the british columbia citizens’ assembly andrew graham jen lee ziang tony ngo
TRANSCRIPT
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The British Columbia Citizens’ AssemblyAndrew Graham
Jen Lee
Ziang Tony Ngo
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British Columbia
Like all provinces, British Columbia is governed by a provincial legislature
The province is divided into 79 ridings, each of which elects a Member of Legislative Assembly to represent it
Members elected using standard First-Past-The-Post (FTTP) system
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1996 provincial election:
% of votes % of seats
Liberal 41.82% 41.77%
NDP 39.45% 49.37%
Reform 9.27% 2.53%
Recent Electoral History
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Recent Electoral History
2001 political election:
% of votes % of seats
Liberal 57.62% 97.46%
NDP 21.56% 2.54%
Green 12.39% 0%
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Key design considerations
158 BC residents—2 for each riding, staffed by chair & secretariat
Granted budget of $5.5mm Honorarium of $150 per day—also
includes daycare, transportation, accommodation
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8
Summary of process
Selection“Produce a
‘representative’ body”
Public Hearing “Listen to your fellow citizens”
Learning“Master fundamentals
of field”
Deliberation“Bring the
Assembly’s work to conclusion”
6 weekend commitments Expert lectures and
breakouts into large and small group discussions
Advisory experts design curriculum plan (e.g. pre-session reading materials)
Discussions facilitated by political science grad students
Development of ‘Shared Values’
50 events on weekday evenings and weekend afternoons, 383 presentations, 3,000 attendees
Groups of 4-16 Geographic mix (1 local,
1 neighboring, 1 other) Hearings open to all
attendees Online participation:
Summary posted after each meeting
Written submissions by over 1,430 individuals to website
Staff member prepares abstract for searchable database by category
End-of-phase meeting to review what was heard and read
Review of democratic values and focus on features of electoral systems
Formal presentations on various systems from people the Assembly identified
Building detailed models (i.e. STV, MMP)
Engage in systematic comparison and debate
Voting process:
1. MMP vs. STV 2. FPTP? 3. STV?
Aug – Dec ‘03 Jan – Mar ‘04 May – Jun ‘04 Sept – Nov ‘04
BC voters list updated Randomized list of 200
names for each electoral district drawn
Names generated categorized by gender and age
Letter sent to 15,800 individuals as call to action
Responses grouped by district, gender, age
Low response rate leads to more names drawn
23,000 invites sent, 1,700 express interest, 964 attend meetings, 158 randomly selected
No aboriginal representation
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Analysis & Critique: Selection of Participants“Partially-controlled Randomization Sampling” Diffused involvement vs. politician experts in status quo Random selection but no obligation for participation Self-selection participants are more
civic-minded/bored/lower-income than greater population? Representative of some groups (gender, age, geography)
but not others (ethnicity, aboriginal status, socio-economic status)
Confusion over what participants are representing (selves, district, the CA, etc.)
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Analysis & Critique:Mode of Communication and Decision MakingHigh Intensity CA staff (not participants) set agenda, timing, and priority of
electoral reforms Unclear whether there was balanced dissemination of
information (education materials, selection of electoral experts) Did time and group pressure to reach a consensus decision
hinder quality of decision making? Evidence of skewed quantity of participation disproportionate
influence of men over women and minorities?
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Analysis & Critique:Extent of AuthorityCo-Governance Stakeholders (ordinary citizens) are directly empowered CA able to propose new system but cannot directly decide
(nor can legislators), up to referendum Through public hearings, broader public can self-select to
communicate influence Broader citizenship also ultimately decides
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Another Experiment:Ontario 2007 Ontario convened its own Citizens’ Assembly in
2006 Based on the BC model
Similar selection process, secretariat model Recommended a form of MMP Put to referendum on Oct 10, 2007 Received 47% support, less than 60% threshold
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A Few Outstanding Questions… How does the conception and implementation of the
Citizens’ Assembly in BC compare to other models that we have studied?
How extensively should Canada emulate the CA model?
What are the limitations and unique success factors of the BC example? What is generalizable?
Are there broader implications in the differential levels of engagement between participants and the broader public?
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And A Few MORE Outstanding Questions…
What are the top 5 reasons Archon received tenure?
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PAL-218’s Top 5 Reasons Archon Received Tenure…
5. His artistic renditions using PRA techniques of Arnstein’s ladder during his faculty meetings
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PAL-218’s Top 5 Reasons Archon Received Tenure…
4. KSG’s new policy on faculty representation to include at least one “Archon” in tenured staff
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PAL-218’s Top 5 Reasons Archon Received Tenure…
3. Only person on the planet to know meaning of: multi-participatory-democratic-deliberative-collective-rural-majoritianism-elections
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PAL-218’s Top 5 Reasons Archon Received Tenure…
2. Democracy Cube in 2007 is expected to be what the Rubik’s Cube was in 1987
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PAL-218’s Top 5 Reasons Archon Received Tenure…
1. Upcoming lead role in Terminator 4: Deliberation Day
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Congratulations Professor Fung on getting tenure!
Your PAL-218 students