Editor:
Never mind all the fear mongering and disinformation being put forth in the proportional representation (PR) referendum “discussion”. And never mind the consistently distorted results inherent in our present voting process. It all comes down to two things: money and power.
Access to government is easiest under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system since it requires lobbying only a handful of politicians (mostly cabinet members). Legislation can be written beforehand, presented and passed with minimal scrutiny.
With PR all of that will change. It would become necessary to appeal to a larger audience - constituents - and then properly and openly debate the issues before anything gets passed. More involved? Yes, but it’s transparent, the results will be fair.
FPTP was used effectively in an era when only male landholders were allowed to vote and there were only two parties in the running. Our society has advanced since then.
If you like the authoritarian style of government in the United States which is spilling into Canada (Ontario) and think that would be good for us here in B.C. then by all means vote “no”.
If however, you think enough is enough and want to hang onto what we can still call our own then be democratic and vote “yes” to electoral reform.
Anton Niedersteiner
Kamloops