If you just have one thing to watch before making your mind on the referendum, I recommend Christy Clark’s comment.  It is available here on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhccpzI4lbQ If you can’t see the video, the text is available on cknw’s website here: http://www.cknw.com/blog/christys_bc_15/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10031397 Frédéric Van Caenegem

My last of three short texts regarding the referendum One aspect on which very little has been written on is the ridings under BC-STV and FPTP electoral systems. One quick look at the map will show one thing very quickly: the ridings are bigger under BC-STV! That being said, are they better? The current system Continue reading →

Before you vote, watch this video and tell all your friends: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhccpzI4lbQ Few have been as honest and insightful as former Deputy Premier Christy Clark on CKNW yesterday. Here’s the video everybody needs to see before they vote in Tuesday’s provincial referendum. As Christy says, this is the most important vote we’ll cast. Please forward Continue reading →

The second of three short text about the upcoming referendum. Some MMP supporter say vote no for STV, because we are going to have instead a supposedly better system in MMP. While I certainly respect that some people may prefer MMP to STV, I urge voters to actually vote regarding the two systems proposed on Continue reading →

A student asked me a few questions about BC-STV for her Social Studies 11 course a few days ago. Here were my answers! > When you first time heard about BC-STV? In 2004, when the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform (http://www.citizensassembly.bc.ca/) decided that STV should be used for British Columbia. I didn’t follow that much Continue reading →

BC-STV and the Indo-Canadian vote My first of three short articles regarding BC-STV Before the referendum on May 6th. This article is about electioneering, a discipline that is absolutely despicable but also unfortunately very efficient! There is a general negative attitude towards BC-STV in the Indo-Canadian community.  The reason comes from an association of the Continue reading →

I was interviewed about BC-STV (or VUT: Vote Unique Transférable) on CILS-FM 107.9 (a French-language community radio based in Victoria) earlier today. It will be rebroadcast. More info on the French side: http://blogue.vancf.net/2009/04/22/cils-fm/ Frédéric Van Caenegem

My latest comment published in today’s 24hrs newspaper.  It is an unusually very neutral comment from myself. On May 12, the referendum on electoral reform will be more important than the election itself. The election will impact us for the next few years; the referendum will impact us for the next few decades at the Continue reading →

Every time there is a by-election, I hear people saying the same thing: “How much is this going to cost?”. I usually respond: “democracy has a price, and that price is less onerous than a “free” dictatorship”. But that being said, is there a way to mitigate the costs related to an election? Right now, Continue reading →

Published in the latest edition of Common Ground: “Under BC-STV, each person gets to rank candidates in order of preference 1, 2, 3, etc. If your favourite candidate is eliminated, your vote is not wasted; it is simply transferred to your second choice, and so on. No need to vote strategically for the “lesser of Continue reading →