The Special Committee of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island is beginning its work on facilitating a province-wide discussion on democratic renewal in response to the recent release of the White Paper (http://www.gov.pe.ca/premier/democratic-renewal).
The White Paper calls on the committee to engage the public, as widely as possible, in addition to seeking input from experts and interested groups. All residents of Prince Edward Island have a critical role to play in this exercise and to the democratic process itself.
Jordan Brown, Chair of the Special Committee on Democratic Renewal Committee explains, “The challenge for the committee will be to ensure maximum engagement of Islanders in order to present a report that accurately reflects the population’s views on how democratic renewal should happen. Members of the committee look forward to community meetings with the public this fall and we strongly encourage Islanders to register for an upcoming engagement session to ensure your voice is heard in regards to the White Paper on Democratic Renewal.”
This Special Committee provides an excellent opportunity for the public to participate in the legislative process. The Committee has launched an engagement schedule to encourage Islanders to participate in this process. Brown said, “We are going to be looking to all Islanders for their ideas and creativity in the weeks and months ahead.”
The Special Committee is made up of the following individuals:
Chair, Jordan Brown (Charlottetown-Brighton)
Dr. Peter Bevan-Baker (Leader of the Third Party)
Honourable Paula Biggar (Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy)
Janice Sherry (Summerside-Wilmot)
Sidney MacEwen (Morell-Mermaid)
…more
An initial series of meetings has been scheduled to focus on different electoral systems for Prince Edward Island.
Schedule of Community Meetings
October 14 (2-4 pm) Alberton Community Centre, Alberton
October 14 (7-9 pm) Credit Union Place, Summerside
October 21 (2-4 pm) Eastern Kings Sportsplex, Souris
October 21 (7-9 pm) Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 8, Montague
October 28 (2-4 pm) Village Musical Acadien, Abram Village (bilingual)
October 28 (7-9 pm) Westisle Composite High School, Elmsdale
November 4 (2-4 pm) Murphy’s Community Centre, Charlottetown
November 4 (7-9 pm) Murphy’s Community Centre, Charlottetown
The meetings will begin with a welcome and an introduction to electoral systems, followed by submissions to the committee from organizations and individuals. There will be an opportunity to participate and interact with the committee.
You can make a formal submission to the committee at a meeting on what electoral system you prefer by pre-registering (call 902-368-5970 or toll-free 1-877-314-5518), or you can provide comments in writing by:
• Submitting comments online via e-mail to assembly@assembly.pe.ca or http://www.assembly.pe.ca/democraticrenewal;
• Mailing to: Special Committee on Democratic Renewal, Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, PO Box 2000, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8; and
• Faxing to 902-368-5175.
For further information on the Special Committee on Democratic Renewal please refer to the committee’s Web site at http://www.assembly.pe.ca/democraticrenewal.