This is a follow-up to my Open Letter to the Ontario Citizens’ Assembly. It has been suggested, quite reasonably, that the Ontario Citizens Assembly (OCA) may not want to change as many things as I suggested at this late stage. Fair enough. Let’s assume the OCA keeps overhangs, retains a 129-seat legislature and it’s 70% local/30% list seat split (i.e. 90 local + 39 list). But there is one change that is essential if the OCA’s mixed-member proportional (MMP) system is to have any chance of receiving the endorsement of 60% of Ontarians: they must change from a single province-wide closed-list (where voters have no say in who gets elected in the 39 list seats, and these MPPs are not accountable to any region) to regional open-lists (where voters do have a say in who gets elected, and where list MMPs will be accountable to a particular region of the province). Open-lists require regions because Ontario is simply too large (in geography and population) to have a single province-wide open-list.

Regional open lists mean that “list” MPPs are really “regional” MPPs. This guarantees geographic balance among list members (which will not happen if parties, as they are prone to do, play one region against the other; only by guaranteeing that all regions get their fair share of seats will this practice end). Far from pitting one region against another, regional MPPs are the key to ensuring that government and opposition caucuses are drawn from all regions (thus ensuring that parties speak to the overall needs of Ontario, and not just regions where they are most successful). Voting is extremely simple and mirrors our current system: voters just mark an X next to their preferred local candidate (as per usual) and mark an X next to their preferred regional candidate (with the understanding that this vote counts as a vote for his/her party). Proportionality would be calculated with each region, and because the OCA has allowed overhang seats to ensure overall proportionality, overall results would remain proportional. Changing to open lists strengthens accountability, voter choice and ensures that all of Ontario’s regions are represented (and allows not only local issues but broader regional issues like traffic congestion and smog to finally have advocates at Queen’s Park). It also gives a raison d’etre to the “list” members — they aren’t just party hacks that “top up” party caucuses, but have a genuine regional constituency and force politicians to compete for votes: good for voters, bad for politicians. What would these regions look like? At minimum, Southern Ontario needs 5 regions, in addition to the North. Here is what those 6 regions could look like (census divisions or districts given):

1. North (10+3=13)
i.e. Kenora, Thunder Bay, Cochrane (incl Timmins), Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Algoma (incl Sault Ste. Marie), Manitoulin, Timiskaming, Nipissing (incl North Bay), Parry Sound.

2. East (12+6=18)
i.e. Hastings (incl Belleville), Prince Edward, Lennox & Addington (incl Napanee), Frontenac (incl Kingston), Leeds & Grenville (incl Brockville), Renfrew, Lanark, Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry (incl Cornwall), Prescott & Russell, Ottawa.

3. Southwest (16+7=23)
i.e. Essex (incl Windsor), Lambton (incl Sarnia), Middlesex (incl London), Elgin, Oxford, Waterloo (incl Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge), Perth, Wellington (incl Guelph), Huron, Bruce, Grey (incl Owen Sound).

4. Central (16+7=23)
i.e. Muskoka, Simcoe (incl Barrie), Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough, Northumberland, York, Durham.

5. Horseshoe (18+8=26)
i.e. Dufferin, Peel (incl Mississauga, Brampton), Halton (incl Burlington, Oakville), Hamilton, Niagara (incl St. Catharines), Brant, Haldimand-Norfolk.

6. Toronto (18+8=26)
i.e. Toronto.

TOTAL (90+39=129)

This gives 3 regional seats in the North (at 13 seats out of 129, it retains its 10% share of the legislature) and 36 Southern Ontario regional seats in 5 regions, an average of 7.2 per region, which ensures good opportunities for women, visible minorities and First Nations candidates to be elected (research suggests that at least 5 proportional seats per region is required for parties to start nominating more women and minorities, and some have suggested it works even better with at least 7 seats).

It is essential that the Ontario Citizens Assembly re-consider province-wide closed-lists. Throughout the consultation meetings, Ontarians consistently said they do not want closed lists (most suggested open list, others were willing to grant the highest ranking losing candidates list spots; the latter option is not a good choice because it limits voter choice, but it shows that Ontarians are strongly opposed to closed lists). I believe the Citizens’ Assembly underestimates how important it is to Ontarians to have a say in who gets elected in the list seats. If the OCA recommends closed lists, they open up their system to a wide range of criticism, and endanger the chances that Ontarians will endorse change. I strongly urge the Citizens’ Assembly to endorse open lists.