With a provincial election looming just two months away, it will be interesting to see if there is any change in voter turnout. Political apathy is rampant in B.C. People want change in the "party system," or so they say, but what does this really mean? Getting the vote out and ensuring constituents know what is at stake is paramount for all seeking election.
A recent guest comment in this paper by Vaughan Lyon, author and professor emeritus from Trent University, seemed to make a pitch for his book (which I have not read) entitled Power Shift: From Political Elites to informed Citizens.
The title of the commentary was "Voting for an independent is a stronger vote for Democracy." Some may believe that, but the vast majority of people do not.
The "Westminster Tradition" of parliamentary democracy has been around for 800 years or so and is the dominant template for western style governance in the civilized world.
Frustration around the party system within all levels of government in B.C. and across the country is understandable, but is a vote for an independent really the solution or is it merely a protest vote?
In B.C., where each constituency represents approximately 52,000 people, there are three of 85 elected MLAs that are currently independent. Only a tiny percentage of British Columbians' support the idea of independent representation.
Lyon's vision for an independent groundswell seems ambitious at best, and on his "democracy now" website, he articulates some of the ideas that he feels would be best undertaken for an independent-based political system. He suggested that governments would no longer have to bow to powerful pressure groups in such a system.
How would these organized assemblies work with the independent to truly articulate local concerns in the broader legislature?
Could you imagine how the selection of constituency-based assemblies would occur? Who would choose them and what would their terms of reference be? For instance, how would Delta, Richmond, Surrey and Vancouver independent MLAs and their assemblies work together to solve transportation and infrastructure needs. Certainly the prospect of these individual assemblies would allow for special interest to creep into the fold adding even more layers of paralysis in determining the greater good.
Barbara Yaffe, political reporter for the Vancouver Sun, reviewed Lyon's ideas last July as "radical." She went on to note, "The problem with Lyon's proposal is, it is so untested. Only a few tiny islands in the South Pacific govern at the national level without parties. Uganda tried it in 1986 but Ugandans voted to reintroduce parties in 2005."
Additionally, she notes, "Because folks generally are turned off politics, it would be difficult to organize the sort of activist groundswell necessary to launch such a huge project."
Like it or not, party politics is the only practical venue for decision making that will benefit all British Columbians. The simple fact is that the executive branch of the legislature, cabinet, makes decisions for us, and independents won't likely be invited to the decision-making inner room in your lifetime.
