Referendum can't force hand of future P.E.I. government

P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan says a binding referendum he's proposed to be held in conjunction with the next provincial election won't be able to force the next provincial government to change electoral systems, no matter what the outcome might be.

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MacLauchlan put forward the idea in a motion currently under debate in the provincial legislature.It is his response to a plebiscite on electoral reform in which 52 per cent of voters chose mixed member proportional representation.

MacLauchlan has questioned the results of the plebiscite based on voter turnout of just 36.5 per cent.

"A clear question in a binding referendum on democratic renewal will give all Islanders the confidence of knowing that there is broad-based support for a new electoral system," his motion states.

Can a referendum be binding on future government?

But Tuesday during question period Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker asked the premier how his proposed referendum could circumvent what's known as parliamentary sovereignty,a legal principlethat states any government can change or repeal laws put in place by previous governments.

MacLauchlan's immediate response didn't seem to settle the issue.

"In saying that the referendum will be binding is that there will be a clear indication of an outcome of the referendum," he said Tuesday.

Binding, but government can always back out

On Wednesday, he elaborated.

"There's always parliamentary sovereignty and a future parliament or legislature may always be in a position to rethink the matter," MacLauchlan,a former law professor who focused on constitutional law, explained.

But he said with a clear vote on a clear question, with Islanders engaged and knowing exactly what's at stake, a new government would be effectively bound,

"I think there's a lot of factors there that ensure that the result of the referendum will be respected," he said.

"That's the way you bind legislatures in our system, is through the people taking that kind of a clear position."

Bevan-Baker had put forward his own motion regarding the plebiscite results, which called for the province to switch to mixed-member proportional representation for the next election. That motion was defeated Tuesday night.

"I think what the premier assumes with his tactic in this legislation is two things," said Bevan-Baker.

"He assumes a second term for himself, and he assumes trust, that Islanders will trust him. I have a feeling Islanders are going to give him neither of those things."

Referendum act yet to be developed

P.E.I. does not have referendum legislation. MacLauchlan said a bill would be put before the house "perhaps a couple years down the road," likely after public consultations. One of the things to be set down in the bill, he said, was which other electoral model will be put up against mixed-member proportional in the referendum vote.

"I'm sure the public engagement will be high," he said, "and that's why it's important to have the referendum, and to continue to move forward in the way that we've proposed."

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