Hon. Greg Deighan, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and Chair of the Standing Committee on Legislative Management, today announced appointments to the Commission on Prince Edward Island’s Electoral Future. Speaker Deighan said, “The Standing Committee on Legislative Management was directed by the Legislative Assembly to appoint an eight Member Commission to:
- develop and conduct a public education program to increase among Islanders an understanding of our present “first past the post” electoral system and, as an alternative, a mixed member proportional system;
- develop a plebiscite question on which electoral system is preferred by Islanders; and
- recommend when a plebiscite on this matter should be held.”
In considering the matter of possible appointees to the Commission, the Committee felt that it was appropriate to place an advertisement in Island newspapers seeking expressions of interest from those Islanders who might be interested in serving on the Commission. We were very pleased with the response. Thirty applications from interested Islanders were received - many with exceptional backgrounds in public education and with specialized knowledge of electoral systems,” said Speaker Deighan. “This made our task a little more challenging but, in the end, I believe we have a very strong Commission that will do an excellent job of meeting with Islanders from all across the Province and explaining how our present electoral system works and how a mixed Member proportional system could work for PEI. Its work should result in a very interesting and historic debate - one which I hope all Islanders will take the time to become acquainted with. After all, Islanders vote to return Members to the Legislative Assembly - it stands to reason that they should have a strong voice in determining how these electoral systems work because they do have significant bearing on the final results of an election.”
The Commission is to be comprised of the following: a Chairperson, one person representing the Four Federal Electoral Districts in the Province and one person nominated by each of the three political parties registered during the 2003 Provincial General Election.
From the thirty nominations received, the Standing Committee is pleased to announce the appointment of the following persons to serve as Commissioners:
- Mr. Leonard Russell of Graham’s Road has been appointed as Commission Chair. Mr. Russell is a retired teacher and former Superintendent of School Unit 2. He has distinguished himself as an active community volunteer and has a strong background in public education.
- Mr. Blake Doyle as the Commissioner for the Federal Electoral District of Malpeque. Mr. Doyle is a businessman and entrepreneur. In 1993, he was named the Atlantic Canadian Student Entrepreneur of the Year.
- Ms. Yvonne Pitre of Richmond as the Commissioner for the Federal Electoral District of Egmont. Ms. Pitre is a registered nurse and an active community volunteer.
- Mr. Rob MacLean of Lewes as the Commissioner for the Federal Electoral District of Cardigan. Mr. MacLean is a self-employed blueberry farmer and maple syrup producer.
- Mr. Hans Connor of Charlottetown as the Commissioner for the Federal Electoral District of Charlottetown. Mr. Connor is a lawyer and sessional lecturer on Canadian Studies at the University of Prince Edward Island. He is presently employed as Director of Corporate Services and Human Resources with APM Group.
In addition, the following persons were nominated by the three political parties registered at the 2003 Provincial General Election:
- Ms. J’Nan Brown of Clyde River Road nominated by the Island New Democrats. Ms. Brown is a Member of Every Vote Counts and has been the Atlantic representative for the National Council of Fair Vote Canada since 2003. She is also a member of the PEI Coalition for Women in Government.
- Mr. Arthur Currie, Q.C. of Argyle Shore nominated by the Liberal Party of PEI. Mr. Currie is a former Chief Electoral Officer for Prince Edward Island and former Deputy Minister of Justice.
- Hon. Jim Lee of Stanhope nominated by the Progressive Conservative Party of PEI. Mr. Lee is a former Premier of Prince Edward Island and former Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Board.
“I wish to publicly congratulate these special Islanders for their selection to serve on this historic Commission and thank them for the willingness to serve their fellow Islanders. I look forward to following the work of the Commission over the coming months and to hearing what Islanders have to say on this very important matter - one that has so very much to do with our system of parliamentary democracy and the way we practise responsible government in this Province.”
It is expected that the Commission will begin work within the next couple of weeks.
Questions or comments may be directed to Charles MacKay, Office of the Clerk, Legislative Assembly, 368-5970.