A voting system that is proportional reflects the true wishes of the electorate.
I have been studying our choices since February and am convinced that proportional representation is what British Columbia needs.
The most important fact about proportional representation is that a majority government must have a “true” majority, not one based on 40 percent of the votes. When 60 percent of the voters choose another set of values and ideas, those voters should not be shut out of decision making that directly affects them.
First past the post in the USA, the UK and France, as well as here in Canada (in Ontario), prove that the majority of the people are not being fairly represented in government. Some recent elections under this system have created dictatorship-type regimes where the leader of the province or country is pushing forward edicts that are dividing the populace, fanning racism and violence, reversing policies on the environment leading to worsening climate change, and sending education systems back decades.
We cannot afford to continue with the status quo – it is a broken system that serves the elite and corporations but not the majority of citizens.
Any of the choices we have been given in this referendum would serve B.C. citizens well and be a great improvement over first past the post.
Lori Goldman, Penticton
