PEI Legislature on verge of authorizing Citizens Assembly on PR

Recently a committee of the PEI Legislature passed this motion:

MOTION No. 71

Establishing a Citizen’s Assembly for Proportional Representation

Stephen Howard gives notice that tomorrow he will move, seconded by Peter Bevan-Baker, the following

motion:

WHEREAS democracy is a fundamental part of Canadian society;

AND WHEREAS the first-past-the-post electoral system produces seat counts that are often

disproportionate to the popular support of political parties;

AND WHEREAS all politicians, and all parties, are widely perceived by the public, and by each other, to have a vested interest in the design of the electoral system;

AND WHEREAS this Government’s first speech from the throne stated that Government would “convene a panel made up of citizens and elected members to consider reforms to this Legislature”;

AND WHEREAS there is a strong appetite for electoral reform on Prince Edward Island, as evidenced by the 2016 Electoral Reform Plebiscite and the 2019 Referendum;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly urge Government to convene

a Citizens’ Assembly to deliberate on a model of proportional representation;

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED this Citizens’ Assembly be formed of at least

27 willing, randomly-selected citizens who are broadly representative of Island society as

reflected in the Census, including age, gender, social class, and regional spread;

AND THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the mandate of the Citizens’

Assembly include proposing, in a report to the Legislative Assembly, a specific, detailed design for an electoral system that is tailored to PEI’s needs, and which it believes would meet the approval of a majority of the Island public.

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Keep in mind that this is just a motion, and the government may or may not do anything about it.