga	2
Kitchener Centre	5
Kitchener South--Hespeler	2
Waterloo	4

Pro-PR MPs-- at risk?

• Hah! No MP (in Waterloo Region) really supports Proportional Representation!

Bardish Chagger (Liberal, Waterloo)

• Never said anything in favour.
• Made election promise "Last FPTP election"
• Toes the party line.

Marwan Tabbara (Liberal, Kitchener South--Hespeler)

• Is an animal of the Party.
• May not have a real opinion.
• Will back the Party on anything.
• Wants to be an MP, stay an MP.
  • Will switch his opinion on anything as necessary to stay elected.
• Marwan's letter was not personally written.
  • He has very good staff to do that for him, fooled some people into thinking it was genuine.

Raj Saini (Liberal, Kitchener Centre)

• Toes Party line.
• Made weak arguments about the Party line (and why he broke his promise)
• Got into politics because he wanted a National Pharmacare plan
  • But he didn't bother to show up for the Council of Canadians' presentation on Pharmacare.
• When we delivered petitions he seemed afraid of us.
• He owes his job to the Party.
• During the campaign he was very well informed on PR, and was in favour.

Miscellaneous Comments

• We still have years until 2019, we can make existing MPs suffer.
  • But the parliamentary process requires 24 months lead time to enact Electoral Reform.
• MPs aren't engaged with us.
  • We need to protest, throw red paint filled balloons at their constituency offices.
  • Civil disobedience!
• MPs need to own what they say
• Use #hashtags on social media to coordinate flash mobs to engage in civil disobedience.

Is this a "Safe Riding"?

Kitchener Centre (Raj Saini, Liberal)

• Kitchener Centre is not a safe riding for Raj Saini.
  • But the chance of electing an NDP or Green MP? Can't happen.

• Is speaking with MPs effective?
  • Hasn't been...
    • Then why continue to do that?
• Youth wants to do something.
  • Use crowdfunding to activate the youth.
• General population doesn't understand our current system, the problems with it, or the solution.
  • Even highly educated people!
• Focus less on MPs, Fair Vote should concentrate on educating people
  • This gives us the leverage to influence MPs
  • That leverage is the threat of not being re-elected.
• But Main Stream Media is complicit (in suppressing info on ER)
  • Try to attract media, but keep it completely non-violent.
• We Are The Media
  • Everyone has cell phone cameras and uses social media.
• Hold public events to attract the Main Stream Media, and shame the MPs.

Waterloo (Bardish Chagger, Liberal)

• Safe seat? Waterloo is a swing riding.
  • Has NDP MPP, previous PC and Liberal MPs.
    • Even an NDP MP! (Wikipedia:Max Saltsman from 1964 to 1979)

• How would "Vote Together" work?
  • People won't do it again.
• Fair Vote should just get people to vote!
  • but wasted votes...
• With education people are more inclined to vote.
• Get together with other groups.
  • eg. Anti-poverty groups (Basic Income Waterloo, ALIVe, Social Development Centre)
  • Faith Groups
• Fair Vote Waterloo has an Outreach Strategy
  • Last year Outreach Committee targeted Antipoverty groups, gave presentations
  • This year they're targeting Faith groups and Social Action groups

Kitchener South--Hespeler (Marwan Tabbara, Liberal)

• Redistributed results (from riding boundary change) indicates the area would have voted for the Conservatives
• Neighbourhood Association held an All Party Candidates Meeting.
  • Marwan Tabbara was the weakest candidate.
  • But he won because of Strategic Voting to unseat the Conservatives.
  • People vote for the Prime Minister, not the local candidate.

• Six weeks before the 2019 Election Campaign start awareness of "Last election under FPTP"

Cambridge (Bryan May, Liberal)

• is not recognized as a candidate, eg. at grocery store
• Cambridge is a potential swing riding

Kitchener--Conestoga (Harold Albrecht, Conservative)

• Had a small plurality in 2015 election.
  • But had true majority in previous elections.
• Liberal candidate Tim Louis won't promote PR if elected.

