B.C. SET TO TAKE A SECOND SHOT AT VOTING REFORM
from the Toronto Globe and Mail
By ROD MICKLEBURGH
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 Page A6
VICTORIA, B.C. -- British Columbia will hold a second referendum on dramatically changing the province's long-standing first-past-the-post voting system to a complicated process known as STV (single transferable vote).
Premier Gordon Campbell committed the province to the binding vote during yesterday's Speech from the Throne that ushered in a new session with a much meatier agenda than many expected, including a sweeping package of legislative changes.
As part of its promise to expand greatly the role of the opposition, the Liberal government announced a groundbreaking move to appoint a second deputy Speaker from the ranks of the NDP, which soared from three to 33 seats in last spring's election.
In another measure believed to be a first in the country for a majority government, the opposition NDP will also be given control of a legislative committee, in this case the special committee on the flashpoint issue of fish farms.
At the same time, Question Period will be doubled, to 30 minutes.
"All of these reforms will give the Official Opposition an unprecedented role in this legislature," said Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo, as she read out the government's blueprint for the fall sitting.
But it is Mr. Campbell's vow to hold another referendum on the STV that has the potential to alter the province in a way yet to be tried anywhere in Canada, and in only a few jurisdictions around the world.
Under STV, candidates are elected in multimember ridings by having voters rank them in order of preference.
The aim is to have a legislature more representative of the popular vote than the current, traditional system, which can result in lopsided majorities for a party with far less than 50 per cent of the overall vote.
The few countries that have STV, which is easy for the voter but difficult to explain and tabulate, include Ireland, Malta and Australia, where it is used to elect the Senate.
An earlier referendum on the proposed change, held during the recent provincial election, saw nearly 58 per cent vote in favour, just short of the 60-per-cent approval needed for STV to become law.
"We need to reflect the spirit of that vote," Mr. Campbell explained.
For the second referendum, to be held in November of 2008, the Premier promised that voters will be given more information on how the system will work and an electoral map showing the actual, proposed new ridings.
As well, groups for and against the issue will receive government funding to allow them to campaign more aggressively.
"People will have a second chance to take another look and make a final choice," Mr. Campbell told reporters. STV will still need the same 60-per-cent majority.
The Premier said the legislative changes announced in the Throne Speech enhance British Columbia's status as the national leader in democratic reforms, having already made history with the country's first fixed election dates and striking an independent, randomly selected Citizens Assembly to examine and recommend changes to the voting system.
The assembly's recommendation, STV, was automatically subjected to a binding, provincewide referendum.
In addition to its latest political reforms, Mr. Campbell's government also vowed an all-out assault against the mountain pine beetle that is ravaging B.C. forests and an end to the many inequities facing the province's impoverished native population within 10 years.
"We want to raise the determinants for education, health and economic security for natives to the same level as other Canadians," the Premier said.
NDP Leader Carole James welcomed the increased legislative role given her party but stopped well short of showering the Premier with praise.
"It's a good start, but we will have to wait and see," said Ms. James, who spent her first day as an elected MLA in the legislature. "We've heard promises from the Premier in previous Throne Speeches that he didn't deliver on.
"But it is certainly an acknowledgment from the Premier of the need to do things differently."
Despite the reforms, most of the coming session will be taken up with debate over new programs and spending estimates from the spring. The legislature must also pass a budget, which new Finance Minister Carole Taylor will update tomorrow.
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