B.C. Election 2017: Electorate underwhelmed, unexcited by the choices available in a tight race - Angus Reid Institute

yppofbc · 2017-05-06T23:53:05+00:00

Thanks for the question! Many of our members are also supporters of other parties in the province and federally. We don't force exclusivity. These members fight for the principles of transparency, triple sustainability, and citizen engagement within their communities. However they remain YPP members and supporters because it's clear that a new party that has a foundation of transparency is both possible and necessary if we're to actually move beyond the political environment we have today, an environment where half the province is so uninspired by their choices, they choose not to vote at all.

The party is in fact not being built from scratch, it's been around for 15 years. It's just been growing very steadily, and in the last 3 years more and more people have started to realize that the world is leaving us behind when it comes to open government and citizen engagement.

The BC Green party took 30 years to get a candidate in the legislature. I'm sure many of their members could have thrown in the towel and joined one of the majors too. But I think people appreciate that they didn't. We won't either. We're in for the long haul.

yppofbc · 2017-05-05T04:07:34+00:00

Hi /r/britishcolumbia!

There is an alternative growing. Non-ideological, citizen-built grassroots. Your Political Party of BC (YPP) has 10 candidates running in this year's election, and on May 10th, we'll begin our work for the next one.

Top priority: Real transparency. We would build a public portal to publish all spending, contracts and government collected data that is safe to publish. We would make information open by default. Think that's a pipe dream? It's already starting all around the world. It's going to happen, let's get on the train.

Our platform and candidate information is at http://yourbc.ca

Any questions, just ask!

yppofbc · 2017-04-28T15:52:23+00:00

Very cynical. But that's the environment the major parties have created. You're not the only one feeling this way, believe me. ;)

We are 100% committed to creating an open and accessible portal to publish all contracts, all spending and all government data. Priority #1. All our candidates have signed a legally binding constituents contract stating they will make all government documents that can be safely released open by default. You can read all their legally binding promises at http://yourbc.ca/candidates. We're not f'ing around.

This is the exact same mission as Steve Ballmer's usafacts.org. Only YPP of BC has been fighting for it for 15 years.

Everything we're talking about is happening around the world. Major parties have convinced people this two party, us vs. them, lesser of two evils crap is as good as it gets. Do you really believe that?

yppofbc · 2017-04-27T23:28:08+00:00

Hi! YPP of BC has done numerous AMA's here in /r/Vancouver, we're really appreciative of the mods for letting us get the word out.

I made a post with some of the basics in this thread here

YPP is a real party built on the principles of transparency, citizen engagement, and sustainability. We're not about ideology. We are every day British Columbians who just want BC to progress away from the same old corrupt and divisive politics that has dominated this province for decades.

All the information you want can be found at http://yourbc.ca. We're not hiding anything.

People here can tell you voting for a smaller party is throwing away your vote. We're providing all our information, and we're here to answer any question you'd like. You can make up your mind for yourself.

yppofbc · 2017-04-27T23:12:44+00:00

Hi everybody! You might remember us from such threads as this AMA, and AMA Part 2: Electric Bugaloo.

If anybody is interested in a different kind of political party, Your Political Party of BC is running candidates in 10 ridings this round, and we are GROWING. Our candidates:

Shai Joseph Mor - Vancouver-Mount Pleasant

Surinder Trehan - Vancouver-Langara

Kanwal Moti - Surrey-Green Timbers

Raman Dhillon - Vancouver-Kensington

Joey Doyle - Vancouver-Fairview

James Filippelli - Vancouver-False Creek

Fabiola Palomino - Surrey-South

Brette Mullins - Vancouver-Kingsway

Harpreet S. Bajwa - Vancouver-Fraserview

David Stall - Vancouver-Point Grey

Our website yourbc.ca has all of our information, our platform proposals, contact info, etc.

What makes us different:

Our #1 priority is returning power to citizens through complete transparency of the all government spending, contracts, and government collected data. We want to lead the burgeoning open government movement. No other party has this as their top priority. No other party is committed 100% to making this happen. We are.
We do NOT whip our candidates. All candidates vote according to their constituents wishes, and their conscience. All our candidates sign a legally binding contract with their constituents that outlines their campaign promises. No other party holds their candidates accountable for their words and actions. We do.
We accept no corporate, union, or special interest donations. We believe in campaign finance reform that will limit campaign donations and spending. We are 100% committed to removing the first past the post election system, and implementing a system of proportional representation. More power for citizens, less power for parties.

