Stikine MLA Nathan Cullen stirs the embers of proportional representation as part of wide ranging presentation for Electoral Boundaries discussion

As we noted yesterday, much of the discussion this week in the British Columbia Legislature has taken a look at the prospect of change to electoral boundaries to better represent residents of the province, though with a goal towards balance for rural and remote regions.

On Monday, Skeena MLA Ellis Ross shared his thoughts on the challenges of representing such a large area such as his constituency, the week of debate coming to an end Thursday with Stikine MLA Nathan Cullen also speaking to the issue.

Like the Skeena MLA, The member of Sikine also highlighted the diverse geography and transportation issues found in the Northwest.

To my friend from across the way, from Fraser-Nicola, she lamented that not enough government speakers, MLAs were speaking. I would say careful what you wish for.  

And also lamented the enormous size of her riding, which is large, I suppose. But it is one-seventh the size of Stikine, which is the largest riding in the Legislature. 

I see my friend from North Coast joining us as well, whose riding is not only very large as well — I think quite a bit larger than Fraser-Nicola — but is also incredibly complicated to get around, given that North Coast has many stunning communities up and down the north and into the central coast that require all manner of transportation to get back and forth and are always weather-dependent and include, of course, the beautiful islands of Haida Gwaii.

I think to put things in context today, for my remarks, I consider it an incredible honour and sometimes a challenge to represent rural and remote communities in our Legislature. That, in fact, those of us that seek office from rural British Columbia have this extra task in front of us to help bring those voices to this Legislature and beyond to other communities in the province and throughout Canada. 

What we are challenged with here in this conversation is about those concepts of balance and fairness and opportunity for the citizens, that we seek to represent as elected people, to make sure that they all have their voices heard as effectively as possible.

Towards the work ahead for the commission, Mr. Cullen speaking during the late afternoon portion of the Thursday session first noting of the range of factors they will have to focus on.

There is no perfect map available. There is no perfect sequence and orientation of the electoral maps of British Columbia that every single British Columbian will be satisfied with. That's fine. We're not looking for the perfect. We're looking for the good and for the very best that we can. 

For those trying to understand who this commission is, it's important to know that one of the commissioners will be the Chief Electoral Officer, which is appropriate. 

A second will be either a judge, currently sitting, or former judge. 

The third will be somebody who is recommended by the Speaker, in consultation with the Premier and the Leader Of The Official Opposition. 

A three-panel judge. 

And I would say, as a rural representative…. I know my friends from Vernon-Monashee and North Coast would very much like to see the possibility of having somebody with strong, lived experiences, either from rural and small town British Columbia, to be able to inform the commission of the lived realities of people who do live in some of our smaller, more remote communities because, of course, they're different.

From there the Stikine MLA took note of the unique nature of representing voters for all the ridings across the Northwest.

The riding of Stikine is just short of 200,000 square kilometres, for those geographers playing along at home. It is challenging because of the simple math and the driving and the difficulty of float planes and trains and dogsled and skidoo and all sort of things that we use to get around some of our more remote communities and the challenges of weather and winter and all of those things. 

That is what we asked to do. We asked to represent people in this way. 

Again, it's an incredible privilege. Now, the riding I represent in Stikine is not just the largest riding in British Columbia. It is also the riding with the lowest population, just around 20,000 people. 

We have ridings in British Columbia, of course, in the more densely populated urban parts, that have three times that population. This is what the commission will be tasked with under Bill 7: how do you make sure, in the representation by population, that one British Columbian's vote is not worth five, six, seven times the value of another British Columbian's. 

That's a real challenge and a question that I know we get from people who live in the cities and the suburban areas of this province. "Why is my vote worth that much less?" 

But when you explain the challenges of what it is and the particular needs of those living in rural British Columbia, I think there's an understanding that can be made, that it isn't the same realities. 

Are there challenges in representing very densely populated urban ridings? Of course there are. The many, many cultural groups…. I know MLAs and MPs who have 40, 50, 60 languages spoken within their constituencies. And that represents a different order of opportunity, privilege and challenge. 

Now for us up in the northwest, we very much pride ourselves in having our voices heard. 

We very much pride ourselves in electing people to the best of their abilities that make sure that our interests are discussed in places like the Legislature and the House of Commons and in the general discourse of British Columbia. 

And we have a long history of electing people who are really good at making themselves heard. 

Sometimes elected to government, and sometimes elected to opposition. But the underlying point that I've seen most consistently — not always; I can think of a few exceptions — is that we have presented fierce advocates. 

People know where Skeena is.  They know where North Coast is.

Towards the end of his extensive review of geography and the democratic process, Mr. Cullen brought up a few thoughts on an initiative of the past, that being Proportional representation, which while not currently an active consideration, may yet return.

When we're looking at things like electoral representation, I was one who was a fan of a more proportional voting system that I think makes each vote more effective. 

And while that dream is not active right now, it will come again, because it makes sense that every vote counts, that every vote has some effect on the outcome. 

What a strange and radical notion that is. And the fact that most of the world has moved that way…. It still seems like an affront to my conservative colleagues across the way. 

It's strange and it's a weak form of gerrymandering if you ever saw one in a first-past-the-post system, but it's what we've got. 

And in this opportunity, we have this ability to make sure our legislation is respectful, not partisan, and is independent. We put some guidelines in some banks on the river. 

We put forward eminent people who understand things like demographics, understand things like the law and effective representation, and we say, "Go forth. Consult with British Columbians in a meaningful way. 

Consult with Indigenous leadership in a meaningful way. Cultural communities. Business communities. 

Understand what it is that people are hoping for," because in my experience, when we talk to people about voting systems or electoral boundaries, we're not really talking just about those specific things. 

We're talking about the essence and heart of our democracy. 

Which all it is, is an expression of hope. When a Canadian goes into a ballot box and makes their mark on the page, they're hoping for good representation. 

They're hoping to send people forth who can speak loudly, speak with integrity and not represent just their party or their personal interest, but represent their communities, represent their voices.

You can review the full speech from the transcript page here, or view it through the Legislature's Video archive starting at the 3:35 PM mark.

For more notes on the work of MLA's in the Legislature see one of our three archive pages below:

North Coast

Skeena

Stikine