The Preferential Ballot

Like a lot of self-described progressives, I'm still annoyed that the Harper Conservatives managed to eke out a majority government earlier this month, despite winning significantly less than fifty percent of the vote. Moderate and left-leaning Canadians in swing ridings are forced to vote strategically, trying to predict which candidate - the Liberal or the New Democrat - has a better chance of defeating the Conservative. As we saw in Edmonton-Centre and a number of other ridings across Canada, the resulting vote split allowed Tories to win by "running up the middle" and capturing a plurality, but not a majority, of votes...and a plurality is all you need to win in our first-past-the-post system. Folks on the right had the same problem when the Progressive Conservative/Reform split allowed Jean Chretien's Liberals to win a succession of majority governments.

A lot of folks on the centre-left have suggested that proportional representation might better represent the true intentions of voters, but the most common criticism of this route is its unlikelihood of producing majority governments.

Another option occurred to me on the drive home from work yesterday: what if we kept the first-past-the-post system, but used preferential ballots to rank the candidates? Also called "instant runoff voting," this gives voters in a multi-party system the freedom to choose candidates without the fear of handing the race to their least favourite candidate.

For example, a ballot in Quebec might be filled in thusly:

Ralph Hardliner (Conservative): 3
Joe Moderate (Liberal): 1
Annie Socialist (NDP): 2
Anna Verte (Green): 5
Marie Vivrelibre (Bloq): 4

If none of the candidates manage to get a majority of first-place votes, then a second round of counting begins, with the candidate with the least number of first-place ballots eliminated. His or her ballots are reallocated to the remaining candidates, with the second choice on those ballots being awarded to whichever candidate earned them. This process continues until one candidate has a majority of first and second place ballots. He or she wins the seat.

Assuming that voters in Edmonton-Centre listed the Liberal and New Democrat candidates as their first or second choices, in whatever order, then one of them likely would have won. Of course that assumes that all Liberal voters choose the New Democrats as their second choice, and all New Democrats reciprocate...a dangerous assumption! But at the very least, it seems as though this system would stand a slightly better chance of producing less polarized results, with fewer disappointed voters.

Cast your vote in order of preference:

Earl, you're on the right track
Earl, this is a dumb idea because you haven't considered all the ramifications
Earl, I wish you'd blog less about politics and more about popular culture
Earl, I wish you'd blog less about popular culture and more about politics
Earl, I wish you'd learn HTML so you could have put a voting widget here

Democracy Marches On

Monday's election results were pretty discouraging for Liberals, but the provincial party has been working hard to renew itself for some time now. Today I travelled to Red Deer for the Alberta Liberal Party Board of Directors meeting to represent the constituency of Edmonton-Meadowlark. This is the first time I've attended a meeting of this sort as a board member - really a proxy, since our constituency president couldn't make it.

You really feel the weight of responsibility on your shoulders when you suddenly realize that your voice and your vote matter on a very real and immediate level. At the meeting, directors were asked to vote on rules for the upcoming Alberta Liberal leadership race, and as might be expected, there was some spirited - but very polite - debate about some of the details, such as timing of the race, entry fees and so on. I spoke up on a couple of issues and probably annoyed some folks, but that's democracy - everyone has a duty to speak out for what they believe in.

It was a particular thrill for me to officially move that David Swann act as interim leader until the race is concluded. That motion passed unanimously. Over the last few months David has done an admirable job of holding the government accountable for its failures to manage public health care properly, and I admire his spirit and commitment.

In the weeks to come, the various Alberta Liberal leadership candidates will start reaching out to woo supporters and explain their vision for a better province. I'll be watching with interest. 

Hazards of the Campaign Trail

Before I came in to work this morning, I spent a half-hour handing out Mary MacDonald campaign literature at the Grandin LRT station. While chatting with a couple of voters, I petted their large, friendly poodle - something I usually avoid because of my allergies. But when you're on the campaign trail, shunning beloved pets can create a bad impression. So I gave the dog's head a couple of pats, handed over a flyer to its owners and moved on to the next person.

Just before nine a.m., my right eye started to swell up like a balloon. You can't tell from the photo, but the white of my eye has swollen so much that its surface is higher than that of my iris. I could barely see, so Kim drove me to a clinic. The doctor froze my eye and prescribed some anti-allergen eyedrops, which I'm to try if the swelling doesn't go down by the end of the day. In the meantime, I'm to apply a cold compress, which is making work a little awkward.

I haven't had an allergic reaction this bad since I was 11 or 12, when a tiny puppy sent me to the emergency room in Nipawin, Saskatchewan. After a half-hour in the same room with that dog, I couldn't breathe except by sucking in air with all the strength in my lungs through a nearly-closed windpipe. Fortunately the nurse on duty knew just what to do, and jabbed a needle in my butt filled with some kind of elixir that immediately opened up my airway. I'll never forget how glorious that first breath after the shot felt: it was full of the thrill of being alive.

Today's reaction is a minor annoyance compared to that scary experience. Still, I guess it's a reminder that I shouldn't forget that my childhood allergies remain. So if you see me on another campaign and I avoid your dog or cat, please don't take offense!

Nor should anyone forget to vote today. Whatever happens, it looks like this could be one of the most fascinating election results in years, and we all have a role to play in making history of one sort or another. If there's one thing no one should be allergic to, it's the ballot box.

