PROVINCIAL LIBERALS here are looking forward to a Feb. 12 gathering which will decide how their next leader will be chosen.
Right now each party member has a vote but that has critics saying more populated ridings in the south can exert undue influence over sparsely populated rural and northern areas.
What’s going to be decided Feb. 12 is adopting a policy in which each riding will have 100 votes regardless of how many members there are in that riding’s Liberal constituency association.
Skeena provincial Liberal constituency association president Donny van Dyk says Feb. 12 will be a significant day because Liberals from around the northwest will be coming to Terrace to vote on the proposal.
That’s because Terrace has been chosen as one of 10 regional voting centres.
“It is going to be a convention but instead of at one place, it will be at many places. It will be like an annual general meeting on a grand scale,” said van Dyk.
There will be a main convention location in Vancouver beaming out video and audio to the 10 locations around the province.
People at the 10 centres will be able to participate but it will be limited to audio only.
“We looked at the cost but it would have been far too expensive,” said van Dyk of full video coverage from the 10 centres.
Each riding can choose 20 voting delegates with an additional vote going to a riding’s MLA or candidate in the last provincial election and another vote going to the constituency association’s president.
With the Skeena ridings delegates as well as ones coming from the North Coast riding to the west and the Stikine riding to the east, close to 100 Liberals could be gathered at one spot in Terrace.
“This won’t be a matter of just voting,” added van Dyk. “There will be an opportunity for discussion and who knows, perhaps someone from the floor will introduce an amendment.”
The leadership vote itself is slated for Feb. 26 and new members had to sign up by Feb. 4.
Reports place the provincial Liberal membership at approximately 70,000 people, double the number before the race began.
The Skeena riding’s 20 delegates for the Feb. 12 vote were named at a Jan. 2 session held in Terrace. “We had just short of 50 people. I think that is just short of fantastic for the day on which it was held,” said van Dyk. “I was pleasantly surprised to see the level of interest shown.”
Five of the six people running for the Liberal leadership have visited the northwest.
