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Submission GAYLORD-0612 (Online)

Submission By Judy Gaylord
AddressVictoria, BC,
Organization
Date20040610
CategoryElectoral system change
Abstract
I would like to add my support to the many who have advocated a MMP system, but it should not be at the price of unreasonably large northern rural constituencies which would seriously diminish local representation. [1 page]

Submission Content
I would like to add my support to the many who have advocated a MMP system. The New Zealand system was chosen after much research and discussion and appears to be functioning well there. It might however need some fine tuning for BC.

The major flaw in the system as advocated by Adriane Carr a couple of years ago was the unreasonably large size of the northern rural constituencies which would seriously diminish local representation. This could be addressed in two ways. One would be to diminish the percentage of list seats, but my preference would be to increase the total number of seats in the legislature. Since I have been in BC the population has more than doubled but the number of seats has not, leading again to more diluted local representation.

If the number of seats is increased, some physical remodeling or even relocation of the present legislative chamber would be necessary. This would have another benefit in that the whole layout could be redesigned to facilitate a less adversarial atmosphere. It seems obvious that there is a strong appetite to move beyond a system of only two parties who need to be kept two swords' lengths apart. A circular layout as used at the UN and many modern democracies would, in my view, help the dynamics of legislative operation.

A final comment on another aspect of the New Zealand system. It may be worth considering the setting aside of some seats for First Nations, as is done for the Maori in New Zealand. It may well present more of a challenge to do so here given that our First Nations population is far more diverse, however it is an issue which should be given consideration.

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