The Yukon Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform has received concerns from the public surrounding mailouts and polling being conducted by groups advocating for specific outcomes.
“The Citizens’ Assembly has not engaged any polling, nor have we sent literature to Yukoners,” assembly chair Sara McPhee-Knowles said last Thursday.
“We have received calls and emails from people who are upset at the polling and materials received because the groups engaging in such activities are not clearly stating they are in no way affiliated with the work of the Citizens’ Assembly.
“It’s challenging, because such activities may cause Yukoners to doubt the Citizens’ Assembly process if they think members have already reached a conclusion—which they have not,” McPhee-Knowles noted.
“At this point in our process, assembly members have undertaken a huge amount of learning about different potential voting systems, and determined the values that will guide their deliberation and discussion during the next two gatherings,” she said.
Any outreach from the assembly this summer will not advocate for any specific outcome, she pointed out.
“We very much want to hear from Yukoners on electoral systems and electoral reform.”
The assembly’s website is accepting written, video and audio submissions until Aug. 12th. Every submission is publicly available and shared with the assembly,” said McPhee-Knowles.
The assembly is issuing a poster to raise awareness about itself, including how to learn more and have your say. The poster can also be downloaded from the assembly website, printed and posted in each community.
Yukoners interested in learning alongside Assembly members can view, listen and read about the learning sessions conducted thus far, plus all materials presented to the Assembly at yukoncitizensassembly.ca.
The assembly is examining and discussing the various ways of electing a territorial government. By Oct. 31, the assembly will recommend either keeping the current voting system or adopting a different system.
Assembly members are not direct representatives like MLAs and MPs. They are private citizens participating in an act of public service, much like those selected for jury duty.
Since 2007, more than 1,900 Canadians have volunteered 71,000 hours (about eight years) to support more than 50 Reference Panels and Citizens’ Assemblies. One in 32 Canadian households has received an invitation to serve in one of these long-form deliberative processes.