Vote PR BC

New evidence that First Past the Post discriminates against many voters by dissuading them from voting sincerely or, indeed, from voting at all (mainly those voters who support candidates or parties who they think are less likely to win locally).

Great to see the work of Fair Vote Canada/Représentation équitable au Canada pay off in the form of Jagmeet Singh's letter to Justin Trudeau calling on him to establish a National Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform. How about it, Liberal Party of Canada | Parti libéral du Canada, Conservative Party of Canada - Parti conservateur du Canada, Green Party of Canada, Bloc Québécois? And thanks Canada’s NDP / Le NPD du Canada!

Fascinating plot from Angus Reid (http://angusreid.org/bc-election-2020) - looks as if partisan supporters from the two largest parties favour majority governments, but only if it's their preferred party. Otherwise, they're not so keen. Reminds us of that Bruce Cockburn line: "Everybody loves to see justice done - on somebody else".

For the record, here are Andrew Wilkinson's comments about the need for a Citizens' Assembly, including his commitment to implement one if voters turned down reform in the referendum. Does he stand behind his promise? [21:20] "Trying something new would be entirely appropriate, and that's why we've been saying it's time for another Citizens' Assembly, because the right to vote and the power of the vote lies in the hands of citizens. And that's why a Citizens' Assembly would... be a good idea. It's been 14 years since the last one. They would come out with a straightforward yes/no question for people to vote on so that the people of British Columbia, the voters, could decide what the question is and it would go on the ballot at a general election when there's maximum involvement." [27:00] "It's very important that we engage in this important issue of electoral reform because these rights are yours and they should have been processed through a Citizens' Assembly with the political parties kept a hundred miles away. ... We suggest that instead of doing that [ie, voting for reform], you stand up for your citizen's rights, you pick up that ballot, go to line 1, choose to stick with First Past the Post, and you will get that Citizens' Assembly to decide about a better system for electing people and it will be your Citizens' Assembly."

Check out Fair Voting BC's report card on the parties' positions on "Renewing BC's Democracy". This time around, only the Green Party gets a good grade. The NDP and Liberals didn't answer most of our questions (DNA) and the Conservatives didn't respond (NR) to our survey (except for Ryan Warawa, the CP candidate in Langley East - thanks Ryan!). Details at https://fairvotingbc.com/2020-bc-election-report-card/

Check out our shared campaign with Fair Voting BC, Fair Vote Canada and Unlock Democracy asking why BC cities don't have the same freedom to choose the best voting system for them that Ontario cities have.