So far, most of the discussion about Proportional Representation (PR) has focused on fairness. Without a proportional voting system, there’s no way to make every vote count equally. But there are other reasons to adopt it, arguably as valid: it would bring social and financial stability and cut waste. In elections using...

Several times in our province we have had election results distorted by our current voting system (first past the post). As a result the political landscape has been plagued by polarized politics for as long as anyone can remember and many voters find themselves voting to block something they despise and/or not having their...

To The Editor:   Would you vote for a party list without candidates? Of course, you wouldn't, and neither would anybody else. Of course, we will keep local representation under pro rep, and of course nobody will be 'appointed' an MLA unless we vote for them. How dumb do Liberal Party bosses think BC voters are that we would...

To The Editor: One of the things that first attracted me to proportional representation, PR, apart from the fact that it just made sense, is that it is supported by people across the political spectrum. At my first PR meeting in 2004, I sat next to someone from the Canadian Rate Payer's Federation and Andrew Coyne was the...

Canadian democracy is not a matter of fairness. Since European invasion, Canada has had 200 years of colonial autocracy, then 50 years of elections without votes for women, and an additional 50 years without votes for Indigenous people. In every form democracy has taken since Confederation, it has been used to defend the...

To the Editor: We face an important decision on the June 23 referendum to approve two bylaws (2597 and 2598) that would raise the cap on RDCK recreation-related taxes to finance $22 million of a proposed $32.3 million enhancement of the rec centre and aquatic centre. This is an enormous 25-year tax burden for a relatively...

Do we invest in an upgraded Regional Community Complex?  Be clear,  I am not writing this to tell people how to vote – I am asking them to be informed voters. My initial reaction to upgrading  - “No”!  Higher taxes?  Not for me!!”  I felt I had not used the facility much over the years –why should I pay for it then?  Looking...

To whom it may concern, I am writing to express my concerns with the city of Castlegar and RDCK recreation commission’s plan to eliminate the ball field at the Castlegar complex as part of the upcoming complex revamp with no plan to replace it. The city already took two ballfields out at Millennium with promises to replace ...

In a letter to the editor in the April 19 edition of the Castlegar News, Councillor Bruno Tassone explains his reasoning for voting against a council motion to support the upcoming Regional District Recreation Complex referendum. While I respect his right to support or oppose any motion, I do not accept his asserted reasoning....

To The Editor: I was appalled to hear that the Prime Minister intends to provide a Texas extraction company with billions of tax dollars to foist their dirty pipeline on a reluctant province.  First of all, the Trudeau government has no such mandate.  This government pledged to be a proactive partner in the fight against...