Ioften hear people say that they don't pay attention to politics. Low voter turnout for most elections in Canada, especially at the municipal level is a serious problem. This is very unfortunate as the decisions we make during election time directly affects our daily lives.
How much money our governments spend on health care, education,
other social services and infrastructure - roads, power supply,
water-treatment - are choices we make when we enter the polling
booth.
The Harris Conservative government cutbacks contributed to
the Walkerton tainted water scandal which killed seven people
and sickened thousands.
In addition, government decisions on business, property and
personal tax levels directly impact corporate choices on where
to establish factories that create employment and prosperity.
We often forget that it is private sector jobs and tax
revenue that enable governments to fund the social programs and
infrastructure we all take for granted.
Politics is ultimately about the collective decision on how
to spend the hard-earned tax dollars of the general public and
corporations. Will it be health care or childcare, a useless
gun registry or clean water?
My parents were Polish immigrants who came to this country
after the Second World War. As young teenagers, they were slave
labourers in Nazi Germany. My mother laboured in a factory and
experienced real hunger while my father was luckier working on
a farm where he could steal food.
After the war, they individually decided that going back to a war-torn Poland that was under Communist Russian control was not an option. They met in Goderich where they worked on a farm for one year to pay back the Canadian government for bringing them to Canada.
Anna and Zig understood the privilege of voting and after they received their Canadian citizenship voted in every provincial and federal election and most municipal ones as well.
Growing up in Sudbury during the 1960s and 1970s, the Polish
ladies would routinely discuss who should get their vote over
coffee and cake while trading neighbourhood gossip. I remember
always being asked who I would be voting for and why. The men,
over a beer, would get into heated and loud political
discussions - English people would think they were fighting -
as they took their politics seriously.
Most of our Polish neighbours had families in Communist
Poland who could not participate in free elections. I would
have been ridiculed if I even suggested that I didn't care or
would not vote. To them, I was lucky enough to have a "Canadian
education." Many of my neighbours had their schooling
interrupted by the Second World War. How could I not exercise
my Canadian freedoms and vote? And they were right!
We put the politicians in power and they are accountable to us. Don't ever be afraid of them. What are their solutions to local problems? What are they going to do at city hall, at Queen's Park and in Ottawa to make our lives better?
They serve us and if they are not doing a good enough job,
than it is up to us to kick them out.
Many of the wars, strife and bloodshed around the world are
connected to the inability to participate in free elections,
while here in Sudbury we sit on our backsides at Tim Hortons
complaining about the politicians and not bothering to vote. As
far as I am concerned, if you did not take the time to vote you
have lost your right to complain.
Whether it was John Diefenbaker, Pierre Trudeau or Brian
Mulroney, John Robarts or Bill Davis, Joe Fabbro or Jim Gordon,
my Polish neighbours argued over the issues and problems of the
day.
Anna and Zig have both passed away, yet I will always
remember them putting on their "good outfits" and going to the
voting booth on election-day. To them, participating in
elections was always a privilege.
This municipal election, on Nov. 13, will be one of the most
important in the city's history. Make sure you are registered
and get out and vote!
To find out if you are on the voter's list or how you can register, phone 671-2489. If you are not registered you may still vote in the Nov. 13 election if you have proper identification.
Stan Sudol is a Toronto-based communications consultant and policy analyst who writes extensively on mining issues.[email protected]
