In a recent opinion editorial, Conservative Party Interim Leader Rona Ambrose said that we cannot have electoral reform without a referendum.

A genuine claim to the use of a referendum cannot strictly appeal to convention or populism that demands the consent of "the people." The relationship between referendums and democracy is a contingent one. In some cases referendums are explicitly used for political gains. In other cases they are actively used as part of a broader process of public participation. In the end, the bigger picture is about implementing a substantive framework of public engagement, with multiple, ongoing points of entry into political decision-making structures.

Experts have been debating in witness hearings about whether or not we can have electoral reform by legislative fiat. Given that particular areas of the British North America Act imply the electoral system can be altered by the party in power, it calls in to question why the Conservatives when given the chance didn't jump at the opportunity. Perhaps the greater force of their argument is that politics has played into electoral reform historically; changing or not changing the model is often more about political maneuvering than a genuine desire for a fairer electoral system.

Months into public debate and yet we are left without a serious discussion of what a good referendum process looks like.

Detractors, whether or not they are reluctant to see proportional or alternative representation in place, have been very vocal about making sure we have a referendum to decide its fate. This includes the debate about the precedent set by other provinces using the referendum to determine electoral reform, and the moral imperative to have it because it satisfies a preamble of democracy. In the latter camp, referendums are considered the direct will of the people. Rather than have politicians determine if electoral reform should move forward, people should.

Months into public debate and yet we are left without a serious discussion of what a good referendum process looks like. In the instance that a referendum is selected to determine the outcome of national electoral reform, it may be too late to ensure it is less about making the outcome more palatable to partisans rather than a truly substantive deliberative exercise.

The present debate has failed to go beyond the simple statement that we need a referendum because other countries have done it. What a 'good' referendum process consists of, not simply that we need one, is a far more nuanced topic that even academics in the public eye have yet to address.