The Commission on PEI’s Electoral Future will host a panel discussion open to the public on June 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Coles Building, Richmond Street in Charlottetown. The panel will discuss the pros and cons of the proposed Mixed Member Proportional System and the
First-Past-the-Post System, which is currently in use. Guests and members of the general public will then be invited to make comments and pose questions to the panellists.
There will be four members on the panel: the Honourable Norman Carruthers, David McLaughlin, Dr. Bill Cross and Dr. Jennifer Smith. Carruthers was the Chair of the Prince Edward Island Electoral Reform Commission. The Commission report, released in 2003, recommended that the Province modify its electoral system to a Mixed Member Proportional System. This system would ensure that the popular vote would be better reflected in the legislature.
David McLaughlin served as the Chair of the New Brunswick Commission on Legislative Democracy which completed its work in December of 2004. McLaughlin will share his experiences with electoral reform in New Brunswick. Dr. Bill Cross, a political science professor and Chair of the Canadian Studies Department at Mount Allison University, is an expert on electoral systems. He also served as the Director of Research for the New Brunswick Commission on Legislative Democracy. Dr. Jennifer Smith, who is the Chair of the Political Science Department at Dalhousie University, will present the benefits of the First-Past-the-Post System.
The Commission has been given the mandate to propose a Mixed Member Proportional System for consideration by Islanders. That proposal was released on May 27. Government has also asked the Commission to conduct an education program designed to increase, among the general public, an awareness of the present First-Past-the-Post System and the proposed Mixed Member Proportional System. Following the education program, which will include public meetings to be held in early fall, Islanders will be asked to vote in a plebiscite to determine which of the two electoral systems they prefer.
The panel discussion will also be broadcast on the World Wide Web. Internet viewers can watch the live proceedings on www.electoralfuture.pe.ca.
INVITATION
The Commission on PEI’s Electoral Future invites you to:
A Panel Discussion on Electoral Reform in Prince Edward Island
The Commission has been given the mandate to propose a Mixed Member Proportional System for consideration by Islanders. That proposal was released on May 27, 2005. The panel discussion will consider the pros and cons of the current First-Past-the-Post System and the proposed Mixed Member Proportional System.
When: June 15, 2005 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Pope Room
1st Floor Coles Building, Richmond Street, Charlottetown. Located beside Province House
Panelists:
-Honourable Norman Carruthers, Chair - Prince Edward Island Electoral Reform Commission (2003)
-David McLaughlin, Chair, New Brunswick Commission on Legislative Democracy (2004)
-Dr. Bill Cross, Mount Allison University and Director of Research New Brunswick Commission on Legislative Democracy (2004)
-Dr. Jennifer Smith, Chair, Political Science Department, Dalhousie University
Following brief presentations by the panellists, guests and the general public will be invited to pose questions and make comments.