Carole James' Charge to the BC Citizens' Assembly

Original text at http://www.bcndp.ca/node/1218. Emphases ours.

James presents to Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform

June 17, 2004

Kamloops -- British Columbia needs to adopt a made-in-BC electoral system that better reflects our province's diversity and opens the doors to participation in the political process, NDP Leader Carole James said today.
James presented the BC NDP's position on electoral reform to the Citizen's Assembly on Electoral Reform in Kamloops today.

She reiterated the BC NDP's support for the Assembly's work and stressed that political parties should take a back seat to citizens in the development of a proposal for reform.

The elements of the BC NDP's position on electoral reform adopted at its 2003 convention include the adoption of an electoral system that provides greater proportionality in the allocation of seats while ensuring significant local representation, in particular representation for rural and remote regions.

"We recognize that the Citizens' Assembly faces a formidable challenge in attempting to design an electoral system that will meet the needs of British Columbians," James told the Assembly. "We need a made-in-BC solution to the ills that beset our current voting system. In our view, proportionality and local representation must be the key ingredients of a new electoral system for British Columbia."