News release - North Vancouver public hearing

Youth finds voice over electoral reform

Youth certainly found its voice over the issue of electoral reform Wednesday night, with students presenting a case for change in BC to members of the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform during a packed public hearing in North Vancouver.

More than 100 people at the hearing heard from more than a dozen presenters – including one who urged members to make their recommendation on the province’s electoral system "the Magna Carta of BC".

A wide variety of views were shared both for and against change – with several speakers tackling the issue of voter alienation among young people. Five students from Rockridge Secondary School, West Vancouver, offered a case for switching to a mixed electoral system, based upon the results of a ‘model Citizens’ Assembly’ held by grade 11 and 12 students at Rockridge in April.

Under their proposal, 50 per cent of seats in the Legislature would be allocated to local representatives elected under a majority system using a preferential ballot. The remaining seats would be chosen using a proportional list system.

"The draw for many of the students to proportional representation was the concept that the number of votes won directly related to the number of seats held by the party," Tim Rust told the hearing. Fellow student Kim Sollis said they found a mixed system attractive because it would help prevent "big party politics". She added that it would "also allow opposing MLAs to share their views in a more effective manner" while maintaining local representation.

Rockridge’s Russell Henderson focused specifically on youth turnout. He said they believe a mixed system would reduce voter alienation. He also suggested that greater effort be made within BC’s secondary schools to educate on voting, and that "election fairs" be held in schools so political parties could present their platforms to students.

SFU student Tom Cornwall also discussed voter alienation, within the context of party discipline. Strict party control of MLAs voting patterns makes voters feel "local representation is meaningless", he said. Nevertheless, his recommendation was that the Assembly rejects choosing an electoral system that "attempts to significantly weaken party discipline".

Fellow SFU student Paul Browning called for a mixed member proportional system (MMP). So too did speaker Chris Shaw. "What we really see with youth is that they are voting with their feet; they are simply not going to the ballot box," he said.

Speaking on behalf of the BC Government and Services Employees Union, its president, George Heyman, advocated MMP because it "provides an opportunity to institutionalize some measures to make our Legislature more representative". "We think that local representation needs to be strengthened and we think that it is undermined in the current first-past-the-post system."

Stephen Phillips said proportional representation would, in principle, foster "a more mature and consensual approach to the formulation of public policy". He favoured MMP where at least 50% of MLAs would be elected from single-member constituencies and the remainder elected from regional lists. He suggested using an open list ballot similar to one used in Sweden.

Alison Watt, of North Vancouver, also backed MMP. "We need more views in the Legislature to deal with complex issues that are facing this province. We need more votes to count. I am not afraid of minority or coalition governments." MMP found another supporter in Lance Balcom. "I support MMP provided the mechanisms to involve the electorate in decision making are strengthened," he told Assembly members.

And Peter Minshull, of North Vancouver, spoke for a mixed system of some local representatives and some measure of proportionality. "I want an electoral system that will encourage compromise, consensus and pragmatism," he said.

During his presentation Ron Gamble, leader of the Reform Party of BC, told Assembly members: "A redistribution of constituencies and regions needs to be adopted to recognize that our province lacks fairness between the densely and sparsely populated areas." He also made several recommendations, including having fixed election dates and referenda on policies. "We do not advocate a government run by referenda," he said. "We do recommend, however, that the electorate, by way of referenda, should have the opportunity to vote on unwanted legislation and vote on issues deemed of importance to the citizens of the province."

Herbert Grubel spoke strongly against switching to proportional representation (PR). He said PR benefits "small splinter groups" and that it "serves the disproportionate power of those swing parties that have agreed to form the government".

Several of the speakers praised the work of the Assembly, none more so than David Millar. "It has been everything I have hoped for," he said. "The Assembly must seize the day; seize the opportunity to assert itself …. I am practically begging you to make this the Magna Carta of BC."