Opposing opinions met today to debate proportional representation (PR) at UNBC in Prince George.
Suzanne Anton of the No BC Proportional Representation Society and Peter Ewart of the Stand Up for the North Committee stood in front of a mostly filled auditorium to field questions from moderators and attendees.
Both had contrasting ideas on what they thought PR would manifest for how places like Prince George, Vanderhoof and Smithers would be heard on the provincial level.
According to Anton, PR would mean the northern region would lose its local constituents, and there would be less representation in Victoria for northern concerns.
“That’s the kind of thing that gets lost in PR, because you don’t have as many directly elected MLA’s and you have MLA’s that are stuck in by their parties to fill in that proportionality ratio.”
In Ewart’s opinion, that would not be the case.
“Proportional representation will be good for the north, we’ll have good local representation and we’ll have regional representation and we’ll no longer have regional monopolies and big party monopolies. We’ll always have representatives in the government and in the opposition,” said Ewart.
The discussion got heated at times, but both parties felt the debate went well.
“We had a great interchange of ideas, great questions from the moderators and the audience,” said Ewart.
“This is Prince George, we speak passionately about things, I speak passionately and so does my opponent. All the better, why not get some juice into things?”
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