Last Thursday evening, Premier John Horgan and B.C. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson went head to head in a televised debate over the ongoing referendum on electoral reform.
The NDP is pushing for B.C. voters to adopt one of the three systems of proportional representation on the mail-in ballot while the Liberals are hoping citizens will stick with first past the post.
Unanimously, the crowds agree. The debate was a solid win for people who enjoy attacks over substance.
They accuse each other of simply using the referendum as a means to better their chances of holding power in the future. And they’re both totally correct.
This is why we would ask the electorate to get informed by sources that don’t have partisan self-interest at stake.
According to the province, only a handful of ballots have been returned so far, which means plenty of you have yet to make up your minds before the Nov. 30 deadline.
Elections BC has published an excellent voter’s guide and videos on their website, which we would recommend as a good starting point.
There are benefits and drawbacks in any system – stability, proportionality, local representation, simplicity, collegiality.
Your decision should be based on your big picture values, not your hopes for who forms government because the political lay of the land is bound to change regardless of the system we have.
Getting informed and casting a vote is a civic responsibility on par with paying your taxes and filling out the census. Ultimately, this is a question of who will represent you in government. All we ask is that you first represent yourself.
