BC To Vote In Referendum

BC residents will take part in a referendum next year to determine if they want to change the province’s voting system.

If approved, BC would go from the current first past the post system, to proportional representation.

Attorney General David Eby says the plan is to use a mail-in ballot for the referendum, which would need 50 per cent support, plus one, to pass.

“The mandate I’ve been given by the premier is very clear: that we should be conducting a fair referendum with a fair question or questions, based on the feedback we receive from British Columbians through an engagement process that we will be announcing in the coming weeks,” Eby told a news conference.

Eby says the referendum must be held no later than November 30, 2018 — and if a new system is approved, it would be used for the next provincial election scheduled for 2021.

Another bill introduced by Eby today would reduce the number of seats required for a party to get official status in the legislature from four to two.

It also proposes to change BC’s fixed election date from May to October.

Pictured: David Eby, BC Attorney General