John Kruithof
There are good reasons why a high percentage of Canadians are concerned about political parties manipulating the electoral process. Abuse of the system can now be more fully documented in today’s highly interconnected electronic world. Not only are we informed of what goes on in Canada, but in other countries too. We encourage and applaud people of other nations taking to the streets demanding democratic reform. The day is not far off that similar action will have to be contemplated right here at home.
It would be so simple if political parties alone were at fault. But the problem lies deeper. Incessant propaganda by government and industry is difficult to define as such; our innocence makes it difficult to believe it is being perpetrated. As voters, we have become resigned to politicians laying down the law, when instead we should be exercising our authority to shape it. But we avoid elections in droves. The absence of proportional representation fuels disrespect for the outcome of our current first-past-the-post process. These are only a few examples of what is wrong.
A sign of the times is that international advocacy group Avaaz.org is circulating an online petition for having United Nations monitors observe our 2015 election. It is an international shame that we have allowed our proud tradition of democracy being degraded to a point where such involvement sounds logical.
John Kruithof, Ottawa
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