Yukon Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform
In the 2024, I was asked to help with the learning phase of the Yukon Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform. Like its Ontario and BC versions, this was a demographically diverse group of citizens assembled to learn, deliberate and make recommendations on what would be the ideal electoral system for the Yukon. One member was…
Queen’s to hold largest collection of deliberative mini-publics
I’m very happy that my friend and former student, Peter MacLeod, has donated the archives of MASSLBP to Queen’s. This resource will be invaluable for those of us who study how citizens reason and deliberate on public policy. You can read about it here: FAS donation gives Insight into the future of democracy
Can Justin Trudeau be safe and sorry?
Here is an op-ed that Bob Pickard and I wrote for the Globe & Mail on September 23, 2019 in the midst of a federal election about the nature of political apologies.
Was the Demise of Electoral Reform Inevitable?
After answering, more than a few times, what I thought of the prime minister’s decision to abandon electoral reform, I decided to put my thoughts to paper. Some tentative reasons for the demise of electoral reform were published in the Ottawa Citizen on February 3.
A Bitter Sweet Goodbye at Sick Kids Hospital
Bitter sweet: After 18 years, 3 new and risky heart surgeries, 3 pacemaker replacements, and countless ‘tune-ups’, today was Nathaniel’s last visit to the amazing Sick Kids Hospital. He “graduates” to Toronto General but it will be hard to match the superb care we received here. As a 5 day old baby he was flown…
Does Kingston need an Integrity Commissioner?
On September 20, Kingston city council will make a decision on whether to amend a by-law to permit IN8 Developments to build a 15 storey building — seven storeys higher than the official plan. The vote will be important for downtown and the consequences significant. As our elected councillors grapple with their decision, it will…
Dogs before Dignity
It ended 45 minutes after it began with some random young woman saying “Nice job! Nice underwear”. Lucy, Denzil and Nathaniel and I were at Battery Park which has a large almost enclosed bay. I went to show the boys how to get Lucy, our water dog, to retrieve balls in the water. She…
Electoral Reform should focus on Principles not Systems
I’ve been asked to be an expert witness at the ERRE (The House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform) on July 28 where I will be elaborating on my thoughts in this column on the importance of focussing on principles in the debate on electoral reform. I will also be discussing what citizens’ assemblies…
The pre-eminence of advertising in Canadian elections
The three national parties have filed their election expenses and there are some surprises but the most important message from the filings with Elections Canada is the central role that advertising plays in modern election campaigns. While no one would doubt its importance, the Liberals took it to a new level spending 64% of…
Who should decide if we have ranked voting in Kingston?
Mayor Paterson of Kingston recently posted an on-line poll to ask Kingstonians what they thought of the prospect of ranked ballots for municipal elections. While I think it’s a good idea for the Mayor to solicit feedback on such an important initiative, such polls can easily be hijacked by those in favour or opposed to…