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Submission BESTER-0213 (Online)

Submission By Chad Bester
AddressPrince George, BC,
OrganizationBC Democratic Futures Party
Date20040420
CategoryElectoral system change, Regional representation
Abstract
There is growing rift between the urban and the rural communities of BC which would be made worse by proportional representation.  We should have special regional MLA's, and a provision for a regional veto of legislation. [4 pages]

Submission Content
Proposal and Thoughts on Electoral Reform

The issues we are talking about here today are very serious issues that will have long reaching implications on the kind of society we will create as a result. It is vitally important that we recognize that not anyone system is perfect, and that a little bit of moderation is always a good thing.

I think it is also vitally important that we recognize that the greatest political disconnect today in our society is the growing rift between the urban and the rural communities of BC. The more that our political system is based on a majority rule, then the more that the larger regions of this province experience a loss in sovereign participation in their democracy.

My greatest concern is that the urban majority opts for a pure form of proportional representation in which we loss all form of local representation for the rural regions of the province. But even greater then that is my fear of the kind of politics a proportional representation system would generate. We have become accustom in Canada to a political legacy that is not based on ethnic divisions and extremist fractures that would cause great damage through opportunism to the publics consideration of our political system.

I see proportional representation as a recipe for political hatred, and unaccountability that feeds on a narrow parochial and potentially ethnocentric divisions. It exploits sensitive issues for narrow representorial accountability, and if allowed to take control is bound to generate ethnic and ideological problems. Does this mean that these people should not have a right to representation? No it simply means that their influence should be moderated to a limited scope. In fact if limited and developed it can facilitate some other possibilities that I will mention later.

This brings us to the critical question of what should our democracy look like? More importantly how can we create a political electoral system that ensures the sovereignty and participation from all sectors of society in British Columbia.

A few critical questions stick out to me in order of importance:

  • How will the growing urban-rural divide be addressed in any electoral reform?
  • How will our made in BC electoral reform set precedence for the Canadian electoral reform? And how will that precedence help or hurt BC at the federal level?
  • How will any proportional representation system affect the ability to have affordable recall legislation?
  • How will this new electoral system deal with issues of appointments such as our Premier?
  • How can our BC legislature represent both BC global and local issues effectively?
  • How can we help to ensure true majority rule, while still retaining the rights to representation for the lower proportional perspectives?
  • Will the Citizens of BC have a voters bill of rights that is associated with any electoral reform?
To start with, any electoral reform must deal not only with the small party issue, but also the issue of the urban-rural divide that is the largest problem for BC of which there are many well publicized issues. This is a very important issue not only for the allocation of tax dollars, but also for balanced economic development when it comes to economic issues that effect the far reaching rural regions of BC. BC has an economic regional diversity greater than almost any country in the world, and any electoral system has to take account of this.

In America they opted for State Senates when they came to the realization that they had to deal with the issue of unique regional diversities. This became so important that eventually every single American State designed one system or another to deal with this issue through electoral reform. Now I know any talk of the American political system is not welcome, but the facts are we do share common culture with them, and on an issue as profound as this is I think we should take note of some of their more successful electoral reforms. Besides the same concept was envisioned by Canada's founding fathers in its Parliament, and was the solution to regional alienation in Australia.

So it appears that the precedent has been set for Senates in other political jurisdiction of complex regional concerns under the Westminister style of government, but I recognize that forces beyond our control have limited any electoral reform to that of a single Legislature.

This means that the key to any successful electoral reform will have to deal with the issue of the urban-rural divide through single legislature solutions. Therefor I think this is where any electoral reform must be centered and focused on.

