So, the election in Canada is over and now we get to listen to the thoughts of people on how they think the election went and what they think will happen. I like this part of the election; finding out who voted for what party and what their reasons were. The July 1, 2004 edition of the Inuvik Drum had an editorial and an article that went too far and that I took offence with. In his Editorial Jason Unrau says: “There were a lot of disappointed NDP supporters in the Western Arctic riding Tuesday morning as NDP candidate Dennis Bevington missed toppling incumbent Liberal candidate Ethel Blondin-Andrew by a mere 52 votes.“ He then continues “Blondin-Andrew must be secretly thanking her lucky stars that the Green Party chose to run a candidate in her stronghold, as several NDP backers in town cursed the same party Tuesday for the same reason. Though it's true that the Green Party's existence makes for a more fruitful democracy, a cursory glance at the party's platform may make the average voter wonder what really separates it from the NDP.“ He then goes on to throw his opinion around with “While some may feel good about throwing their vote away or making a statement by casting it for the NDP's younger sibling, feeling good about oneself and making statements is not going to change things in this country if your party doesn't have a hope of winning a seat.“ This is the type of garbage we are forced to listen to and read in the north and it really started to bug me. To make matters worse he interviewed some of those NDP supporters he made reference to. One of the NDP supporters had this to say this about those supporters of the Green Party “I have no understanding of people's inate stupidity to miss an opportunity like this. People were living in a dreamworld if they thought their vote for the Greens was going to matter one bit here. What a waste.“ Enough is enough already. I had to fight back. The following is my letter to the editor which I hope is published in its entirety in this Thursday's edition of the Drum.
In your editorial of July 1, 2004 you stated that anyone that voted for the Green Party was “throwing their vote away”. Since when is it your job to tell us who we should be voting for? Is it not the job of the media to inform readers of the platforms of each party that is running a candidate? I for one voted for the Green Party and am not ashamed that I did and I surely don’t think that you have a right to say that I threw my vote away. How dare you tell me that my vote in our democratic society was a waste. If my vote was thrown away then I guess that everyone who voted for the Conservatives in the Western Arctic also threw their vote away. I mean if 100 of their voters hadn’t of thrown their vote away too and voted NDP instead then Dennis Bevington would have won. Maybe you should have said that too. For that matter, you also imply that those who voted Liberal threw their vote away too as they obviously haven’t done anything for the Western Arctic and a change needs to be made. You as a journalist should not use your paper to tell us who we should have voted for and that we wasted our vote. My vote is wasted? HOW DARE YOU!!!
To those voters that you talked to at the Café Gallery, one individual in particular who called my vote stupid, a waste - and who said that I am living in a dream world - you too need to check your wrath at the door against anyone who got out and voted no matter who they voted for. I can accept your opinions you need to accept others. That is what makes this a democracy. We don’t have to understand the reasons others have for voting the way they do but everyone has the right to vote for who they want and everyone’s opinions count. I take offence with you on behalf of the other 582 Green Party voters in the Western Arctic that you called stupid; but yours is just one person’s opinion. The Drum also didn’t seek out anyone who voted for any of the other parties for their take on the election results. Shame on you for that.
All of you who are upset with the fact that the NDP lost to the Liberals in the Western Arctic by 52 votes should be taking the time to find the 52.5% of the voters that did not vote in the Western Arctic. That’s right! Only 13,471 of the 28,335 eligible voters in the Western Arctic even voted. Maybe you Mike, or you Jason, should be talking about those nearly 15,000 non voters and how they lost the election for the NDP. The Liberal supporters should be finding out why those 15,000 also didn’t vote. If they had voted for you then maybe you wouldn’t have been chewing your nails all night waiting for the final results. Next time you want to vent make sure it is at the right people and for the right reason. I voted for who I wanted; I am a Canadian. And I have that right.
This low turnout was not just in the Western Arctic although the rate here was considerably lower than other ridings. Only 60.5% of eligible voters across Canada even voted. This was the lowest turnout in Canadian history. The major parties are obviously not doing something right. To have this many Canadians not bother to vote means something and the parties better get out and find out what it is that keeps these voters away from the polls, and they better do it quick. With a minority government in place we will probably be doing this all over again within the next 2 years.
I was obviously not alone in my feelings voting for the Green Party. Over half a million people across Canada voted this way. Enough in fact that they will now get federal funding for advertising next time we have a federal election. Maybe the fact that the major parties continue to screw us no matter who is elected is getting Canadians frustrated and they are turning to the other parties. The next election will prove if the Green Party has indeed made strides to becoming a viable party or whether they just got lucky for one election. I for one think that the strides will continue and that the Liberal, Conservative and NDP representatives who were elected better watch out. The Green Party may not win any seats next election either but they can sure influence who does get elected as this election has proved. Give me your comments.
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