A lot has been made over the last couple of years that Canada is in need of election reform.
Plenty of Canadians see our current political system and feel it is antiquated and does not provide a fair representation for how we actually voted.
And while I tend to agree, I feel we should be focused on another aspect of the voting process.
Recently Jagmeet Singh announced his plans to run in Burnaby, B.C. during their by-election.
While I admittedly do not know enough about Mr. Singh to commit on his politics, what I do know is that he should not be allowed to run there.
Singh was born in Scarborough, and grew up in St. John’s N.L. and in Windsor, Ont. and attended high school in Beverly Hills, Mich.
He attended post-secondary school in London, Ont. at the University of Western Ontario and in Toronto at York University.
Prior to politics, Singh served as a Criminal Defense Lawyer in the Greater Toronto Area.
After getting into politics, Singh served as Member of the Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the riding of Bramalea-Gore-Malton, a now dissolved riding that encompassed an area between Mississauga and Brampton, between 2011 and 2017.
Singh served as deputy premier in Ontario from 2015 to 2017, when he left provincial politics to become the new leader of the federal New Democratic Party.
Since becoming leader Singh has not yet held a seat as a Member of Parliament (MP).
All told Singh has spent nearly his entire life in Ontario.
He currently still lives in Ontario, but has said should he win the by-election that he would move to British Columbia.
Again, this is not a shot directly at Singh, but I have a difficult time understanding how someone who has grown up almost exclusively in Ontario would be able to properly conduct politics in British Columbia.
We have to remember as our current political system is set up, MPs and MPPs/MLAs are elected to represent the people of that riding.
They are the liaison between the constituents and the government.
How is Singh, a man born and raised almost exclusively in Ontario, capable of providing the supports the constituents in Burnaby need when he has not lived there?
Until we change the electoral system we need to get back to the days where representation was coming from each of the 338 ridings within this great country.
We need politicians who have a love and connection to the community they are representing.
And that goes for Singh and every one of the other 337 MPs.
