By Christopher Twardawa [email protected] To be presented to the Ontario Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform January 2007 Version ONE-070.131 www.ctess.ca www.TwardawaModel.org Any opinion or view presented in the document is that of and only of the author, Christopher Twardawa, and may not necessarily reflect those of any organization he is or has been associated with. Reproduction of this document in whole or in part is permitted, provided the source (Christopher Twardawa and www.ctess.ca or www.TwardawaModel.org ) is fully acknowledged. © Christopher Twardawa, 2007 TwardawaModel.org CTESS.ca Sometimes the simplest solution is the best. Christopher Twardawa Electoral System Solution ii TwardawaModel.org CTESS.ca About CTESS The Christopher Twardawa Electoral System Solution (CTESS) is the creation of its author – Christopher Twardawa and is designed to provide a better electoral system than what Canada and its provinces now have. With the belief that the current system is good but requires improvements, CTESS strengthens it by identifying deficiencies and proposing innovations. Unlike any other electoral system currently in use and which all have tradeoffs, CTESS has no tradeoffs and therefore eliminates the need to change electoral systems as a whole. Christopher first started thinking about this after the 1993 Canadian federal elections, since the results of those elections appeared to him to be inconsistent with how the voters voted. Ten years later in 2003, while still in university, he came up with the current model (the Twardawa Model) which is a simple yet considerate and sophisticated model. It can be applied to any democratic state under the Westminster model of government and similar systems. As per the Lobbyists Registration Office of the Government of Ontario’s definitions of consultant lobbyists, in-house lobbyists (persons and partnerships) and in-house lobbyists (organizations) and the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists of the Government of Canada’s definitions of consultant lobbyists, in-house corporate lobbyists and in- house organization lobbyists, CTESS does not have or retain the services of any lobbyist. Christopher Twardawa Electoral System Solution iii TwardawaModel.org CTESS.ca About the Author Christopher Twardawa was born and raised in Quebec City. He graduated from Université Laval in Economics and Political Science. He has worked in many governmental organizations such as Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Department of National Defence, Public Works and Governmental Services Canada and the Canadian Parliament, Ontario’s Ministry of Consumer and Business Services, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario and Ombudsman Ontario and Quebec’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce. In addition to his involvement with government, he has been active politically as well. He has campaigned in various provincial and federal elections. Also, he served as vice- president of his riding association for a well-known Quebec provincial party. Christopher currently works in Toronto in the private sector and is studying towards his CFA. He is no longer a member of any political party and is not a member of any political organization including Fair Vote Canada or Fair Vote Ontario. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my family for their support as well as the educators and professors I had throughout my academic years. In particular, I would like thank the teachers who taught me my first few political science courses at CÉGEP Champlain Regional College – St. Lawrence Campus as well as all the professors I have learned from at Université Laval. Ironically, as much as the results provided by several elections held in Canada in the 1990s were mind-boggling and unfair, they contributed in fostering the concerns and the repugnance I have towards our electoral system and fuelled in me the determination required to create a better electoral system. Finally, I would also like to thank Ontario’s Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform for allowing me to observe their sessions during the members’ learning phase. Christopher Twardawa Electoral System Solution iv TwardawaModel.org CTESS.ca Table of Contents ABOUT CTESS III ABOUT THE AUTHOR IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IV PREFACE 1 THE CORE VALUE OF CTESS 2 THE BEAUTY OF ONTARIO’S CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLY ON ELECTORAL REFORM 3 THE EVOLUTION OF ONTARIO’S POPULATION 4 THE DEGREES OF COMPLEXITY OF AN ELECTORAL SYSTEM 7 THE THREE CTESS FUNDAMENTALS 8 CTESS FUNDAMENTAL I: DEFINING DEMOCRACY 8 CTESS FUNDAMENTAL II: THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS 8 CTESS FUNDAMENTAL III: THE CONCEPT OF MAJORITY 8 PREMISES 9 CTESS PREMISE I: ASSESSING THE POWER OF EVERY POLITICAL PARTY IN THE LEGISLATURE . 