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| You are here: Home > Features > Citizen's Assembly on Electoral Reform |
What Happens Now?
Overall review of the electoral reform agenda
in 2004
Inside BC
In March 2004, the Citizens' Assembly wound up the first phase of
their deliberations. On March 21 st, they released a preliminary
statement containing the following conclusions:
- The Single Member Plurality (First Past the Post) system
has much to recommend it, including local representation
in the legislature, stable majority governments, and a
formula for calculating votes that is easy for voters to
understand
- However, it has also contributed to a system of adversarial
politics between the two major parties, government dominance
of the legislature, and voters who feel alienated
- A more proportional system would better reflect the basic
values of the province's population
- However, it must provide local representation, particularly
for citizens living in rural or geographically isolated
areas
The full text of the Preliminary Statement can be found on Citizens'
Assembly on Electoral Reform official website
Their conclusions indicate Assembly members are leaning towards
a proportional electoral system - possibly either Mixed Member
Proportional or the Single Transferable Vote. Nonetheless, the
Preliminary Statement emphasizes that the Citizens' Assembly
has not reached a final decision on whether the current electoral
system should be reformed. Instead, the ideas expressed in the
statement are meant to be a starting point for further discussion.
Members will not reach a final decision until after hearing from
the public in a series of meetings to be held throughout British
Columbia in May and June. In the fall, the Citizens' Assembly
will write up their final report, which must be submitted to
BC's Attorney General by December 15, 2004.
Across Canada
The formation of the BC Citizens' Assembly is part of a larger nationwide
movement to change Canada's electoral system, both federally
and at the provincial level. Recently, the federal government
announced plans to undertake a sweeping review of the Elections
Act, including the electoral system. Unfortunately, the announcement
didn't receive a great deal of media attention due to the “Sponsorship
Scandal.”
At the provincial level, the following provinces are formally considering
changes to their electoral system:
- The Quebec government recently announced it will table legislation
for a Mixed Member Proportional voting system. While the
government plans to hold public hearings on electoral reform
this fall, it is not clear at this point when the new legislation
would take effect.
- The Saskatchewan government recently formed a caucus committee
to examine electoral reform alternatives for Saskatchewan.
- The New Brunswick government has formed a Commission on Legislative
Democracy to study electoral, legislative, and democratic
reform. With respect to electoral reform, the commission's
mandate is limited to studying proportional representation
systems. The commission's other tasks include proposing
a new Referendum Act, and Premier Lord has stated that
he will probably hold a referendum on the new electoral
system.
- In 2003, the Prince Edward Island government appointed former
Supreme Court Justice Norman Carruthers to examine the
province's electoral system. In late 2003, Carruthers submitted
his report recommending a Mixed Member Proportional system.
- In October 2003, newly elected Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty
announced the creation of the Democratic Renewal Secretariat
to examine electoral reform. The government has promised
to hold a referendum on a reformed electoral system.
(Several of these provinces are also considering switching to fixed
election dates).
All the electoral reform proposals stress the importance of public
involvement through mechanisms such as public hearings. However,
to date BC remains the only province where the process of deciding
whether a different electoral system is needed, and which system
best meets the province's needs, has been handed to non-elected
citizens. In addition, it's unclear how many provinces will allow
the public to vote on any proposed changes in a referendum.
Future Trends for Electoral Reform
Electoral reform is still in its infancy. However, it may have interesting
implications over the long term:
- In the future, it is possible that electoral systems will
vary from province to province
- This can cause confusion, as individuals moving to a province
may not understand its electoral system.
- Furthermore, election results may vary depending on the type
of electoral system. For example, a party that might have
won a majority under the First Past the Post system would
not do so in a province with proportional representation.
- This could put pressure on provinces such as Alberta and
Manitoba to consider electoral reform. However, election
results could vary even under different types of PR systems.
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