Dear editor,
B.C.’s October referendum will ask if we want to change how we elect government from the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system to proportional representation (PR). The FPTP system is hundreds of years old, and although it worked hundreds of years ago, in modern B.C. it skews election results, so what invariably happens is that a party with 39 per cent of the vote takes all the power; thus a majority of B.C. voters – 60 per cent - actually vote against the party that governs. But under proportional representation, parties take seats according to the proportion of votes they receive, so that a party receiving 40 per cent of the votes receives 40 per cent of the seats, and every voter has a voice in government. Most of the world’s democracies have moved to PR: Canada and the U.S. (where Trump took power despite losing by almost three million votes in another antiquated voting system) have yet to join them.
Countries using PR have higher standards of living (nine of the world’s top economies), higher voter turnout and steadier governments, because when politicians can’t keep safe seats and false majorities, they have to produce innovative and economically responsible policy and co-operate on local issues if they want to be elected. This referendum also comes with a guarantee that if we choose to try PR, the government must hold another referendum after two elections on whether voters want to return to FPTP, so it’s a no-risk opportunity to strengthen our democracy.
Special interest groups are painting PR as a conduit to mayhem in the streets, but follow the money and decide for yourself. Check out Christy Clark’s very candid conversation in 2009 - when she was out of politics - about why politicians love FPTP and why voters need PR - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXqDaWlv_tI).
Gillian Anderson
Merville