OPINION: Choices we face

Canadian citizens living in Thunder Bay are facing three important choices over the next 16 months or so.

Including the provincial election this week, the municipal election this fall and a federal ballot next October, we have difficult decisions to make.

All levels of government – municipal, provincial and federal – have expired and no longer have a mandate, let alone the moral authority to continue.

What makes this situation more challenging is the crisis of confidence in our elected leaders at every level by Canadians all across the country.

The buffet of buffoonery we have witnessed in government in the recent past has left us cynical, apathetic and inclined not to vote.

I am one of those disgruntled voters and although I haven’t withdrawn completely, I sometimes feel like I’m just going through the motions.
Political leadership is seriously lacking at all levels and grumbling masses of reluctant voters have lost faith in the Canadian political system.

The low numbers at the polls are troubling, especially among young people who find politics and government irrelevant.

In fact, voter turnout has steadily declined from 64.4 per cent in 1990 to a record low of 49.2 per cent in the last provincial election.
Nevertheless, I still support the concept of voting in spite of serious questions about our electoral process and the lack of honesty or accountability in politics.

I like to use the advance polls – it gives me a slight feeling of superiority knowing my choice has been made and for better or worse, my vote has been cast.

For the week or so until the election, I walk with a swagger from knowing that yes, I did vote and yes, I do have a right to criticize and complain.

With that in mind, if I were the Chief Electoral Officer I would make some changes – you know, a few small things to make voting more hospitable and fun.

It was a warm, sunny evening when we decided to seek out the polling station and we found it tucked away in a light industrial district on Roland Street.

I thought it was unnecessarily drab and out-of-the-way for an election office, especially if voter turnout is as important as we claim.
I felt more like I was there to order building supplies or hire a contractor than exercise my democratic right to vote.

The budget for this provincial election is around $80 million – why isn’t the advance poll located in one of our city’s more attractive and accessible districts?

Where are the flashing lights, the blinking arrows and the streamers to proudly welcome dedicated voters and even attract some undecided drive-by traffic?

Couldn’t we afford one of those tall, skinny inflatable guys with the long, wavy arms to create a buzz and hopefully get those numbers up?

The building had been converted to something resembling a tidied up warehouse – I thought I had stumbled into the no-frills polling booth by mistake.

And when we were done it would have been nice to have a nice cup of coffee or maybe a cookie or something – is that too much for a beleaguered taxpayer to ask?

I just think that if voting was made more hospitable and attractive with plenty of swag and refreshments, more voters would show up.
That’s how the city gets such good turnouts at its community meetings.

Never underestimate the power of coffee and fresh baking to influence political choices.

One last note – many thanks to the dedicated returning officers who chose to spend a beautiful Friday evening in a dingy warehouse safeguarding our democracy.

I hope the province paid for their coffee.