Some of our elected officials apparently don't have a lot respect for the electorate.
Some Metro Vancouver mayors don't like the BC Liberal government's idea of holding a referendum next year on TransLink funding. Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan recently told The Burnaby NewsLeader that it is a "ridiculous" to go to referendum on such a complex issue.
Is that because we're too dumb to understand such a "complex" issue? Is that really what our politicians think of us?
Referendums are the purest form of democracy.
They give individuals a say on the important decisions of the day.
They also ensure that decisions are made without the influence of special interests - and yes, politicians have special interests.
In many cases, holding referendums is the only way for citizens to have a say. As we all know, party loyalty reigns supreme in our system of politics. Our MPs and MLAs are whipped to vote the way the party leader wants them to and too often it isn't the same as what constituents want.
We've had a few referendums of note in British Columbia. Most recently, we had a plebiscite on the much maligned harmonized sales tax and British Columbians voted that down.
In 2005 and in 2009, we had votes on electoral reform - also voted down.
And in 1992, we got to participate in a national referendum about the Charlottetown Accord on significant changes to our constitution.
Weren't those "complex" issues?
We should have more direct democracy in this country, not less.
Transit funding, in particular, is one of the most important issues facing this region today.
TransLink and the Metro Vancouver mayors' council have proven over and over that they don't have the wherewithal to sort out the region's "complex" transit funding issues, let alone their own finances.
As my friend Jordan Bateman of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation recently wrote in The Province, these are inefficient, spendthrift organizations that need some serious oversight.
"[A referendum is] the ultimate hammer of accountability in the hands of taxpayers, who paid $1.3 billion last year in gas taxes, parking taxes, Hydro levies, property taxes, bridge tolls and fares to TransLink," he wrote.
With that kind of money at play, I certainly want my say.
