Memo to BC NDP: Follow new Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley's Lead – Drop Proportional Representation

Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley

Proportional Representation electoral system would have sunk Alberta's NDP majority and put PCs and WIldrose in power - why is BC NDP supporting it?

Bill Tieleman’s 24 Hours Vancouver / The Tyee column

Tuesday May 26, 2015

By Bill Tieleman

"The first-past-the-post system is not serving the people of B.C."

- BC NDP leader John Horgan, July 2013

The Alberta New Democratic Party did a very smart thing in drawing up its 2015 provincial election platform -- it dropped a promise to impose a proportional representation electoral system.

On Sunday, Alberta's new NDP premier Rachel Notley was sworn in with her majority government and a mandate to change the province for the better after 44 years of increasingly decrepit Progressive Conservative rule.

But if proportional representation had been Alberta's electoral system, the province would almost certainly have seen another Conservative government under Premier Jim Prentice -- with Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean becoming a senior cabinet minister and his party supporting a new rightwing coalition government.

And Notley would be out in the cold as official opposition leader, not premier.

So you have to wonder exactly why BC's New Democrats are promising to introduce proportional representation after the 2017 provincial election when odds are it will likely throw them back out of government.

What Notley knows

Our first-past-the-post electoral system is simple: the candidate with the most votes in each local riding wins. Whichever party wins a majority of the province's seats forms the government; the next biggest party is the official opposition.

And FPTP has served Canada well -- as it has the United Kingdom, United States, India and other countries representing almost half of the world's democratic voters.

That's why voters in B.C., Ontario and Prince Edward Island have all rejected changing electoral systems and kept FPTP in democratic referenda in the past few years.

Under proportional representation Alberta's Notley would likely not be premier, because the number of seats each party gets is not based simply on who wins each of Alberta's 87 ridings but on what percentage of votes the parties get across the whole province.

The NDP's 40.5 per cent vote would have meant only 35 seats instead of the 54 it won; the Conservatives' 28 per cent would get 24 seats instead of the 10 they won; and Wildrose's 24 per cent would hold the same 21 seats but go from opposition to junior government partner, while the Liberals and other parties would share six seats.

For progressive voters who want change, the current first-past-the-post system delivered it effectively in Alberta. And for right-wing voters who won't like the NDP government, the 2019 election could equally reverse those results.

Majorities rule

The BC NDP has won power three times with about 40 per cent of the popular vote but a majority of seats -- in 1972, 1991 and 1996 -- and ironically lost several times with a higher percentage vote.

In fact, under proportional representation, only a few B.C. governments would have won an outright majority -- most recently under Gordon Campbell in 2001.

So if a future BC NDP government introduces proportional representation, it could mark the last time the party holds a majority in the B.C. Legislature and can introduce the progressive changes many NDP voters want and expect.

Those who adamantly support proportional representation either don't care or argue that some kind of alliance could be cobbled together with NDP, Green and new parties agreeing to an environmental-labour-progressive agenda.

But the BC Green Party is not left or progressive on all issues and other new parties may be far right or far left.

Fringe benefits

Certainly the scary history of the results from proportional representation in Europe should be of concern and a warning.

In 2014's European Parliament elections, the far right, anti-immigrant Front National led by Marie Le Pen won 25 per cent of the vote in France and 24 seats, up from just three in 2009.

And two "more or less openly neo-Nazi parties -- the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) and the Greek Golden Dawn (XA) -- for the first time entered the European Parliament" the Washington Post reported.

None of this is to say it would happen in B.C.; but proportional representation systems certainly allow fringe parties a great chance to elect candidates and the odds they will have a disproportionate say in government.

That's because proportional representation almost guarantees minority governments dependent on multiple parties for support.

So a fringe party can make outlandish demands and often get their way because they hold the balance of power and sell it to the highest bidder.

By comparison FPTP generally encourages parties to moderate their views to attract middle of the road voters while maintaining significant differences on some key issues. And it mostly delivers majority, stable governments that can focus on implementing their policies instead of making backroom deals with other parties on every issue.

Of course, any criticism of proportional representation and its many defects bring predictable howls of protest from its ardent advocates, like Fair Vote Canada, which is already denouncing the Alberta results.

But for progressives, the marvelous Alberta NDP victory should give pause to BC's NDP before it makes an ironclad commitment to implement proportional representation here.

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A Know-Who-Voted Bill? Bring It On To Combat BC Voter Apathy

Some voters are proud to say they exercised democratic rights. 

Forget the fear-mongering: Bill 20 aims to invigorate voter pride.

Bill Tieleman’s 24 Hours Vancouver / The Tyee column

Tuesday May 19, 2015

By Bill Tieleman

"Voter apathy was, and will remain the greatest threat to democracy."

