Should B.C. change the way voters choose MLAs to send to the legislature in Victoria?
Langley Liberal MLA Mary Polak has been speaking out against changing the system from the first-past-the-post system currently used to one of the alternatives contemplated in the upcoming referendum on electoral reform.
“What it comes down to is how do governments make decisions,” Polak said.
The referendum takes place from Oct. 22 to Nov. 30 via mail-in ballot.
There are two questions on the ballot:
• Should we keep the current first-past-the-post system or move to a system of proportional representation?
• The second question asks voters to rank three different proportional systems – dual member proportional, mixed member proportional, and rural-urban proportional.
Objections to the first-past-the-post process have included the fact that smaller parties that often get five or 10 per cent of the vote can be entirely shut out. Fair Vote Canada has been promoting the change, noting on the group’s website that the first-past-the-post system often delivers majority governments to parties that win 39- or 40-per-cent of the vote.
Although proportional representation can change the mix of parties in the legislature, Polak argues it removes local control.
Right now, power is in the hands of individual MLAs, Polak noted.
They can oust premiers and go it alone, and their party can’t remove them from office, she said, or prevent them from running again.
A switch to one of the sytems that allows parties to allocate MLAs from a list changes that. “The power then rests with the political parties,” she said.
Several of the plans call for larger ridings that would include multiple MLAs. Polak argues that would reduce the incentive for politicians to campaign in smaller or more rural areas, and put the focus on places like Surrey and Vancouver.
