Newsletter #6

 

YOUR VOTE, YOUR VOICE
In May and June, members of the Assembly will hold 49 public hearings in communities throughout the province to listen to British Columbians’ views about our electoral system.  If you have an opinion on electoral systems – related to the pros and/or cons of our current system or the benefits and/or pitfalls of another electoral system – please come to a public hearing.  The Assembly needs to hear from you!

Better yet, register in advance to make a presentation at a specific public hearing and you will be assured of a spot on the agenda.  You can register to present on our website or by calling 1-866-667-1232 to request a form. 

Also, please encourage your friends and neighbours to attend public hearings and join the conversation.  The more British Columbians engaged in this dialogue, the better equipped the Assembly will be to make an informed recommendation.  This is your chance to help shape British Columbia’s electoral system.

SOAP BOXES WANTED
Do you know of a community club or group that would be interested in hearing from a member of the Citizens’ Assembly?  We’re eager to create greater awareness in BC of the work of the Assembly.  With public hearings coming up, we want to get British Columbians thinking and talking about electoral options. Groups such as service clubs, seniors’ associations, Chambers of Commerce and school classes – Assembly members are ready to speak to anyone who will listen!  If you know of a potential audience, please contact our office at 1-866-667-1232 or call Marilyn at 604-660-1363.  Thanks, in advance, for helping us spread the word.
 
ASSEMBLY COMPLETES ITS FIFTH SESSION
On the March 6&7 weekend, members of the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform heard from two renowned political scientists, then discussed the strengths and weaknesses of BC’s current system.
 
NO PERFECT SYSTEM
On Saturday, two international experts on electoral systems made it clear that the task of Assembly members (and of the BC public) in evaluating various electoral systems is no easy one.

David Farrell from the University of Manchester, England, told members: "You can never predict what the change (of an electoral system) is going to do. . . In a lot of cases, the electoral system is neither here nor there.  It has a lot more to do with political culture . . . and the rules of how your parliament operates."

Elizabeth McLeay of Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, added: "It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to predict all the effects of any electoral system change … If you do make a change, you have to give the new rules time to settle down; at least three parliamentary sessions. And don't expect electoral system reform to cure all, or even most, of a political system's problems."

DAVID FARRELL
Professor Farrell provided the Assembly with a global context for the discussion of electoral systems and change.  He first reviewed the electoral systems recently instituted in post-communist democracies of Eastern Europe, then moved to recent changes in established democracies such as Japan, New Zealand and Italy. 

Farrell suggested four considerations when thinking about electoral system change:
• Government stability
• Incorporation of minorities
• The link between politics and people
• Keep it simple

The “bugbear” according to Farrell is dealing with conflicting objectives and weighing the trade-offs.  For example, how do you marry “stability” and “proportionality”?  Or “proportionality” and “constituency linkages”?

Farrell concluded his remarks by commenting on the uniqueness of BC’s Citizens’ Assembly process, where no preset criteria have been dictated and the Assembly has been given a “blank sheet.”  He told the members, “(This) has never happened before … (where) the proposed alternative system is going to be designed by you, by your process, not by some established elite.”

ELIZABETH MCLEAY
McLeay discussed the impact of electoral change in New Zealand where a mixed member proportional system was implemented in 1996.  Since that time, McLeay noted:
• Governments have been formed by coalitions, rather than by majorities
• Greater representation of smaller parties in parliament
• Representation of Maoris in parliament is now proportional to their representation in the population 
• The number of women in parliament has increased
• List MPs have had difficulty defining their role
• Electorates are larger – creating some unhappiness
• Parliament plays a more important role because governments, often lacking majorities, have had to consult other parties to pass legislation
• Some parties have fragmented
• Political parties took time to adjust to the new realities
• Adversarialism has continued
• The increase in parliament’s size to accommodate MMP was unpopular with New Zealanders

McLeay offered these lessons to be learned from the New Zealand experience:
• Don’t expect electoral system reform to cure all of a political system’s problems
• Give the new rules time to settle down and become established after electoral system change
• The early years are important when establishing the legitimacy of a new electoral system
• It’s impossible to predict all the effects of electoral system change

BC’S CURRENT SYSTEM – PROS AND CONS
The Assembly’s discussion of our “first-past-the-post” system marked the start of work on a preliminary statement on electoral reform, designed to engage British Columbians in the discussion and kick-start the public hearings in May and June.

Members began Sunday to assess BC’s current system of translating votes into seats in the legislature and to identify advantages and disadvantages for voters, politics and government.

Among the strengths members identified in BC’s current "first-past-the-post" system of selecting MLAs:
• Voting process is simple; results are quickly known
• There are identifiable local representatives 
• Parties and MLAs can be held accountable at the polls
• The system tends to promote effective government
• It often leads to majority governments that can "get things done"

Among the weaknesses they listed: 
• Lack of proportionality (correlation between distribution of seats in the Legislature and popular vote)
• Adversarial politics
• Limited voter choice of parties and candidates
• Marginalization of smaller parties
• And polarized BC politics – described by one member as "Military government: Left, Right, Left, Right …"

NEXT MEETING – MARCH 20 & 21
In the final weekend of meetings prior to the public hearings, Assembly members will complete the work of preparing a preliminary statement to the province.  Assembly meetings take place at SFU’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 580 West Hastings St., Vancouver.   These meetings are open to the public.   

WEB RESOURCES
On this Assembly website you can access …
Under Learning resources:
• Audio and video files of Assembly plenary sessions
• Handouts & presentations from the learning sessions
Under Get involved:
• Schedule of upcoming hearings
• Online application form for those wishing to present their views at a hearing
• Information on how to make a submission
• Archive of over 100 submissions received to date
Under CA in action:
• Information on the Assembly and its work
Under News and events:
• News releases, newsletters and a calendar of events

SPREAD THE WORD
Do you know of others who might like to follow the Assembly by signing up to receive our newsletter by email?  They can sign-up online here.