Introduction of the Democratic Representation Bill (C-56)

May 11, 2007
Ottawa, Ontario

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Speaking Notes for the Hon. Peter Van Loan Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform

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Good afternoon. Today is day 5 of the week devoted by Canada’s New Government to strengthening accountability through democratic reform.

Monday, we sent out invitations to the 1st birthday party of the Bill to limit the terms of Senators.

It’s been delayed and obstructed by the Liberal Senate for almost a year now. For those of you who didn’t get an invitation, the party is on May 30th.

On Tuesday, we introduced new legislation to regulate all loans made to political parties, candidates and associations.

On Wednesday, we introduced new legislation to address the overall decline in voter turnout in Canada.

And Today, I am pleased to announce that Canada’s New Government is moving forward to restore the principle of representation by population in the House of Commons.

One of the most crucial questions faced by the Fathers of Confederation was how to ensure equal representation in the House of Commons while guaranteeing that each province had a fair say in the daily workings of the new country.

It’s a question governments have wrestled with ever since.

Today, with the Democratic Representation Bill, our government will provide a modern, realistic and balanced solution to this age-old problem.

Today we are delivering on our election commitment to restore the representational balance in the House of Commons, while protecting the representation of smaller or slow growing provinces.

Our approach is based on principle.

Firstly – the cornerstone principle of democratic representation that is that of one person, one vote –each vote should carry, to the extent possible the same weight.

Secondly – that the proportional representation of the provinces should be protected.

These are the principles that were the core foundation of Confederation.

Representation by population married to the concept of a Federation.

We are seeking to do what George Brown envisioned in 1857 when he argued that all persons “should be placed on the same level with respect to representation and political rights”.

In 1985, as they had done eight other times since Confederation, MPs debated and passed a new formula to determine the number of MPs from each province.

The formula they adopted attempted to balance the competing interests of restricting the number of seats in the House of Commons and guaranteeing a minimum level of representation for all provinces.

Unfortunately, the formula had the effect of significantly reducing the number of seats entirely at the expense of the three fastest-growing provinces.

It now means that an MP from Ontario, Alberta and BC represents, on average, over 107,000 people, while an MP in the other 7 provinces represents an average of a little over 86,000 people. This is a difference of over 21,000 people.

Left in place, this imbalance will grow to over 29,000 people, and likely place great strains on our federation.

The Democratic Representation Bill moves to correct that inequity. The Bill will increase the seat totals of the provinces with the fastest growing populations while protecting the seat counts of provinces with slower growing populations.

This legislation will restore fairness. This bill recognizes that the growing populations of Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, should have fair representation in the national legislature.

The Current Representation Formula can be summarized in an over simplified fashion as follows:

Step 1: The Divisor

Take the population of Canada and divide by 279- representing the number of seats from provinces in the House of Commons based upon the 1971 census. This produces the “National Quotient”

Step 2: The National Quotient Applied

Divide the population of the province by this national quotient to determine the number of seats for that province.

Step 3: The Grandfather Rule

Every province gets at least the number of seats it had in 1985 (S.51 (1).2)

Step 4: The Senate Rule

Every province gets at least the same number of House of Commons seats as it has Senators (S.51A-1915)

We are adding the following changes.

Change 1 A gradually escalating divisor

The divisor will be the number of seats in the House of Commons based on the census 30 years earlier (not 1971 census)

Change 2 A smaller, faster growing province, should have its representation brought as close as possible to that of the largest province receiving seats under a seat guarantee

Now, if you are not a student of this type of formula, you will want to know what this means.

It can be summarized simply as follows. Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, PEI, New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan all maintain their current seat protections in the House of Commons. Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta will all be very close to representation by population, with Quebec’s level of representation the measure against which the other two are assessed.

Ontario will be better represented than is the case under the existing formula, closer to representation by population but modestly under-represented.

Under the formula proposed in the Act, it is projected that British Columbia will receive seven new seats in the next readjustment, as opposed to only two under the current formula.

Similarly, Alberta is estimated to receive five seats rather than only one.

The additional seats for BC and Alberta will move these provinces from a position of significant under-representation to a level playing field.

Ontario is projected to get 10 new seats in the next redistribution instead of 4 under the existing formula.

Regional alienation in a country as big as Canada is always a risk.

An electoral system that significantly short changes parts of the country can fuel that kind of alienation.

Our new Bill, to move closer to the principle of representation by population, addresses that risk, restores fairness, all the while ensuring smaller or slower growing provinces are protected - not penalized.

George Brown, as a Father of Confederation who championed representation by population said this about the original compromises on which Confederation was built:

“No Constitution ever framed was without defect;

No act of human wisdom was ever free from imperfection;

No amount of talent and wisdom and integrity combined in preparing such a scheme could have placed it beyond the reach of criticism.

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It was necessarily the work of concession

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But admitting all this… taking the scheme as a whole, it has my cordial enthusiastic support, without hesitation or reservation.”

Those same words could apply today. We believe that with our principled approach, we have struck the right balance.

Restoring the principle of representation by population, while protecting the proportionate representation of the provinces.

Through this bill, we hope to strengthen confidence in the fairness of Canadian democracy, and in the process strengthen Canadian unity and the attachment Canadians have to the country and its democratic institutions.

The House of Commons is the place where elected representatives from coast-to-coast-to-coast come to speak as the voice of the Canadian people.

The Democratic Representation Bill ensures all of those voices will be heard.

Thank you.

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