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Freedom Party of Ontario

- MEDIA RELEASE -

For immediate release



Electoral Reform Referendum

Freedom Prevails on
Electoral Reform Referendum Question

McGuinty government commended for following FPO leader
Paul McKeever's proposed form of referendum question


June 21, 2007 (Oshawa)
 - Freedom Party leader Paul McKeever today is commending the McGuinty government for adoptng his May 15, 2007 proposal concerning the wording of the October 10, 2007 electoral reform referendum question.  As McKeever had proposed, the referendum will ask voters which electoral system they want (First Past the Post vs. Mixed Member Proportional) instead of asking them to vote "yes" vs. "no" to the adoption of the Mixed-Member Proportional system.

In FPO's May 15, 2007 media release, McKeever stated:

"It should not be surprising that the Assembly has recommended a yes/no referendum question that asks whether Ontario should adopt the MMP recommended by the Assembly.  Their proposal is for a leading question; one designed to improve the chances that the MMP will be adopted.  If the proponents of this oppressive electoral system believe it to be defensible, they should try to defend it rather than trying to win by trickery.  Forget yes/no questions.  Let the voting public be asked which system they want:  SMP or MMP.  And, for the good of Canada, may the better part of every Ontarian's conscience prevail."

McKeever is encouraged by the fact that his proposal was adopted: "This is an election season, so I should tame my praise and say that the McGuinty government is a demonstration of the fact that even a broken clock is right twice per day", said McKeever.  "But, in all seriousness, I must commend the McGuinty government for adopting the form of question that I proposed in May.  The yes/no question recommended by the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform was a leading question, intended to bias the voter in favour of adopting the MMP.  Such deck-stacking has no place on a referendum ballot in a democratic country."

"We are now better protected from being tricked into the adoption of an utterly ruinous and paralysing electoral system: the MMP.  I consider this a victory not only for Freedom Party, but for freedom and democracy in Ontario.

"This is encouraging news, and I would ask all political party leaders in Ontario to join me in supporting the First-Past-the-Post option.  It is the only system consistent with principled, western governance, and with the spirit of the values enshrined in Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms."

Freedom Party is the only political party in Ontario that is officially in opposed to replacing Ontario's first-past-the-post system with the Assembly's proposed mixed-member proportional system.



FPO on the record concerning electoral reform:
 
  • May 15, 2007 (media release): Electoral Reform Report Slammed - "Freedom Party of Ontario leader Paul McKeever is condemning the recommendations set out in a report by Ontario's Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform..." Click here to read the full media release.

  • April 4, 2007 (media release): Just Say "No" to Electoral Reform - Freedom Party today released a video to encourage members of Ontario's Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform not to recommend replacing Ontario's Single Member Plurality (SMP or "first past the post") electoral system with the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system..." Click here to read the full media release.

  • October 24, 2006 (media release): Thumbs-up for Double Majority Referendum Threshold - "Freedom Party leader, Paul McKeever, is expressing support for the McGuinty government's introduction of electoral reform legislation that – in effect - decreases the likelihood of a change to a "proportional representation" electoral system..." Click here to read the full media release.

  • October 6, 2005 (media release) - Paul McKeever's Testimony to the Ontario Legislature's Select Committee on Electoral Reform.

  • Video (October 6, 2005) - excerpt of Paul McKeever's Testimony to the Ontario Legislature's Select Committee on Electoral Reform.  Three formats: youtube, Microsoft (.wmv), Mac/iPod (.mp4)

For further details, contact: Paul McKeever

Cell: ***-***-****
website: https://freedomparty.on.ca
e-mail: e-mail
FPO's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/fpontario
FPO's 2007 Election Platform: https://freedomparty.on.ca/election2007/platform.page.htm


This media release distributed to all major news media and to Ontario's MPPs.


Freedom Party of Ontario
240 Commissioners Road West
London, Ontario
CANADA N6J 1Y1

Tel: 1-800-830-3301
web: https://freedomparty.on.ca