News release

Eight Island residents selected to Citizens' Assembly

Victoria – British Columbia’s Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform brought its membership to 46 with the selection of eight new members Thursday night.

They are:

Their names were drawn at random at a public meeting in Victoria. Eighteen additional Island residents will be selected for membership in the Assembly at meetings to be held in Nanaimo (October 29th), Campbell River (October 30th) and Victoria (November 12th). Selection began October 14th in Fort St. John, where the first four Assembly members were drawn.

Donnelly, 49, is married with two children and is a mail services courier with Canada Post. Beaumont is 67, married with two children and originally from Quebec. He retired after 40 years at sea, including service with the Canadian Navy as a hydrographic technician.

Hawkins, 59 and married, moved to the Island from Winnipeg 30 years ago. He retired after 27 years in the public service and now assists with the operation of a sawmill. Kohne is 64, married and the mother of three children and four grandchildren. She worked in printing and publishing for 18 years.

Byford, 63, is married with three sons. For 25 years, she trained leaders for Scouts Canada. Laing is a 51-year-old sales manager in a Victoria-area tourist store. Originally from Vancouver, he is married with two children and coaches minor league sports.

Anderson, 68, is a semi-retired journeyman carpenter. He emigrated from Denmark in 1958 and is married with two daughters. Burwell is a 40-year-old homemaker and mother of three with a masters degree in public administration.

By November 25th, the Assembly will have 158 members from all over B.C. – one man and one woman from each of the 79 provincial electoral districts. Beginning in January, the Assembly will spend much of 2004 examining electoral systems used around the world and will decide if they should propose a change to B.C.’s current system of translating votes into seats in the Legislature.

If Assembly members recommend a change, B.C. voters will decide in a referendum on May 17, 2005, the next provincial election. Any change approved by the voters would take effect with the 2009 B.C. election.