VICTORIA/CHARLOTTETOWN: Canadian Taxpayers Federation's (CTF) National Communications Director Troy Lanigan will be arriving in Charlottetown on Tuesday November 22nd to offer assistance to the YES Committee in advance of the November 28th referendum on electoral reform.

"The eyes of Canada are on PEI this month," stated Lanigan. "Islanders have a unique opportunity to be the first jurisdiction in the country to modernize their democracy. What happens November 28th will set a precedent for the rest of the country."

Lanigan was the founding president in 1997 of the Electoral Change Coalition of British Columbia which was the province's first advocacy group to push for a voting reform referendum. Lanigan would later be a founding board director of Fair Vote Canada pushing a similar proposition at the federal level.

The May 2005 referendum on voting reform in support of the Single Transferable Ballot in British Columbia received majority support in 77 of British Columbia's 79 ridings and 58% support province-wide.

"The Canadian Taxpayers Federation supports voting reform, not for its own sake, but in order to make government more accountable," added Lanigan. "Voting reform is not a panacea to end all ills, but the MMP proposal currently before PEI voters will go some distance to addressing the primary shortcomings of the status quo: lop-sided majorities, party discipline, and concentration of power in the hands of the premier and cabinet. Moreover, it can help strengthen local representation."

The CTF is Canada's largest taxpayer research and advocacy organization with over 72,000 supporters and offices in seven cities. Established in 1990, it is a federally incorporated not-for-profit, non-partisan citizens' group dedicated to lower taxes, less waste, and accountable government. The group's web site is www.taxpayer.com.

For further information contact:

Troy Lanigan
250-888-5040 (cell)
Mark Greenan
902-315-0157 (cell)
A bio and high resolution photo of Troy is available at
http://www.taxpayer.com/main/bio.php id=7