When my kids were young, I always brought one or two of them with me to the voting polls. I felt it was part of my civic and parental duty.
Voter turnout rates are consistently low. Roughly 65 per cent in federal and provincial elections, barely 40 per cent in municipal elections. There’s a lot of apathy out there.
People feel disconnected. And powerless. But as citizens, we actually have far more power than we think. Elected officials might not want us to know that. But the evidence is there.
In 2004, Hydro-Québec planned a $550-million natural gas plant in Beauharnois. Opposition was strong and 4,000 people marched on Hydro-Québec’s headquarters. Premier Jean Charest noted the opposition and the project was abandoned.
In 2006, the Charest government agreed to sell 10 per cent of the Mont-Orford national park to private developers. Protestors in the thousands marched at the base of the mountain and in Montreal. A year later, the sale was cancelled.
In 2008, Quebec began quietly selling hundreds of oil and gas exploration licenses to companies interested in fracking for shale gas. A grassroots movement emerged that included a 700 km march from Rimouski to Montreal along the St. Lawrence. Public pressure led to a moratorium on fracking in 2011, and in 2014 development was shut down.
And don’t forget recent efforts by residents in Hemmingford to force council to seek public consultation before approving a housing development; or how Havelock residents won their five-year battle against an asphalt factory; or how Powerscourt and Hinchinbrooke residents are fighting to protect the water table essential to the entire Chateauguay Valley.
In my opinion, politicians who listen to the public are not weak; they are responsible. They are the kinds of leaders we want to elect.
We have power. We must remember that. It starts with voting. So, on October 5, go out and vote. And bring along your kids.
Jackie Rourke
Executive editor