CLC marks Democracy Day with a campaign calling for proportional representation

September 14, 2016

Canada’s largest labour organization is marking Democracy Day on September 15 with the launch of a campaign backing proportional representation. The campaign includes a 30-second long animated video being promoted on line, online ads and a petition hosted on ChoosePR.ca.

“Our electoral system is broken, and we know that proportional representation is the only way to make it fair,” said CLC president Hassan Yussuff.

“Canadians agree that no party should get a majority of seats without a majority of votes and that we should be able to vote for who we want, instead of being forced time and again to vote out who we don’t,” he added.

The CLC and its affiliated unions are mobilizing members across the country to ensure their voices are heard at regional town halls hosted by MPs, consultations by the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reform and consultations held by Maryam Monsef, the Minister for Democratic Reform.

“We are glad that the government has called for electoral reform and we know that proportional representation works in more than 80 other countries around the world, and will work for Canada,” said Yussuff.

The CLC belongs to the Every Voter Counts Alliance, a diverse coalition of more than 60 Canadian civil society organizations calling for proportional representation.