Do Political Parties Help or Hinder Democracy?

As a result of comments posted to the Reimagine B.C. topic page, IntegrityBC has added a new question to the discussion forum:

Do political parties help or hinder democracy?

The Nunavut government is unusual in that it operates under consensus-style government. There is no strict definition of consensus government but its chief characteristic is that there are no political parties.

Candidates in the Nunavut election run as independents. After the election,members of the legislative assembly meet to elect a Speaker,premier and individual cabinet ministers from among themselves in a public forum. The premier then assigns cabinet portfolios. There is no set number of cabinet seats, but cabinet cannot form a majority in the house.

Consensus-style government is believed to be more in line with traditional Inuit decision-making. However, it does not mean that all decisions are made unanimously. In many cases, a majority vote is enough.

To share your thought, got to the Reimagine B.C. topic and click on the ‘Discussions’ tab.  You’ll need to sign up with PlaceSpeak to take part, if you haven’t already.

This topic is a chance for British Columbians to work online with other residents in developing new policy initiatives for the provincial and local governments to consider. Online Town Halls will soon be incorporated into the Reimagine BC consultations. Check the Resources tab regularly for new links and posts from us.

PlaceSpeak is at the forefront of protecting personal privacy and does not sell or share personal data. Anyone can follow the discussion and – if you live in BC – participate in them as well.