I am very pleased that British Columbia is going to be presented
with a much-needed opportunity to redefine its voting system. We
can all only benefit from greater and more effective democratic
participation.
However, if the most admirable work of the Assembly members and of
the many participants is to prove worthwhile, the democratic
engagement of B.C.'s citizens must be enlisted before
the referendum recommendation, not afterwards.
Much as I have followed the articles and letters in the Times
Colonist and the Globe and Mail regarding electoral reform, I am
truly alarmed / aghast at how few people I meet (and know) are at
all aware of the Citizens' Assembly, its mandate, its fine work, or
the importance of giving thought to voting system choices.
If B.C.'s population is not democratically engaged in the present
process soon, if this process fails to cut through the general
apathy and polarization typical of B.C.'s citizenry, and if the
Assembly's recommendation seems too academic and/or complex to
citizens, then all the talk about an improved democracy will have
been for nothing.
There is only one true test for the Assembly's recommendation:
acceptance.
|
levelCMS