Canada has shown remarkably little enthusiasm for democratic reform in recent years. Unlike other adherents of the parliamentary system, such as Australia, New Zealand and even Britain itself—all of which have expanded legislative free votes and the use of referendums—Ottawa and the provinces have steadfastly refused to relax the convention of block-voting on bills, and to give citizens direct say over lawmaking.

Such was not always the case. During the 1920s, several provinces allowed the citizenry to hold binding referendums and one in particular, Alberta, gave voters the ultimate weapon in political accountability—recall. It was a short-lived exercise; when voters attempted to exercise their new right in 1937, Social Credit premier William Aberhart abolished the act.

Now, 60 years later, Mr. Aberhart's constituents may be avenged. British Columbians in at least six ridings are gearing up to invoke the province's new Recall and Initiative Act, passed in 1994. Enacted by the Mike Harcourt government following a direct-democracy referendum that passed with an 80% majority in the 1991 election, the act initially drew fire for being unworkable. Sceptics complained that was just the way the NDP planned it.

But as this year's campaigns gather momentum, particularly in the ridings of Skeena and Prince George North, signs abound that the NDP government is in for more than it bargained for. Already facing a court challenge over its alleged budget fraud in the May 1996 election campaign, the NDP now faces the prospect of losing at least two MLAs and thereafter losing its majority in ensuing by-elections.

If successful, recalls in the Skeena and Prince George North ridings would force those by-elections within 90 days, and possibly even a general election if the weakened NDP government is unable to pass legislation. (Current standings in the legislature are: NDP, 39; Liberals, 34; B.C. Reform, one; Progressive Democratic Alliance, one.)

Under the rules of the NDP recall act, petitioners must wait until 18 months after a general election before filing with Elections B.C.—in this case, November 28. The $50 application must contain a 200-word explanation of why the petitioners wish to recall. Upon approval, the petitioners have 60 days to gather signatures of 40% of voters registered in the previous election.

The NDP also imposed other regulations to attempt to make the legislation unworkable, says Troy Lanigan, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, which is supporting the recall campaigns. Petitioners must file a list of all canvassers who will gather signatures. To date, Elections B.C. has still not clarified how long it will take to verify the canvasser list, or if this process will be part of the allotted 60-day sign-up period. "This is only the latest in a long line of questionable decisions by the elections office," says Mr. Lanigan.

In particular, B.C.'s chief electoral officer, Bob Patterson, has come under fire for intervening twice in a case unrelated to recall, but still having dire consequences for the Clark government: HELP B.C.'s pending election-fraud challenge against the government. With funding from the National Citizens' Coalition, the plaintiffs, from three different ridings, intend to argue that they were deceived by the NDP government's claim prior to the May 1996 election that it had balanced that year's budget, and would deliver an $87-million surplus in 1996-97. The two budgets ended up with a combined deficit of $742 million, and the plaintiffs say they would not have voted NDP had they known this.

Mr. Patterson issued a brief in February, arguing that broken campaign promises do not constitute election fraud. He weighed into the debate again last month, during a court hearing in which HELP B.C. leader David Stockell of Kelowna was seeking to transform his case into a class-action suit. Mr. Patterson warned that a court victory would result in 39 by-elections, one for each NDP MLA, creating electoral chaos. Vancouver Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer responded that Mr. Patterson's responsibility as a public officer dictates that he should "stay on the sidelines in this case."

Some government critics share Mr. Patterson's reservations about the court challenge, characterizing it as dangerous step toward giving an unelected judiciary even greater sway over the legislative process. Former Social Credit attorney general Bud Smith, who wrote an analysis of the new Recall Act, is one who believes that recall should be obtained through legislation, not the courts. The Kamloops businessman says recall "answers the fundamental question of who's the boss: the voters, or the politicians?"

That question is about to be answered in Skeena and Prince George North. Although voters in Comox Valley, Cowichan-Ladysmith, Kamloops and New Westminster are also considering recall attempts, the northern campaigns are by far the best organized and stand the greatest chance of success, says Mr. Lanigan. This is due to a stronger sense of alienation from Victoria and a more stable population base, making it easier to track down voters registered in the last election.

In Prince George North, where Active Citizens in B.C. was to kick off its recall campaign against Education Minister Paul Ramsey with a rally on October 20, petitioners need to collect 8,900 signatures. Coordinator Alredo Lavaggi, a 38-year-old real estate agent, reckons the group needs two canvassers in each of the riding's 71 polling areas, who will each collect 63 signatures. They have already recruited 35% of those canvassers in the space of two weeks, and he is certain of success.

Citizens are outraged on many issues, he says, not the least of which is NDP economic mismanagement (see story, page 10). Other issues include: Mr. Ramsey's failed election pledge to fund a $50-million expansion to Prince George Regional Hospital; his implied threat to disband the democratically elected Surrey school board over its decision to ban three gay-friendly textbooks; and the government's stalling of a proposed $140-million fibreboard plant in the city.

Mr. Lavaggi notes that Mr. Ramsey won with only 40% of the popular vote, compared to a combined vote of 49% for Reform and the Liberals. "I'm not going to back down, nor are the citizens of Prince George," he pledges. "Canadians are not the passive people the government thinks we are. We are sleeping lions, and now we have been awakened."

In Skeena, the "Crash Helmut Campaign" to recall backbench MLA Helmut Giesbrecht is even better organized. Coordinator Lorne Sexton, a 49-year-old businessman, notes that the combined Liberal-Reform vote of 56% against Mr. Giesbrecht's 40% was even bigger than in Prince George North. The abrasive MLA is a frequent letter-writer to the Terrace Standard in which he has attacked virtually every major group in his constituency, from loggers and road builders to city councillors and Christians.

