We would like to let the Citizens' Assembly know that our strong
preference is for a MMP -- Mixed Member Proportional Voting system
(following New Zealand's lead), where voters have a chance of
electing a member of their choice and/or the party of their
choice.
It's a reasonably simple system to use and likely to encourage
more voters to cast their ballot, with the knowledge that their
vote would count. Whereas, under our present system, many potential
voters just don't bother to vote, as they figure that their vote
will be wasted. We see a MMP voting system as a good
step towards a more democratic form of government where more voices
can be heard, especially those of us who live in the rural areas of
BC. We would like to feel that our vote counted. It will eliminate
the current dominance of one-party majority governments, where one
party can win a majority of the seats in the BC Legislature, even
with a lower than the majority percentage of the vote, and the
other parties not getting their fair share of seats or none at all,
in spite of gaining a fair pecentage of the votes.
It could also lead to higher voter turnouts, more women being
elected to parliament, parliaments that more acccurately reflect
the voters' wishes, more effective and cooperative governments and
stable legislation. It would probably avoid the violent swings and
changes in the legislation from one government to another, when
government departments are restructured and revamped and
legislation changed. Long term planning is impossible and civil
servants are fired, with the attendant loss of their knowledge and
experience. This is a waste of time, energy, human effort, morale
and resources.
The time has come in this 21st Century to take serious look at
our governments and the way they are elected, and we wholeheartedly
endorse the MMP system for BC. Let us take the lead in Canada on
this.
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