I support a reform of our electoral system and my strong
preference would be for a system that was similar to the mixed
member proportional [MMP] system adopted by New Zealand in the
1990s.
I believe that we need to move to a system that will allow
increased representation of women and minorities and smaller
parties that proportional representation will surely do while still
allowing for some local representation as well. The current first
past the post system is ill-suited for our modern multi-party
political reality. It was designed for two party electoral contests
and has never worked well in BC. Single Transferrable Voting
systems are no better because they don't allow people to vote for
the party that best represents their values. Voters still have to
vote strategically and can't feel free to vote their consicious at
least once in an election. I suppose that if STV was part of an MMP
system used for the local riding portion of the contest that would
be better than the current vote for one candidate system.
I also think that MMP enjoys the most public support in BC
currently and would actually be supported in a referendum.
I believe electoral reform is fundamentally important to the
future of democracy in British Columbia and Canada.
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