How well-liked is your MP?

• Afraid that Raj Saini is well-liked.
• No-one knows who Marwan Tabbara is.
• Bardish Chagger is very popular.
• Bryan May is neutral.
• Harold Albrecht is popular.

• NAFTA issue takes precedence
  • Other issues are more important to voters
    • But those other issues depend on PR to get done

• Fair Vote should raise money and raise profile of the Proporational Representation issue.
• Get people together
  • Barbeques, social media
• Work with University groups
• Spend money on radio ads

Advice for the campaigns of other candidates

• Need more money.
• Be stronger in your message.
  • Don't be a centrist!
• Need more volunteers
• Start knocking on doors.
  • Liberal MPs and candidates are already knocking on doors.
• Operate on principle!
  • (candidates should stick to their principles, not sway to popular opinion)
• Can the NDP and Green Party cooperate?
  • "Cooperate For Canada" was a movement to get two pro-PR parties to run only one candidate to avoid splitting the vote.
  • But neither NDP nor Green Party were too keen on resigning their candidate.
• Hire Rick Mercer to promote cooperation.
  • Crowdfund $5 to hear him speak.
• Raise more money! (for opposition candidates)
• Want a candidate who wins without money, who wins on merit.
• Martin Luther King quote "Peace is not just a goal, but the means to a goal".
  • Apply the same to cooperation.
• Advice to Fair Voters: Learn from Bernie Sanders.
• Opposition candidates should start their campaign sooner.
• Use pyramid techniques: A friend calls two friends, and so on.
  • This is Wikipedia:Marshall Ganz -- the Snowflake model.
• The Waterloo NDP campaign: The "star" candidate wasn't stellar.
• Parties need to prop up their candidates. Needs $$$
• Debates are engineered (don't provide real info, but soundbites; favour incumbents)
• Bardish Chagger was groomed for the position
  • Knew how to schmooze
• Candidates need to learn to schmooze
• Green Party candidates need a higher profile since they don't run attack ads
  • "Feisty isn't the same as attacking."
• Have a strong candidate who is good at public speaking.
  • But that didn't matter for Liberal candidates.
• Prediction: Incumbents (Liberals) will have two key issues
  • Maybe opposition candidates need to rally around these issues.
  • NAFTA? Not sexy, maybe something else will come up before 2019.
• Candidate's success is dependent on the charisma of the leader.
• The "soft coalition" of Indigenous votes, youth, and Green + NDP who voted strategically for Liberals
  • worked for Liberals, but no more.
• Show the voters they didn't get what they want.

Advice for Fair Vote

• Fair Vote should focus on Waterloo
  • Split between NDP and PR supporters
  • Best chance to get a Pro-PR candidate

OR

• Fair Vote should focus on Kitchener South--Hespeler
  • Marwan Tabbara is a weak candidate
  • Lorne Bruce (NDP) is a strong candidate

OR

• General discussion on Proporational Representation is too general.
  • Need a specific strategy (voting system), eg. MMPPR (Mixed Member Preferential Proportional Representation), or STV (Single Transferable Vote).
  • Fair Vote Canada gets behind (endorses) one (or two) voting system(s).
• PR makes intuitive sense, but specific systems can't be proven to work in Canada.
  • People poke holes in any proposed system.
• Use a local model.
  • Use Waterloo Region examples to illustrate PR to Waterloo Region voters.
  • For people who want details, give them international examples.
• Fair Vote Canada should focus on the Ontario 2018 Provincial Election as well.
  • PR is more likely to be achieved provincially (following BC's success).
  • Ontario Provincial election is an excuse to talk about PR.

• Have people moved past favouring a specific system?
  • Everyone has a pet system.
  • FVC needs to say "We'll support a system with these criteria: 1) 2) 3)"
    • eg. low Wikipedia:Gallagher Index; regional representation
  • But FVC should stop short of endorsing a specific system

• FVC should use the phrase "Election Reform", not "Electoral Reform"
  • Use the words that people already know.