In the wake of the “blood and soil” outburst by MLA Tara Armstrong, it is time to take another look at our outmoded recall legislation.
Armstrong, formerly of the B.C. Conservatives and OneBC, has been largely ostracized by every other party in the province at this point, and yet she remains the representative of the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding.
It’s hard to imagine that a majority of her constituents want her to stay in the job, and a recall campaign is underway. But under B.C.’s current legislation, it will be difficult.
A voter seeking to oust their MLA has to collect signatures from 40 per cent of the voters who were registered on the date of the last election. Voters who’ve moved into the riding since then can’t take part.
That’s a big hill to climb. And if Armstrong is ousted and a byelection is called, it will be the first time it’s ever been successful in British Columbia since recall was made legal 30 years ago.
The only (near) exception was Vancouver Island MLA Paul Reitsma, who quit as the signatures were being counted.
Making recall too easy would turn it into a mere partisan weapon, but it’s total failure has to be held to account.
The threshold for recall is too high. It should be lowered, and all registered voters in an electoral district should be allowed to sign the petition.
– M.C.