JasonParis
Moderator
Well said! MPP's got my vote too!
MMP does not automatically translate into voter satisfaction. Voter turnout has been dropping in countries with MMP as well as FPTP. So supporting MMP as a means to greater voter satsifaction can't be held up as the shining argument for it.
I think lower voter turnout is a sign of greater satisfaction. It is hot topics and a need to send a message that drives people in greater numbers to the poll. People don't have marches on the streets to congratulate the government on a job well done... they hit the street to protest things they see going wrong.
The situation in the current election is a prime example of why MMP is required. I don't want to vote for Dalton McGuinty but I have to because John Tory will see winning this election as a mandate to rip apart the public education system even if he only gets 35% of the vote and squeaks a majority. Why should I have to vote for someone I don't like? How is this a great democratic system? Some 65% could cast a vote for parties against ripping apart public education yet he has a mandate to do it anyways. That is a poor excuse for a democracy in my opinion.
A number have studies have shown that turn out is due to a number of factors, including such things as disinterest in politics and distrust of politicians.
If the Marijuana Party is poised to benefit, would it be a "reeferendum"?
Okay, I know that's lame and stale (and besides, Ontario ain't got a provincial Bloc-Pot)
What are people’s Toronto-specific take on MMP?
I personally think that voting for MMP is a no-brainer for big cities in Ontario, especially Toronto. I would argue that the downloading to cities would have never taken place, or at least reduced in scope, if we had MMP. Regional-based voting has been a failure in representing differing population densities. Is it right that your vote should count for less just because you happen to live in a dense riding? What happens when all of a sudden 6 million voters feels like 6 million and not 2?
I don't know how you could suggest that MMP would have stopped downloading, or reduced its scope. I don't recall a massive or organized rejection of the idea from any other political party at the time. Besides, using possible methods for selecting membership in houses of legislation to answer political actions of the past is useless.