Quebec
Chief Electoral Officer's Proposed Changes to Electoral Law
Parties Not Represented in National Assembly Advocate for
Democracy Where People
Have Their Say
On May 7, the six parties that signed an open letter to the Office of the Directeur général des élections du Québec (Chief Electoral Officer), presented their views and concerns on its proposed reforms to Quebec's electoral law during a meeting with two advisors from its research office. The meeting with the Bloc Pot, Équipe autonomiste, Parti libertarien, Marxist-Leninist Party of Quebec (PMLQ) and Démocratie directe was part of the Chief Electoral Officer's consultations on the Election Act.
From November 30, 2023 to March 30, the Chief Electoral Officer organized consultations on his document, For a New Vision of the Election Act. Thirty-five briefs were submitted, including from the first five of the political parties listed above, and the open letter. In that letter, the six parties had asked to be heard and in response, the Chief Electoral Officer organized the meeting. Even though it was clearly held only as a matter of form, the parties' representatives intervened with all the seriousness required of them to deal with the problems posed by the current electoral law and the proposed changes, which constitute obstacles to the participation of the polity in elections that claim to be free and fair.
The six parties' representatives presented their concerns and how these could be resolved to the best of their ability, relying on their own experience in renewing the democracy. These are people who have organized to establish a party – some as long as 20 years ago and others more recently – to participate in political life and propose alternatives to the current political process that encourage more people to get involved. They have first-hand experience with the process that marginalizes them and the body politic.
Below is a summary of the main interventions made by the parties. The full text of the PMLQ's entire intervention at the meeting which dealt with the issue of representation and representativity is reproduced in this issue.
On the Election Act and the Process
-
Today, history is calling upon us to complete the renewal of the
democracy by ensuring that the constitutional provisions in
place vest
sovereignty in the people, not the narrow special interests that
govern
the society for private gain. We need an electoral system that
guarantees that power is
vested in the people. Changes to the Election Act
must, at a minimum, advance in that direction instead of
strengthening
the autocracy,
- With this form of regime and the institutions we are saddled with, Quebeckers have no say in the decision-making process. This includes the electoral process which is said to be a form of representation. The people do not choose the candidates and it is not they who participate in the smear campaigns. It is also not they who decide on the agenda or to forego an informed vote, create division and approve exorbitant expenses. They are also definitely not the ones determining the outcome. If this electoral process is representative then it is representative of others, not the people.
- Our party is sensitive about paternalistic practices. The Election Act is supposed to be there to assist people in involving themselves in politics, helping them to participate in the democratic process, not to turn the law into a form of coercion.
Political Activities and Life
- Political action has already been entered into by the fact that there exists a group of citizens who have come together to form a party and have an opinion to express. By imposing constraints, such as having to present candidates, there is the risk that the Chief Electoral Officer will adopt too strict a definition and impose on parties what their political activity should be.
- I think that one of the Chief Electoral Officer's mandates should be to explore what being political means. How do we carry out politics? Is being political simply a matter of the vote? Can we run for office? How is that done, because reducing politics to being merely an issue of voting, a vote, although that action is promoted, is not enough.
- The Chief Electoral Officer is requesting that the parties engage in politics and is proposing that an accountability mechanism be set up. This is incoherent. More often than not, the funding received by parties whose candidates are not elected is used to pay to produce an annual financial report. Rather than collecting the money for political purposes, they end up doing so for administrative purposes.
- I think it's up to the political parties themselves to involve themselves in politics in the manner that they deem most relevant and that it should not be limited to solely participating in elections.
On Gender Parity
- Today, we have come full circle and the Chief Electoral Officer is concerned, rightly so in our opinion, about Quebeckers being increasingly dissatisfied with the system of representation. However, instead of going to the heart of the matter and differentiating between what is relevant and what is not, it's embroiling itself in identity politics. This is divisive and distracts from the fact that when we talk about belonging to a body politic, its basic unit is the citizen, irrespective of any other consideration. To talk about gender parity within such a context and open the door to imposing penalties on parties that do not follow this is to do a great disservice to those intent on modernizing the electoral process.
On the Criminalization of So-Called Hate Speech
- As for everything related to hate, harassment and intimidation, the Criminal Code already deals with this, as do the authorities and those who specialize in these matters. I do not believe that the Chief Electoral Officer should be going down this path.
