Public space, democracy, and colonialism : British Columbia's referendum on treaty principles
Date
2002
Authors
Lozanski, Kristin Elizabeth
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Abstract
Before its referendum in the spring of 2002, the British Columbian Liberal government held a series of hearings for the public to provide input on the principles that should guide provincial treaty negotiators. In this project, I analyze the ways numerous presenters and the government used liberal democratic principles -freedom, equality, minimal role of the state, individualism and reason -in the formal public spaces as justification for both the referendum and the colonial status quo. The disjuncture between liberal democracy as theory and as practice enabled its principles to be used to perpetuate injustice in realities marked by inequality. If those who work towards a more just society are to be successful, they must refuse value systems and processes that abstract individuals and communities from their lived locations and demand a state that engages with its citizens in meaningful dialogue.