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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday October 5, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Get out and vote When the polls open across Ontario on Wednesday (Oct. 10) more than four out of every 10 registered voters will not cast a ballot. Roughly translated, that means about 3.5-million Ontarians will not exercise their democratic right to vote. While it's a shame, it's hardly surprising. Neither of the last two provincial elections could motivate even 60 per cent of us to get out and help choose the next provincial government. It's virtually impossible to pinpoint what -- or who -- is to blame for this apathy. Perhaps some of us have become so cynical of politicians and the political process that we opt to tune it all out. Or maybe the downward trend is symptomatic of our home and work lives becoming so unbelievably busy that some of us find we have no time or energy left over to cast an educated vote. Only once in the last 30 years has provincial voter turnout even come close to attaining 65 per cent. This happened during the great protest vote of 1990 when the Bob Rae-led New Democratic Party steamrolled its way to 74 of a possible 130 seats, leaving the Liberals and Conservatives in their dust. That year 64.4 per cent of us made our voices heard. While this year's election is shaping up to be a Liberal/Conservative showdown there's been no indication that even a 60 per cent turnout is likely. It will be interesting to see if Wednesday's referendum to decide the future of the province's electoral process will have any bearing on how many people decide to vote. While the optimist may view the chance to decide the way we fill the provincial legislature as an extra incentive to head to the polls, the pessimist may conclude the whole MMP issue is confusing, frustrating and one more reason to stay away. While casting your two votes on Wednesday won't change Ontario overnight, not voting guarantees that you will have had no influence on what happens in this province after Oct. 10. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) was picked after eight months of study by a group of my peers as the best form of electoral reform. One hundred and three, randomly-chosen Ontarians from each of Ontario's ridings almost unanimously recommended MMP as the best form of much-needed electoral reform. MMP is truly democratic; everyone's vote will count. Each party will have the accurate number of representatives based on how many votes their party received. Top 10 reasons to vote yes for MMP on Wednesday MMP will ensure more women and minorities will be elected to the government as lists put forward by parties will be scrutinized for fairness by the public. Doris Anderson who led women in attaining the equality clause in our constitution said that MMP is the only way we will get more women in government. MMP has kept the best of our current system by keeping strong local representation, but it will also be fair with no party gaining more or fewer seats than they deserve. MMP will bring us into the 21st Century. Since confederation Canada has changed dramatically. By choosing a form of proportional representation we will better reflect these changes. Eighty-one countries now use a fair voting system as opposed to the few that still use First Past the Post, FPTP, our current system. MMP has set a threshold for the number of votes a party must have before they can have a seat in the government. This is to avoid splinter groups. MMP will allow you to vote twice, once for the person you want to represent you and once for the party of your choice. MMP is democratic as all individuals or list members must be nominated by a party and lists made public for scrutiny. MMP will eliminate the need for strategic voting ­ people will be able to vote their conscience knowing their vote will count. MMP will more accurately reflect the voting diversity in every region of Ontario. Whether a rural or urban area, there is support for all parties and MMP will reflect this. BEV LEFRANCOIS Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. 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