BC Citizens' Assembly - Part 1

[jimdandypicker]

How many STV Yesers does it take to screw in a light bulb. Hmmm lets see, first you divide them up into little pieces, then plug them into a complicated equation and then. Aww screw it.. Their bulb is burnt out forever

[Shukria123]

Our economy in BC is now booming, and this is because the BC Liberals were able to cut taxes, etc... If they hadn't had a working majority, they probably would not have been able to do this.

Strictly speaking, BC-STV would be more democratic, better reflecting the wishes of voters, etc., but the government wouldn't be able to get anything done.

[dustinhem]

Thanks for helping me make up my mind. Anything that can prevent someone like Campbell from tinkering about with policy with complete control and zero accountability to the broad electoral population and other political parties will get my vote.

Hopefully this could turn the tide on cowboy politics seeking short term gains. This goes for the "axe-the-tax" campaign as well.

If the electoral system doesn't get fixed, voter apathy will continue to rise until our votes actually begin to matter.

[Shukria123]

BC-STV is at least similar to the system they have in Italy. The Italian federal legislature is filled with many parties(instead of the two we have our provincial legislature), and none have a majority, and this seems to be a problem for the Italians.

And look at Israel: they can't get a peace treaty with the Palestinians because one tiny party in the ruling coalition refuses to cooperate.

[willembk]

Hi Shukria,

Your comment is wrong on several counts. Italy has elections about as frequently as Canada, but more importantly BC-STV is not even close to the pure list proportional system used in Italy.

Australia and Ireland use STV, and it is also used municipally in Scotland, New Zealand, and some US cities. If you want to make a valid comparison look to these countries.

And you can bet that the Citizens Assembly considered the issue you raised in depth!!!

[Shukria123]

In Israel, where they have this a system like BC-STV, they can't get a peace treaty with the Palestinians because one tiny party in the ruling coalition won't go along with it.

In Italy, where they also have system similar to BC-STV, they have to have an election every 8 months because some coalition breaks apart.

Don't vote for BC-STV.

[dearsjeng]

What an amazing process. Ordinary citizens making a decision and an excellent one to boot. BC-STV needs to pass in the 2009 referendum, our political system desperately needs it.