Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP Lisa Marie Barron is calling for a discussion on electoral reform, and creation of a national assembly to guide steps forward. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

voting changes

Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP leading calls for electoral reform assembly

Feb 6, 2024 | 1:09 PM

NANAIMO — Having Parliament more accurately reflect the general population is a primary goal behind a new motion tabled Tuesday in Ottawa.

Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP Lisa Marie Barron is spearheading a bipartisan effort to establish a National Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform, a group which could recommend a change away from the first past the post system currently in place.

Barron, speaking after tabling the motion on Tuesday, Feb. 6 and having it seconded by multiple other MPs, said she’s optimistic the idea will see real change given its support across party lines.

“We are seeing members of Parliament, regardless of party affiliation, saying ‘yes, this is the path forward and we need to be supporting this’. We are seeing some parties more in support than others and it’ll be interesting to see what the outcome of the result will be.”

She said Parliament is a wildly inaccurate representation of Canada as a population.

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While just over 50 per cent of residents are women, only 30 per cent of all MP’s ever elected have been female.

Similar discrepancies also exist for Indigenous and black Members of Parliament compared to Canada as a whole.

Barron’s motion is non-binding, meaning the government will not be required to act on it should it pass.

She said Tuesday she hopes the Liberals take note of it and follow through on a promise they made in 2015 to address electoral reform.

Aside from a committee which was since “collecting cobwebs”, little has occurred according to Barron.

“Ultimately the Liberals could move this today…could have moved with this many years ago. My hope is the Liberals will listen to Canadians across the country and move forward with the commitment that they are making if this motion does pass.”

Barron’s motion does not call for a referendum on the issue, something which she said was a deliberate move.

The goal is for the assembly to be a bi-partisan group guided by subject matter experts, to provide recommendations to government regardless of party.

“The reason is because we have seen examples where a referendum coming after a Citizen’s Assembly has brought the partisanship back into the equation. we also saw some problems that took place…where the threshold was too high in order for it to move forward or…the material that was presented [in] an overly complicated manner.”

Barron was optimistic, should the motion pass and be adopted by the federal government, some changes could be enacted for the next federal election due in 2025.

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