The vote is one of democracyâe(TM)s most fundamental tools, but a growing number of Canadians think that tool could use a serious overhaul. And soon Ontarians will have the chance to vote for change âe” that is, if the public-education campaign thatâe(TM)s meant to let them know about it ever gets off the ground.

A weak public-education campaign is thought to be to blame for the failure of the 2005 B.C. referendum on electoral reform to result in a new proportional voting system. (The current first-past-the-post system, used both provincially and nationally, has been criticized for the way it squanders votes.) And now Ontarians are facing the same snag.

In a participatory process modeled after the grassroots method used in B.C., Ontarioâe(TM)s Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, formed last year, brought together a random cross-section of Ontarians to assess the current voting system and make a recommendation. On May 15, after eight months, six million dollars, and the contributions of no less than 103 Ontarians (a citizen from each riding), the assembly tabled a report to the Ontario legislature recommending the province change the way its citizens vote.

âeoeThis report marks the success of the most ambitious and far-reaching democratic renewal initiative in Ontarioâe(TM)s history,âe says Marie Bountrogianni, the minister responsible for democratic renewal. However assembly members and others are expressing growing worry that the âeoecomprehensiveâe public-education campaign promised by Bountrogianni wonâe(TM)t be extensive enough to truly inform voters before the October 10 referendum.

Larry Gordon, executive director of reform advocacy group Fair Vote Canada, is frustrated that Elections Ontario, charged by the provincial government to run the public-education campaign, isnâe(TM)t acting fast enough.

âeoeI just canâe(TM)t overemphasize how big the stakes are,âe he says, noting that the chance to change an electoral system is a rare occurrence. âeoeWe do know that in British Columbia that their public-education campaign, by their own admission, was inadequate,âe he added, noting that he hopes Elections Ontario wonâe(TM)t make the same mistake.

Catherine Baquero, who participated in the Citizens’ Assembly for the Beaches-York East riding, shares that hope. âeoeMy main concern now is that the campaign will be comprehensive enough and start early enough for people to have enough time to learn the details of the recommendation and the assembly process that produced it,âe she says. âeoeAt this point, weâe(TM)re unsure of when the campaign will start and how it will take shape.âe

Jonathan Rose, the assemblyâe(TM)s academic director, wants to see a âeoevery robust and vigorousâe campaign. âeoeI think that we worked hard to prepare excellent learning materials,âe he says, âeoeand I would hope that they be used by citizens who want to know how members reasoned and whether their recommendation is something that Ontarians would want.âe

Public-education campaigns are vital before referenda because when people are confused, they tend to vote for what they are used to instead of what they arenâe(TM)t familiar with.

And then thereâe(TM)s the issue of the referendum question.

âeoeThe assembly believes that a simple yes/no question would be clearest and that the question should inform voters that the recommendation for the new system was made by the Citizensâe(TM) Assembly,âe the assembly report recommends.

âeoeI believe focusing on our process is critical,âe says Baquero, âeoebecause itâe(TM)s important for people to understand that this recommendation comes not from politicians but from a group of randomly selected ordinary citizens who spent eight months learning and deliberating on what electoral system would be best for Ontario.âe

Jeff Witt, assembly member from a Hamilton-area riding, raises a further concern. âeoeI do believe there will be big money supporting a âe~Noâe(TM) campaign, and it will be tough to persuade people to read up on it in a non-biased approach,âe he says.

Corporations have heavily funded such campaigns in previous referenda on electoral reform. As a result, Fair Voteâe(TM)s Larry Gordon suggests following New Zealandâe(TM)s example, whose public-education campaign on democratic reform was largely praised by policy analysts.

âeoeIf you spent the amount of money per capita that they spent in New Zealand, weâe(TM)d have to spend more than $13 million dollars,âe said Gordon, noting that New Zealand had also had a well-funded corporate-backed âeoeNoâe campaign.

Responses from Elections Ontario on its plans have been muted. Spokesperson Paula Chung was not able to comment on the details of a public-education campaign still in its âeoeplanningâe phase. That includes how much money will be devoted to educating voters.

The only news emerging from Elections Ontario is that we should expect word on the campaign in a couple of weeks, and that the phrasing of the question is in the governmentâe(TM)s hands. Citizensâe(TM) Assembly members and Fair Vote Canada, though, arenâe(TM)t waiting to launch their own initiatives. Fair Vote got its âeoeYesâe campaign started a couple weeks ago, and a group of assembly alumni have created a group on the social networking site Facebook in order to take questions from the public. Many assembly members are also speaking out in their communities.

All this activity in the midst of a Toronto Star report last Friday suggesting that Bountrogianni will soon be stepping down âeoein part because she is disillusioned with the way Premier Dalton McGuinty’s officials are handling the referendum.âe

A lot of effort has been spent in this particular exercise in democracy; the next four months will show whether or not it was merely that.

Tor Sandberg

Tor Sandberg

Tor Sandberg is the program director for rabbletv. When Tor was 8 years old, the two schoolyard bullies, Allen and Roger, made up a mean little ditty about him. “Let’s tear Tor in the Northwest...