The process of picking a referendum commissioner should be more public and transparent, says Opposition Leader James Aylward.
Aylward said during the debate in the legislature over the Electoral System Referendum Act it became clear one of the big issues was a question of trust about how fair the process would be.
“To try and address that I’m calling for the legislative management committee to conduct the next step in the process in a more publicly transparent way,” he said.
The Electoral System Referendum Act sets out the parameters of the upcoming vote on whether P.E.I. should adopt mixed member proportional representation.
Under the legislation, MLAs on the legislative management committee are tasked with recommending a referendum commissioner who then needs the support of two-thirds of members in the legislative assembly.
Aylward has written to members of the committee to recommend the position be publicly advertised through Engage P.E.I. and for any committee meetings to be open to the public.
Typically, legislative management committee meetings are held behind closed doors.
Aylward said the debate over the referendum was a public process and the referendum itself will be public.
“The process for selecting the referendum commissioner should also be done openly and transparently for Islanders to have confidence that there’s a fair process in place,” he said.
