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It’s one of the oldest political tricks in the playbook at the legislature in Victoria: The government does something their opponents don’t like, so the Opposition demands an “emergency debate.”

It’s mostly a symbolic gesture, because the Speaker is usually appointed by the government and simply denies the opposition’s request.

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But something unusual happened at the people’s house the other day.

With the spring legislative session winding down, the Liberals demanded an emergency debate on the NDP government’s fall referendum on proportional representation.

The Liberals say the NDP and their buddies in the B.C. Green party are trying to sneak in a new voting system that will keep the tag-team parties in power for decades, while freezing the Liberals out.

The reason for the Liberals’ existential dread? Proportional representation could dramatically increase the number of Green party MLAs, allowing them to continue their minority governing partnership with the NDP, and relegating the Liberals to opposition purgatory.