BC Citizens’ Assembly Makes Proportional Representation a Priority
Uncategorized Comments (2)
The BC Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform announced on
September 12 that proportional representation is one of their top three
values in developing a recommendation for any new electoral system.
The other two key values are local representation and voter choice.
The Assembly plenary session heard presentations from nine people on
September 11, among them Fair Vote Canada (FVC) vice president
Bruce Hallsor. Hallsor urged the Assembly “to make a clear, unequivocal
statement” that it’s time to scrap the current first-past-the-post system:
“this dysfunctional 12th century voting system has no place in 21st
century British Columbia.”
On behalf of FVC, Mr. Hallsor stated that either of two proportional voting systems could provide the foundation for a made-in-BC solution: mixed
member proportional (MMP), used in Germany, New Zealand and
Scotland; or the single transferable vote (STV), used in Ireland and for
the Australian Senate. Bruce Hallsor’s statement is available at
www.fairvote.ca. The Assembly hopes to reach a decision on whether to
recommend a new voting system by October 23-24. For more news on
the Assembly: www.citizensassembly.bc.ca
PUSH FOR NATIONAL CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLY
The positive public reaction and cross-partisan support for the BC
Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform is creating interest in a similar
process for federal reform. NDP leader Jack Layton is calling for a
national citizens’ assembly process, saying “it’s time to turn over the
shaping of our electoral system to the citizens”. Similar to the BC model,
the national citizens’ assembly would be comprised of randomly chosen
citizens. The assembly would be responsible for assessing various
voting systems and then writing a referendum question if they feel
change is desirable.
Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger, the minister responsible for democratic
reform, will soon be meeting BC Citizens’ Assembly chair Jack Blaney.
Last Fall, the Canadian Alliance and Bloc Quebecois voted with the NDP
in favour of a national referendum on proportional representation.
Electoral reformers hope this new approach to federal reform will attract
even wider support from MPs of all parties. [Fair Vote Canada will be
actively contacting MPs this Fall to build support for a federal reform
process. Those interested in helping can contact campaign organizers
at: info@fairvotecanada.org.]
@ September 28, 2004