- Hazen Pingree, Michigan governor, 1840-1901

Why are the BC Green Party, government watchdog Integrity BC, and B.C.'s privacy commissioner all opposing a change to the provincial Elections Act that could actually improve dismal voter participation?

One change in Bill 20 would allow political parties and others to know who voted in the previous election.

Not how they voted, of course. Just that they participated in the election.

Giving parties and candidates the right to encourage those who don't bother voting, with specific messaging, could increase turnout.

But apparently, the groups find the change a shocking violation of voter privacy -- except that every party's workers can already find out who voted during an election.

I've done it myself many times as an "inside scrutineer."

You sign an oath with elections officials and then check the voters' list to mark off who has voted and pass it on to "outside scrutineers."

They can then phone or knock on the doors of supporters who haven't yet voted.

In Washington State, the independent elections authority provides a list of who has voted, updated regularly -- and anyone can access it, including parties and not-for-profits.

That's called open democracy, and every citizen should be proud they voted.

Apathy is truly troubling

A Green Party representative agreed with the change, as did New Democrats, BC Liberals and BC Conservatives, when consulted by Elections BC.

But now Green Party MLA Andrew Weaver is so irate that he's started an online petition opposing it, saying it will allow parties to "incentivize aggressive fundraising tactics, and increase the questionable use of robocalls... This is about your privacy."

How do I know this? Because Weaver sent me an unsolicited personal email -- and he asked me to donate money to the Greens, too!

Kind of hypocritical, but more importantly, Weaver's position is just plain wrong.

Bill 20 has problems -- it doesn't ban corporate and union donations, for example -- but making lists of who has voted available is a good idea.

Over-the-top scare tactics about information that is already publicly available to parties here and in Washington State that could help democratic participation is absurd.

It's when people do not vote that we get into trouble. Not when we find out that they actually did.

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Surprise Alberta NDP government victory has few lessons for BC NDP

Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley and cabinet

Bill Tieleman’s 24 Hours Vancouver / The Tyee column

Tuesday May 12, 2015

By Bill Tieleman

"Always in Alberta there is a fresh wind blowing." 

- Nellie McClung 1873-1951

There's a rush by journalists, pundits and party activists to find big lessons British Columbia's New Democratic Party should learn from Alberta's astonishing NDP majority government victory last Tuesday.

But a closer look at the fresh wind Premier-elect Rachel Notley used to blow away the ruling Alberta Progressive Conservatives shows that very few lessons apply to B.C.

So while BC NDP opposition leader John Horgan can rightly be extremely happy with what seemed an impossibility just months ago -- social democrats running oil-rich Alberta -- his party shouldn't presume its neighbours' surprise success can be copied here.

The political differences between Alberta and B.C. are far greater than any similarities.

First, Alberta's PCs were years past their expiry date after a 44-year reign, despite having a new premier in Jim Prentice for less than a year.

In fact, the right-wing Wildrose Party under then-leader Danielle Smith was expected to defeat the Conservatives in the 2012 election but bozo eruptions from Wildrose candidates scared off voters at the last moment, leaving Alison Redford the PC premier until she self-destructed.

In B.C.'s 2013 election, the Liberals had been in power for 12 years -- just a quarter of the Alberta PC period -- and Premier Christy Clark had already been in office for two years as well as deputy premier from 2001 to 2005.

Second, the defection of Smith and other MLAs to the PCs looked brilliant at first but actually sewered both parties, especially after PC members in Smith's riding rejected her as a candidate.

It smacked of opportunism and entitlement, and also left Wildrose with only a few remaining, shell-shocked MLAs and a new, little-known leader, Brian Jean, with no seat in the Legislature -- ruling it out as an alternative government to many.

And that meant the Alberta NDP was the only option for those tired of Tory rule.

Different political climates

Conversely, B.C.'s opposition NDP had no such soap opera and has been either the official opposition or government party since 1941, including its predecessor, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation until 1961.

Third, Notley had a caucus of just four MLAs when the election began and had never been in a cabinet; Albertans clearly were willing to overlook legislative experience completely and risk learning on the job in order to get rid of the Conservatives.

By comparison, BC's NDP had 36 MLAs going into the 2013 election, many with experience in government and years in opposition to prepare them as a ready alternative -- but B.C. wasn't willing.

Fourth, Alberta's strong right-wing split into two parts -- PCs and Wildrose -- many years ago, leading to an NDP chance to win power. Many Alberta NDP MLAs won their seats with 40 per cent of the vote or less due to PC-Wildrose splits.

B.C.'s right-wing remains coalesced in the BC Liberal Party, having successfully dispatched the BC Conservative Party attempt to play a major role under then-leader John Cummins prior to 2013.

Fifth, Prentice brought in an extremely unpopular Alberta budget and then made himself even more unpopular with a series of gaffes, like telling voters to "look in the mirror" when asking why the province was in economic trouble.

