03 DECEMBER 2013

A petition calling for a referendum on proportional representation will be tabled by Bev Harrison in the Legislature on December 10, 2013.

Two reports, one by the Commission for Legislative Democracy under the Lord Government and the other by Don Desserud and Cody Waite under the Alward Government, recommend a proportional voting system for New Brunswick as they argue the current system does not result in a Legislative Assembly that is representative of the NB population.

In response to these reports, two social work students have collected signatures for the petition over the last several weeks.

Matthew Belyea and Amanda Gallant, both social work students at St. Thomas University and founders of Students for Democracy in NB, hope that the petition will stimulate discussion surrounding electoral reform and become the first step in making the system more proportional.

“The process by which our votes are translated into representative seats is not proportional, and that’s an injustice to the voting population,” says Belyea. “If we want to see change in other areas of our life, we need to change how we elect the officials that will represent us” says Gallant.

Gallant and Belyea have been working as student interns for the Green Party of New Brunswick on a social action placement.