Direct Democracy in Canada
Marcarc @ Fri Jun 03, 2005 3:55 am
This discussion has been dead for awhile now. Our opinion counts for squat in Ottawa, Trudeau was also famous (or infamous) for saying "MP's are nobodies", so you can imagine what he thought of voters. <br /> <br /> This is very much a decision of Quebecers. Look at Venezuela, or Bosnia and you see what power 'the people' have. The question is whether Quebecers want it in enough numbers. That is the only real debate, Ottawa has already been the first federal government I've ever heard of that has basically set in motion the process for dismantling the country-that's a first I've ever heard. However, the sticky point is the numbers and the question, which, I should add, are issues very much in the power of Quebecers. As indicated it can be a very straightforward question "do you want a sovereign Quebec?". The percentage is somewhat more sticky, while personally I'd admit that 50% is already established as the mark I don't agree with that. There are tons of legal logical reasons for having it at 50%, but if BC can refuse proportional representation with the support of 58% then I don't think 60% is unreasonable for creating a new country.<br /> <br /> So the real issue is what Quebecers want, so you're better off working at convincing Quebecers. Since this is a direct democracy thread I suggest you read through it. Personally, I think that if a new constitution were enshrined similar to Switzerland, which offered the people of Quebec powers over their political future, then I think it would be a much easier job convincing Quebecers. The power structure of Quebec is still markedly similar in nature to the ROC, which no doubt has a lot of people thinking 'meet your new boss, same as the old boss'. If I were you I'd be trying to convince Quebecers to 'pressure' their government to enhance their own democracy, which in some ways is better than the ROC, however I've heard that Fair Vote has not endorsed Quebec's version of proportional representation, which is a pretty small step itself toward more democracy.