Editor, The Times:
The dust seems to have settled on the Ontario Government’s heavy handed intrusion into the democratic process of Toronto’s civic elections. Now it should be clear to all Canadians, under our Constitution, civic government doesn’t exist except at the whim of the Provinces.
All it would take for something similar, or even worse, to be put on municipalities here in B.C., is for us to persist with our archaic First-Past-the-Post system.
This system creates false majority governments that enable a minority of voters caught in the passions of the moment to give an extremist with only 40 per cent of the vote keys to 100 per cent of the power in our Provincial Legislature as happened in Ontario.
Proportional Representation (Pro Rep) is our best protection against extremists taking control of government. If the Ontario election had happened under Pro Rep, Doug Ford’s PCs would only have won 40 per cent of the seats in the Ontario Legislature, not sufficient to form government.
So, to become Premier, he’d have had to persuade another party in the Legislature with at least 10 per cent of the seats to support him.
Winning the support of another party would require serious negotiation about his government’s agenda and priorities. During such negotiations, Premier designate Ford would have to have told his negotiating partner(s) of his plan and his reasons for halving Toronto City Council.
I’m voting for Pro Rep for BC in the referendum so everyone’s vote will count equally in future elections and so British Columbians will have an effective shield against extremists ever taking control of Government.
Candidates in the civic elections in B.C. should be asked if they’ve learned the lesson from what’s just happened in Toronto and now support Pro Rep themselves.
Marty Horswill,
Nelson, B.C.
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