Newsletter - #10

 

Listening to British Columbians’ views of electoral systems
By cartoonist and Assembly member Chuck Walker  
 
Public hearings
The first week of public hearings saw six meetings – five in the Lower Mainland and one in Valemount.  And all but one session were very well attended – some were standing-room only.  The agendas were also packed with speakers.

This week sees 10 public hearings – in the Peace River, West Kootenays, Central Cariboo, Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island regions.

Immediately following each hearing, we issue a news release which is posted to our website.  Also, we will soon start posting summaries of each hearing to the website.  

The following is taken from a news release we issued to the media this past weekend, summing up last week’s hearings. 

NEWS: Public finds voice over electoral system
May 8, Vancouver -- The historic public debate over what kind of electoral system would best suit BC was joined this week by hundreds of British Columbians during a series of packed public meetings.

A multitude of viewpoints – both for and against the current political process – were offered by 49 presenters at six hearings, the first flurry in a series of 50 taking place throughout May and June. During the week, members of the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform heard from residents in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond and New Westminster. This afternoon they heard from the people of Surrey/White Rock, and from Valemount – the first hearing held so far outside the Lower Mainland.

While opinions have varied widely, a significant number of presenters have so far advocated that BC adopt a greater degree of proportionality. The mixed member proportional (MMP) system is favoured by many.

Comparisons with systems used in democracies elsewhere in the world – such as those chosen in New Zealand and Ireland – have also been made by presenters. Other parallels with systems in Europe have also been drawn by presenters and in comments from the public attending hearings.

Common concerns of presenters also included: the general disenchantment of voters; the power exercised by the governing executive; and the disempowerment of MLAs. A number of presenters have also questioned whether BC’s political system requires political parties at all.

So far, one presenter has strongly supported the current plurality, or ‘first-past-the-post’, system used in provincial elections.

Assembly members have been very encouraged by the number of people attending hearings, with venues enjoying a slate of at least seven presenters.

A full schedule of hearings, and information on how to sign up to make a presentation, is on the Assembly’s website at www.citizensassembly.bc.ca.

The Assembly is an independent, representative, non-partisan group of 160 randomly-selected British Columbians. They must decide by December 15 whether to propose a change to BC’s electoral system. If they recommend a change, it will be the subject of a referendum for all voters in the May 2005 provincial election.

Venues change
Please note the following venue changes:

New hearing added
A third Lower Mainland hearing has been added to accommodate requests for presentation opportunities.

Submissions flood in
The number of submissions is inching up towards the 400 mark.  These are all catalogued on our website: www.citizensassembly.bc.ca. 

Presenters fill podiums
Most public hearings, so far, have had a full slate of presenters by the time the meeting started.  To date, we have received 210 presentation requests. 

The following public hearings have full agendas and cannot accept more presenters:

If you wish to make a presentation, you may sign up by going to our website (under Get Involved and Make a Presentation) or by calling our office. 

Hansard TV to rebroadcast sessions
Hansard TV (also called the Legislative Channel) will rebroadcast the full series of Assembly learning sessions. Each session covers 5-6 hours of plenary sessions from one weekend of Assembly meetings.

This is the schedule:
May 25:  Session 1, 10:00 am, replayed at 5:00 pm
May 26:  Session 2, 10:00 am, replayed at 5:00 pm
May 27:  Session 3, 10:00 am, replayed at 5:00 pm
June 1:  Session 4, 10:00 am, replayed at 5:00 pm
June 2:  Session 5, 10:00 am, replayed at 5:00 pm
June 3:  Session 6, 10:00 am, replayed at 5:00 pm

If you find the Assembly sessions are not being broadcast, please contact your cable company and let the Assembly office know.  We had some problems with several cable companies the first time the sessions were broadcast but hope these issues have been corrected.

Traffic counter
Last week, we averaged 364 visitors a day to our web pages. Since the website was launched on 23 November 2003, we have averaged 244 visitors a day and they have come from 120 countries.