PR would improve our democracy

Re: “B.C. voters should reject proportional representation,” editorial, Nov. 16.

I agree that people come to Canada because it is a democratic country, but not because of our first-past-the-post voting system. Proportional representation would be an improvement to our democracy, just like many of the changes that have been made in our country, such as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and before that, voting rights for minorities and women. We can’t and don’t remain the same; we progress.

As for voting for the platform a party presents before an election: Those promises are often broken, to wit, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau telling us we were going to vote on proportional representation federally after a parliamentary committee recommended it, and every independent commission, provincial panel, legislative study or citizens’ assembly held in Canada since 1921 has concluded the same thing. Not one has recommended keeping the winner-take-all, riding-by-riding approach bequeathed to us from Victorian England.

I would much rather vote for people I trust and respect than for the promises that might or might not be kept. I have heard it said by the No faction that we won’t all have a local representative, but each of the three systems proposed has that. Each of the three proposed systems also has a provision for sparsely populated areas versus urban centres.

Many stable and prosperous countries have had proportional representation work for them for years now. In fact, nine of the 10 top world economies.

Sheila Drew Victoria