Community Meeting to be held in Brentwood Bay & Sidney

Gary Holman, MLA for Saanich North and the Islands will host two town halls on the Saanich Peninsula this month to discuss ways to make elections fairer and give citizens’ greater influence in how government operates.

The town halls are part of a public consultation process that Holman has undertaken in his role of Official Opposition Spokesperson for Democracy Reform. He’ll be travelling throughout the province meeting with the public and stakeholders to get feedback on the process and the type of proportional representation the province should use, should the BC NDP take government in 2017 and make changes to the province’s voting systems.

“The NDP will campaign for a YES vote and ensure the public gets all the information they need to make an informed decision,” said Holman from his community office in Sidney.

“Over the next year, my job is to consult with the public and stakeholders to get feedback on the process and the type of PR we should use.”

Wendy Bergerud, President of the Victoria local of Fair Vote Canada will be in attendance at the events. “We need a proportional voting system provincially as well as federally,” says Bergerud. She adds, “I am pleased to see that the BC NDP are taking a serious look at this and have now started public forums to discuss possible changes with citizens.”

Holman said that electoral reform is just part of a larger governance reform package the BC NDP will be putting forward in the upcoming spring session of the legislature. “Our intention is to both empower citizens and create greater accountability in the provincial government, an element that has been in decay for some years now,” says Holman.

The town halls will be held in Sidney at the Mary Winspear Centre, Activity Room 2 on February 3rd, and in Brentwood Bay at the Central Saanich Senior Citizens’ Centre on February 5th. Both events run from 6:30pm – 8:00pm, and will include representatives from Fair Vote Canada and Fair Voting BC.

www.GaryHolmanMLA.ca