President’s Message Shawn Haggerty
Can 4,640,538 votes make a difference on June 7? For everyone who believes their vote doesn’t matter, take a look at that number: 4,640,538. That’s how many registered voters didn’t take part in the 2014 Ontario election. Image if they had shown up. To give you a bit more perspective. Here was the breakdown for the three major parties: • NDP - 1,144,822 • Liberal - 1,863,974 • PC - 1,508,811 Now take another look at the unbelievable number who didn’t vote and tell me it wouldn’t make a difference. We face another election on June 7. Now is the chance to make that difference. It’s been said many times that democracy is messy: It’s imperfect and fragile. But without the partic-
2014 Ontario General Election
9,526,031 Registered Voters
4,885,493 Votes Cast
Percentage Votes Cast
51.3%
ipation of its citizens, democracy becomes just another way for the powerful to stay powerful. And I know many people are tired. Tired of having unimpressive candidates from which to choose. Tired of politicians who seem to be all the same. Tired of being sold a bill of goods by a candidate only to have them run away from those promises once elected. But the process is in all of our hands. So, we must show up and exercise our right and our responsibility to vote. We may not always like our options, but our system generates the candidates that we allow and it’s still our choice to make. Voters must scrutinize the promises and platforms put forth by every single candidate. Their words have been tested with focus groups, turned into statistics, and churned through a public relations machine to tell candidates exactly what to say to satisfy their voting base and entice others for their votes. No matter who you elect, they are accountable to the citizens in their riding, their province, and their country. Ultimately, the goal for many politicians is to be re-elected. To achieve that, they need your vote. And our role in our democracy doesn’t end at the ballot box. Merely checking a box and walking away with fingers’ crossed until the next election isn’t enough. While they’re in office, if your elected candidates actually hear from the voting citizens in their riding, they will listen.
You are the only reason a politician gets to be in office. And you are the only reason they get to stay there. So, vote. And after you vote, stay involved. Sometimes that might mean a protest. It might mean signing petitions and writing letters. Many people get involved in social media movements too. It might even mean running for office yourself. If you dislike what you see from your elected representatives then you need to do something about it. Speak to your friends, family, and neighbours about your concerns. Form groups to lobby your Municipal, Provincial, and Federal representatives. Be professional about it and be willing to sit down and discuss your concerns in person. Your vote does matter and it can make a difference, but only if you use it. Recognize your power as a voter and show up on June 7. We don’t all agree on the best path forward for our province, I know that. But we have to start down that path with a first step – and that first step is your vote. In Solidarity, Shawn Haggerty president@ufcw175.com March 2018
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