This spring's worst kept secret is likely the fact that we are all quite likely to be sent out to the polls to Elect a new Government in Canada. Not the Harper Government as some would like us to believe but Canada's Government. Personally I found the whole rebranding of our Government as the "Harper Government" distasteful. No matter who lead's it we all retain ownership of it. It does not belong to one man or one party. Especially when we are talking about a Minority Government. Even ridings who elect a member who is not part of the governing party continue to have a say in our future. Whether you agree or disagree with the policies of this current Government it is still YOUR Government. Unfortunately the current system gives too much ownership of our Government and political process to Political Parties and not enough to local MP's and ideas.
Electoral reform has been an issue that has failed in the past. I find this a bit sad as we prepare for another round of "pin the tail on the Donkey" Federally. Far too many asses and not enough Donkeys I am afraid. One of the things that is lost in this whole system is the ability to support a great local candidate whose party may not be the best choice for PM. Most of us go to the Polls and vote for the Leader or their Party. The local candidate who will actually do the job of representing you is a fairly small part of the equation. This is a real shame because there are quite a few opposition MP's who have managed to fight quite effectively over the years for their ridings. Something that is quite often not the case for members of the ruling party over the course of our history. Back benchers who don't speak unless spoken to most times make up the majority. Others may be senior members simply riding out their last days in comfort in a "safe seat".
Imagine for a moment if you had two choices on the paper. One for the local candidate you want and one for Prime Minister. I believe the net result would be the best of both worlds. You wouldn't have to worry about sacrificing the best local choice for the best Prime Minister. The Prime Minister who is elected may or may not be a member of the party holding the majority of the seats so they may have to work harder to enact legislation that suits the interest of all MP's. One could potentially see a candidate running for Prime Minister based on working to form a non partisan consensus. We might even have a Prime Minister who is not a card carrying member of any party but simply the best man or woman for the job. What a novel idea.
Your local MP choice would become so much more important and finding the best person for the job would be much more important. Safe seats would no longer exist and back benchers wouldn't be able to just ride their party's coat tails into office.
In the end I believe we would get a democratic process that returns power to the local level without some complicated formula. As voters we would get to take ownership back of our Government and have more of a say in who runs it. To me with half of all voters staying home on election day any idea to return power to the people is an idea worth discussing.