The campaign is focused on a number of issues, including: the government's cancellation of Alcan's Kemano Completion Project in Kitimat; Mr. Giesbrecht's refusal to back sportfishing guides stung last year by an increase in licence fees to $1,100 from $100; his failure to go to bat for Skeena Cellulose suppliers in Skeena, still unpaid despite the province's $250-million bail-out of the company this month; and his support for the NDP's homosexual-friendly legislation, a policy criticized in a Terrace rally attended by 800 constituents.

But the campaign's biggest beef is that Mr. Giesbrecht is often absent from the riding. "His office is open only 20 hours a week, and there is no evidence he has done any constituency work," Mr. Sexton says. "Glen Clark says [Mr. Giesbrecht] is a good representative, but he also said the budget was balanced."

Canvassers must collect 7,558 signatures in 61 polls, and the campaign has already recruited 325 volunteers, says Mr. Sexton. His goal is to double that, so that each canvasser needs only 10 signatures for success.

For his part, Mr. Giesbrecht told the Standard he is "not losing any sleep" over the challenge, but a recent referendum in Pitt Meadows could change that. The municipality is one of the few in B.C. to pass a referendum law, which allows citizens to force a vote on proposed bylaws by collecting 15% of registered voters' signatures within 27 days. Last month, citizens opposed to a development successfully gathered signatures from 40% of voters—the same percentage required to recall MLAs, and in less than half the 60 days permitted provincially.

Former B.C. Liberal leader Gordon Gibson noted that until the Pitt Meadows action, nobody took recall seriously. Now, he says, Mr. Giesbrecht "must be feeling like a turkey awaiting Thanksgiving." University of Northern B.C. political scientist John Young notes that Mr. Ramsey has been conspicuously more visible in Prince George of late. "He knows he's vulnerable," the academic says. "He didn't win by much and the stand he made here for gay curriculum wasn't in his favour. If he's not worried, he's not a very smart politician."

By no coincidence, Premier Clark announced last month a summit on northern jobs and growth, to be held in Prince George on October 27. Likewise, Liberal MLAs also staged a "Northern Tour" last week, coinciding with their recent addition of Peace River North MLA Richard Neufeld, formerly with B.C. Reform, and are clearly preparing for one or more by-elections next year.

The NDP has particular reason to be concerned, given the government's narrow majority. If the two northern seats were vacated, the NDP's majority would be reduced to one—and that's before any by-elections. With Rossland-Trail NDP MLA Ed Conroy ill and awaiting a second liver transplant, the government could face a stalemate when it introduces its budget next spring, requiring Speaker Dale Lovick to cast the deciding vote.

Were either B.C. Reform or the Liberals to win the subsequent by-elections, the situation would grow even messier, says political scientist Young. The opposition would then have a one-seat majority, but the Liberals could not count on the support of PDA leader Gordon Wilson, an arch foe of Grit leader Gordon Campbell. Hypothetically, the ensuing crisis could force Lieutenant-Governor Garde Gardom to dissolve the legislature and call a general election.

Even if the recall campaigns fail, there will be benefits. Organizers in other ridings can learn from the mistakes made in the north, says Professor Young. And "even if only one campaign is successful," he says, "it will put the fear of God in every politician in B.C."

Mr. Smith suspects Kamloops will be the scene of the next recall battle, as residents are outraged by NDP MLA Cathy McGregor's about-face on the proposed Six Mile Ranch development. After the Agricultural Land Commission nixed the $180-million ranch-resort project, Ms. McGregor, B.C.'s environment minister, pledged to obtain a cabinet review. But cabinet then refused, sparking outrage from local councillors, the Kamloops Indian Band, and even NDP MP Nelson Riis. Mr. Smith believes a campaign fought solely on the ranch issue would win well over 40% support in Kamloops. "It's a powerful symbol of this government refusing to do what the people want," he says.

But the major problem with recall is not trying to find people who want the NDP out, says Carlos Brito, a 42-year-old lawyer organizing a campaign against NDP MLA Graeme Bowbrick in New Westminster—it is trying to find people who want Liberal leader Campbell as premier. He says many believe Mr. Campbell is not the man for the job, but Mr. Neufeld's defection to the Grits has also left those who intended to vote B.C. Reform undecided, with no political home (see story, page 9). "There's no point in recall if there's no political alternative," Mr. Brito says.

The CTF's Mr. Lanigan says the fractured free-enterprise vote is one of the reasons why B.C. must now move beyond recall to more substantive electoral reform. On October 21, Mr. Lanigan and the newly formed Electoral Change Coalition were to announce a petition urging the government to hold a referendum on electoral change.

The coalition, which has the support of the B.C. Liberals, federal and provincial Reformers, Mr. Wilson's PDA, the Greens, the Family Coalition Party and the Marxist-Leninists, is not yet united on its proposals. These range from instituting a single transferable ballot to proportional representation. But all members agree that anything is preferable to the current "first past the post" system, says Mr. Lanigan.

Indeed, if the recall campaigns in Skeena and Prince George heighten awareness and support for broader electoral reform, that will have more long-lasting benefit than a short-term victory, says Mr. Lanigan. "We have a system of government where a party with 38% of the vote represents 100% of the citizenry. The question is, do we even have a democracy at all in this country?"

—Dave Cunningham

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