Regional Representation
Claim: “We’re going to see a loss of regional representation. There’s no way you can do these systems without losing rural representation in particular.” “Pro rep moves the balance of power in BC to Vancouver alone.”
Stated by: Bill Tieleman, spokesperson for the official NO campaign. BC Today, May 30, 2018. NO to PR sponsored ad on facebook.
Fact Check
These claims are 100% false.
On May 30, 2018, the BC Attorney General released a report with referendum recommendations, which were adopted by the cabinet on June 7, 2018.
On page four of the report, one of three mandatory criteria for any proportional voting system was that no region would lose MLAs.
Facts about Regional Representation and the Proportional Systems on the Ballot in BC a
- The Attorney General has guaranteed that no region will lose MLAs
- With any of the proportional models, all the MLAs will be elected from and accountable to a local riding, district or region
- With any of the proportional models, MLAs within each region will closely reflect the popular vote (principle one in the report was proportionality)
- With any of the proportional models, each region would always have MLAs in the government and on the opposition benches