-by Richard Bonert

Thinking about changing the voting system for the Canadian Federal Parliament, I wish :
1. for a parliament where new political ideas or concepts can grow. That means where new parties can occur and grow as they contribute to our country. Small parties of a minimum size have often contributed well in Canada in the context of so called minority governments. Minimum size, for the reason that the party will have enough MPs (members of parliament) to be sent into the major committees of parliament where the major work is done, and demonstrate the capability of the new party.
2. for a parliament where ALL parties have MPs from all regions, 'a true regional representation', which is very important in our Canadian Federation. This helps to separate regional interest from partisan
politics.
Example: nearly all Alberta MPs are conservative and many of Ontario MPs are liberal, this does not help to strengthen the Canadian Federation. Where are the liberal oil-specialists from Alberta or the conservative finance specialists from Toronto-Ontario in our parliament?
3. to have highly qualified professions among the MPs like economists, scientists, lawyers or medical doctors to contribute to good policies made by our parliament. These professionals are often no media stars
and may have a hard time winning a seat in a FPTP  (first past the post) system.  A list under a proportional system helps to get them into parliament without today's manoeuvre to find a safe riding for them, which often violates the principle of regional representation.
I feel a proportional MMP (mixed member proportional) voting system similar to what was more recently implemented in New Zealand or much earlier imposed by the Allies on the Federal Republic of West Germany in 1948 would serve well to achieve my above wishes for a great parliament.