News release

Assembly reaches 157 members

Vancouver – British Columbia’s Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform welcomed six members from Vancouver Tuesday night. The Assembly now numbers 157.

The Vancouver members are:

Their names were drawn at random at a public meeting in Vancouver. 

Morse, who is now widowed, came to Canada from England as a war bride. She has a son and a grandson and is interested in herbal remedies, Chi Kong and opera music. Ireland, 37, works in the health care field and, with the exception of two years in Australia, he has lived in Vancouver all his life. He enjoys travel, swimming, deep sea fishing and boating.

Shum, 57, is a community health case manager with Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. He is married with three children and enjoys hiking, tennis, soccer and swimming. Tully, 41, is married with a 10-month-old son. She is a make-up artist with interests in music, literature, art, animals and childcare.

Dew is 48, married and a care aide. Originally from Regina, Saskatchewan, she has lived in Vancouver 14 years. Nielsen, 38, is an entrepreneur and owner of a furniture and design shop in Whistler. He has an MBA as well as a film degree and enjoys movies, baseball and marathon running.

One more member, a man from the electoral district of Vancouver-Kingsway, remains to be selected on Dec. 8. At that point, the Assembly will comprise 158 members – two from each of the 79 electoral districts in B.C. Selection began October 14th in Fort St. John, where the names of the first four Assembly members were drawn. 

The Assembly will spend much of 2004 examining electoral systems in use 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, it will be the subject of a referendum for all voters in the 2005 provincial election. Any change approved by the voters would take effect with the 2009 B.C. election.

The Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform is an independent, non-partisan group of British Columbians randomly selected from communities around the province to review the way we elect our provincial political representatives.  This process is unique in Canadian history; never has a group of randomly selected citizens played such a vital role in shaping the electoral process.