I must respond to the arguments advanced by Jason Mogus in his editorial The Most Important Election of our Lifetimes?

Jason is free to endorse any candidate he wishes, however the rationale he is advancing is a threat to our democracy and needs to be thoughtfully challenged.

It has been an honour to serve the incredible communities in Saanich North and the Islands for the past seven years. Together, with my local and federal government counterparts, we have celebrated tremendous successes including powerful advocacy and hundreds of millions of dollars invested in our communities.

Let’s unpack the theory that all communities need an elected representative that sits on the government side of the legislature because they are the only people that can get things done or bring investments to the community.

Firstly, it is the opposite of the Westminster parliamentary system that is the foundation of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly. It is a dangerous argument because if you follow the logic to its full expression, then an elected dictatorship is the only fair and equitable outcome of our democratic election. As a vocal public critic of government also leading an effective constituency office providing powerful, supportive advocacy for our communities, it is incorrect to suggest that Salt Spring Island has lacked an effective advocate or the investment of “big funds.” Nearly $50 million worth of road improvements is just one recent example.

Secondly, nobody knows what the outcome of the 2024 election is going to be. Voting based on who you, or the pollsters, think with form government is at best a guess. It’s a dice roll. Basing your vote on this theory means that if you’re wrong, then your community is doomed for the next four years.

Let’s apply it equitably across all 93 electoral districts. The result of the theory is an elected dictatorship. Based on this argument, for people to get “big funds” or adequate advocacy all the MLAs need to sit on the governing side. Who then are the public critics? Who are the official opposition? Who is tearing the bills apart, creating legislative resistance, and asking questions in public?

Jason does not propose a process to select which electoral districts in province that are the sorry lot that do not have a representative on the government benches. How is that done? Who picks these unfortunate districts that suffer the misery of the hypothetical system that he is proposing? Also, which MLAs are responsible for doing the work of the loyal opposition holding our democratic government accountable?

Is the suggestion that we hand the BC NDP a 93-seat majority and then everyone will get the appropriate level of goodies?

How is the obvious contradiction overlooked that he is endorsing the same party he is complaining has ignored the community and not provided the “big money” investments he claims should have been made here? Is he suggesting the BC NDP has deliberately punished us because I have been part of a different party? How is that behaviour rewarded?

As we have seen David Eby and his BC NDP government, cannot be trusted on the environment. They need a strong public voice of opposition keeping the tension on climate action. Eby is the Premier who is ramping up the fracking and the LNG industry while exempting that industry from paying their share for the pollution they are creating. John Rustad and the BC Conservatives are climate change deniers.

While Eby chases Rustad into the swamp undermining the consumer carbon tax, he lets the dirtiest industries off the hook and has offered no substantive policy to replace it, he simply says we can do all the things and meet all the targets. It is ridiculous. How is that duplicitous behaviour rewarded?

Without Greens in the legislature, Eby and Rustad will have free reign. Eby’s backbench MLAs tell me they strongly advocate for environmental issues behind closed doors in caucus meetings. I have done this work in plain sight. BC Greens raise these issues and press government on the record.

I hope you will cut through these fear-based arguments and question how they will work in practice. We need Greens in the legislature to keep up from sliding to the extremely divided two-party system we see in the United States.

Greens add a much-needed public voice in the democratic debate and offer exemplary advocacy for their constituency. That is the public service that the people in Saanich North and the Islands have done for the past decade by ensuring there is another voice in the public debate.

I hope you will get to know the BC Greens candidate Rob Botterell. He is an excellent candidate whose experience and credentials speak for themselves. He will make a tremendous representative and advocate, he is committed to holding governments feet to the fire while negotiating much needed investments for our communities.

Adam Olsen (Soon-to-be former MLA for Saanich North and the Islands)