My dream and my vision for BC is a Legislature that is comprised of the same number of MLA's as we have existing today. One that is elected and structured in the following way:

  • 55 MLA's elected at the local level based on equal population per riding. These MLA's would be elected through a transferable ballot method that ensures the winning MLA has 50% or more of the vote. Current recall Legislation would apply to these MLA's.
  • 12 Senatorial MLA's that are elected regionally from 6 economic regions. Two of these regional MLA's will be elected in each region through a transferable ballot that awards the candidates with the most votes, or the first two that get past 50%, get a seat in the legislature.
  • Any of these regional MLA's will have the right to call for a regional vote on any legislation that the Legislature passed. A two thirds majority would be needed in this 12 person regional vote in order to reject the Legislation. Ideal this the legislative role would never be exercised, but just its existence would provide the security required politically for all the regions outside of the Vancouver-Victoria majority.
  • Any legislation that the 12 regional MLA's veto is sunshine'd, or only veto'd only until after the next election. After the next election that same legislation can be reintroduced by the new legislature.
  • These regional MLA's have no power to introduce their own versions of a bill, they can only reject bills that don't include the views of a provincial majority.
  • Other then their regional role they are no different than all other MLA's in their day to day responsibilities.
  • BC's economic regions that I would include are: Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, Okanogan, Kooteneys, Thompson-Carriboo including everything West of the Fraser River in Prince George, and the last region would be the North with everything West and North of the Fraser River from Prince George.
  • Regional MLA's will not necessarily be party affiliated and therefor are more free to ensure an open vote atmosphere in the Legislature.
  • Current Recall Legislation would apply to these MLA's
and finally

  • 12 Proportionally Elected MLA's. These positions would fill a duel role that in one way gives consideration for smaller parties, and in another provides a forum for provincial wide candidacy for individuals with their own independent political aspirations.
This can add a whole new dynamic to the Proportional Representation concept and help to bring in well needed non politically aligned expertise into the Legislature.

  • Any party with more than 4 elected seats to the legislature would not have their votes counted towards the Proportional Representation vote count. Each seat would be awarded for the closest party or individual with 8.33% of the PR eligible votes per seat.
  • The Premier of the Province has to run as an Individual candidate for a PR seat with a Provincial wide campaign.
  • The BC Legislature appoints its Federal Senators from its pool of available individual candidates that are elected to the BC Legislature.
  • No party can have more than four members to the Legislature through the Proportional Representation system.
  • No Proportional Rep candidates can be recalled due to the logistics of a provincial wide campaign for a single candidate. Only the legislature can impeach a PR candidate.
Each ballot will contain the following choices:

  • One vote for your local MLA through a transferable ballot with first second and third choices available.
  • One vote for your regional candidate through a transferable ballot with first second and third choices available.
  • One vote for your provincial candidate through a single Provincial Proportional Rep Vote. (I should note that the parties in the local vote that don't receive four seats in the legislature would automatically have their votes transfered to the PR vote.)
To sum up this concept of a BC Legislature we would have 55 local MLA's, 12 Regional MLA's, and 12 PR MLA's. All of them would have the same voting power in the legislature for all provincial legislation, if there was no regional objections voiced. 24 of these MLA's would likely be made up of independents or small parties, which would mean government would have to take in the interests of all concerns to move forward a political agenda.

This legislature as a whole should have the individual MLA power to participate in voting for approval of any Judicial, Ministerial, or Crown Corporation appointments. This is as much an effort to select the best and the most qualified for these positions as it is an exercise in creating a larger more integrated consensus from a wider spectrum of society at key points in government.

Once we have reformed the process in which we elect MLA's in this province I think it is vital that we also take into consideration the other equally important issues that safeguard our democracy. I think it would be wise to also incorporate a voters bill of rights that includes things such as electoral financing laws that limits direct political financing to citizens only, and encourages open and accountable influence for non-citizen entities. This is important to protect the loyalties of our elected officials, and encourage greater win win situations between society and industry. I believe that the level of democracy we have justifies the level of sovereignty we have, and this will be the most important tool available for BC in negotiating an equally fair arrangement with the rest of Canada.

In closing I would like to also address my concerns for the vote counting process. This is the most important aspect of any election. A democratic election requires a provable and verifiable electoral counting process for the vote to have any meaning. Let me be on record as saying I oppose any form of electronic voting that is not verifiable by all parties through a paper record.

Thank you very much for taking this time to listen to my concerns.

Chad Bester, Vice President - BC Democratic Futures Party

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