The British Columbia Citizens' Assembly: a round table.

• Author: Campbell, Gordon
• Position: Panel Discussion

As part of its campaign platform in 2001 the current government of British Columbia promised to appoint a committee of citizens to assess all possible models for electing MLAs and to recommend changes to the current electoral system that could be put to a province wide referendum. The Government appointed Gordon Gibson to prepare a report on how the Citizen's Assembly should be organised. He presented his report on December 23, 2002. In April 2003 the Government responded by introducing a motion supporting the creation of a Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform and appointing a Special Committee of the Legislative Assembly to review the nomination of the Chair of the Citizens' Assembly and receive interim reports on the progress of the Assembly. The following extracts from the debates of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly illustrate a number of issues related to establishment of a Citizens' Assembly including certain areas where the Government proposals differ from the Gibson Report. For the full debate on this topic see British Columbia's Hansard for April 30, 2003.

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Gordon Campbell, MLA (Premier of British Columbia): If you go back to 1858, this is the first time in 145 years we are actually giving the people of British Columbia a direct say in how they should elect the MLAs that are meant to serve them. After all, in a democracy, we should remember we are here at the service and the pleasure of the people of this province. On April 17, 1999, while still in opposition, I said that it was time we gave the people of B.C. the right to demonstrate how they want to elect their MLAs. I am proud to stand here today and say that this is the first government in the history of British Columbia, in the history of our country, that has given the people that right.

There is no more fundamental tenet that we agree to as we seek office. The rules of the democracy should be designed by the people they serve, not by the power brokers who may wish that the democracy worked in their interests. It is by turning to the people and trusting the public that I believe we can re-establish the critical link between our democratic institutions and those that they are supposed to serve.

As we entered office, we wanted to try to restore and re-establish the trust of the public for their public institutions. I can think of no more important way to do that than for those of us who are fortunate enough to be elected and to serve in these institutions to trust the public's judgement and to trust the public wisdom as we fashion a legislature that will truly meet the needs of every single part of this province.

Since 1949 there was not a government in this province elected by more than 50 percent of the popular vote. There have been people that have asked legitimate questions with regard to how we elect our elected representatives. The former MLA Nick Loenen, who has looked at this and examined this for some time, has some suggestions for how he thinks we could improve the system. I know members of this chamber will have their own suggestions.

The critical thing for us to recognise is that in a democracy, the open sharing of information, the open search for solutions to reform, to reinvigorate and to revitalise our public institutions should be an ongoing learning experience. It should be an ongoing search for discovery of what will do the best for the people that live in our province. I am proud to support this motion, and I am proud to be part of a legislature that has tabled it in the hopes that we can create that revitalisation.

Last September the government asked Gordon Gibson, a former member of this House, a former leader of a political party in the province but, more importantly, someone who has spent his life examining our public institutions to make recommendations that form the foundation for the motion which is before this House today.

In keeping our commitment to people, we said prior to the election that we believed the assembly should be selected like a jury. It should be randomly selected. It should be a selection process that reaches out to each part of this province and, indeed, is reflective of the people that live here in this province. Building on the foundation of Mr. Gibson's recommendations, our recommendation that you will see in the terms of reference says that we have asked the chief electoral officer to help guide a randomly selected citizens' assembly.

We all know that every British Columbian who is eligible to vote and eligible to be on the voters list has not necessarily registered. I would like to tell the members of the assembly and the public today that we want to encourage that registration. We will try to encourage it to take place in ways that will build our voters list and make sure that as many people as possible are registered, that we at least give citizens the chance to register.

The chief electoral officer will then be asked to stratify a sample of names. That provides for an equal number of names from each riding. It will provide for an equal number of men and women. It will provide for a distribution that is reflective of the age of British Columbians. Anyone who is 18 years or over and on the voters list will be eligible. Again, we want our assembly to be reflective of the generations that live in British Columbia, of the regions that exist in British Columbia and of the interests that exist in British Columbia.

Interested persons will be able to attend local selection meetings. It is important for all of us to recognise that this is an act of true citizenship. It is an act that will require those who participate to become educated, to spend time in deliberation and in public hearings across the province. I believe that it is critical that they know both their obligations and their responsibilities, as well as the timetable for action that will be laid out for the citizens' assembly.

We said that we wanted membership to be representative of the entire province. There is not a member in this House that does not recognise what an enormous place British Columbia is, how vast our province is and indeed how vast even regions within the province can be. In terms of meeting the needs of the regions of the people who live there, we wanted to be sure that there was broad representation from each part and each corner of the province. To achieve that, the terms of reference provide a large membership of two members for each of the electoral districts that serve in this province, for a total of 158 members plus the chair, which will make the citizens' assembly 159.

We said we would have a mandate to hold public hearings throughout B.C. That will take place. And again, I want to say this clearly to this House. We have recommended the appointment of a chair, and as you will know from the second motion before the House, it is suggested that a special legislative committee be established to review that nomination from the government. Should that legislative committee unanimously support the chair, then we will ask the chair to look at how this process should work, how many meetings should take place and where they should take place. But the spirit and the intent of the government are clear, and the budget for the assembly is clear. We expect those meetings to be taking place throughout the province. It is important to allow the people of our province to have not just the oral opportunity but also the written opportunity to present to the citizens' assembly. That is provided for in the terms of reference.

We said we wanted to ensure clear endorsement by the assembly. Now, those of us who have been involved in public life for some time know there is nothing that can take up more time than a constitutional debate, a debate about the ifs and buts and what-ifs and maybes that take place in the world. I have experienced this at the local level of government, and I have seen it time and time again where, because there is no single decision that is made, there is never a decision to improve the system.

We have specifically asked the assembly to recommend a specific change. If the assembly recommends a change by a majority vote of the assembly, that will require at least 80 members of the assembly to support it. If the assembly recommends a change, then that option will be submitted to a province wide referendum on May 17, 2005.

The government wants to ensure that all British Columbians have an opportunity to vote before any change is adopted. We want to be sure any change that is adopted is truly endorsed by the regions of the province and the people of the province. We believe this is a fundamental and significant change, and we therefore have placed a double approval process in place.

First, the assembly must receive a 50-percent-plus-one approval rate from 60 percent of the ridings in the province. That is important, because at the end of the day we know we have to bring the whole province together as we make these changes, if indeed they should be recommended.

Secondly, this change will require 60 percent overall voter approval. There are some who have already suggested that that is too high an approval rating. Clearly, the government disagrees with that. We believe that a significant change should require the kind of approval that says, indeed, a great majority of people in this province feel that they will benefit from this change.

I believe this is a very important step. One of the critical keystones of this assembly's success will rest in the person of the chair. It was important, I believe, for the chair to truly guide the assembly as we move forward. As you know, the government has nominated Dr. Jack Blaney, the former president of Simon Fraser University, the current chair of the Fraser Basin Council, the man who was the driving force behind the dialogue centre at Simon Fraser University, which is...