Our Referendums are not Direct Democracy, Don Rowat, Our Referendums are not Direct Democracy, Don Rowat, 26 Canadian Parliamentary Review, Vol. 21, No. 3, September, 1998

Our Referendums are not Direct Democracy, Don Rowat. Don Rowat is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Carleton University, Ottawa. He is former president of the Canadian Study of Parliament Group. This is a revised version of his remarks at the... More

Our Referendums are not Direct Democracy, Don Rowat. Don Rowat is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Carleton University, Ottawa. He is former president of the Canadian Study of Parliament Group. This is a revised version of his remarks at the 1998 CSPG Spring Conference. Though the referendum as used in Canada is often said to be a device of direct democracy, this is not true, because of our confused use of the word referendum. As used in the United States, the word means the reference of a legislative proposition, initiated by the citizens, to a popular vote, the result of which is binding. In other words, the voters pass laws directly, without reference to the legislature, and this is why it is called direct democracy. Referendums were an extension for large populations of the practice of direct democracy in the Swiss canton meeting or the New England town meeting of voters, where legislation is still passed, and taxes are levied, directly by the voters. Less