Electoral Referendum in Canada? FAT CHANCE after Brexit.
And so we had to learn the hard way that the Rob Fords of this world are more harmful than the elitists in the white ivory towers that they hate so much.
Way to go 'regular people'.
A referendum on electoral change in Canada? After the Brexit vote, fat chance
If there was ever a chance Justin Trudeau’s Liberals would consent to hold a referendum on their plan to junk Canada’s electoral system and replace it with something new and unfamiliar, it almost certainly died Thursday when the great Brexit debacle emerged.
Britain’s vote on Europe contained all the elements that frightened Trudeau and his advisers in the first place. Referendums are unpredictable. They are hard to control. They upset the most carefully-laid plans, and spoil cherished agendas. There’s a real chance you might lose.
Referendums take democracy and put it in the hands of the public, and — despite what they may say — politicians are deeply wary of the crazy ideas that can slip unobserved into the unsuspecting minds of the public. If the British vote proved anything, it confirmed that people form opinions for all sorts of crazy reasons: they don’t like immigrants, they dislike change, they feel neglected, they’re unimpressed with their leaders … or maybe they just got out of the wrong side of the bed that morning and feel in the mood for a little creative disruption.
The overwhelming majority of experts advised Britain’s public to reject the scare tactics of the “leave” campaign and vote with their heads. Academics, business leaders, financial gurus, respected pundits, the President of the United States … they all said it was a bad idea to quit Europe. Not just bad, but self-defeating: abandoning Europe would lead to fewer jobs and higher taxes, and possibly the break-up of the kingdom itself. Their advice was loud and clear: Don’t do it! It’s a bad idea!
They did it anyway.
Canada’s Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef and Liberal House Leader Dominic LeBlanc must have shared a mutual reaction as they watched the results: if this is what happens when you hold a referendum, let’s not hold any referendums.
Kelly McParland: A referendum on electoral change in Canada? After the Brexit vote, fat chance
And so we had to learn the hard way that the Rob Fords of this world are more harmful than the elitists in the white ivory towers that they hate so much.
Way to go 'regular people'.
A referendum on electoral change in Canada? After the Brexit vote, fat chance
If there was ever a chance Justin Trudeau’s Liberals would consent to hold a referendum on their plan to junk Canada’s electoral system and replace it with something new and unfamiliar, it almost certainly died Thursday when the great Brexit debacle emerged.
Britain’s vote on Europe contained all the elements that frightened Trudeau and his advisers in the first place. Referendums are unpredictable. They are hard to control. They upset the most carefully-laid plans, and spoil cherished agendas. There’s a real chance you might lose.
Referendums take democracy and put it in the hands of the public, and — despite what they may say — politicians are deeply wary of the crazy ideas that can slip unobserved into the unsuspecting minds of the public. If the British vote proved anything, it confirmed that people form opinions for all sorts of crazy reasons: they don’t like immigrants, they dislike change, they feel neglected, they’re unimpressed with their leaders … or maybe they just got out of the wrong side of the bed that morning and feel in the mood for a little creative disruption.
The overwhelming majority of experts advised Britain’s public to reject the scare tactics of the “leave” campaign and vote with their heads. Academics, business leaders, financial gurus, respected pundits, the President of the United States … they all said it was a bad idea to quit Europe. Not just bad, but self-defeating: abandoning Europe would lead to fewer jobs and higher taxes, and possibly the break-up of the kingdom itself. Their advice was loud and clear: Don’t do it! It’s a bad idea!
They did it anyway.
Canada’s Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef and Liberal House Leader Dominic LeBlanc must have shared a mutual reaction as they watched the results: if this is what happens when you hold a referendum, let’s not hold any referendums.
Kelly McParland: A referendum on electoral change in Canada? After the Brexit vote, fat chance
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