As the dust settles on last May’s provincial election, we are able to gain a better perspective on the results. With the Liberals’ out of (election) season attack ads, the removal of bridge tolls and MLAs crossing party lines, B.C. certainly seems to be entering a new political era. Will this be a period of prosperity and discourse or one of despondency and frustration?

That decision will be made at the voting booth with the benefit of hindsight in four years, but how we will be making that decision will already be determined. Our new NDP government has scheduled a referendum on proportional representation to be held no later than Nov. 30, 2018.

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Given that Green Party MLA Sonia Furstenau has stated that polling suggests 65 per cent of British Columbians favour some form of proportional representation over the current system, this seems like a great idea. However, in a previous column, I asked: “What do they mean by proportional representation?” I ask the same question now.

Unfortunately, because Premier John Horgan has abandoned his position to have a “yes or no” referendum, no one has an answer to that question. Instead, the NDP will seek public consultation to determine which electoral systems will go on the ballot, requiring 50 per cent plus one vote to initiate a change. If more than one system makes it into the referendum, I predict the referendum will fail as it did in 2005 and 2009.

Public consultation is one of the most powerful tools that our democracy has at its disposal, but it has its limitations. One such limitation regarding proportional representation is the education required to make an informed decision. With so many options, systems and implementation methods, the NDP has said that it took thousands of government officials with a good understanding of the processes to draft the legislation. If that much expertise is required to enter the debate, how can the average individual be reasonably expected to consider all of the factors in the decision between so many different systems?

The number of options and amount of information to digest were significant contributing factors to the failure of the federal initiative and the federal Liberal Party’s broken electoral reform campaign promise.

Horgan recognizes the solution to this issue: 1) Put forward the solution that research and argument determine to be the best; 2) Educate the public as to that particular solution’s benefits vs our current system; 3) Consult the public by holding the referendum and moving forward with that system of proportional representation if it passes.

With 65 per cent support for proportional representation and a 50 per cent plus one vote threshold for change, it appears that electoral reform would be a sure win if pit against our current first-past-the-post system. This would have been a sure win for the NDP if its goal was to change our current system.

Alas, our government has opted to give the public a decision that it does not want to make.

Community advocate Nicholas Wong ran as an independent candidate in Delta South in May’s provincial election. He finished second with more than 6,400 votes. He can be reached at mrnicholaswong@gmail.com.