My proportional representation voting package arrived the other day.
I will be voting NO as should everyone, including those who support proportional representation, because the process is so flawed that NO is the only option where there is any certainty as to the electoral process we are voting for.
With Media attention focused on the bottom line, cutting costs and survival and in light of the reality that the biggest, most pervasive lack of truthfulness by politicians is not commission [telling a lie] but omission [not speaking of something] a desirable quality of life for BC citizens is entirely in the hands of BC citizens themselves and dependent on citizens practicing caveat emptor, paying attention, being observant, diligent and investing time in thinking and doing their own homework.
Case in point: the NDP/Green stealth modus operandi to change the electoral system to proportional representation. The NDP/Green collaboration is so focused on the strategic advantages of a proportional representation electoral system in terms of forming the government and holding onto power [see Appendix A] that the other effects and consequences apparently do not matter to them.
The claim is made that proportional representation is ‘more fair’ than first past the post because proportional representation splits the seats according to the percentage of the vote each party wins.
Growing up, one of the questions my parents posed was “So, if everyone was jumping off a bridge, you would jump too?” whenever I tried ‘everyone is doing it’ to justify my action.
‘Just because everyone’ was not an acceptable excuse for not thinking it through myself.
If we are considering a change as far reaching and impactful as a proportional representation electoral system, we had better think it through carefully to avoid surprises and unwanted consequences.