Dear Editor:
Re: Referendum on Electoral Reform Looming, July 19.
While I appreciate Keith Baldrey noting that former Premier Clark’s sudden opposition to modernizing our voting system seems to have come from nowhere (especially given her strong advocacy for reform prior to the 2009 referendum), I wish that he had applied the “sniff test” to Clark’s ludicrous new claims.
Both Clark and Baldrey ought to know that all the proposals being advanced in B.C., including the Citizens’ Assembly’s original recommendation, place a strong premium on retaining regional balance throughout the province.
There will be just as many seats in the Interior or on Vancouver Island under an updated system as under our current one.
What will change is that no part of the province will be shut out of government, and no part will ever again fail to have an opposition voice. I’ve heard it lamented in Prince George that they now no longer have a government MLA in the area.
With our current voting system, about 50 per cent of voters in the Interior supported the Liberal Party, but the Liberal Party won all of the 15+ seats around Prince George, in the Peace River area, and in the Okanagan and Cariboo regions.
If we were using a voting system in which all voters’ voices ended up being reflected in the legislature, we’d likely have seen about five NDP MLAs elected across these regions, and all of these regions would now have active voices in government.
Likewise, NDP supporters saw almost exclusively NDP MLAs elected in most of Vancouver and the near suburbs, as well as on Vancouver Island, even though Liberal supporters made up over a third of the voters in these areas.
Again, under a fairer voting system, we would have close to 10 Liberals MLAs in these regions providing a strong opposition voice.
In short, both Baldrey and Clark have it wrong. A new, fairer voting system will not change the current rural/urban balance in B.C., but it will ensure that voters throughout the province get the MLAs they vote for. And that will be fair to all of us.
Antony Hodgson
Vancouver
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