News release

Assembly to meet in Prince George

Members of BC's Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform voted overwhelmingly to hold a meeting in Prince George, June 26-27.

This meeting will follow two months of public hearings held throughout the province during May and June.  Members will use this opportunity to review and discuss what they heard from British Columbians during the course of the 49 public hearings.

After a short discussion on Saturday morning, the Assembly voted by a show of hands to hold the meeting in Prince George. 

“It will be great for members of the Assembly to come up to Prince George and get a sense of the vastness and diversity of the province,” said Mary Jarbek, a member from Prince George. “So many people from southern BC have never been north of Kamloops.  This will give members a better understanding of the entire province and, I believe, will contribute to our discussions about which electoral system would best meet the needs of all British Columbians.”

Jarbek’s views were supported by Chris Anderson, a member from Victoria.  “I lived in Dawson Creek for many years before moving to the Island,” said Anderson, “and I know people in the north often feel forgotten.  Holding a meeting of the Citizens’ Assembly in Prince George is absolutely the right thing to do.”

“We have a duty to ALL British Columbians,” agreed Gene Quan, a member from West Vancouver.  “So, we need to put our money where our mouth is and go to Prince George.”

Assembly chair Jack Blaney was equally supportive of the decision.  “I think this is absolutely the right decision.  Members are very enthusiastic about holding a meeting in the north.  The Assembly needs to get a better sense of the differences in the province.  And northern British Columbians need to know they are an important part of this province and of this decision-making process.” 

All other meetings of the Citizens’ Assembly are held in Vancouver at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at 580 West Hastings Street in downtown Vancouver and are open to the public on a “first-come, first-seated” basis. 

In a series of six weekend meetings from January through March, Assembly members are learning about electoral systems and the political and legislative context in which they operate. 

In May and June, members will attend, on average, two or three public hearings.  This will allow four to eight members to hear submissions at each of the 49 public hearings. 

Following the public hearings and the meeting in Prince George, they will reconvene at the Wosk Centre for up to five weekends of deliberation in the fall. 

Assembly members must decide by December 15 if they will propose a change to BC’s current system of translating votes into seats in the Legislature. If they recommend a change, it will be the subject of a referendum for all voters in the May 2005 provincial election. The government has committed that any change approved by voters would take effect with the 2009 BC election.

The Assembly's 160 members – 80 men and 80 women – were randomly selected from the voters’ list and come from all regions of the province.

British Columbians can learn along with the Assembly by accessing reading and presentation materials from Assembly meetings on the Citizens’ Assembly website.  Submissions to the Assembly can also be made online through this website.