CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER
First past the post has been the way we elected governments in Canada from the day we started running elections.
Many people say it is the only democratic part of government we have nationally and provincially.
That’s where some believe democracy ends. From that point onward, neither you nor your elected representative has any real power in government. The power rests solely in the hands of the prime minister nationally and premiers provincially. If they want to pass a bill, it will get passed because their party members are obligated to support the bill.
An MLA or MP can take the concerns of their constituents to the leader. If the leader, however, is set on an agenda, the MLA cannot vote against the bill without consequences.
Maria Dobrinskaya says this is wrong and she is campaigning to encourage you to vote in favour in the provincial referendum on proportional representation. She points to the inaccurate way first past the post represents voters. “Why should a party that gets 40 per cent of the vote get 100 per cent of the power?”
We invited Dobrinskaya to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the case for changing how we vote to one of proportional representation. See the video at ancouversun. com/tag/conversations-thatmatter Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue presents Conversations That Matter. Join veteran broadcaster Stuart McNish each week for an important and engaging Conversation about the issues shaping our future.
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