The story of urban reform in Canada can be understood in terms of waves. Vancouver history can be better understood through this analysis.
BC
The story of urban reform in Canada can be understood in terms of waves. Vancouver history can be better understood through this analysis.
Brexit, Canada and the American Revolution
The story of urban reform in Canada can be understood in terms of waves. Vancouver history can be better understood through this analysis.
History of British Columbia Cities: Three Waves of Urban Reform
The Municipal Reform Act of 1835 initiated by Earl Grey brought cities in the UK into the modern world. This reform wave hit Canada in the form of the Baldwin Act of 1849 which set the standard for all Canadian cities.
History of British Columbia Cities: First Wave Urban Reform
The Progressive Movement arose in the late 1800s in the US. It was a reaction against the corruption and incompetence that came out of earlier democratic reforms. Science, technology and professionals were revolutionizing life; people were hopeful about applying these to civic government.
History of British Columbia Cities: Second Wave Urban Reform
The emphasis on technology and professionals arising out of the Second Wave of urban reform was not the panacea we had hoped for. Citizen groups pushed back against experts in Canada’s Third Wave of urban reform.
History of British Columbia Cities: Third Wave Urban Reform
British Columbia has two systems of government – parliamentary and municipal Parliamentary is rooted in law making, Municipal in law keeping. Legislative versus Judicial. These forms are used around the world but descend from the Kingdom of Wessex, of Alfred the Great who unified England. Wessex was divided into Shires governed by a Shire Reeve or Sheriff, which retains its law and order connotation. Each Shire was divided into ‘Hundreds’; an area of one hundred households. Each Hundred had a Court of property owners that met monthly. Each Hundred Court had a Reeve to implement the Court’s decisions. Two Knights of each Hundred were called by the Sheriff annually to set the ‘Farm’, or food rent, from which our word comes. As population grew and towns evolved, so did the governance model. Our municipal governments come from the Hundred Court – a Reeve with a Council of property owners. Many British Columbian Mayors were called Reeves. And the requirement for Council Members to own property only ended in 1973. The French invaded England and William the Conqueror laid siege to London, but his first legislative act granted it a Charter of Liberties in return for loyalty. Between his son King Henry First and Henry Third, they raised money and weakened Shire landowners by granting hundreds of towns Royal Charters, making them Boroughs. Borough: a town with a wall, a charter, and no feudal overlord Towns might have fences but Borough meant ‘settlement with a wall’. Borough Charters granted self government, but most importantly, access to the Royal Courts, the heavy volume leading to our Common Law. A resident of a Borough, called a Burgess, was a freeman, with no feudal overlord. Boroughs had Councillors, Aldermen and a Reeve who Kept the King’s Peace. Our city… Read More »Parliamentary and Municipal Government in British Columbia Explained
Parliamentary and Municipal Government in British Columbia Explained
Many languages lent words to Chinook Wawa: Nootka Jargon, French Canadien, Salishan Chehalis, English, and, of course, Chinook. | Kumtuks videos
Early British Columbia and the Hudson’s Bay Company: An Aboriginal Perspective
Do you want to choose your own MLA or do you want a political party to choose for you? Do you want your MLA to look to you for your vote or owe their position to a political party? A referendum will decide if you’ll continue voting directly for your MLA or move towards a system where political parties make this decision for you. This referendum could shift power from voters to parties. All three proportional systems give parties a greater role in choosing MLAs; none of the fully ‘voter choice’ proportional systems will even be on the ballot. In 2004, a Citizen Assembly of 160 voters studied proportional representation. They selected a ‘voter system’ STV (Single Transferable Vote) and rejected the ‘party system’ MMP (Mixed Member Proportional). But the current process is in the hands of politicians. Their public consultation offered four possible systems, both voter choice and party choice. But the two governing caucuses submitted a joint endorsement of MMP, the system rejected by the Citizen Assembly, in which political parties choose 40% of all MLAs. When the referendum question was made public, three of the four systems were gone. The MMP system remained and two new systems were added. Neither had ever been tried nor were they part of the consultation process. Both featured MLAs chosen by political parties. How many is uncertain; details will be decided after the vote. The public consultation did not even hint of this possibility. Citizens will choose from four systems Our current system essentially holds 87 elections. The winner of each gets a seat in the assembly, usually with a stable, majority government so voters know who to hold accountable. This is the only system on the ballot where citizens vote directly for all MLAs. If… Read More »Proportional Representation
Proportional Representation
In British Columbia, formal political parties didn’t emerge until the 1900s. But before that, loosely affiliated political factions provided some coherence to political decisions. James Douglas was part black, married to an aboriginal woman and headed the honourable Hudson Bay Company which was the legal government in British Columbia. He was opposed by Amor De Cosmos who introduced the Chinese Head Tax to Parliament and was linked to labour organizations. Political factions developed, called the Douglas Conservatives and the De Cosmos Reformers. This was the early development of political parties in British Columbia. Kumtuks is a video blog that shares knowledge and explores new narratives. Some quotes and descriptors have been adjusted for clarity and brevity. Please subscribe if you would like to be notified of new videos. If you would like to receive additional commentary and notices and support more videos https://www.patreon.com/kumtuks. Sam Sullivan is a Member of the Order of Canada, a former Mayor of Vancouver and Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.