[ISL] "Referendum can't force hand of future P.E.I. government"

[rfmcdonald]

CBC News' Kerry Campbell reports that the incumbent government is not going to honour the results of the recent referendum on proportional representation, largely on the grounds of low turn-out.

P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan says a binding referendum he's proposed to be held in conjunction with the next provincial election won't be able to force the next provincial government to change electoral systems, no matter what the outcome might be.

MacLauchlan put forward the idea in a motion currently under debate in the provincial legislature. It is his response to a plebiscite on electoral reform in which 52 per cent of voters chose mixed member proportional representation.

MacLauchlan has questioned the results of the plebiscite based on voter turnout of just 36.5 per cent.

"A clear question in a binding referendum on democratic renewal will give all Islanders the confidence of knowing that there is broad-based support for a new electoral system," his motion states.

But Tuesday during question period Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker asked the premier how his proposed referendum could circumvent what's known as parliamentary sovereignty, a legal principal that states any government can change or repeal laws put in place by previous governments.

MacLauchlan's immediate response didn't seem to settle the issue.