Liberals’ broken promise sparks protest in Toronto

Demonstration against electoral form decision to be held Saturday

Nathan Phillips Square to be site of electoral reform protest.
Electoral reform protest will be held at Nathan Phillips Square on Feb. 11. 

A group of Torontonians are organizing a demonstration against the federal Liberals’ decision to drop their electoral reform promise.

Organizers are disappointed the government will not change the first-past-the-post voting system.

“This is about accountability,” said Yared Mehzenta, a protest organizer.  “This government made a clear promise to Canadians that they would end first-past-the-post as part of their commitment to strengthen our democracy and they won a lot of votes on that promise.”

They plan to demonstrate at Nathan Phillips Square at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Similar protests will take place in cities across Canada — including Ottawa, St. John’s and Vancouver — on the same day.

Another organizer Alex Lavasidis said her group began working with Fair Vote Canada, a citizens’ campaign that aims to see proportional representation brought into all government elections. After they joined forces, the Toronto event became part of a National Day of Action.

“The immediate goal is to send a message to the government and our MPs that we are paying attention, that we will not let this issue die, and that we as citizens will hold our representatives to account for broken promises,” Mehzenta said.

Protesters plan to march to Dundas Square after the initial rally at Nathan Phillips Square.

About this article

By:
Posted: Feb 9 2017 2:34 pm
Edition:
Filed under: News
Topics: