Letter: With byelection over, time to focus on federal vote

I can’t wait for Friday, because the attack ads in the Sudbury byelection will end.

What are you focused on and blinded by? The hard core critics during this election complain about the lack of morality and undemocratic actions of one or all the candidates or their parties.

Social media and news coverage has a free-for-all fight of finger pointing, ethical judgements, and cries of democracy’s doomsday. “All this reflects poorly on who we are nationally,” some say. Don’t kid yourself, this is a repeat of how Canada was formed.

Divide and conquer worked for Canada’s colonizer history with First Nations, who still have the same moral complaints echoed now in Sudbury. Only after the Second World War and the forming of the UN did Canada remove laws that banned First Nations from celebrating their cultural ways or hiring lawyers to fight treaty violations.

More specifically, First Nations were not seen as citizens with the right to vote until 1960, 40 years after women got the vote. If women are still today trying to be seen as equals in politics and all other aspect of society, how long will First Nations have to wait?

When we are too close to the fight or take the issues personally, we lose sight of the real bigger picture. You can dislike the political bullying of the governing party. You can be wishful in your thinking hoping for true democracy. The reality is, this micro event is short lived.

The real bigger picture is this year’s federal election, the national focus on natural resources, the state of world’s economy and Canada’s tarnished image in the UN. Refocus your gaze. We need solutions, not complaints on who did what. We have a shared history. What is needed is a “we” in how Canada shapes “our” future.

William Morin
Sudbury