Hey all,

I was wondering what y'all thought of proportional representation. It would be interesting getting opinions of other hardcore critical thinkers.

Here's a few videos I've found on the subject.

http://vimeo.com/21072501
http://vimeo.com/21071673
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tWHJfhiyo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT0I-sdoSXU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JamSJ_yguqc

BTW, I like the MMP system the best, but there are other ones out there.

I think this is a good idea, but I'd like to see what others think too.

Also of note, skepchick like PR too :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybrVvTy2 ... ideo_title

I personally think we need proportional representation, but in the senate. If the senate is to become an elected body, why bother having separate elections for it? Simply use the results of say every third federal election, break down the results by region (west, ontario, quebec, Maritime + Newfoundland) and add seats accordingly. As each region has 24 seats (technically the maritimes and Newfoundland have 31, but I also think they should not), you would have more diverse representation - even the Green Party would have several senators. Thus, no extra money is wasted.

I don't expect we could change the number of senate seats each region gets (because of Quebec), or go with a national list (a la Israel), again because of reduced influence among Quebec separatists.