Their ranks consist of accountants, techies and artists who want to whip up change in B.C.’s political landscape.
The group known as Imagine X recently launched a web-based app that tracks every vote in the Legislature between July 2013 and July 2016.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, their research — all derived from Hansard records — indicates that every vote initiated by the Liberals passed, while every motion moved by the NDP or independent MLAs failed.
Those numbers speak to the “whip” system of party discipline in which MLAs often vote along party lines, rather than based on their conscience or constituent feedback.
“A lot of people are not surprised by what they see, and to me that shows there is an opportunity for change,” said group spokesperson Fred Bantados. “When you have data that presents itself like this, you start to question how your MLA is voting.”
The app allows users to scroll over all the votes, and colour-coded dots reflect party affiliation. Users can filter results to key in on specific MLAs, how votes were cast or by chronological order. Each vote links to official Hansard transcripts as well.
Bantados’ group consists of about 12 people, most of whom are based in Vancouver. He maintains that Imagine X does not endorse any party or candidate, and that the venture is entirely self-funded.
“We’re driven by the fact that we think there’s a better way of doing politics in B.C. and that the way forward is through transparency and making policy through core values not just through party lines,” he said.
The group’s research indicates only two instances in which Liberal MLAs voted against the party line over the course of 109 standing votes.
The two votes in question happened in 2014 and 2015. The Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment dealt with a massive amount of housekeeping items that changed wording around designations for caregivers, accountants, zoning bylaws and building permits, amongst others.
Liberal MLAs Marvin Hunt, Marc Dalton, Laurie Throness and Simon Gibson voted against the bill, which ultimately passed in April 2014.
Vancouver-Langara MLA Moira Stillwell was the lone Liberal to vote against the Election Amendment Act in May 2015. That legislation sought to allow political parties access to voter lists to see who voted in previous general elections.
“The attitude seems to be that if you are not playing with the team, then you shouldn’t be on the team,” said Sean Holman, a former legislative reporter for 24 hours Vancouver and the Vancouver Sun.
Holman’s 2013 film Whipped: The Secret World of Party Discipline was part of the impetus for Imagine X’s current efforts. His film covered how party votes and discipline unfolded between 2001 and 2012.
“Party discipline and everything that accompanies party discipline makes it very difficult to report on government,” he said. “If most of the real decisions happen in secret places, such as cabinet and caucus, how can we as reporters actually tell the public why a decision was made and what their individual representative felt about that decision?”
The Imagine X app is viewable online at imagine-x.ca/votes.
@JohnKurucz