- These should not all be lumped together. I would instead explore a path complementary to others. The frustration felt towards our elected representatives could be greatly attenuated by strengthening the feeling amongst people that elected members are there to serve them and that they are listening. Therefore, the better the democratic system functions, the greater the chance of cultivating a type of harmony at that level. I won't go any further into the details.
Participation of the Polity in Political Life
- Today, history is calling on us to complete the renewal of the democracy by ensuring that constitutional provisions vest sovereignty in the people, not narrow special interests that govern society for private gain. We require an electoral system that guarantees that power resides with the people. Changes to the Election Act must, at minimum, advance in that direction, rather than strengthening the autocracy.
- Any modification of the Election Act that does not take into account who the democracy serves, who decides and the electoral system this requires will only deepen the legitimacy and credibility crisis in which it is currently mired. It would be ill-advised to make changes to the Election Act without taking this fundamental reality into account and the Chief Electoral Officer should refrain from doing so.
- If we want real representation, we must provide ourselves with the means to include everyone. I would invite you to continue your reflection so that everyone is considered, all the others who find themselves excluded from the process.
- We are really proposing a more just and transparent society, where every voice counts, where the people are truly at the heart of the decisions. Citizens should have viable, non-partisan information in order to fully participate in the democratic process.
- We truly believe that the system should be further reviewed, to make it even more inclusive because not all voices are really being heard, particularly those of marginalized communities.
- I think that the electoral process in its current form with its representative mode risks reproducing the illegalities that already exist within society as a whole.
On the Public Financing of Political Parties
-
In our proposal, Élections Québec would finance
the electoral process,
not the political parties, which would eliminate any need for
state
administrative control over the funding of political parties.
Voters
would know fully which interests finance the political parties
and who
they serve,
whatever the propaganda may be, while Élections
Québec would guarantee
the right of citizens to an informed vote by providing each
household
with the information they require on those presenting themselves
for
election.
- Parties receive funding based on the number of ballots cast. The calculation of all registered voters in the per vote funding for parties, which recoups even those electors who did not vote, poses a problem. Frankly speaking, this is one of the reasons for our political party's existence, to denounce the fact that there is absolutely no way to annul one's vote. When it is said that our vote is worth $1.82, this is a violation of freedom and the right to vote. The citizen has no real choice in ensuring that the financing associated with his or her vote does not end up in the party's coffers. If I do not vote, it is still factored into the total funding pot to be distributed, which goes against the voter's intent. Already, the meaning of an abstention vote or a vote to annul is annihilated through this legal reality. If we advocate that voting has value, then accordingly, all the options should be there. Political parties, therefore, should not be able to count on the financial support of all those who did not cast their ballot and financing should only take into account the actual vote obtained by each of the big political parties.
- Regarding politics in general, 75 per cent of political party financing is public funding. This is problematic, because parties are private interest groups.
On Mainstream Media Silence
- At present, when it comes to the dissemination of information to voters, the media are not really our allies. It's still quite cynical to always be hearing about the same parties, the same news, without voters being permitted to think or even to find information.
- What I want to denounce or make clear to the Chief Electoral Officer and all those present here is that the media also shapes public opinion. I do not consider it conspiratorial or exaggerated to say such a thing. This is because the scope of politically acceptable ideas about which we are able to debate is already a power entirely held by private interests and mainly by Quebec's big media companies.
- As for access to electoral information, it is certainly crucial that every citizen be provided reliable and non-partisan information. What is happening is that we have reached the point where, in order to express ourselves, we have to rely on independent media, as the big media ignore us. Our only option is to meet with independent media, which themselves are limited, in their respective fields, in getting themselves known.
- With regard to media representation, as parties, we know that if we don't have a member in the National Assembly, the media never cover us. And that once we do have a member, they will. This means that we need an elected member in the National Assembly in order for them to end up talking about us. Therefore, with regard to the Election Act, the Chief Electoral Officer should be doing more to ensure that the media cover all the parties so that all are given a chance.
Pre-Election Spending
- Concerning third-party pre-election activities, care must be taken not to interfere with the freedom to express one's opinions during elections or pre-electoral periods, whether they be organizations or third parties. I consider this a relevant discussion but one that merits further elaboration.
This article was published in
Volume 54
Number 38 - June 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54387.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca