Editor,
Are we voting for a representative or a party? If we truly want our local wants and desires to be conveyed to Victoria then we should vote for a representative of our choosing, from our local riding, without the meddling of transferred votes from alien ridings or adding non-reflective and unknown candidates from a party list.
On the other hand, if we are concerned about parties that formulate legislation, then proportional representation is a concern since that legislation affects all residents of the province. So how do we separate a mandate to govern from a mandate to legislate?
The answer is surprisingly simple. Just change the voting methodology within the legislature.itself. Instead of counting yea’s and nay’s of bodies warming the benches, count weighted votes that the member received in the last election. There you go!
When added together for yea’s and nay’s, you get an exact 100% proportional legislative mandate for each and every piece of legislation. So, how do we get there from here? First, we need to keep the present “first past the post” voting method for general elections. Second, insist that the member’s consent to weighted voting in the House.
Robert Livingston | Wynndel, BC
