About ten days until federal election day. Signs, debates, political ads and sadly a dump truck load of misinformation and downright lies are landing in inboxes and on social media feeds daily, if not hourly or worse. It is life today and we are unlikely to see relief from it anytime soon.
An irreplaceable part of a strong democracy is an informed and educated electorate. “This means not just voting as you always have or voting a certain way because your parents voted a particular way. The first step on this journey is to understand that any election is not just about one issue or that specific issue. It is about looking deeply into the issues that affect us collectively and voting in a manner that does not forget those issues nearest to us, but voting such that interests beyond ourselves are fully considered and understood,” says Labour Council President Kevin Smith.
There is an additional layer to this in the context of unions and Organized Labour. Too often, Labour is a divided house. Not divided to the point that the house will fall in anyway, but certainly at election time there are differing viewpoints.
Dave Trumble, Labour Council VP for Bruce County asks, “That union members connect what their union card in their wallet represents with their vote. The history or DNA of the Trade Union movement is rooted in the good of the many versus the few. People can get caught up in the fanfare of endorsements, but the deepest and most meaningful facet of being union is to act and be representative of all workers not a narrow slice or specific issue.”
“Looking at the data that is available, union members do vote. Thankfully, unions do have the ability to encourage members to go and vote. Some unions do explicitly endorse candidates and/or parties, but typically working to get voters to the ballot box is the focus. In this mix though, we find that union members often vote against the collective good and will vote for parties with records that demonstrate contempt for workers. At a staggering rate of about six out of ten, somehow union members are enticed to vote against their own interests as workers,” according to Labour Council VP for Grey County, Chris Stephen.
There are clear degrees of separation between the major parties for federal office in this upcoming election. However, the most important distinction is that at one end we see American style populism adorned with typical “dog whistle slogans” and at the other end we see socially democratic and socially responsible policies. There is a middle ground, and in the middle we do find many Canadians.
Denying American style populism is the outcome of being an educated voter. Beyond this, being educated and informed will prepare the voters to seek a government that is unlikely to turn the clock back on the important issues that will do the most good for all of us. Not just pander to the thin but highly motivated slice of society that wants to see the rights and privileges earned for all people over decades rolled back.
Amongst all this, get out and vote. Do not sit this out. Vote as if someone you love depends on your vote. To quote, “a vote is like a prayer for the society you want” .
The Grey Bruce Labour Council has been the voice of workers in Grey and Bruce Counties since 1956.
