COLUMN: Getting back into politics

Well, another election is in the books. This provincial election was special for me as it was my first chance to vote in years. 

I ventured down to Brennan Park Rec Centre, gave my ID and voter card, went into the booth, dropped my ballot and walked out. No line ups, no hassles, no waits – I must’ve gone in during a lull, or not. 

It seems about 60 per cent of us in the West Vancouver-Sea to Sky riding managed to get out and cast a ballot. 

Voter turnout in Canada has been on the decline since the 1990s and, according to a report released by Statistics Canada, respondents gave two main reasons for not voting – most cited a lack of interest in politics, while others felt they were too busy to go to the polling station. 

The turnout was lowest among the youngest demographic (18 to 24) but even some 30 year olds and 40 year olds don’t vote because they feel uninformed about the issues or are cynical of the people in politics. And they won’t just vote for anybody – I can relate, but it’s still our duty to know the issues and to make an informed decision as to who will represent you in government. 

Living in the part of the world where dictators are the norm, people know exactly what their issues are, but have no way to go about making those changes (Arab Spring notwithstanding, as it could be argued it really didn’t change much). 

When Hosni Mubarak was in power in Egypt, during his 30 year tenure, he would actually hold elections. Mubarak’s opponents were often crazy – think even more colourful than Trump crazy –  and his so-called approval ratings were always around 99.9 per cent (that’s not a joke). 

That prompted a news commentator to jest that even if God came down and set foot in Egypt, given that more than 10 per cent of the population is not Muslim, he wouldn’t get those approval numbers! I think the news commentator was put in jail shortly after saying that. 

Now, obviously it didn’t matter if you actually made the effort to vote because, of course, Mubarak would win.

Here in Canada it seems people are having difficulties figuring out whether voting is worth the effort as political parties have become the least trusted part of our democratic process. 

According to Stats Can, Canadians are now becoming less driven by a sense of duty than they once were – 88 per cent of residents over 60 years old say voting is a duty, while only 48 per cent of those 18 to 39 agree. If this persists, once the Boomers leave the scene, only a minority in the future will turn out on election day.

Another interesting stat is that just 20 per cent of Canadians say they respect our political institutions. 

It’s this lack of respect that is creating disengagement with our democratic institutions, and it’s worrisome what could happen to our system if Canadians truly disconnect from politics. 

- Originally a Squamish resident, Marcus Monopoli left for the Middle East in 2008 for radio gigs in Egypt and Oman. He moved back last summer.