Comment 62220

By SpaceMonkey (registered) | Posted April 13, 2011 at 21:58:49 in reply to Comment 62216

You just don't throw out a system that at its root is over 1000 years old and for all intent and purpose still works very well.

I'm sure the same thing was said, back in the day, about the facts below. Just because it "works very well" for you and those in power, doesn't mean it's the best idea.

"When the Canadian colonies confederated in 1867, the electoral tradition in all provinces was in some respects a very conservative one. Not only was it accepted by many people, and established in law, that the majority of adults had no say in public affairs; there was little resistance to the idea that the franchise and the electoral process itself could be manipulated to assure that the right people participated -- and of course, that the right people won".

"The Dominion Electoral Act allowed racial exclusions already existing in a given province to stand. This meant that British Columbia was able to keep people of Japanese, Chinese, or "Hindu" (East Indian) origin from participating in federal elections, and Saskatchewan likewise was able to prohibit voting by "Chinese." Aboriginal people in all provinces were not allowed to vote federally unless they gave up all rights they might possess as members of a band".

"The institutional, legal, and cultural commitment to an open political process was capped by the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. Included in its provisions was an article guaranteeing the rights of Canadian citizens to vote in federal and provincial elections and to stand for office in them".

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