TRUTH BE TOLD

WHO LET THE CATS OUT!

Image credit: ALLEF VINICIUS on Unsplash.

By DR VICKI BISMILLA

With Ontario’s municipal elections on October 24, my thoughts turn to politics. Why vote in municipal elections? What do city councils do?

Our day-to-day lives are closely impacted by our city councillors as the candidates we send to council will make policy decisions about our doorsteps, about how we get from our door to our destinations, about fire, police and ambulance services, about our garbage pick-up, sewers, snow removal, parks.

In fact each and every day they impact our lives in significant ways. So do we want folks sitting in council chambers chatting about whether we should let our cats out? Do we want time wasters or do we want councillors who are going to make sensible decisions about serious matters like police oversight, public transportation, property taxes and the myriad issues that impact us on which they spend billions of our tax dollars?

Think about the role of councillors, get to know the candidates, their track records, their commitments, hold them to their promises and help make our cities proud, clean, safe, efficient places. There are many excellent candidates running for office at all levels of government and some of them are so sincere that they do so at great risk to themselves.

Soon after Ontario’s recent provincial election I read an article by one of the candidates. A highly educated professional man, he seemed interested in listening to people and their thoughts on the state of education, the high cost of living, seniors struggling to make a living, parents worried about their children’s future and the irreparable harm that is being done to our planet. He met these good people as he knocked on thousands of doors, and walked many, many kilometres.

However, in addition to hearing from people genuinely interested in democracy, he was also accosted by hate-filled, ignorant, bigoted people who spat vitriol at him. Many held racist views and spewed hatred at him as someone they viewed as a sell-out white man. One white-haired woman asked him if he believed the COVID virus is real and when he said yes, she slammed the door on his face.

Some said that they only vote for candidates with the right sounding names. Some people made death threats and told him to leave or die.

This is our Toronto the good, our Ontario, and this hatred is here.

Democracy is about the freedom to choose. But when hate, anger and greed guide the hand that votes how does that translate into policy?

In party politics if the winning party was supported by people who demanded that caution about the health of the populace be abandoned, will government policies then throw out protective measures?

If large donors to a party demand that highways be built over nature habitats and across farmlands, will policies then cater to them at the expense of food supplies and the health of an already fragile planet?

Farmland is being lost in Ontario at a rapid rate. But if developers, who want the profit of sprawling new builds and highways are pandered to by government, what hope do ordinary people have?

Another insidious threat to democracy is white supremacy which has reared its ugly head here in Canada. Their false conspiracy theories are telling them that immigrants are “taking over” their white countries. White supremacy in North America has been fanned by Donald Trump and during his presidency misinformed, hate-filled people felt empowered by him and his followers to openly and violently spew hatred.

The segment of folks in Canada who are mirroring that hatred are claiming that immigrants are taking over Canada. What they don’t realize is that white Canada is still firmly in control. All the big businesses are headed by white Canadians. Most public sector organizations choose white Canadians as CEOs and executives. They rule over the real brains who are the middle managers and workforce. The real expertise is that of scientists, doctors, educators, epidemiologists, business experts, economists, technologists, chemists, engineers, professors...and that’s where the minorities are.

Minorities have always valued education and have risen in brain power. Their expertise runs the engines of key infrastructure and for that all Canadians should be pleased, not jealous, not hateful but grateful.

How do we as thinking intelligent Canadians handle this ignorance? First, by continuing to be well-educated, well-informed, careful and vigilant. And we must vote and vote intelligently. No one can tell you which party to vote for, it is your own decision and it is a democratic privilege. Some people choose not to vote because they say that none of the candidates are worthy of their vote. But this allows the conspiracy theorists to accumulate votes from their followers while people with good conscience stay home.

It is a shame that the ballots are not designed in a way that allows us to say yes or no for each of the candidates running to lead the country. That way we would all have a say when the “fors” and “againsts” are counted for each candidate. Since that is not the way our voices are counted, we need to select the candidate who most closely aligns with our principles. If we don’t vote, we cannot just sit back and hope that the people elected will protect our human rights.

Canada has the world’s best constitution, best human rights laws, best policies, but if we do not vote, how can we be sure that those democratic laws and policies will not be over-turned by hate-filled people in power?

If a political leader is spouting hatred whether overt or covert, we need to vote in a way that will curb that poison. And remember that there is now an undercurrent of dangerous political disrespect for the laws of the country and our Charter of Rights and Freedoms with provinces wanting to use the “notwithstanding clause” to try and circumvent federal gun control measures for their own gun loving voters; or excluding certain Canadians from holding government jobs based on their religious attire; or enforcing single language obedience and dominance at the expense of English-speaking Canadians.

Many folks in North America hold their noses and vote for leaders who they think will protect their bank accounts. But we need to look carefully at intentions. We certainly do not want leaders who will give away all our hard-earned tax dollars. But at the same time we need to remember that there are built-in checks and balances to protect our tax dollars and we need to be active in the democratic process so leaders will know, in no uncertain terms, that we are all watching. Trust in legislative infrastructure and vote with conscience. But please vote.

Dr Vicki Bismilla is a retired Superintendent of Schools and retired college Vice-President, Academic, and Chief Learning Officer. She has authored two books.