Editorial, The Vancouver Sun

View electoral reform with an open mind

[Lead editorial, The Vancouver Sun, 27 October 2004.]

The citizens' assembly voted on the weekend to recommend a dramatic change in the way we elect members of the provincial legislature. They decided that British Columbians would be better served by an electoral system that attempts to create a legislature that more closely represents the diverse views of the voters.

In the beginning, the notion of a citizens' assembly on electoral reform seemed a bit fanciful if not completely naive.

It was difficult to imagine how 160 ordinary British Columbians selected at random from across the province could tackle such a complicated subject and agree on a single course of action.

Their success has to be seen as a triumph for the idea of democracy and a credit to everyone involved.

The process was initially designed by Gordon Gibson, who has observed the political process from inside and out, as an MLA, a provincial party leader, a senior aide to the late prime minister Pierre Trudeau, an author and commentator who has long argued for electoral reform.

Gibson took an archaic idea -- the notion that ordinary citizens can provide wise leadership -- and put it in a form suited to a modern province.

Jack Blaney, a former president of Simon Fraser University, put Gibson's plan into action. He charted new territory as chair of the Citizens' Assembly. By all accounts, discussions within the assembly were a model of civility and the members were seized by a sense of historic opportunity and responsibility.

The best testament to the dedication of the members is the fact that, despite the gruelling work schedule, almost all of them stayed with it until the final vote.

The success of the assembly ultimately reflects well on the politically courageous decision of Premier Gordon Campbell to set the whole process in motion, despite objections from some of his political advisers who recognized that his party may have the most to lose.

On May 17, 2005, all voters in British Columbia will get a chance to decide whether to accept the recommendation of the Citizens' Assembly.

The impact of that vote will be profound. If voters accept the recommendation, our political system will be set on a new course into what will be for Canadians largely uncharted waters. We know the legislature would look different, that majority governments would be less common and that smaller political parties would have a better chance of being represented.

We do not know how those changes will affect the quality of the leadership we receive, however, or how they will affect the economy or other aspects of our daily lives.

In the hours since the Citizens' Assembly voted, we have seen a rush to judgment by commentators and some of the parties that would be affected by the change, most notably the Green Party, which has never won a seat in the provincial legislature and now appears to be hell-bent on an approach that will ensure it never does.

We hope most British Columbians will approach the issue more in the spirit of the deliberations of the assembly, whose members proved how vital and important citizens can be. They took their job seriously, approached the issue with open minds, weighed the evidence against their own values and then made a decision.

This is an historic opportunity. Don't let it pass you by.

[© Copyright 2004, The Vancouver Sun . Reproduced here by permission of The Vancouver Sun.]