The Editor,
A letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
We are bitterly disappointed in your failure to keep your campaign promise to reform Canada’s voting system. This was a central plank in your party’s platform and an important reason many Canadians saw your party as a refreshing change and voted in the election in numbers not seen in 20 years.
We and many other Canadians, including many young voters, see your volte-face as a betrayal of their trust. Unless reversed, it will surely lead to more years of cynicism and disengagement from the democratic process by young Canadians.
The process your government has followed so far on this file has been marked by missteps, a lack of commitment and, to say the least, a complete absence of transparency. We will give only one example: the online survey of “Canadian values” on this topic, which was widely and rightly condemned as a meaningless exercise, poorly designed and yielding no useful information.
Please, Mr. Prime Minister, it’s not too late to recognize your mistake in abandoning your promise. We’re sure many other Canadians are reacting as we are to this disappointing news. It’s still open to you and your government to listen to public opinion, go back to the drawing board and carry out your original and well-founded commitment to renew Canadian democracy.
We look forward to your response and are hopeful that it will be a favourable one.
John & Elaine Perry, Coquitlam
