Citizens Assembly Blog

Ontario's Government Announces Its Citizens Assembly

It finally happened: today Ontario’s government announced its citizens assembly.

Here is the official information:

Press Release
http://www.democraticrenewal.gov.on.ca/english/news/20060323_nr.asp

Backgrounder
http://www.democraticrenewal.gov.on.ca/english/news/20060323_bg.asp

Description of the Chair
http://www.democraticrenewal.gov.on.ca/english/news/20060323_chair_bg.asp

Here are some key facts:

1) It starts September 2006 and ends May 2007.

2) Unlike the Netherlands but like British Columbia, it gives the citizens assembly the option of putting its recommendation on the ballot for a referendum.

3) It has 103 randomly selected members, one from each of Ontario’s ridings, with 52 female and 51 male members.

Globe and Mail reports on Ontario's citizens assembly announcement

Summary: The article reports on the government of Ontario’s citizens assembly announcement.

Publication: Globe and Mail
Title: Citizens' assembly to review Ontario electoral system
By: TERRY WEBER
Date: March 27, 2006

For the article, click here.

Update from Netherlands Citizens Assembly

Here’s an updated and more complete chronology regarding the Dutch citizens assembly on reforming the electoral system.

SELECTION PROCESS

February
Governmental Reform and Kingdom Relations Minister Alexander Pechtold sends out 50,000 letters, with names randomly selected, to potential citizens assembly members. Note that this a correction of the 100,000 figure used in my last e-mail on this.

3,600 respondents indicate a willingness to participate in one of the informational meetings. (Exact number: 3,644).
3,200 show up at one of the nine regional informational meetings.
1,700 of those attending the meetings request that they be a candidate for the Assembly. (Exact number: 1,706).
Note that these numbers are rounded to the hundreds place.

March
140 are randomly selected on March 13, 2006. The names were to be drawn on March 11 but there was a logistical snafu (some postal codes didn’t match the provinces) leading to a two day delay.

The resulting assembly consists of 70 men and 70 women selected based on population density of the 12 provinces. The distribution over the age groups is as follows:
<20: 4%
21-30: 18%
31-40: 25%
41-50: 22%
51-60: 17%
61-70: 9%
71-80: 3%
81>: 2%

The final distribution is broadly representative of the Netherlands on the basis of age, sex, region, and socio-economic status. But there is under representation of foreign people and those with irregular work schedules (e.g., certain people in the health care industry).

DELIBERATION PROCESS

Phase 1, Learning, March-June
Five meetings on weekends from Friday evening through Saturday.
On Friday the 24th, the assembly will meet for the first time and will be installed officially by Minster Pechtold (Governmental Reform) and Minister Zalm (Finance & Vice Prime Minister).
March 24/25: Education
April 7/8: Education
April 21/22: Education
May 12/13: Education
June 9/10: Education & Deliberations
(June 23/24: Extra weekend if necessary)

Phase 2, Consultations, June-September
Full citizens assembly in recess.
Local meetings with interested individuals and organizations

Phase 3, Deliberations, September-October
Deliberations among citizens assembly members followed by a vote .
September 1/2: Decision making/debating
September 29/30: Decision making
October 20/21: Final meeting, publication of advisory report
(November 10/11: Extra weekend if necessary)

Unlike the British Columbia and proposed California citizens assembly, this is the end of the process. There is no referendum, just a recommendation sent to the government. If the current coalition in power is no longer in power late in the fall when the assembly issues its report, then the recommendations will more likely be ignored. A small party in the ruling coalition is the main advocate of the citizens assembly.

Here is a link to the Dutch citizens assembly site: www.burgerforumkiesstelsel.nl

Governing Magazine publishes a positive review of Canciamilla and Richman, featuring their citizens assembly proposal

Summary: Governing Magazine, the leading magazine read by state lawmakers, publishes a positive review of Canciamilla and Richman, featuring their citizens assembly proposal. There are some 10,000 state legislators in the U.S. To get a profile in Governing Magazine is a big deal.

Publication: Governing Magazine
Title: THE MOD SQUAD: Two California legislators pursue long-shot reform
Date: February 2006 (note: the article was in the February issue, but I only received an online version today)
By: Alan Greenblatt

For the article, click here.

A long, glossy, magazine style report on Canciamilla and Richman's citizens assembly proposal

Summary: A long, glossy, magazine style report on Canciamilla and Richman's Citizens Assembly proposal.

Publication: Policy Today
Title: Cutting Out The Middleman
Date: March 6, 2006
By: Raheem Hosseini

For the article, click here. Note: This is a large file (1.4 megabytes) that includes the entire publication. The article you want begins on page 14. The easiest way to get to page 14 is to click the number 14 box in the upper right. This file links to the publisher's site, so you may get a popup asking you whether you want to allow that link to be made. If you want to see the file, you'll have to allow the link to be made.