Vancouver City Council |
MOTION ON NOTICE
The following Motion was submitted by Councillor Sullivan for the Council meeting of July 8, 2003:
City of Vancouver Form of Government
WHEREAS the form of government which an organization uses to elects its leaders affects the kinds of people it elects and the priorities and emphasis of their actions and decisions;
WHEREAS almost all organizations in Canada recognize the importance of the form of governance by requiring more than a simple majority of all citizens or members to change it
WHEREAS Vancouver has had several referenda for electoral reforms. The first removed the ward system by more than a 70% vote. The last took place 6 years ago and confirmed by a 59% vote that the citizens preferred the at large system
WHEREAS no organization or government in Canada accepts that the winners of an election have the right to change the form of their government unilaterally
WHEREAS the BC government has delegated the deliberation and recommendation of a new form of government to a randomly selected group of citizens and has pledged that they will not allow political interference in their recommendations
WHEREAS the current City of Vancouver government has begun a process of unilaterally changing the form of government to one that many Councillors believe will favour them and their interests
WHEREAS this process involves the following:
· A forum organized by COPE in which partisans and allies discussed their issues
· A COPE Councillor has been appointed to recommend a process of implementation
· $150,000 taxpayers' money has been allocated in the budget and a group of citizens led by prominent COPE members has been meeting to support a partisan process with the expectation that a ward system will be the result
· Members of the public are being invited to give their input on a website supported by COPE.
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WHEREAS all of the aforementioned has happened without a decision, debate, discussion or even a mention in Council Chambers and without the knowledge or involvement of opposition Councillors or City Staff.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
· THAT City Council confirms that any decisions on changing our form of governance will be made by the citizens of Vancouver in a referendum.
· THAT recommendations on what form of government the City decides on will be made by a randomly selected assembly of Vancouver citizens not tainted by partisan political interference.
· THAT City Council appoint by unanimous consent an independent non-partisan representative to lead this assembly through its deliberations.
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