Plebiscite questions denounced by Liberals
Local MLAs heap scorn on proposed referendum on voting system, calling it ‘rigged’ in favour of NDP, Greens
Central Okanagan Liberal MLAs hate it. The ruling NDP-Green coalition loves it. “It” is the process to bring about electoral reform in B.C. with a referendum that could introduce a complicated, new system of proportional representation.
“This is a stacked deck and a rigged game for the NDP-Green coalition to get the outcome they want,” Kelowna Mission MLA Steve Thomson said Wednesday.
“We wanted a simple Yes or No referendum question, and that’s what (NDP) Premier John Horgan promised. Yet what we’re getting is two multi-pronged referendum questions that are very complicated, and a very low threshold of voters could end up changing a system that works and people understand.”
On Wednesday, Attorney General David Eby released his report on electoral reform with 18 recommendations. (See story on page A5.)
The key recommendation is the referendum ballot questions.
The first asks which system British Columbia should use for elections to the legislature — the current first-past-the-post voting system or a proportional representation voting system.
The second question asks: “If British Columbia adopts a proportional representation voting system, which of the following voting systems do you prefer? (Vote for the voting systems you wish to support by ranking them in order of preference. You may choose to support one, two or all three of the systems).” The choices are: — dual member proportional — mixed member proportional — rural-urban proportional representation. Voting will take place Oct. 22 to Nov. 30 with a mailin ballot.
In the past, B.C. has had two other referendums that saw a form of proportional representation known as the single transferable vote defeated. In both cases, the referendum question was a simple Yes or No.
The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce and Greater Westside Board of Trade are calling for more consultation on the potential impact of the three proportional representation options.
The two groups also suggest the referendum question be limited to a choice between the current firstpast-the-post and a single, clearly defined proportional representation system.
“The whole process stinks,” said Kelowna-Lake Country Liberal MLA Norm Letnick. “It’s an illegitimate and complicated process biased toward this (NDP-Green) government. They just want to ensure there are 15 Green members in the legislature next time.”
Currently, there are three Green MLAs, 41 New Democrats and 42 Liberals.
Letnick cited Italy and Greece as two countries with proportional representation that don’t work very well.
“Complicated referendum questions that will attract a low voter turnout is not a fair way to make a decision of this magnitude,” said Westside-Kelowna Liberal MLA Ben Stewart. The B.C. Green Party sees it differently. “Proportional representation requires parties to work together to put policy ahead of politics,” said Green spokesperson for electoral reform Sonia Furstenau.
“Under the first past the post in B.C., parties have received 100 per cent of the power with as little as 39 per cent of the vote and do not have to consult or collaborate with anyone. The B.C. Greens support proportional representation because it leads to more democratic outcomes.”
Fair Vote Kelowna is part of Fair Vote Canada, the non-partisan, grassroots organization committed to electoral reform, particularly proportional representation.
“The referendum question is clear. This is a question of fairness to all voters,” said Kelly Hutchinson of Fair Vote Kelowna.
“It’s a choice between the old system that works for lobbyists and insiders and a modern system that works for voters.”
The mixed-member proportional option in the second part of the referendum questions refers to the two votes every voter gets — one to decide the representative for their single-seat constituency and one for a political party.
Dual-member proportional would see about half of single-member ridings replaced with two-member ridings. The first seat in such ridings would go to the top vote-getter and the second would be awarded to one of the remaining candidates so proportionality is achieved.
Rural-urban proportional would see multi-member seats in urban areas and single-member seats in more sparsely populated regions. There would also be regional top-up seats added to make the system more proportional.
Referendum voters are going to have do some research to first of all determine if they want proportional representation or not. If they do, they’ll have to decide what system, or systems, they support.