Cullen asks new electoral reform minister to co-draft bill

OTTAWA – On Thursday, the NDP Critic for Democratic Reform Nathan Cullen invited the new Minister for Democratic Institutions, Karina Gould, to jointly draft the government’s electoral reform legislation with opposition parties.

“Instead of having the legislation that will reform our democracy written secretly in backrooms,” wrote Cullen,” I suggest we sit down together in the spirit of continued bipartisanship and write the bill together.”

In the letter Cullen pointed to previous comments made by Gould where she said that in order to successfully and legitimately change our voting system, politicians should “set aside partisan interests and engage in a thoughtful and substantive dialogue with each other and with citizens.”

With the Liberal’s deadline to introduce legislation looming, Cullen also expressed hope that the Minister’s appointment meant a change in approach by the government to make 2015 the last election held under the old voting system.

“I am also excited about the signal your appointment sends,” he wrote, “that there is an effort to overcome the mistakes of the past where unilateral actions taken by the government hurt the credibility of this process.”