Editor:
Keith Maxwell, in his letter about the referendum, says we’re guinea pigs in a dangerous experiment – hogwash! Most OECD countries use proportional representation (PR) – the exceptions being Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. In this democratic referendum, we only have to vote for the first question but we’ve also been given a choice of three well-thought-out systems, any of which are better than what we currently have. Currently over 50 per cent of voters are unrepresented in election after election. PR leads to higher voter turnout because every vote counts. If we vote for change, after two election cycles there will be another referendum.
I found Mr. Maxwell’s characterization of Belgium as a “problem” PR country peculiar. I recently returned from travelling in Belgium, and since my friend had returned to Canada due to medical issues, I was alone. All nervousness was immediately allayed – Belgians are friendly, helpful and polite. I walked all over Bruges and many miles around Brussels, sometimes at night, and never felt the slightest concern for my safety. Those cities, and Ypres also, were clean and orderly. The train service everywhere in Belgium is exceptional and inexpensive. The price of food and other items was much lower than in England where I had just been. Throughout Belgium, solar panels and wind turbines abound – they’re obviously moving rapidly toward alternate energy. Whatever PR system they’re using is definitely working.
Mr. Maxwell says that since Canada ranks in the top 10 countries on the Democracy Index we should be content. He conveniently neglects to mention that all the others in the top 10 use proportional representation and that Canada scored the lowest for “political participation.” We in B.C. stand at the brink of an historic opportunity to improve democracy in our province – let’s do it!
Gayle Neilson, Elphinstone
