It is a matter of choice, not a matter of voting.
The majority of people equate being able to vote with being or living in a democracy. They are wrong.
If it was merely a question of being able to vote in elections then China would be a democracy. After all the Chinese government regularly holds elections for elective office that citizens turn out in their millions to vote in. Yet most Canadians would not consider China to be a democracy.
Why? While Chinese citizens get to vote and are encouraged to vote, they are limited to casting their votes for candidates all of whom are from the Communist Party and approved by the Party. They cannot make a choice onthe policies, direction, priorities, practices or behaviours of their government.
Democracy is not defined or contingent upon voting; rather it is a matter of choice, the ability to use your vote to choose and/or have a say in the policies, direction, priorities, practices or behaviours of the government.
Since incorrect policies, direction, priorities, practices or behaviours by the government will give rise to negative, perhaps very negative, outcomes – citizens want to choose MLAs and a government that will pursue policies, direction, priorities, practices or behaviours that will bring about positive outcomes.
If, as in the current BC provincial election, only bad policies, direction, priorities, practices or behaviours are offered to choose among, without some way to reject the bad choices citizens are denied the ability to make a choice that will have positive outcomes.
In being denied the ability to choose policies, direction, priorities, practices or behaviours that will have positive outcome; citizens am denied the ability to choose.
It is the inability to choose, to vote for desired, policies, direction, priorities, practices or behaviours that makes the current provincial election an undemocratic election.
Indeed given the current state of elections in BC and throughout Canada, denying as they do citizens the ability to choose policies, direction, priorities, practices or behaviours they want their government(s) to pursue, Canada has ceased to be a democracy.
While Canada has not yet become as undemocratic as China, until we as a country adopt election legislation that presents citizens with a range of choices reflective of desirable policies, direction, priorities, practices or behaviours or enables citizens to reject all choices if they are considered unacceptable – elections will be undemocratic in nature and Canada will not be a democracy.