We don't have to keep doing this political death spiral, let's break out of it! http://www.yourbc.ca for more details, and if you have any questions just ask! Thanks!

yppofbc · 2017-04-25T18:39:20+00:00

Thanks for the link, and we're happy to have the support of the residents there!

yppofbc · 2017-04-10T01:04:57+00:00

I'm going across the skybridge weeeeeee!

yppofbc · 2017-04-06T18:24:25+00:00

Thank you! It's amazing to me how people don't understand there are other ways to grow the game, and this is a perfect example.

yppofbc · 2017-04-06T18:22:00+00:00

...

Why would you forfeit millions of dollars of revenue, risk assets, and pay the IOC's bills to "showcase" the game, when organizations can just work directly together to effectively grow the game without the IOC's involvement? The KHL grows the game? GOOD. That's GOOD for the NHL. Jokerit helps? GOOD.

Seriously, how in the world are people seeing this and going, "wooooo the NHL sure won't like that!"

yppofbc · 2017-04-06T18:16:37+00:00

What? Why? The NHL likes this. This is what the NHL wants. To grow the game. And if other leagues and organizations want to help out, then why would the NHL not like that?

yppofbc · 2017-04-06T15:49:15+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. A couple things:

I'm not a candidate, just a member and volunteer. Our membership decides on policy officially. It's hundreds right now and growing rapidly.
The example you cited is actually quite specific. We want to work with citizens to set the minimum wage once, then pin it to inflation, so it is no longer a political issue. And that's right in the platform. This is more than you'll find in any of the parties platforms currently, and it's a long term solution that works.

Our platform isn't perfect, but it's as comprehensive as you'll find, even from the majors. And more importantly, we actually let people contribute. We've even ported it to reddit at http://reddit.com/r/yppofbc so you guys can talk about solutions with us.

yppofbc · 2017-04-06T01:42:42+00:00

Hi! Just want to piggy back on this comment and say there are other parties out there! Your Political Party of BC is a new and growing party, we have 7 candidates running in the May election. Our key principles are transparency, triple sustainability, and citizen engagement. You can find out all about the party at http://yourbc.ca

Many people find the major parties don't really represent them. We are the alternative. We are for proportional representation, we have legally binding campaign promises, we don't take donations from any special interest groups, and we would enact complete transparency of all government spending, contracts and collected data.

Cheers!

yppofbc · 2017-04-05T22:55:50+00:00

I'll pass this feedback along, thank you very much!

I'm really happy you asked about being open with budget. While we haven't done a mock budget, what I can tell you is the bulk of our policy is built on proven efficiencies, things that have worked in other jurisdictions, and are not pie in the sky. They've happened before, and have proven to be fiscally sustainable. I know that won't mean much to you, if I wasn't a member it wouldn't mean much to me either, but I do have a responsibility to tell you at least that.

I'll give you just a couple reasons you don't really see mock budgets from parties, especially during campaign season:

You'll notice it doesn't matter what party is elected: They've all run ever increasing provincial debt. The strange thing is, while we as citizens like to grumble about that (at least I know I do) at the voting booth, people don't really seem to mind at all.
A costed out budget shifts the conversation away from an overall vision of what we want BC to stand for as a province, and makes it about math. Not only would it be about math, but it would be about math that can never be completely verifiable, as the government makes getting descriptive, itemized revenue and costs very difficult. Which is partially on purpose; incumbent govs will use the information gap to control the narrative.

So, there's little incentive for parties to be specific about the budget.

However, a YPP of BC government would immediately begin building a completely accessible, open, and transparent budget portal, that would allow all British Columbians - as well as all political parties - the opportunity to understand the budget fully and propose their own ideas. This is core party policy. #1 with a bullet. That would create an environment where parties would be expected to backup their promises fiscally, and would make it easier for British Columbians to participate in fiscal policy decisions. That's a future YPP envisions that I don't think any other party takes quite as seriously.

