We have been watching some of your proceedings from earlier
months via Hansard TV recently and are most impressed with the
depth and sincerity of your deliberations. Your well-versed
presenters have also helped to clarify some of the issues
surrounding the various families of electoral systems.
Democracy in this province (and in this country) needs to evolve
into a more representational format, away from majority rule by one
of, usually, two strong parties, away from wild policy swings and
away from alienation of (mostly young) voters.
We are in favour of moving to a Mixed Member Proportional (MMP)
voting system similar to that recommended by the Law Commission of
Canada for our country that which has been implemented in New
Zealand. Some positive points include:
-
Simplicity of two ballots
-
Every vote would translate positively
-
Little chance of an ineffective (or absent) opposition
-
Better quality and balance of legislation
-
A more consensus-building and teamwork style atmosphere in
government
Obviously some issues such as thresholds (4-5% ?) and
constituency size (increase by 30-35% ?) would have to be addressed
in order that MMP fits our BC requirements. Party lists should be
constructed with an eye to balanced representation (region,
rural/urban, gender, minorities, etc.) and in an open manner,
perhaps with voter or party grassroots participation. These and
other elements of fine-tuning should be decided always keeping in
mind the basic premise of fairness of the proportional
representation system.
There is a fear of loss of regional representation under MMP (to
which we in the rural, remote communities can relate), with larger
constituencies being created to allow for party lists within our
current 79 seat legislative cap. It has been shown that
representation can be maintained (or even improved) through
balanced party lists created by a transparent process under clear
regulations.
To the fear of minority or coalition government instability
argument we would say that there are many examples of stable
governments being created under MMP, certainly as stable as what we
are currently experiencing in our province. After all, what is
stability?
It is time to move forward with the fairness of a proportional
representation system used by a majority of the world’s
democracies. You have an opportunity to create a milestone in
Canadian political history – the eyes of the country
are upon you.
Best wishes in your deliberations
levelCMS