Assembly Members:
Recently, I spoke to the prime minister on a CBC national news
special forum with Paul Martin. I specifically asked him whether he
was in favour of reforming the way Canadians vote.
As a Canadian, and as a former candidate in municipal, school
board, and provincial elections I won two out of three which
isn’t bad. However, I won't say how many times I ran to
achieve that result in the three categories.
Musing aside, I would like to make some reflections.
The first comment is that the average Canadian feels that they
don't have input, after they vote. The most common comment is the
politicians are all the same. or it doesn't matter who you vote
for.Our most recent provincial election shows only one party is
officially represented in the legislature. The government will not
officially recognize the NDP as the official opposition
party. This act of the Liberals is heresy to our
parliamentary system of government. We have a legislative
dictatorship—be it democratic—or not!
As such, some 42 % of the voters are not officially represented
in the legislature! BC
desperately needs some form of mixed proportional voting that
allows smaller parties representation in the legislature. Small
parties, such as the Green party with 12% of vote at the last
election, achieved notable success but no seats. This turns voters
off from taking part in the democratic process and allowed one
party to dominate the legislature.
Such wipe-outs have occurred in New Brunswick, PEI, and BC.
Alberta has basically been a one party state with some 40 odd years
of conservative rule. Since provincial seats can be gerrymandered,
the ruling parties tend to favour themselves.
Such a system favours the business and corporate elite to run
the government of the day.
What we need is a system that allows smaller parties some
equitable form of political representation. Smaller parties allow
for more individual and new political thought from different
streams to take part in the political process. Right now, they are
locked out.
On the other hand, our present system of voting is having a
greater tendency of wiping parties off the map as in the
Mulroney/Kim Campbell disaster. Our present federal Liberals could
be the next victim of the direct vote wiping out another great
national party.
Here in BC. we see the debacle of the NDP with some 22% of the
last vote finish with 2 seats. Is this democracy? Does it allow for
an effective opposition?I used to be an opponent of mixed
proportional representation. But seeing the wipe-outs of our
present form of voting in BC and the rest of Canada, I am not so
sure. Proportional representation gives individuals a
greater range of voter choice through voting for smaller parties
that will bring new ideas into government and enrich political
debate which is the essence of democracy.
And the risk of not having a majority is far less than having a
government that doesn't represent all the forms of political ideas
that worked together to form government policy.
Parties would be forced to form a majority of minorities in a
mixed proportional representation form of government. One final
comment, Canada is a multicultural nation which vast regional
interests, we have to recognize these factors in their political
form.
Good luck to your Assembly in researching and proposing a new
electoral system that reflects political balance between the big
and small democratic political values and ideas which must be
represented by elected seats.