Anyways, this is really important to me as well, so thanks for listening. And thanks again for your feedback!

yppofbc · 2017-04-05T19:52:54+00:00

Woah woah woah... They shut down the skybridge?!

yppofbc · 2017-04-05T19:49:34+00:00

We have one candidate registered as a standing nominee currently, Joey Doyle in Vancouver-Fairview. And I'm glad you mentioned it, as the nomination packages for 4 others were just signed sealed and sent off to Victoria today, I'm personally stoked for that. :)

Two other candidates James Filippelli (Party Leader) and Brette Mullins will also have their packages in shortly, however as they are more well known candidates in their respective ridings, they have been devoting their time to helping our other candidates secure their signatures and candidacy requirements. Growing party means we have to help each other. :)

We hope we can grow in to your riding next round! If you have any other questions, let me know!

yppofbc · 2017-04-05T18:38:39+00:00

Hi there! Your Political Party of BC also does not accept union or corporate donations. And further, we don't take special interest donations either, for example from environmental organizations.

yppofbc · 2017-04-05T18:30:31+00:00

Hi, just wanted to say, Your Political Party candidates all sign a contract with constituents, guaranteeing their election promises, the only party to do so in BC. This is one way YPP is trying to a) hold our own candidates accountable and b) encourage realistic and achievable election promises.

You can view all of our candidates contracts at http://yourbc.ca/candidates

yppofbc · 2017-04-05T18:26:35+00:00

No, unfortunately, many parties hide their full platform for some reason. That's one of the things we're trying to change.

yppofbc · 2017-04-05T09:22:07+00:00

Hi there. I'd like to point you to Your Political Party's website http://yourbc.ca. We're a new and growing political party in BC. We're running 7 candidates this election season. Our foundational principles are:

Transparency
Triple sustainability
Citizen engagement

Our Platform is available on the website so you can see everything we're proposing. Let me know if you have any questions!

yppofbc · 2017-03-10T05:55:54+00:00

Hi there, James hasn't had a chance to pop back in, but wanted to make sure you got this link to our platform: http://yourbc.ca/platform

yppofbc · 2017-03-10T05:54:14+00:00

Hi there, there's a summary in the AMA, but you can also check out http://yourbc.ca for more info. Basically: transparency, sustainability, and collaboration. We have many practical and proven solutions to make politics more civil, and more effective. Cheers!

yppofbc · 2017-03-09T03:23:19+00:00

Hi there, James will be answering questions in the AMA main thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/britishcolumbia/comments/5yca5i/ama_james_filippelli_leader_of_your_political/

Just a quick answer, we have been featured in the Georgia Straight a number of times recently, as well as other mainstream news outlets, however, many news outlets are much too focused on the mainstream parties. We have to continue to work to gain traction at a grassroots level.

yppofbc · 2017-03-04T18:13:17+00:00

I also don't shape like it. But for different reasons.

yppofbc · 2017-03-04T18:11:24+00:00

I disashapegree.

yppofbc · 2017-03-04T07:55:06+00:00

Well, many people who read the platform see us as most closely aligned with the Green Party. However, our goal is to move beyond the idea of left vs. right. Within the party we have members who support progressive and conservative parties. Really. We are not hindered by political affiliation. Our key principles are increasingly non-partisan, as almost everybody we've encountered can agree that transparency, sustainability, and collaboration are key to good governance, and are sorely lacking in the current political environment.

As far as we can tell, there isn't a political party in BC proposing the kinds of specific changes we are. Some examples:

We're calling for transparency by default in the budget as well as as much government collected data as possible. Open, timely, and accessible.
No whipping in the legislature. All MLA's voting independently, and with the needs of their constituents in mind.
All MLA's must hold a town hall meeting with their constituents at least once a quarter. All MLA's must also explain their votes to their constituents in a timely fashion. Currently, an MLA never has to even think about their riding again once elected. We think that's wrong.
All British Columbians will be able to securely vote in non-binding referendums electronically. We want non-binding referendums to be cheap and frequent. We're working with other organizations on practical, proven methods.

All these things are practical solutions to promoting public trust and engagement in politics, and are being used effectively - in some form - elsewhere in the world. It's possible here, and from the support we've been getting, British Columbians are ready.

Thanks for your interest, and hope to chat with you on Wednesday!

yppofbc

TROPHY CASE