Elections 2011


I recently sent this email out to some friends.


Hi guys!

I’m not trying to swing you guys in either direction of the political spectrum, but please just take 10 to 20 minutes out of your day and show up to vote on May 2nd (or at advance polling stations that are available on April 22nd, 23rd, or 24th from 12-8pm). If you’re apathetic because you just don’t like any of the leaders, they don’t listen to youth and address issues that we care about, and you don’t think your vote will make a difference, that’s all just bull. If you don’t vote because you don’t want to vote for who your parents and grandparents have always supported, know that who you actually vote for on election day is your business, and please reconsider.

If you don’t like the leaders, and it’s personal (like Harper has squinty eyes or Ignatieff [used to] have a unibrow), try to take a brief but important glance at the party’s platform and what each leader stands for. Looks can be deceiving.

The leaders don’t care about youth voter turnout because it has never materialized. Most youth between 18-25 stay at home or even walk right past polling stations on election day. Although you may feel that you are too ‘uninformed’ to be voting, you’re wrong. Imagine the average ‘adult’ person you stand behind in line at the Safeway cashier, do you honestly think that if the two of you began chatting about the elections, 100% of the time the other person would know more about Canada’s history as well as current affairs than you? You and I both know that the answer is no, we actually know a lot about Canadian politics and even if our knowledge is honestly limited, it’s still enough to make a decision – whether based on what has worked in Canada’s past, or what you hope to change for the future of Canada.

It’s not uncool to vote, it is in fact quite the opposite (besides, we are past the stage of worrying about what the ‘cool kids’ would say or do). Voting on election day or earlier shows that you’re an engaged, active, and intelligent member of the community, which you all are, and that’s why I am trying to appeal to you to pass this ‘word’ on.

Your vote matters. There are many people like this columnist trying to convince youth (and people in all generations) otherwise, but they’re wrong. Prove that the younger generation in Canada can make informed decisions by showing up and voting for what, not just who, you believe in.

I will leave you with this short video. Thanks for surviving my email rant. Good luck with exams if you still have any!

Warmest wishes,
Liz


I myself am unabashedly against the CPC’s leadership, nontransparent practices, and unaccountability. I will vote for the Liberal party in this election, in hopes of a Liberal majority, especially with the newfound youth enthusiasm for voting. I have yet to read all of the political party’s platforms due to finals season, but I will be responsible for doing so before the elections to ensure that I am making the choice that I believe in. I want to be voting for positive change in Canada’s future. I want Canada to be able to embrace its esteemed international status as peacekeeper, environmental leader, and human rights ambassador once again. I want our veterans to gain benefits after serving our nation (in particular with PTSD, as suicide rates are unacceptably high amongst officers after they return to Canada). I want education to be supported by the federal government because we no longer have enough natural resources to sustain our economy, only skilled labour can allow Canada to remain economically viable. I want our healthcare system to be enshrined – its admirable success thus far needs to be recognized, while steps to improvements to the public program need to be taken to promote a long-lasting legacy. I am Canadian, and I believe that comes with a list of traits such as free, peacekeeping, tolerant, and diverse that all need to be upheld.

To argue why this election is taking place, I quote from a freelance journalist’s blog:
As for the election not being necessary, that, too, is debatable. Since the 2008 general election the Conservatives have broken a campaign promise not to run deficits, has prorogued parliament twice and been found in contempt of that same institution, an unprecedented black mark for the government. It seems prudent to me that the electorate of Canada be properly consulted as to their confidence in this political arrangement in Ottawa.

Many people do not understand “contempt of Parliament”. Harper’s tactics of brushing the topic aside as something that “does not matter” and “something that Canadians don’t care about” is repulsive and supports the notion that Harper is purposely vouching for voter apathy to regain his minority control of government. Harper doesn’t want us to be informed of current affairs, and counts on youth to be uninformed and thereby choose not to practice their democratic right.


Our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is sanctified in our Constitution Act of 1982. Canadians not only have the democratic “right to vote”, but we have the right to a “democratic form of government”. With Harper’s regime, we have blatantly been shunned from such a form of Parliament, and the CPC’s continued ignorance of its past electoral promises mentioned above is disgraceful. Canadians need to choose what’s good for Canada as a whole nation. We need to unite, demonstrate our opinions through voting, and effect much-needed change from our current dishonest Prime Minister.

Thank you.



Classified’s Oh Canada

Edit: Whether you are voting for the Liberals, NDP, or Green (and Bloc in Quebec), you will appreciate this site.

TAGS: , ,