By Tasia Rivero

Concerned citizen Molly Mulloy thinks that the current electoral process in Ontario is "archaic" and says that it breeds voter apathy - especially in women and minorities.
Mulloy was one of 50 Northumberland County residents who gathered to assess Ontario's current electoral system at the Citizens' Assembly for Democratic Renewal meeting at Loyalist College last Monday Jan. 15.
"I am motivated by my dislike of the current system," said one of the speakers Joseph Vise, a retired physicist.
Listening Carefully: Facilitator Barry Koen-Butt addresses the panel of Citizens' Assembly members in preparation for the consultation being held in Alumni Hall at Loyalist College on Jan. 15"This system forces me to vote strategically. I vote for someone I don't like to make sure someone I really don't like wins. Fairness should be our prime objective."
This Citizens' Assembly is a grassroots effort to assess the equality of the current electoral system in Ontario. The Assembly likens the task to buying a car: there are many influential factors and you have to learn about all of them and order their importance before making a final decision.
Northumberland encompasses one electoral riding and is represented by the Assembly member Wendy Lawrence. Along with Lawrence, three other Assembly members were present at Monday's meeting to listen to the opinions and concerns of the area residents. Each member of the study group represents his or her own electoral district, totaling 103 members. Exactly half or 52 representatives are men and the other 52 are women, with at least one Aboriginal representative. These individuals range in age from 18 to 78 and were randomly selected by Elections Ontario from the Voter's List.
The meeting was comprised of two parts: a series of formal presentations given by local speakers and an informal question-and-answer period. Eight presentations were made to the Citizens' Assembly members, with speakers advocating both sides of the issue, for change and against.
"The meetings are only three hours long. We heard that many people felt that an opportunity for an open forum discussion might be even better or more valuable than formal presentations, although we wanted a balance of both," said Barry Koen-Butt, from the office of the Ontario Citizens' Assembly secretariat.
A supporter of caution who defended Ontario's longstanding electoral system was local farmer and former Senator Jim Tunney, who wouldn't reveal his age, but said he has voted in every federal, provincial and municipal election since 1948. Tunney says he was apprehensive about the costs that could be passed along to provincial taxpayers and warned that a change in voting methods could be expensive.
Northumberland's Federal Liberal President, Dennis Buckley, urged caution, stating that a closed proportional system disables the community's power to directly choose an MPP to represent their views. Party elite - and not the voting public - selects the representative in this system.
The bulk of the presentations were given as an appeal to the Citizens' Assembly members to change the current electoral system. Speakers on this end were for the most part, united by the belief that the current system is undemocratic and unrepresentative. Both the study group and presenters have identified a lack of fairness in the current system. Many cited that the current provincial government earned only 46.4 per cent of votes in the last election, but maintain full control over the provincial legislature.
Vise also stressed the need for simplicity in the process of reform. He says that the members should avoid making a complex system that most people wouldn't understand, or take time to understand, citing British Columbia's failed attempt at voting reform as an example.
Retired journalist Jack Evans noted that should the voting system change, Ontario would not automatically attain a better calibre of representation. By only looking at the electoral process and turning a blind eye to the calibre of person running in these elections, we are only solving part of the problem.
Four individuals spoke to the fact that the study is somewhat limited in its ability to regain lost and disenfranchised voters. In one example, lobbyists were challenged because they are unelected by the public but still maintain a great deal of political sway in Queen's Park. Another speaker identified the school system as a problem by not engaging youth voters during high school.
The creation of the Citizens' Assembly is being touted by the province as a historic and approach to modernizing Ontario's current democratic process.
"Never before in Ontario has the average citizen had an opportunity to impact how our system works," said Koen-Butt. "This is not a panel of experts, or a group of academics; these people are just like you and I."
The Citizens' Assembly for Democratic Renewal is a group independent from the provincial government but will present its findings in a final report to the Secretariat of Democratic Renewal. The final report is due on May 15, 2007. Should the Assembly choose to adopt a new type of electoral process, the Honourable Dr. Marie Bountrogianni, minister responsible for democratic renewal, has agreed to let Ontarians make the final decision in a provincial referendum in October.