Oil rich Alberta ran six consecutive deficit budgets and even though Prentice's budget projected a $248 million surplus, it would turn to deficit in 2015 due to falling oil prices. And taxes went up for consumers but not corporations.

By contrast, the BC Liberals eked out a balanced budget once again -- albeit by a fire sale of government property -- but a fire sale is better than the firestorm Alberta's finances caused.

Lastly, Notley, whom I know from her past role at the Health Sciences Association of B.C. and the BC NDP government, is an incredibly impressive person who clearly connected with Albertans to overcome fear of the NDP.

But Notley's success cannot be attributed solely to her great leadership and the excellent campaign run by BC NDP veteran Gerry Scott.

The Alberta NDP victory truly required an amazing alignment of the political planets to happen -- B.C.'s NDP will need a different strategy if they are to thank their lucky stars after a win in 2017.

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Bad Optics for BC NDP $2,000 Candidate Entry Fee in Vancouver Mount Pleasant

Vancouver Mount Pleasant MLA Jenny Kwan launching her federal NDP nomination campaign - Bill Tieleman photo

Party brass unanimously approved charge to run in one of province's poorest ridings.

Bill Tieleman’s 24 Hours Vancouver / The Tyee column

Tuesday May 5, 2015

By Bill Tieleman

“The New Democratic Party holds firm to the belief that the dignity, freedom and equality of the individual is a basic right that must be maintained and extended."

- BC NDP Constitution Preamble

Here's the big money question: is the B.C. New Democratic Party deliberately trying to create internal dissent with a new $2,000 non-refundable "entry fee" in the upcoming Vancouver-Mount Pleasant by-election?

Or is it simply oblivious to the optics of a party that wants to be seen as sticking up for the little guy demanding candidate fees that are higher than any other party is charging?

Even worse, the BC NDP executive unanimously approved the new $2,000 fee for one of B.C.'s poorest ridings.

The party says it's all about fundraising and being competitive with its better-financed BC Liberal Party opponents.

BC NDP president Craig Keating defends the move, saying on Monday that candidate fees were in place in the 2013 election, though he was unable to say how much they were.

"Fees help us recover the costs of the nomination," Keating said, adding that the new entry charge only applies to by-elections so far.

However, as The Tyee's Andrew MacLeod has reported, the move has rankled many rank and file members as a major financial impediment to candidates who don't have quick access to $2,000.

It's just plain wrong. A social democratic party fighting economic inequality and helping the under-privileged has no business demanding a $2,000 entry fee from a candidate just for the right to put their name forward for members to democratically decide on their candidacy.

Why should a worthy candidate of limited means be dependent on the charity of others to raise the money?

It smacks of elitism and entitlement, at a time when voters in Alberta appear ready to dismiss their Conservative government in today's election for exactly those reasons.

The BC NDP opened nominations on April 22 and closed them May 1, giving any candidate only a week to come up with the $2,000.

Great candidate, overshadowed by controversy

The controversy is too bad, because the BC NDP has attracted an excellent candidate to vie for the seat of veteran MLA Jenny Kwan, who will step down from her position to run in the federal election.

Melanie Mark is a former deputy to the Representative for Children and Youth, Mary-Ellen Turpel Lafond, whose office is respected for fighting to protect children in care and demanding accountability from government.

If she won the by-election, Mark would become the only First Nations MLA in the B.C. Legislature. Her accomplishments and abilities are considerable.

Unfortunately, the fee controversy -- if not quickly fixed -- may be an unwelcome distraction for the BC NDP from attacking the BC Liberals' atrocious record on child poverty and other issues.

Mark herself has raised concerns about the fee.

"I'm sure it's a barrier. We need to reduce barriers for people, and I want this to be a fair, equitable, transparent process," she said last week.

Ironically, the federal NDP has no entry fee for candidates; the federal Conservatives have a refundable $1,000 "Good Conduct Bond" that is returned if candidates respect the rules; and the federal Liberal Party charges a $1,000 fee.

The BC Liberal Party did not respond to email and phone inquiries by deadline, but a veteran party activist said they were unaware of any candidate nomination fee.

Fundraising the fee

For perspective, here's what it takes for some less-than-well-off British Columbians to raise personally come up with the BC NDP's $2,000 entry fee.

At an average B.C. wage of $25.73, it would take over 77 hours of work to raise the fee.

For a person on disability benefits of about $906 a month, it would take over two months.

And it would mean over 195 hours working at B.C.'s current minimum wage of $10.25 an hour.

The $2,000 fee may not seem like much to some, but it is a substantial barrier to many.




The BC NDP has made an unnecessary problem for itself. The smart move is to end this policy and the controversy it's creating immediately.