BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson and NDP Premier John Horgan faced off this evening in a public debate that BC Liberals claim proved the NDP just can’t explain their “reckless” referendum on electoral reform.
Wilkinson repeatedly pressed Horgan to provide missing details that British Columbians need to make an informed decision.
“There are 29 details about PR that John Horgan refuses to make public. How many ridings there will be, how many MLAs we’ll have? We don’t know, because he won’t, or can’t, say. He wants you to vote first and he will answer those questions later,” said Wilkinson. “Let’s remember, these are your voting rights. Our democracy belongs to you. It should not be left to political parties to monkey around with something as important as how we vote.”
The Premier failed to explain how Mixed-Member Proportional, the voting system he personally prefers, would benefit British Columbians even though it would increase the power and influence of political parties over voters, according to the BC Liberals.
“The NDP want to take away your democratic rights and hand them over to party bosses and political insiders, allowing them to make the most important decisions like who makes it on to party lists,” added Wilkinson. “I’m glad that as a result of this debate, thousands of British Columbians can now see the stacked deck the NDP have cooked up behind closed doors and hopefully that means more people will vote.”
As of Thursday morning, only 2.6% of ballots had been returned to Elections BC, over two weeks since the referendum began.
What I observed while watching the so called debate was that Wilkinson did everything he could to shout down Horgan and stop him from explaining anything. It was obvious from Horgan’s reaction that he was frustrated by Wilkinson’s continual interruptions and several times had to ask Wilkinson to let him speak. The essence of a debate is the presentation of two opinions, but Wilkinson did everything he could to stop Horgan from presenting one. I think Wilkinson’s behavior was quite ill mannered and downright rude, both to Horgan and those listening to the debate.
It’s always great to see excellent reporting by the media, like here, where only one side is quoted, and the other side completely ignored. Why allow both sides to have their say if only one shares your opinion? If people hear both sides, they might make up their own minds, and that could be dangerous. Long live democracy, but not if we don’t get our way.
The NDP hasn’t bothered to send in their side! If you go through this website, you will see we give all sides. Horgan is always sending in his stuff, but this time… ask him!
You want the NDP side? It’s right here:
https://www.bcndp.ca/pro-rep
For example, you ask if Mixed-Member Proportional would increase the power and influence of political parties. The NDP says:
Voters would cast two ballots: one for a local MLA and one for a regional representative. The candidate with the most votes would become the local MLA. Regional representative would be based on the party’s share of the vote in each region. This is the system used in Germany, Scotland, New Zealand and several other jurisdictions, with one vital improvement: BC voters will be able to vote for a specific regional candidate and hold them accountable, as well as for a local MLA.