If You Don't Vote You Shouldn't Complain

“If you don’t vote then you shouldn’t complain about what government is doing.”

It’s an old saying that I’ve always seen for what it truly is, total B.S.

That sort of sentiment might serve the interests of politicians who want your vote or who would love nothing more than for the public to shut up and not complain when government runs amok, but to say somebody doesn’t have the right to complain because they didn’t vote is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.

If non voters don’t have the right to complain then who does?

From my perspective anyone who doesn’t vote has a much greater right to complain than those who visit the polls and mark an X for one of the mainstream parties.

Think about it. Voters elect government members to office and in doing so ultimately decide the form and shape a government takes on both sides of the House.

When government neglects the needs of the public, wastes tax dollars and makes decisions that cause great harm to the public good voters should share in some of the blame.

In fact it’s voters who have far less right to complain about the actions of elected officials than anyone else, after all it was voters who put them in office in the first place.

Far too often political spin doctors and the mainstream media talk about the growing problem of low voter turnout at elections and claim it’s the result of disinterest or apathy rather than identifying it for what it is. Either they blindly choose to believe this falsehood or they simply don’t understand what’s happening around them which is entirely possible from what I've seen. Either way they’re dead wrong.

Sure, some citizens have absolutely no interest in politics or elections, those people have always existed, but there are growing numbers of people who have come to the realization that no matter which party or individual is elected the end result will be the same and it won’t likely be good.

Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. It’s the non-voters, not the voters, who have adopted those words of wisdom and who have given up on Canada’s elitist and centric political system. Good on them.

Until the system can be changed to better ensure that the public interest is being served, not the parties or the politicians, the act of voting is nothing more than the act of abetting corruption, lies, deceit and fraud.

I’d rather stab myself in the eye with a rusty nail than support any of today's federal mainstream parties so don’t expect to see me at the polls any time soon. Rest assured however that the complaining will continue as it always does. I have every right to complain and plan to use that right as much as possible.

The next time someone says to you, “if you don’t vote you shouldn’t complain” tell them the same thing I will. Here’s a hint, its two words, starting with F and ending with OFF.

23% of NLers No Longer Eligible to Vote in Canada

If a federal election were held tomorrow, would you vote? Don't answer too quickly, you may not even have the right to cast a ballot anymore.

According to Elections Canada, thanks to an amendment to the Elections Act introduced by the Conservative government four months ago, over a million Canadians no longer have the right to vote.

The legislation requires all citizens to present a residential address that includes a street name and number in order to qualify for a ballot. The problem is that many Canadians living in rural areas use postal boxes or receive their mail through general delivery at a postal outlet. Those people, as things now stand, wouldn't qualify to vote if an election were held today.

According to a report issued to Parliament by Elections Canada, nation wide 4.4 per cent of otherwise eligible voters do not have the proper address now required by law.

That percentage is far higher in areas with large rural populations like Saskatchewan, the Territories and Newfoundland and Labrador, where more than 23% eligible voters in the province have been left without a voice.

The Conservative government and opposition parties say they are trying to rectify the problem but don't hold your breath for a quick fix. Remember, these are the same people who passed the faulty legislation in the first place. Though in all fairness an NDP spokesman was quick to point out today that his party had identified the problem from day one but the other parties refused to listen.

This is another in a string of flawed acts by Canada's goverment and a clear example of the lack of foresight and care MPs exhibit on a daily basis.

Legislation passed by the former Liberal government that allows potential terrorists to be held indefinately without trial and without being told the reason for their detention has been found by the Supreme Court to be in conflict with the charter of rights and freedoms. The legislation is now back before the House for amendment and reintroduction. It's expected to pass.

The Conservative Accountability Act, brought in after the Liberal spending scandal and intended to ensure that politicians were accountable to the public, has been amended 75 times since being introduced just over a year ago. It's unclear how many of those amendments were made to fix flaws in the legislation or how many might have been implemented to protect politicians from their own laws.

Now government has actually cut over a million voters from the voting lists and if the government falls before this flawed legislation is corrected and passed by the Commons the only hope those voters will have is if the Chief Electoral Officer is prepared to ensure that the voices of those voters are heard. This can be done by invoking what is known as his "adaptation power to ensure that no Canadian loses their right to vote." Of course it's at the discretion of the Chief Electoral Officer whether to invoke that privlege or not.

If the federal government can't even figure out something as simple as the fact that not everyone has a civic postal address what hope is there that they really understand the what was done to the Atlantic Accord or the complexities of something as complicated as the Atlantic fishery?

At the risk of repeating myself, Vive le Canada once again.