Issues

Issue - Democratic Reform
	The Liberals plan to engage in dialogue with Canadians to define the values and principles they wish to see reflected in their democratic institutions

	Create a national process for choosing elected Senators from each province and territory Propose further reforms to make the Senate an effective, independent, and democratically elected body that equitably represents all regions Restore representation by population for Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta in the House of Commons while protecting the seat counts of smaller provinces Introduce legislation modeled on the BC and Ontario laws requiring fixed election dates every four years, except when a government loses the confidence of the House (in which case an election would be held immediately, and the subsequent election would follow four years later) Make all votes in Parliament, except the budget and main estimates, “free votes” for ordinary Members of Parliament Increase the power of Parliament and parliamentary committees to review the spending estimates of departments and hold ministers to account Ensure that party nomination and leadership races are conducted in a fair, transparent, and democratic manner Prevent party leaders from appointing candidates without the democratic consent of local electoral district associations

	The NDP proposes a referendum on whether to change the voting system to one based on proportional representation, which would give parties seats based on based on the percentage of votes they receive Abolish the Senate Create aboriginal seats in Parliament Lower the voting age to 16 Create an independent ethics counsellor, toughen up conflict-of-interest guidelines and crack down on expense accounts Implement a Parliamentary review of senior appointments to bodies such as Crown corporations, agencies and boards Have "third parties" report publicly on the funds they received for election campaigns and advertising Crack down on unaccountable election slush funds Enact whistleblower laws to protect civil servants Improve federal-provincial-territorial relationships through the Council of the Federation Ensure Parliament votes before committing troops overseas Establish an independent commissioner who monitors federal departments’ compliance to all policies for persons with disabilities and who advises about the effects of pending legislation on persons with disabilities

	Promote sovereignty and create a country called Quebec Let the remaining political parties deal with the parliamentary and constitutional consequences after Quebec is taken out of Canada Government institutions should be of non-religious nature with no religious affiliation Quebec to have its own national teams to play in international hockey and soccer tournaments The state has to have a substantial presence in society and be a partner with all citizens

	Create public consultation process to determine form of proportional representation, where the percentage of party seats won equal the party's percentage of the popular vote, that would best serve Canadians for the next federal election Support the legislative changes required to introduce the proportional representation system recommended by the public consultation Greens want Elections Canada, or another independent agency, to take control of a mandatory series of open leaders’ debates Introduce fixed election dates Move from the current partial ban on corporate and union donations to political parties to a full ban on such donations Lower the voting age to seventeen Reduce the mandatory $1,000 candidate deposit to encourage more Canadians to participate in the democratic system Introduce laws guaranteeing a proportion of seats for women in government appointed bodies

Issue - Democratic Reform