Spearheaded by Engage Barrie Contributing Member, Dave Meslin, Unlock Democracy Canada has released their Ontario Report Card on how the platforms of thirteen parties in the 2022 provincial election line up with seven unique criteria of democratic reform.
The seven criteria are:
Local Choice
Does the party commit to giving BACK municipalities' right to use ranked ballots for local elections?
Vote Reform
Does the party commit to a Citizens Assembly process to review Ontario's election system?
Or, second best: does the party commit to any specific proportional system OR a one-time trial of any alternative system with a built-in review or assessment?
Vote 16
Does the party support lowering the voting age to 16?
Lobbyists
Excessive corporate lobbying, revolving doors and regulatory capture all threaten our democracy – does the party pledge to do anything to control or reduce this activity?
Election Date
Holding a general election on a weekday can keep many from voting – does the party support moving election day to a weekend, or, better yet, making the day of a general election an official paid holiday?
Campaign Finance
Getting corporate money out of politics is crucial for our democratic health. What does the party commit to doing to control campaign financing?
Independence of MPPs
Does the party commit to allowing their MPPs more autonomy to act on behalf of their constituents, instead of just following orders from their party whip?
You won't BELIEVE the results!
(How are we doing with our clickbait? 😆 )
See each party's scores, along with Unlock Democracy's methodology and other details at https://www.unlockdemocracy.ca/ontario_report_card_2022