-by David McLaren

In a recent opinion piece in the Sun Times, Jim Merriam proposed a radical idea. He suggested that political parties work together. And, believe it or not, we Canadians want that too. As evidence he quoted the much maligned Liberal questionnaire on electoral reform: 70% of those of us who took it (transparency alert: I didn't) said they would prefer a system in which the parties would have to collectively agree before a decision is made.

Wow, that means compromise and consensus. Not exactly the order of the day in Parliament. In fact, it hasn't been the order of the last two decades, no three ... maybe four. Oh shucks, when has it ever been, really?

Jim's yearning for civilized and productive decision making puts me in mind of Agnes Macphail. She ran for Parliament in 1921 – the first federal election in which women were allowed to vote. She stood for the United Farmers of Ontario and secured the nomination after 8 hours of debate with some 20 men who thought they should be nominated. She won the seat of Grey Southeast handily.

Having run in an election (and got beat), I can tell you that's no small achievement. For my money, she should be on our money.

When she got to Ottawa, she sat with the Progressives. The Progressives were an interesting bunch. They steadfastly refused to join the main parties and voted for, well, progressive legislation: workers rights, pay equity for women – you know, lefty stuff.

Agnes served the people for Grey (and later Bruce) Counties for 18 years in Ottawa. Many times the Liberals tempted her to join them – they even offered her a Cabinet post. She declined every time and yet she managed to move all those men to adopt a pension plan for Canadians, reform the prison system and to think seriously about world peace.

She did join the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation when it formed and stayed when the CCF morphed into the NDP, but even Jim Merriam couldn't hold that against her. She was a remarkable woman.

We need more Agnes Macphails. But until they come along we're stuck with rancour, party politics and the never-ending jockeying for the cameras. Jim offers some helpful suggestions: real debate, compromise in committee, adult behaviour in the House. In other words, 'real change' ... now where have I heard that phrase before?

All good suggestions but don't hold your breath.

As it happens, Jim dances around the very solution that could actually deliver the 'real change' he's looking for -- proportional representation. He brings her onto the floor in his article, bows to her and then leaves her stranded. Not very gentlemanly if you ask me.

Now before you throw this in the round file with all the other ideas you don't like, hear me out. When you vote in a PR system, at least the kind of system I like, you get two votes. One is for the candidates running to represent your riding, just as you do now. The second is for a regional MP. Both votes are cast on the same ballot, but your second vote is for a person (they'll be listed there) or a party. Who gets to go to Ottawa from the regional list is decided on the proportion of votes cast for them or their party. Even if your candidate loses at the riding level, your second vote will help determine who represents you on the regional level.

There's a bonus: now you have two reps in Ottawa. If you don't like what one is doing, you can go talk to the other one.

The effect will be fewer majority governments. That will force parties to talk to one another instead of shouting at one another. They will have to compromise instead of bully. They will have to negotiate consensus around issues instead of cracking the whip to bring their members into the party line. It will be the utopia that Jim Merriam and the 70% yearn for.

Well, maybe not quite, but we'll be a darn sight closer than we've been since Agnes went to Ottawa.

David McLaren lives and writes on the Bruce Peninsula. He ran for the NDP in Bruce Grey Owen Sound in the 2015 federal election.