If you have not voted yet on the referendum on how we elect our government in B.C., consider the following. There are two indisputable facts that rise out of the many articles we have been subjected to on proportional representation.
1. Our current first past the post system nearly always produces a government that only has the support of 30 some odd or 40 some odd per cent of those who voted. Well over half of those who voted have not had their voice heard.
2. Most democracies in the world have moved to a PR type government that insists that the government in power must have the support of more than 50 per cent of those who voted. The majority of those are prosperous, successful, stable governments.
Those are facts and they cannot be disputed by the "no" side of the referendum.
Then the simple question is, "should we stay with a system where the government, no matter which party, has the support of considerably less than 50 per cent of voters or should we catch up to those other countries and adopt a system where our governments must have the support of more than 50 per cent of voters?" Which is the better democracy?
That is question No. 1 on the ballot.
If you are unsure how to vote on No. 2 but if you agree we should move on to a proportional system that will ensure our governments' majorities will be true majorities then simply don't fill in question No. 2.
Each of the three concepts in question
No. 2 will give us a far more proportional government than we have been getting, we will have at least as many MLAs from the north as we currently have, we will have very few more, if any more, MLAs than we do at present, and a committee made up from all parties plus some experts on PR systems will collaborate to develop a system that will meet the unique needs of our province.
You will need to have some trust in our elected officials to take that leap of faith.
But don't we do that when we elect a government? We take a leap of faith that they will do what is right for the common good in everything they do. Just let them do their job.
Which brings us full circle right back to if we are going to have trust in our government wouldn't it be better if that government had the support of more than half the voters?
Vote for proportional representation and if you are concerned about the postal service not getting your ballot to Victoria by Dec. 7, it can be taken to the Service B.C. offices at Queensway and Fifth Avenue.
John Warner,
Prince George
