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Liberal MLAs push status quo at electoral reform town hall

More than 100 residents came out to a town hall meeting on electoral reform hosted by Delta South Liberal MLA Ian Paton Tuesday night.
town hall
Delta South MLA Ian Paton (right) hosted a town hall forum on electoral reform that also featured fellow Liberals MLAs Jas Johal (Richmond-Queensborough) and Michael Lee (Vancouver-Langara).

More than 100 residents came out to a town hall meeting on electoral reform hosted by Delta South Liberal MLA Ian Paton Tuesday night.

Paton was joined by fellow MLAs Jas Johal and Michael Lee and there was no hiding the fact the three Liberals are staunchly opposed to the idea of B.C. switching to proportional representation.

All three MLAs made presentations and then the floor at the Ladner Community Centre was opened up for questions.

The forum was held as B.C. voters will decide this fall whether to keep the current first-past-the-post system or opt for some form of proportional representation. A referendum is being held by mail from Oct. 22 to Nov. 30. Registered voters will get a voting package in the mail from Elections BC between Oct. 22 and Nov. 2.

“We are here tonight to give you a better understanding of what exactly you are voting for and what you can tell your friends, your neighbours about what is happening in this province,” said Lee, the MLA for Vancouver-Langara.

“Regardless of all of the issues and the challenges that may have been created in the transition between a Liberal government and a NDP/Green government, this is fundamentally the most important issue facing this province in my view and in the view of our leader Andrew Wilkinson.”

Lee said first-past-the-post might not be perfect, but it’s a system that enables strong representation throughout the province.

“Under proportional representation, we are unlikely to have majority governments. We’re likely to see minority governments that are supported by smaller, single-issue parties, which leads to more divisiveness in the house,” he said. “There are a lot of details that have been left to answer after the vote. I don’t see how British Columbians can be asked to vote on something that they don’t fully understand.”

Johal encouraged residents to learn about the proposed changes and the potential impacts they would have on the province.

“You can say good-bye to any majority government again,” said the MLA for Richmond-Queensborough. “We’re jeopardizing choice in this province. It’s not a vote, folks, it’s a riddle.”

Paton wrapped up the evening by thanking all the residents who came out to engage in a respectful dialogue.

“The conclusion I draw from tonight is clear: proportional representation, if implemented, would destroy local representation and give rise to radical fringe parties,” Paton said. “Make sure to vote no when you receive your mail-in ballot this October, and spread the word. We must work together as a community and do everything we can to defeat this referendum.”

Residents can find more information and voting guide material on the Elections BC website at: https://elections.bc.ca/.