By Zile Singh

Democracy is not something that happens, you know, just at election time, and it’s not something that happens just with one event. It’s an ongoing building process. But it also ought to be a part of our culture, a part of our lives.” – Jim Hightower.  “Politicians are the same all over.  They promise to build bridges even when there are no rivers.” – Nikita Khrushchev.  “Elections belong to the people.  It’s their decision.  If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.” Abraham Lincoln. 

On October 19, the eligible British Columbians will vote to elect their representatives to govern their day-to-day affairs for the next four years. The next four years is a long future. Therefore, before the voting day, it is the prime duty of everyone to ponder over not only on the future but also on the past. Let us not forget that the future started yesterday. In a real sense, not yesterday but our future started eight years back here in BC with a political party at the helm of affairs. We are already late. We are in the grip of glooming every sector, whether it is health, housing, education, employment, crime, and cost of living. An atmosphere of despair and despondency is knocking at our doors.  The youth is the prime victim because they have a long future before them.Progressive ideas floated in the air by political leaders seem like great arrows. But, to shoot the arrow, we need a bow.  Let us ask the would-be legislators across party lines whether they know exactly where is that bow from where the lofty schemes would be financed? In British Columbia, the taxpayer-supported debt at the end of 2024/25 is forecast at $93.3 billion, which is an increase by $4.7 billion compared to the Budget 2024.

In fact, the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a public servant. Even being public servants, Members Legislative Assembly had the right to increase their salary in disproportion to the salaries of ordinary wage earners. An increase in hourly wages by cents or even a dollar is like tying the working class in the knots.  Effective April 1, 2024, an MLA draws $119,533 annually. B.C. provincial politicians now enjoy a nearly $5,000 increase to their salaries while federal politicians have a $8,500 bump as of April 1. The Canadian Prime Minister earns more annually than the President of the United States. An elected member of U.S. Congress earns $174,000.Canadian MPs make over $200,000 per year. PoliticalSalaries.com ranks Canada second behind the U.S. in terms of political salaries per capita GDP, among G7 countries.

Election time is a dance of democracy. All voters must vote. Voting is a right best exercised by people who have taken time to learn about the issues. “Young people need to vote. They need to get out there.  Every vote counts. Educate yourself too.  Don’t just vote.  Know whom and what you are voting for and stand by that.”- Nikki Reed.  As a social change, let us see what Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General said, “Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, they are left on society’s margins, all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies.” In 2020 provincial elections the voter turnout was the lowest at 53.8% since 1996. It is not a good sign.   In 2001 it was 70.9% and in 1996 – 71.5%.  Voters must get out of slumber to elect the right candidates.  If necessary, vote beyond party politics. Well educated and well-informed legislators will speak sense to safeguard the public interest. They will not be mook spectators in the Assembly Hall.

Blame game has no place in a good democracy. Democracy is not just the right to vote or get elected. It is the right to live in dignity.He who blames others has a long way to go on his journey. He who blames himself is halfway there. He who blames no one has arrived.“In a democracy, the opposition is not only tolerated as constitutional but must be maintained because it is indispensable”. – Walter Lippmann

 “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all. – John F. Kennedy

Zile Singh is a well respected Columnist, Writer and a Vipassana Meditater. He has a Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Rights.  He can be reached at zsnirwal@yahoo.ca