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Choosing not to vote undermines democracy

Canadians are called to the polls on Oct. 19 to elect a new government. Hard to believe, but almost half of us probably won't vote. This isn't healthy for our democracy.
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The province's major parties are ramping up their campaigns in Sudbury for the June 12 election. File photo.
Canadians are called to the polls on Oct. 19 to elect a new government.

Hard to believe, but almost half of us probably won't vote. This isn't healthy for our democracy.

There are about 200 sovereign states in the world, depending on which atlas or website you consult. Of these, a democratic process governs about 165 countries with free votes selecting who governs and elected officials being held accountable to voters.

About 15 other countries are governed by quasi-democratic systems where a king or president usually governs with only faint accountability to the electorate.

And in the 18 or so worst-case scenarios, citizens have no say at all in the governance of the country, or sometimes even their own daily lives.

These include absolute monarchies like Saudi Arabia, theocracies like Iran and Vatican City, single party states like China and Cuba, military junta states like Thailand, and transitional (dysfunctional) states like Egypt.

The kingdoms of old with the divine right of kings come to mind, as rule without law usually settled dissenter issues by removing heads. Similarly, a more modern Nazi Germany applied the gas chamber solution for Jewish people, the handicapped and labour leaders. Needless to say, death was often a welcome end to lives of deprivation, fear, trepidation and torture.

Much can be said about the foibles of democracy. It isn’t perfect, and, in some cases, the pretense of democracy as in the United Sates is becoming extremely difficult to maintain. But a true democracy allows for all citizens to live with protected rights and to have a say in who governs what in their country.

These citizens' rights have taken power away from those who once ruled, and we need to remind ourselves that power is never given since it must be taken. And once taken, that power must be retained and protected.

Wars are caused by economic reasons, and they are quite profitable for some, but they are fought for values. The Canadian soldier threatened by death or dismemberment fought for the rights we now take for granted.

In the First World War, 61,000 Canadians died to protect these rights. The Second World War killed 45,300 Canadians and Korea wiped out another 516 — all fighting to protect our democracy. And you can double those numbers when counting the wounded.

Then, how is it now that we have a significant number of Canadians who ignore the sacrifices of many, forget the bad times when absolute rule created hell on earth, and turn away from the ongoing need to protect our rights and freedoms?

The only people who can maintain a functional democracy are voters who are aware and who vote.

Choosing to forget or to neglect this fact actively undermines democracy — and doubt not that this will leave a power vacuum to be occupied by the next oligarch intending to rule the world, including Canada and its Canadians.

Our Canadian democracy is precious and could be precarious. It needs everyone’s awareness and vote.

André Clément is a member of the Sudbury Chapter of the Council of Canadians, a social action organization founded in 1985 to educate and empower people to hold governments and corporations to account.

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