Skip to content
  1. Home
  2. Opinion

Vote for PR in fall referendum

Letter to the Editor from Tom Rankin of Kamloops
Black Press Media
13496739_web1_lettereditor1
The Trail Times welcomes letters to the editor from our readers on topics of interest to the community. Include a legible first and last name, a mailing address and a telephone number where the author can be reached. Only the author’s name and district will be published. Letters lacking names and a verifiable phone number will not be published. A guideline of 500 words is suggested for letter length. We do not publish “open” letters, letters directed to a third party, or poetry. We reserve the right to edit or refuse to publish letters. You may also email your letters to editor@trailtimes.ca. We look forward to receiving your opinions.

Most of our everyday world runs on one person, one vote, which is proportional representation (PR). How so?

When union members vote on a new contract, the person with high seniority and the person fresh out of school each get one equally-weighted vote. When teachers vote on a new contract, the ballot from the teacher nearing retirement carries the same weight as the on-call teacher looking for their first full-time contract. The same goes for every professional association and trade union.

There is no skewing the votes. No sub-group receives 39 per cent of the votes and magically gets 54 per cent of the decision-making, giving them 100 per cent of the power, the exact skewing we regularly see in our FPTP elections. This skewing is currently found in seven provinces and the federal government.

Why do we accept this voodoo magic in our most important forum, our elected governments??

We don’t have to and I’m tired of it. Vote for PR this fall.

Tom Rankin

Kamloops