There are none so blind as those who will not see.
I recently attended a town hall-style meeting given by the BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson, regarding the upcoming provincial referendum about the voting methods to be used to elect MLA’s in B.C.
I was very impressed by the way in which he responded to every question put to him regarding both first past the post (FPTP) and proportional representation (PR) systems.
What was not impressive were the comments made by proponents of members of the audience who seemed to be there to hijack the meeting. What was also unimpressive were their attempts to say that Mr. Wilkinson, an MLA, a past Minister in the Provincial Cabinet, a medical doctor and lawyer, was unaware of the statistics of how the province has voted in past elections, as if to say out loud he didn’t know what he was talking about.
All of Mr. Wilkinson’s responses were clear and passionate. He was also clear that should he fill the Premier’s chair, that a responsible, timely and open method to determine the voting system used in this province would be discussed and presented. This seems so unlike the present provincial government.
Mr. Wilkinson clearly does know of what he speaks, and did so very well, to the surprise of those who came to spout opinions and not listen.
John Raikes