It is a very sad day for democracy. The vote in BC was not a surprise after the slinging of misinformation over the last few months. The No to STV used scare tactics, clever television ads in which the voter's choice was blown away in a series of dots. They were warned in ominous tones that if they voted for STV they might not end up even knowing for whom they had voted.
The NDP doubled their hypocrisy factor in this election. The BC NDP campaigned hard against a carbon tax, as well as tacitly campaigning against proportional representation. Thankfully, the cynical attempt to gain votes through a knee-jerk reaction against the tax was unsuccessful. Sadly, Campbell's environmental record and plan cannot be excused through the fig leaf known as the BC carbon tax. The NDP had abandoned many environmental voters and sadly, the party with the best green platform, the BC Greens led by the very talented Jane Sterk, was not seen as competitive with the two mainline parties. That must change and will when we elect Greens for the first time federally in the next election. And, yes, we will win election with the First Past the Post system.
Meanwhile, we must continue, with great non-partisan groups, like Fair Vote Canada, to press the case to improve and reform our voting system. Democracy is at risk when the minority of voters can elect a majority of seats. This is the biggest risk and has nothing to do with whether Greens get elected under STV or not. It is the fundamental principle of democracy that every vote must count.
We need to study the experience in New Zealand and press for a national Royal Commission (as they did in New Zealand). A full public engagement cannot happen during the midst of an election. Engagement and education must occur well before. The Citizen Assemblies sound democratic, but have the disadvantage of working out of the public eye. This process largely leaves the public in the dark until the Citizens Assembly emerges with the "answer." Meanwhile most citizens didn't hear the question.
Ridding Canada of First Past the Post is as inevitable as the arrival of windmills. We just need to learn lessons from valiant campaigns that were waged and failed and find the moment when the Canadian public wonders why so few people vote and why so few people believe their vote makes a difference.
Democracy is not a spectator sport. We need to stay involved and committed to breathing life and hope into Canadian democracy.