The planned provincial referendum on using proportional representation to elect future B.C. governments is a non-starter for B.C. Liberal Party leadership front-runner Dianne Watts.
Dianne Watts, who will make two appearances in Kelowna today to drum up support for her bid to succeed former Liberal leader Christy Clark, says the NDP government乌鸦传媒檚 plan to hold the referendum next year is 乌鸦传媒渂ad for our province,乌鸦传媒� particularly for those living in rural communities.
乌鸦传媒淭his legislation will divide British Columbians, taking seats out of rural B.C. and moving them into urban centres,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淭his is a significant issue as it will reduce the representation of rural communities. Let乌鸦传媒檚 be clear, proportional representation gives a bigger voice to one part of the province at the expense of the rest of B.C. I want rural B.C. to have an equal voice, not less.乌鸦传媒�
The NDP government announced plans for the referendum earlier this month. It was one of the promises made to the Green Party in return for support in defeating Liberals after it won the last spring乌鸦传媒檚 provincial election by a one seat, formed a minority goverment but could not overcome a joint NDP/Green vote of non-confidence.
乌鸦传媒淭his is (Green Party leader) Andrew Weaver乌鸦传媒檚 bill and it乌鸦传媒檚 flat out wrong,乌鸦传媒� said Watts. 乌鸦传媒� He knows this is his only path to political success and it is the crux of the coalition.乌鸦传媒�
She said there is nowhere else in Canada using proportional representation 乌鸦传媒渇or a reason.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淭he 乌鸦传媒榝irst-past-the-post乌鸦传媒� model is at the heart of our democracy and it works,乌鸦传媒� said Watts. 乌鸦传媒淧roportional representation will result in more unstable minority governments and the kind of backroom deals we are witnessing in B.C. right now.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淔irst past the post乌鸦传媒� is the system currently in use, where the winning candidate in a riding get the most votes. The party that wins the most ridings乌鸦传媒攐r seats乌鸦传媒攚ins the election and gets to govern.
There are a number of different forms of proportional representation and the type that would be used in B.C., if the referendum is approved, has yet to be determined.
The federal Liberal government included a pledge to change the electoral system federally during the 2015 election campaign, but has backed away from that saying it feels there is not a consensus across the country for a particular way to change the federal electoral system at this time.
That controversial flip-flop has garnered criticism from many who believed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when he pledged during the 2015 campaign that vote the would be the last time Canada used the first-past-the-post system to elect a federal government.
Watts said not only would a change to proportional representation hurt rural B.C., the planned referendum success threshold乌鸦传媒�50 per cent plus one in favour乌鸦传媒攚ill put rural communities at a significant disadvantage in having their voice heard in the discussion.
乌鸦传媒淭he structure of the referendum is wrong,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淚f urban B.C. decides this is a good idea, rural B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 voice won乌鸦传媒檛 even be heard.乌鸦传媒�
Watts plans to discuss a variety of issues facing B.C during her stops in the Okanagan, including proportional representation.
