Public invited to discuss electoral reform issues today in Victoria

Canada’s electoral reform committee will stop in Victoria today to hear what Islanders think of the process for picking our leaders.

The federal committee is travelling the country to consult Canadians and identify viable alternate voting systems to replace the first-pastthe-post system. It is also studying mandatory voting and online voting.

After visiting the Tsartlip First Nation, members of the committee will host the following public sessions at Harbour Towers Hotel and Suites, 345 Quebec St., in the McKenzie Room: 3 p.m.-4:15 p.m.: Witness Panel 1 • Keith Archer, chief electoral officer, Elections B.C. • Craig Henschel, member of the B.C. Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform 4:15 p.m.-5:30 p.m.: Witness Panel 2 • Antony Hodgson, Fair Voting B.C. • Diana Byford, Citizens’ Assembly • John Duncan, as an individual (former Conservative MP, Vancouver Island North) 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.: Open mic session

Members of the public must clear security and provide photo identification to enter the meeting room. Those who wish to speak during the open mic session must register onsite at least 30 minutes before the start of the public session. The list of speakers will be determined on a first-come, first-serve basis. Each speaker will have about two minutes to speak.

Committee members will consult Twitter to review comments and questions with the tag #ERRE #Q, which may be relayed to witnesses in real time. A live audio feed will be available through the committee’s website.

Canadians can also take part by submitting a brief or filling out a questionnaire online by Oct. 7.

So far, 2,800 Canadians have participated in online consultation.

The committee is chaired by Francis Scarpaleggia (Lib), with vice-chairs Nathan Cullen (NDP) and Scott Reid (Con). Members include Saanich-Gulf Islands MP Elizabeth May (Green), as well as four other Liberal MPs, two Conservatives, one NDP and one Bloc Québécois. > Website: parl.gc.ca/ERRE-e