As the Liberals come closer to striking an all-party committee to deliver recommendations on electoral reform, on Thursday evening at the University of Ottawa Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef introduced eight principles she said will guide the process.

“There isn’t a lot of consensus out there over what particular method we ought to choose. The research out there does not say that one system is better than the other,” she told a symposium hosted by the Jean-Luc Pépin Research Chair, Kevin Page.

“Actually, the only consensus that there seems to be out there — whether it’s with research or conversations I’ve had — is that the values and principles that we appreciate as Canadians need to be the cornerstone of whatever reform we hold.”

Of the eight principles she laid out, some were concrete and actionable.

Reforms need to increase diversity in the House of Commons and politics more broadly (third principle). The chosen reform can’t make the electoral system more complex (fourth principle). Voting needs to be more user-friendly and accessible (fifth principle) and maintain the vital local connection an MP has with their constituents (sixth principle). It needs to be secure and verifiable (seventh principle).

Some were vague.

“Canadians should believe that their intentions as voters are fairly translated into elections results, without (the) significant distortion that often characterizes elections conducted under the first-past-the-post system,” she said (first principle).

Canadians’ confidence needs to be restored — in their ability to influence politics and in their belief that their vote is meaningful (second principle) — and Canadians need to be inspired to find common ground and consensus (eighth principle).

Mark Holland, parliamentary secretary to the minister of democratic institutions, reiterated the focus on values in a panel that followed Monsef’s keynote speech.

He was joined by NDP MP Nathan Cullen, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, and Conservative MP Scott Reid, and said he shared Cullen and May’s sense of urgency to get the ball rolling.

“We start from the values we want to see,” he said, adding that he saw the symposium as the informal kickoff of robust cross-country discussions with the soon-to-be-formed all-party committee.

But he stressed that electoral reform is about more than just changing the electoral system.

“I saw that we’re going to talk a lot about systems, but let’s not just talk about system change — let’s not just talk about what system we want to vote under. There’s a lot of other things that we need to look at — the so-called Fair Elections Act,” Holland said.

“We also want to examine — and I’m not endorsing or being against any of the things that I’m mentioning — (I’m) merely saying that we need to make sure we have a discussion about things like electronic voting, mandatory voting, our voting age, different aspects of how we can improve engagement and the way Canadians work within the system.”

While happy to hear the all-party committee will be formed soon, Cullen was concerned about Monsef’s guiding principles.

He thought it suggested a certain amount of unilateralism before the process has even officially begun.

“Where did that list come from? What was that consultation process that arrived at these…eight or nine or 10 essential values? These are the principles on which we will then build an electoral system,” he said.

“If the process is going to be a true engagement…and I believe Mark (Holland) when he says that — to then launch out and say, ‘Well, here’s what we’re going to base our electoral system on. And these are agreed upon — and these are consensus principles for a new voting system…it seems to get us off a bit on the wrong foot, frankly. Because where did that come from?”