John Robson: Instead of Bickering Over Seat Distribution, Make Parliament Serve Canadians Better
Commentary
With a new census in the bag, Elections Canada has unveiled its plan to redistribute parliamentary seats to a cheery national chorus of “it’s not fair to my region.” But don’t worry. It’s also bad for democracy.
The essential idea is that as some regions gain population relative to others, they should get more seats, except they shouldn’t. Quebec must never lose seats because it might take its marbles and go home, a vital principle of self-government. The Atlantic provinces must never lose seats because they send many Liberals to Parliament, ditto. The West must not get big because it’s full of truckers and other deplorable rednecks. And journalists already write “seat-rich Ontario” and “vote-rich Ontario” far too often during elections. But everyone must complain petulantly all the time….