Democracy and Representation: A Critique of Morton and Knopff

In a reply to Morton and Knopff, who argue against "one person, one vote," the author challenges a number of arguments central to their paper. Their reliance on historical practices and traditions, for example, is criticized for they fail to take into account serious contemporary challenges to the legitimacy of those practices and traditions. Their conception of "communities of interest" and their reliance on the absence of an elected upper house as reasons to trump voting equality rights is also questioned. The author argues that Morton and Knopffs static and conservative view of Canadian democracy should be supplanted with more democratic alternatives founded on the principle of voter equality.