Dear Lynne, a few months ago I told you I would be very happy to have you as my Member of Parliament.
I am sure you will be disappointed to learn that I did not vote for you. I agree with you that climate change is the most important issue, but it became apparent to me that there was no likelihood that you would be elected, and that a vote for you would be wasted and have no effect in Parliament.
The next best thing was to vote for proportional representation, that is to get an electoral system which gives us the parliament we vote for. With this, my vote for a Green party candidate would give me voice in parliament. Yes, I voted strategically, with the hope that I will never again have to vote strategically.
You have my sympathies. I have spent a fair amount of my time in the last 10 years trying to persuade governments at all levels to give us, or at least allow us to use, fair voting systems, and to limit election campaign expenses to donations from voters, and to an amount that just about everyone can afford. In other words, to make the system one in which every voter has an equal opportunity to influence the outcome of an election. This has been like banging one’s head on a brick wall. It is like the “sublime madness” described by Chris Hedges in his recent book The Wages of Rebellion, but we are driven to keep trying.
David Huntley, Burnaby
