It is widely known that, if Canadians were to have a government that was proportionally represented, the House of Commons would look very different. The Bloc Qu becois, for one, would have far fewer seats than it does under our current system, while the Progressive Conservatives would be considerably stronger. Under the parliamentary system, and even without factoring in issues like voter turnout and media bias, it is quite possible that an election could give us a government that the majority of Canadians do not want. It is for this reason that checks on our government are so important, for there is simply no guarantee that law-makers are willing and able to consistently represent the wishes of the people . Even if we were able to accurately measure preferences and the will of the people, it would be unwise to overestimate the importance of majority voting.
Majorities can, and often are, misguided in their views.
And, has been pointed out by countless academics, it is not necessarily reasonable to expect an individual to give up his or her personal rights or freedoms based simply upon the whim of the majority. A federal government that is truly committed to democracy should endeavour to act in the best interests of all Canadians at all times. Rather than obsessing over the public will , a good government rules the best that it can, and awaits the verdict of the people after its mandate is complete. In other words, the basic concept that appears to escape Stockwell Day is that a government is capable of being strongly democratic without being populist. Rhetoric about giving the government back to the people is fundamentally flawed in its ignorance of the fact that there is only so much that our government can and should be able to do.