Horgan to campaign for vote reform
WHISTLER — Premier John Horgan says he will take an active roll on the vote Yes side in British Columbia’s fall referendum to change the electoral system.
Horgan told municipal politicians at the annual Union of B.C. municipalities convention in Whistler Friday that the current system of electing provincial governments must be amended and modernized to ensure political parties with 40 per cent of the vote no longer hold 100 per cent of the power.
A mail-in ballot referendum set to conclude Nov. 30 will give voters the opportunity to choose between three forms of proportional representation or support the current first-past-the-post system of electing governments.
“I’m going to campaign as hard as I can in the next month to convince other British Columbians to join with me and take a leap of faith on a change that works in jurisdictions around the world,” said Horgan. “This is not something that’s never been tried before. Do not be put in a place of fear.”
The Opposition Liberals are opposed to the referendum’s options for proportional representation, with Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson saying the NDP wants an electoral system where one-party majority governments become rare or extinct.
Horgan said proportional representation allows the voices of all voters to be heard.
Previous electoral reform referendums in British Columbia in 2005 and 2009 were not successful.
Horgan told delegates he also expects an economic decision on a proposed liquefied natural gas plant and export terminal that could bring billions of dollars in economic activity to the province’s northwest.
“We are now very very close to realizing a final investment decision from LNG Canada that will transform Kitimat, most assuredly, but will provide certainty and sustainability for our gas sector from well head to waterline,” he said.
LNG Canada officials could not be reached for comment on the status of a final investment decision for its proposed $40 billion Kitimat project, a joint venture of Shell Canada, Royal Dutch Shell, Petro-China, Korea Gas Corp., and Mitsubishi Corp.
Horgan hinted at a news conference after his speech that his government is considering a review of annual rent increases and may revisit an unfulfilled campaign promise of a renter’s rebate.