Premier Pat Binns received today the report of the Prince Edward Island Electoral Reform Commission and outlined government's plans to respond to the report.
The Commission was established in January of this year and was directed to consider the following:
- review all statutes and associated regulations respecting the manner in which the Members of the Legislative Assembly are elected in the Province;
- consider the impact which District boundary changes, based on population shifts, may have for rural communities; and
- determine the relevance of an alternative electoral system, such as proportional representation, for Prince Edward Island.
The Commission held a series of public meetings across the province and received submissions and presentations from individuals and organizations. The Commission also researched the evolution of the electoral system on Prince Edward Island and the major electoral systems found around the world.
The report is very comprehensive and provides a series of recommendations dealing with how MLAs are elected, how electoral boundaries are set, and when provincial elections are conducted. Although the report does not make any specific proposals to move to an alternative system, it does examine what types of proportional representation would be most appropriate for Prince Edward Island.
The report recommends that more education and public engagement is required before any decision is made regarding changing the electoral system. Furthermore, the report recommends a series of amendments to the Electoral Boundaries Act and the Elections Act which are intended to meet the changing needs of Islanders.
"There is much to consider in this report, and I want to ensure that it receives the appropriate consideration before any response is developed," stated Premier Binns. "The report has been forwarded to a Cabinet Committee, which will review the report, set priorities and make recommendations for discussion in the spring sitting of the Legislature."
"On behalf of government, I want to express our appreciation to Mr. Carruthers for his work on this project. I would also like to thank the many individuals and organizations who made presentations and submissions to the Commission," said Premier Binns. "When we set up the commission, our objective was to engage Islanders on the important issues of electoral reform. Through the efforts of Mr. Carruthers, we have heard from many Islanders. However, as recognized in the report, there needs to be considerably more discussion and debate before any decisions are made on an alternative electoral system. We want to put a plan in place which will do just that."
The report is available at Island Information Service, 1st floor, Jones Building, 11 Kent Street, 368-4000, or on the provincial government Web site www.gov.pe.ca.