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Submission SMITH-0598 (Online)

Submission By Richard Smith
AddressDuncan, BC,
Organization
Date20040611
CategoryElectoral system change
Abstract
There is no perfect electoral system but, under current conditions, the system that optimizes democratic representation within the government is the system of Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMP). [2 pages]

Submission Content

There is no perfect system for electing Democratic Government. Any of the proposed systems will work, but, under current conditions, the system that optimizes democratic representation within the government is the system of Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMP).

The current system is no longer optimal for many reasons, two of which are the related factors of party discipline and the changing culture of our communities.

Party discipline prevents a politician from truly representing their constituents, as the politician supports their party's platform on which they ran, not necessarily the will of their community. If they truly represented their electorate then a candidate elected with only 37% of the vote would frequently vote against their party's mandate, reflecting the other 63% of constituents; this is not what we see. Instead, the majority has no voice in their own Government. This is not democratic, but this is the current situation in the Victoria Hillside riding (Elections BC).

The culture and composition of our communities is changing and our electoral system should reflect those changes. Previously, regional communities were the only prevalent types of communities acknowledged by the electoral system. This was adequate when communities were more homogeneous. For many reasons this uniformity no longer exists. Between 1989 and 1998 non-metropolitan BC communities underwent a dramatic 10% shift from goods based economies towards more diversified service based economies. Predictions are that this trend will continue (Stats BC, May 2001). This establishes the importance of a second type of community, the community of interest. A community of interest is one that is not limited by geographic boundaries; it is created by common goals, values and concerns. These communities will have no voice in the Legislative Assembly despite having greater absolute numbers than the majority in any given regional riding that does get representation.

Recognizing that Party Discipline will continue, a system that allows these other voices to be heard will be more democratic. The MMP system is such a system. For example: Currently 17 % of voters in BC rank The Gun Registry as the primary issue influencing their vote in the upcoming Federal election ( Vancouver Sun May 21, 2004). This represents a community of interest. Likely such a community would have included 17% of the people in Victoria Hillside, and they would have voted with unified interest in the last provincial election. Under MMP this group of the electorate would then be added to the scant 37% that did get representation. If another community of interest also exists, then it is quite possible to have over 50% of the people in that riding represented in their Legislative Assembly. Now that would be more democratic.

In a MMP system regional representation will be diluted. This is an acceptable tradeoff. Regional communities are still important, but with our dynamic culture, advancing information technology, increasing service based economies and expanding globalization they are becoming less so. Eventually regional communities may lose their importance all together requiring further adaptation to our electoral system. That will be for a future Citizen's Assembly to decide. For now the MMP system gives political voice to the greatest number of British Columbians and is thus most democratic.

My suggestions for how this would look would be:
  • Not significantly changing the size of the Legislative Assembly
  • Seat allocation of 50-70% regional and 30-50% proportional
  • Consider maintaining some specifically rural representation by either: maintaining a disproportionate amount of regional ridings in rural districts, acknowledging that urban centers will have more influence over popular support allocated proportional seats; or dividing the Legislative Assembly into urban and rural seats. 30% to rural and 70% to urban. These will then both be divided into 50% each regional vs proportional (ie 15% rural riding and 15% rural proportional).

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