Link to CBC radio interview:

There’s change in the air! A group of Kamloopsians has formed a grassroots, non-partisan organization to engage local voters in advance of this year’s referendum on proportional representation (PR).

British Columbians will be asked to make a choice on a voting system this year, and Fair Vote Kamloops is encouraging people to embrace change. “We are just a bunch of ordinary people who all agree that First Past The Post is long past its Best Before date,” says Gisela Ruckert, spokesperson for the group. “Research from all over the world shows that proportional representation provides superior results: better quality legislation, higher voter turnout, and higher voter satisfaction levels. We believe it’s time to evolve our democracy.”

“Our current system feels very familiar to most people, and most of us are unaware that we are among the last few advanced democracies still using it–the other two are the UK and the US, both of which are struggling democratically right now,” says Ruckert. “But familiarity is not a good reason to keep an outdated system, when the evidence consistently shows that proportional systems give better results.”

“When you compare how the systems work for voters, rather than parties, there’s no comparison—PR wins hand down. However, the current system works really well for party hacks and career politicians, so those are the ones who are lining up as opponents. They have far deeper pockets than we do, so we are relying on people power. We are going to need a huge team of volunteers.”

Ruckert encourages those who would like to support Fair Vote Kamloops to contact the group via their Facebook page. For more information on proportional representation and comparative studies between systems, check out the resources on Fair Vote Canada’s website.