BC Conservatives Support Referendum on Electoral Reform

The BC Conservative Party supports the right of all British Columbians to decide how their Members of the Legislative Assembly are elected.

“The government cannot make a fundamental change to the way British Columbians elect their provincial representatives without bringing that change forward in a referendum,” said Interim Conservative Leader Scott Anderson. "The people of BC must be the ones to decide how they are governed."

The last Liberal Throne Speech advocated for a referendum on electoral reform, and all Liberal MLAs supported the idea, while the NDP-Greens opposed the Throne Speech. Now the roles have reversed, with the NDP-Greens supporting a referendum and the Liberals opposing it.

"Unlike the Liberal-NDP-Green practice of saying one thing one day and something else the next, the BC Conservative Party believes in living by its promises," said Anderson. "We will support a referendum that is clear, objective, and specific, and if it achieves those criteria we'll respect its results."

"Unfortunately in our political system changes of this sort tend to be dominated by the governing party of the day, and engineered to their advantage," said Anderson. "We saw it happen with the federal Liberals, who cancelled electoral reform when it started to look like their preferred model wasn't going to be chosen, and I am concerned that the NDP will attempt the same thing through the wording of a referendum."

"But let me make one thing crystal clear," said Anderson. "No matter what form of voting system is brought forward for consideration, the people of this province must ultimately decide by referendum. The BC Conservative Party will fight any attempt to sidetrack the question into any consultation mechanism that does not include a referendum."

For more information:

Scott Anderson, Interim Leader, BC Conservative Party

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Telephone: (250) 434-2550 | http://www.bcconservative.ca