The discussion around Proportional Representation is heating up in Vernon with ongoing events aimed at educating voters.
Fair Vote Vernon is pushing the need for a “fair and proportional” voting system. Proponents believe that the core problem with the Canadian political system is that the voting system ignores or distorts what voters say and cannot be properly accountable and therefore, democracy is compromised.
Fair Vote Canada is a national network of concerned citizens who are pressing for a fair voting system at all levels of government and throughout civil society.
“We are non-partisan and come from all walks of life,” said Heather Clay. “The reason we have come together is that we believe Proportional Representation is a fairer voting system than our current First Past the Post system. Or as we saw in Ontario, winner takes all the power with 40 per cent of the vote. Or as we have seen in B.C. where the last 15 of 17 governments were elected by a minority of voters. Our group wants to provide voters with accurate information about the positive reasons to vote for Proportional Representation.”
See related: LETTER: Proportional representation makes votes count
The B.C. government is giving voters a chance to choose Proportional Representation through a referendum this fall. The mail-in referendum ballot must be completed and returned between Oct. 22 and Nov. 30.
“We have just a few weeks to get the message out,” said Clay.
The group recently held a presentation at Ratio Coffee House Friday called Let’s Talk Proportional Representation to help spread the word.
Further to this, members will be greeting traffic with a Burma Shave wave for Proportional Representation Saturday, at the corner of Highway 97 and 25th Avenue from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Another information session takes place Friday, June 22 upstairs at Ratio starting 6:30 p.m. with Fair Vote Vernon’s Sue Young giving a half-hour presentation followed by questions and answers.
For more information check out the Fair Vote Vernon Facebook page.
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jennifer@vernonmorningstar.com
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