Mr. Woods Goes to Ottawa

Just before graduating from Leduc Composite High School in 1987, I was one of the handful of teens chosen to represent Alberta at the annual Forum for Young Canadians. Since we're going to be sending 308 Members of Parliament to Ottawa on Monday, I thought this would be a fine time to share some of 18-year-old Earl's photos of his journey to the Hill.

Believe it or not, sometimes I wear a suit when I'm forced to. I'm the one pointing an accusatory finger, politician-style.

Sitting in the Prime Minister's chair. At the time, it was officially occupied by Brian Mulroney. Who will fill it come Monday?

And here I am in the Speaker's throne. It will be interesting to see who replaces the respected Peter Milliken.

Rideau Canal at night...

...and in the daylight.

When I was a teenager, I wanted to be Prime Minister. Nowadays I think, "Who in their right mind would want this job?" Come to think of it, what kind of teenager chooses "politician" as a career, anyway? A bit of a step down from "astronaut," my first choice.

The US embassy.

With my roommates from Atlantic Canada.

Our group.

The Museum of Civilization, not yet open for visitors.

The house on the hill. On Monday, we get to choose who works there. Remember to vote!

ABC or UBB

Internet access has become indispensable for practically every Canadian, regardless of age. Most of us have gotten used to playing a flat fee every month for that access; we download what we want, pay our bill, and forget about it.

In Alberta, both Shaw and Telus actually have caps on your broadband usage; technically, if you go over the monthly limit, they can charge you extra. So far, they haven't been exercising this power. But if the big internet service providers get their way, that could all change right after the election.

Despite their massive profits, the big ISPs want to implement usage-based billing, or UBB. The idea is that the more you download, the more you pay, which sounds fair on the surface but is really just a way of gouging customers for more money. Do you like receiving photos or videos of your grandchildren via email or on YouTube? Have you signed up for NetFlix? Do you send and receive large files for your business? Do you enjoy reading (or creating!) blogs with lots of photos and videos? Prepare to pay more - lots more - every month.

However, there is a way to stop this from happening: vote ABC. That is, Anyone But Conservative. Most of the major federal parties have Internet-friendly policies that would, to greater and lesser degrees, prevent ISPs from moving to UBB. Only the Conservatives have refused to take a position on this critical issue. Frankly, that makes me suspicious of their motives.

To be fair, when the big ISPs tried to push UBB on Canadians a couple of months ago, the Conservatives forced the CRTC to reconsider its decision to allow usage-based billing. But that's just good politics on the cusp of an election. By refusing to state their position on the future of UBB, the Tories are (or should be) leading Canadians to wonder what will happen after the election - when it will be too late to punish a government that allows UBB.

The Internet has become a critical medium for commerce, culture, diplomacy, science, history - it touches practically every life in the developed world. Canada's government should be pushing for cheaper, faster access. Instead, we're lagging well behind other developed nations in speed, price and ISP transparency.If we want to remain competitive, if we want everyone to have equal access to the Internet regardless of income, then we need to take this mantra to heart:

ABC or UBB. The Liberal and NDP positions (scroll down) on the Internet's future are particularly strong.

All the News That's Fit to Fake

Today the Sun News Network revealed that Patrick Muttart, former Deputy Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Harper and until today a top Tory campaign operative, tried to plant a fake news story about Michael Ignatieff to SNN. Essentially, Muttart tried to pass off a photo of a gun-slinging commando as Ignatieff to imply that the Liberal leader was machine-gung-ho about the US invasion of Iraq.

To their credit and my surprise, Sun Media immediately ratted out the Tories. While I'm not a fan of Ignatieff's initially hawkish position on Iraq, he doesn't deserve this kind of desperate smear attack, nor should the voting public put up with blatant lies of this magnitude.

Naturally Muttart has fallen on his sword and returned to Chicago, while Stephen Harper, I'm sure, will take no responsibility for this farce. But he can't escape responsibility for choosing his friends poorly. The Prime Minister has surrounded himself with operatives of dubious character. What does that say about his own?

Trek to Timmins, Part Three

Read Part One
Read Part Two

I'm sorry to say that Sylvia's grandmother passed away on Sunday morning. In the hopes that her family will find solace in each other, I present the best of the rest of the photographs I shot when Sylvia and I visited Timmins.

Sylvia's cousin Jason and his son Nathan, who amused me by hopping up and down with his fists in the air yelling matter-of-factly, "I puked! I puked!"

Sylvia's Uncle Lloyd, Uncle Mark (AKA "Babs") (youngest of the Boucher children, only a year older than Sylvia), Uncle Richard and Aunt Mitch.

Avery on the phone with Donald Duck, while Aunts Celine and Mitch and cousin Ashley giggle.

Uncles Lloyd and Mark and Aunt Mitch.

Timmins is Orange Wave country.

Uncle Tommy and Sylvia at the hospital.

Diva Sylvia grew up in this trailer park. Perhaps this was even her trailer.

The Windsor, where Shania Twain played before she was famous.

Now she's famous and has a museum devoted to her exploits.

The most futuristic architecture in Timmins.

To celebrate the 65th birthday of Uncle Leo, the Bouchers assembled at The Fish Bowl, filling half the restaurant. Here are Uncle Richard and Aunt Mitch.

Avery and Devlin sit in the cool section.

Misbehaving Aunts Celine, Lise and Claire.

On the day before we left, we managed to squeeze in a lunch with Sylvia's childhood friends, the Losiers.

 Sylvia and the daughter of the Losiers, Lynne Bourque.

I'm