Canada has a new government, and it feels like a bright new day. After years of steadily suppressing our better nature, the government now seems to be promising openness and optimism. Here is a previous post with some examples of the darkness, especially the muzzling of Canadian scientists. In it I remarked that a country that permits 39% of voters to elect a majority government should expect that sort of thing. But the thing is, this new majority government got just 39.5% of the popular vote. It seems we’ve gone from one thirty-nine percent majority to another.
Even so, it looks as if some things are set to improve, in particular the freedom of Canadian scientists to speak freely. That was encouraged by such publications as Nature and the Canadian Science Writers’ Association. And now it seems to be happening, as reported by The Star and The Huffington Post. Lifting the chill from our scientists is just one of the things this new government promised during the campaign. If it can fulfill those promises, or even most of them, then it will vindicate the feeling of a bright new day.
So, short term, things are looking up. But the long term problem remains. We still have a thirty-nine percent majority. Surely there are better ways to do this. Are there any examples of more democratic ways of electing a government?
rjb
