Calling for Further Participation & Deliberation in Ontario
“We, the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, recommend a new way to vote that builds on the province’s traditions and reflects the values that we believe are important to Ontarians.
The Assembly recommends that Ontario adopt a Mixed Member Proportional system, specifically designed to meet the unique needs of Ontario.”
From the Assembly’s Final Report
– One Ballot, Two Votes: A new way to vote in Ontario
One way to further realize democratic values, prescribed by deliberative democratic theorists, is through organizations such as citizens’ juries. Systems of competitive representation alone do not realize as fully as may be possible the democratic values of political responsibility, political equality, and political accountability. Furthermore, one may argue that that a more deliberative democracy, made manifest by the increased use of citizens’ juries, may be better able to realize these principles.
In support of these claims, one may look to the model set by the Citizens’ Assemblies on Electoral Reform, which is a prime example of what deliberative democratic theorists call, “citizens’ juries.” The claim made by these scholars is that citizens’ assemblies and citizens’ juries build on the “distinctive practical competence that citizens possess as users of public services, subjects of public policy and regulation, or residents who have contextual knowledge of their neighborhoods and ecosystems.”[i] The idea, which certainly isn’t a new one, is to draw on these competencies by bringing ordinary citizens into deliberation over certain public issues. This paper is meant to convey an argument for a change from the conventional ‘first past the post’ electoral system – ideally a more deliberative change.
This paper makes many references to “competitive representation.” The current electoral system in Ontario, which may also be labeled as a “conventional” method of “competitive representation” is... [continues]
“We, the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, recommend a new way to vote that builds on the province’s traditions and reflects the values that we believe are important to Ontarians.
The Assembly recommends that Ontario adopt a Mixed Member Proportional system, specifically designed to meet the unique needs of Ontario.”
From the Assembly’s Final Report
– One Ballot, Two Votes: A new way to vote in Ontario
One way to further realize democratic values, prescribed by deliberative democratic theorists, is through organizations such as citizens’ juries. Systems of competitive representation alone do not realize as fully as may be possible the democratic values of political responsibility, political equality, and political accountability. Furthermore, one may argue that that a more deliberative democracy, made manifest by the increased use of citizens’ juries, may be better able to realize these principles.
In support of these claims, one may look to the model set by the Citizens’ Assemblies on Electoral Reform, which is a prime example of what deliberative democratic theorists call, “citizens’ juries.” The claim made by these scholars is that citizens’ assemblies and citizens’ juries build on the “distinctive practical competence that citizens possess as users of public services, subjects of public policy and regulation, or residents who have contextual knowledge of their neighborhoods and ecosystems.”[i] The idea, which certainly isn’t a new one, is to draw on these competencies by bringing ordinary citizens into deliberation over certain public issues. This paper is meant to convey an argument for a change from the conventional ‘first past the post’ electoral system – ideally a more deliberative change.
This paper makes many references to “competitive representation.” The current electoral system in Ontario, which may also be labeled as a “conventional” method of “competitive representation” is... [continues]
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