Editor:
I completely disagree with Caitlin Hicks (“Rule by minority,” Letters, Oct. 26) and her assertion that with proportional representation (PR), “your voice is heard and your concerns given consideration.”
In my view the complete opposite is true.
First-past-the-post (FPTP) usually, but not always, results in a single party majority government that has a mandate to do and get done what the election policy platform laid out.
That is a crucial factor.
Each electoral district elects an MLA who is accountable to those in that district, whether they voted for him/her or not. That MLA is accessible to his/her constituents and, if not, will pay the price at the next election (witness what happened in your recent municipal elections, as a case in point).
PR will most likely result in coalition governments, where the balance of power is held by small fringe parties supported by a small percentage of the electorate – which is exactly what Caitlin Hicks complains about.
I would also like to point out that if you vote for FPTP, you know exactly what you are getting. That is not the case with PR. We are offered three different methods and are asked to rank them in order of preference without any of us really having any information or knowledge as to how each method might work nor any information as to the strengths and weaknesses of each. Talk about throwing a dart with one’s eyes blindfolded.
Don’t waste your vote on PR – it is not a solution to a problem that does not exist. FPTP isn’t broken. Don’t try to fix it.
Buzz Bennett, Gibsons
