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 Sept
28th:
Kluane residents that visit the Legislature's Gallery (when sitting) will often
see me there. It is often not a fun place. Question
Period is a sniping fest. The Speaker often begs for decorum
but to no avail. It seems to most observers and those that
listen to the 1pm-5:30pm streaming version or readers of Hansard,
that the sole purpose of late is to embarrass the other side.
Very little work gets done. The
Questions are not posed to learn and get answers. For the most
part they are soapboxes for criticism and setups for stings.
Committee of the Whole is similarly full of antics.
Partisan politics is at the root.
Scoring points. Attempting to get media sound bites for 5pm
airing.
We are fortunate in the Yukon to have
an active volunteer group that is searching for answers to
streamline the process and introduce fair play. Right from
Election Day. In short, they are starting with Electoral
Reform, the debacle of the 2002 Election is still fresh in political
minds where the second place Liberals, with 29% of the vote,
attained only a sole Riding (Pat Duncan); whereas the NDP with 27%
secured five Ridings. Such is the first-past-the-post system
and most Canadian jurisdictions have had similar experience both at
the Federal & Provincial levels.
A concept that i would like to pursue
is "at-large" candidates. Candidates that want to work on the
big picture items rather than be limited to their constituency.
This works well in Municipal electoral systems. I have
promoted this in the Yukon and this summer i similarly promoted that
idea for the new LAC being formed in the Carcross/Tagish region.
I was very pleased to see YTG allow "at-large" candidates to run in
next month's LAC Election there.
Why an
Independent?
ü
The obvious:
Any of the 3 Parties could form a Minority Gov’t on Oct 10th.
Recognizing that Kluane holds the Balance of Power, they will be encouraged
to more fully consider Kluane issues in courting my vote.
ü
An Indep’t MLA
is not subject to whims of a Party Leader or Caucus in bringing Kluane
issues to the floor of the Legislature or the attention of the media.
Traditional Party MLA’s need permission to ... well, just about everything!
ü
We should
strive for a Legislature that mimics the best of the Canadian Municipal
Model: Decision-makers working with knowledgeable committees. As shown by
Haines Junction’s Village Council, Whitehorse City Council or hundreds of
examples across Canada, their process is much more productive than the
current Legislature and they deliver innovative services in a timely manner
frugally. The absence of partisanship fosters good will, harmony and
efficiency. The Yukon is much too tiny a jurisdiction for the adversarial
Party system to function well.
Other reforms?
ü
Fixed Election Date - the
Federal Gov't & three provinces have started this practice
ü
consider “at large” MLA’s
Freddy H> 634.2266
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