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Huron Expositor, 2007-10-31, Page 5Opinion The Huron Expositor • October 31, 2007 Page 5 How the recent election would look under MMP To the Editor, One of the questions that keeps coming up is how would the 2007 provincial election results have been different under the Mixed Member Proportional system put forward by the Citizens' Assembly? Before exploring that let's look at what our 18th Century, First Past the Post, voting sys- tem delivered to the Voters of Ontario. The Liberals got 42 per cent of the vote but 66 per cent of the seats and 100 per cent of the power in the Ontario Legislature for the next four years. Another phony majority. The true majority of Ontarians did not vote Liberal yet they end up with a Liberal majority government. Thirty-two per cent voted Conservative but received 24 per cent of the seats, 17 per cent voted NDP but got 10 per cent of the seats and eight per cent voted Green anis got no seats. While 350,612 Liberal voters in Southwestern Ontario elected 19 MPPs, 325,000 Green Party voters across the province elected no one. Would MMP have produced a legislature that gave more accurate and consistent feedback to the political parties? Would it have produced a legislature that more accurately reflected how the people of Ontario voted on Oct. 10? Let us look at it and you can be the judge. Assume that all the parties got the same popu- lar vote and the same percentage of riding seats that they got on election night. The difference is that there would be 90 rid- ing seats and 39 list seats. By the popular vote of 42 per cent times 129 seats the Liberals should have 54 seats for true proportionality, however if they got 66 per cent of the 90 riding seats they would have gotten 59 at the riding level. The Citizens' Assembly was clear. "Parties keep all the local seats they win, even if they win more local seats than their share of the party vote gives them." (Page 13 in the CA report, 'One Ballot, two votes') So the Liberals would go into the Legislature seats with 59 seats, somewhat over -rewarded by the first past the post riding vote but without a phony majority of seats. They would elect no one from their party list. The Conservatives with 32 per cent of the popular vote in a pure proportional system would be entitled to 41 seats but in the mixed system they would have elected 22 seats in the riding and their share of the list seats would have been 18 bringing them to 40 seats. With 17 per cent of the popular vote the NDP See MMP, Page 6 Reader wants real flowers on veterans' wreaths To the Editor, I hope there are others that feel like I do concerning Veterans Day. Why are there fake flowers on the wreaths each year? The soldiers who set my home country Holland free deserve bet- ter. Please consider real flowers and real wreaths. A. Ritzema Egmondville Counterfeit bill found with five pasted on $1 bill in Seaforth store in 1882 October 27, 1882 R.J. Girdlestone, deputy collector of Inland Revenue in Seaforth is spending a couple weeks on a shooting expedition. He reported in one day, while duck hunting at Long Lake, he bagged 106. A large amount of sugar cane has been raised in the vicinity this sea- son and it has proven a very prolif- ic crop. John Thompson's crusher is kept busy. A stranger entered the store of P. Megarey in Seaforth and made a trifling purchase for which he gave what was supposed to be a $5 bill, and received his change. It was dis- covered afterward it was a $1 bill with the figure five pasted on the corners. He was captured in Clinton where he tried the same game. He will likely be sent to the penitentiary. November 1, 1907 George McIntosh of McKillop with his son Hugh of London, rode to Galt in an automobile. Sixty years ago, Mr. McIntosh rode over the same route in a lumber wagon and the journey that occupied some days then, was made in almost as many hours on this occasion. John Fortune of Tuckersmith, east of Egmondville sold hay pro- duced from 12 acres of land for $336. Hay is as good as gold this year. Anniversary services at St. Andrew's Church in Kippen were held with a mortgage burning cere- mony, with debts having been com- pletely wiped out. Four years ago, the new Sabbath school room was destroyed by the explosion of their acetylene lighting machine. A con- siderable debt was at the time incurred to enable rebuilding. October 21, 1932 The large water tank to the rear of the Seaforth town hall is being painted by Sylvester Allen, the Public Utility Commissioner. Painted a quiet aluminum colour, the tank built in 1922, has not been painted for a number of years. Robert Archibald, Tuckersmith, son of Reeve William Archibald, won first place in the beef cattle judging competition at the Western Fair. Ferdinand Bugard, for many years a resident of Seaforth and Egmondville, who was the subject of a recent article in the Toronto Star is well-known to local people. He operated a pottery works, situ- ated on the Mill Road, around the turn of the bridge. For many years it was a centre of interest. The fine bank barn of Charles Tyner, Hullett township, was com- pletely destroyed by fire. Lost was the season's crop of hay and grain. Mr. Tyner was putting down feed for the stock, from the hay mow, when the lantern he was carrying exploded. November 29, 1957 Damage was estimated at $8,000 when fire gutted Cronin's Garage, Dublin. Seaforth and Mitchell fire brigades fought the blaze for an hour before it was brought under control. For a time, the fire threat- ened the nearby residence of William Smith. No decision has been made as to whether the garage would be rebuilt. Acclaimed as Seaforth mayor was Beverley F. Christie and acclaimed for his sixth term as Reeve was Norman Scoins. Mayor E.A. McMaster did not seek re-election. An election will be held for council- lor. Mr. and Mrs. David Boyd, lifelong residents of McKillop township, cel- ebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. They were married at the bride's home on December 2, 1897. While custom corn picking at the farm of Leopold Watt, RR1, Blyth, Jack Ryan of Walton lost a thumb when his glove became entangled in a gear on the corn picker, pulling his hand into the gear. He was taken to Scott Memorial Hospital where it was found necessary to amputate the thumb. November 3, 1982 Fiscal restraint and town improvements have emerged as the main issues in this year's munici- pal election and Bob Dinsmore, a candidate for the position of mayor, feels that the two issues are signifi- cant to the continued growth of Seaforth. A 10 year veteran of municipal politics, Mr. Dinsmore has some concrete ideas on the future of the community. Two newcomers are challenging incumbent Bill Dale for the reeve's job and the position of Seaforth's representative to Huron County Council in the Nov. 8 municipal election. Many Seaforth residents have been experiencing telephone dis- ruptions in the past week. According to Peter Croome, a man- ager with Bell in Stratford, the dif- ficulties are the result of problems with the automatic switching machine and a local telephone marker in town.