The British Columbia Citizens’ AssemblyAndrew Graham

Jen Lee

Ziang Tony Ngo

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

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

Recent Electoral History

2001 political election:

% of votes % of seats

Liberal 57.62% 97.46%

NDP 21.56% 2.54%

Green 12.39% 0%

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

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

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.)

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?

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

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

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?

And A Few MORE Outstanding Questions…

What are the top 5 reasons Archon received tenure?

PAL-218’s Top 5 Reasons Archon Received Tenure…

5. His artistic renditions using PRA techniques of Arnstein’s ladder during his faculty meetings

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

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

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

PAL-218’s Top 5 Reasons Archon Received Tenure…

1. Upcoming lead role in Terminator 4: Deliberation Day

Congratulations Professor Fung on getting tenure!

Your PAL-218 students