10 CTESS PREMISE II: THE UNDESIRABLE CONSEQUENCES OF MINORITY OR COALITION GOVERNMENTS 13 CTESS PREMISE III: DIFFERENT ROLES FOR THE PARTIES FORMING THE LEGISLATURE 17 THE DEFICIENCIES OF OUR CURRENT SYSTEM 19 SMP DEFICIENCY I: THE ELECTION AT THE ELECTORAL DISTRICT LEVEL 20 SMP DEFICIENCY II: LEGISLATURE MAKEUP DISPROPORTIONATE TO THE POPULATION AS A WHOLE 25 SMP DEFICIENCY III: HIGH PORTION OF VOTES ARE WASTED 31 Christopher Twardawa Electoral System Solution v TwardawaModel.org CTESS.ca SMP DEFICIENCY IV: CREATING WEAK GOVERNMENTS OR WEAK OPPOSITIONS 35 SMP DEFICIENCY V: EVERY ELECTED OFFICIAL IS EQUAL DESPITE THAT ELECTORAL DISTRICTS ARE NOT 38 THE CTESS MECHANISM 40 CTESS STEP I: IMPROVING THE ELECTORAL PROCESS AT THE ELECTORAL DISTRICT LEVEL 42 CTESS STEP II: ESTABLISHING WHICH PARTY WILL FORM THE GOVERNMENT 43 CTESS STEP III: ESTABLISHING WHICH PARTIES WILL FORM THE OPPOSITION AND ASSIGNING THEIR RESPECTIVE POWER WITHIN THE LEGISLATURE 45 CTESS STEP IV: ALLOCATING COMPENSATORY SEATS 46 CTESS STEP V: ASSIGNING THE VOTING POWER PER ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE 47 OTHER ATTRIBUTES OF CTESS 48 HOW CTESS WOULD TRANSPOSE INTO TODAY’S LEGISLATURE WITH THE RESULTS OF THE 2003 ONTARIO GENERAL ELECTIONS 49 THE ADVANTAGES OF CTESS 53 THE SIMPLICITY OF CTESS 54 PRESENTING CTESS TO ONTARIO’S CITIZENS 55 LISTING OF THE CTESS CUSTOMIZABLE VARIABLES 56 THE VALUES DETERMINED BY ONTARIO’S CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLY ON ELECTORAL REFORM 57 THE BICYCLE ANALOGY 59 ACRONYM GLOSSARY 60 APPENDIX A: DUAL-CLASS SHARE STRUCTURES AND BEST PRACTICES IN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 61 Christopher Twardawa Electoral System Solution vi TwardawaModel.org CTESS.ca Preface This document proposes a new electoral system model named CTESS – Christopher Twardawa Electoral System Solution. As explaining CTESS right from the start without any foundations on the electoral process and deficiencies of Ontario’s current system – Single Member Plurality (SMP) would be unconstructive, this document first starts by establishing what the core value present in the whole system is. This document then presents a short background Ontario’s Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform and a few facts about Ontario’s population. The document then offers three fundamentals which CTESS builds on and the document proposes three premises which shape CTESS as a whole. Before elaborating on CTESS, the document examines the current electoral system in Ontario and points out its main deficiencies and refers to examples of past elections were such deficiencies occurred. The document then focuses on CTESS and presents the CTESS mechanism as well as defining every step involved. The document then continues on with a listing of the advantages of CTESS, its simplicity and its customizable variables. The document also tried to simulate what the current legislature of Ontario would look like had the 2003 Ontario general elections results been similar under CTESS to what they were in actuality. The document finishes with an evaluation as per criteria the values determined by the Citizens’ Assembly. Christopher Twardawa Electoral System Solution 1 TwardawaModel.org CTESS.ca The Core Value of CTESS When designing CTESS, there is one value that is unmistakably the centerpiece of the whole system. The core value of CTESS is the Citizen . It is the view of the author that the Citizen is the most important element when developing an electoral model. Elected officials are there to represent citizens and to govern the state in a fashion that will primarily be beneficial to Citizens all across its jurisdiction. After all, Citizens are at the heart of democracy and, unequivocally, the Citizen is the central element in CTESS. Christopher Twardawa Electoral System Solution 2 TwardawaModel.org CTESS.ca The Beauty of Ontario’s Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform On November 18, 2004, the Premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty announced that Ontario’s Democratic Renewal Secretariat would create a “jury” consisting of Ontario citizens to look into Ontario’s electoral system. In his statement, he said that “democracy belongs to its citizens, not just its elected officials.” On March 27, 2006, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister Responsible for Democratic Renewal Dr. Marie Bountrogianni announced the creation of a Citizens’ Assembly. Much like the Canadian province of British Columbia did in 2004, 103 Ontario citizens were selected in the way comparable to a jury selection. Each one of them coming from Ontario’s 103 electoral districts (ridings), they frequently met in the fall of 2006 to learn about our and other electoral systems. Together, they are to recommend to the legislature whether Ontario should retain its current electoral system or adopt a new one. The beauty of having citizens decide on the electoral system is that they are more likely to prefer a system that is beneficial to citizens as opposed to a system that is more beneficial to elected officials or a specific political party. The reason for this is, as the saying goes, “he who owns the gold makes the rules” and in Ontario, it is not the sovereign who has the gold but the legislature and most specifically, the party in power. As the party in power has the power as its name suggests, it may be tempted to use it to its own advantage. For example, instances when Quebec underwent electoral reform, it was done by the legislature and it favoured a specific party.