First-Past-The-Post Goes to Trial

First-Past-The-Post Goes to Trial (September 13, 2007)

The Association pour la Revendication des Droits Démocratiques (www.ardd.qc.ca) has been successful in obtaining a court date to plead its case at the Quebec Superior Court to have the first-past-the-post voting system declared unconstitutional. Having already won the first two rounds, the admissibility of the case and the Quebec government’s subsequent appeal of the decision, Julius Grey, one of Canada’s most respected constitutional lawyers, will be presenting his arguments to the Court in December, 2008. A decision in the favor of the plaintiffs would render Quebec’s present voting system null and void and would create an important precedent for similar court actions elsewhere in Canada since the legal arguments are based on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Moreover, the provinces and the federal government employ the same system.

In short, the case will highlight the voting system’s inability to provide effective representation for each of Quebec’s citizens as well as the system’s tendency to interfere with the capacity of individuals to participate meaningfully in the electoral process. Historically, both of these constitutional obligations have not been met on several occasions. As a result, successive Quebec governments have convened public commissions to examine changes to the voting system on four separate occasions. Each one recommended the adoption of a proportional voting system. Nevertheless, first-past-the-post remains in place. Consequently, Quebec provides the most fertile ground in Canada for obtaining what would be a historical judicial outcome.