 |
| easy enough |
but!The British North America Act, uniting New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the Province of Canada in a single political entity, was given royal assent on March 31, 1867, and came into force the following July 1.
only a small fraction of the voters in the founding colonies had been given an opportunity to decide their political future; the others were presented deliberately with a fait accompli. Since then, as subsequent events have shown, the relative influence of voters in Canadian parliamentary institutions has grown appreciably – to the point where today, politicians would not likely venture to act as the Fathers of Confederation did without consulting the electorate.
---(From the section, Voters and Confederation, in "A History of the Vote in Canada" on Elections Canada's site.)
Did you notice the use of the term "not likely"? Nothing is set in stone. (Can you spell prorogue?)
Federally, the 'privilege' to vote varied depending on tinkering from the provinces. The "ethnic factor" in different regions was a factor, as was gender, property and income. Class, in other words.
Canada's first federal election was in 1867. Some people had the privilege to decide on their electoral fate. There was no UN overseeing the validity of any votes. Still, we were on the way. It's a complicated story, but the slow trickle from a privilege to a right had begun.
Then, imagine:
- in 1918 'all' women can vote federally (1919: women can run for federal office)
- 1947: Chinese and Indo-Canadians including even the female ones
- 1948: Japanese Canadians, male, female, what's the dif
- 1960: Aboriginals (they could vote earlier if they gave up their status! What a choice!)
- 1982: Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms enshrines the right to vote for all Canadians.
I don't understand why people voluntarily give this up. It seems to be worth dying for in some countries.
The polls close on the west coast at 7 pm. Not much time left.
2 comments:
Ouch!
If it's a right (rather than a duty)I think it follows that a right to vote comes with a right not to vote. If it was a duty, I suspect we would all have been bound to it sooner. I'm voting because I have the right and I choose to exercise it. I can think of and understand dozens of reasons why others may voluntarily decide not to. Seriously, without any problem at all.
There may be dozens of reasons not to vote (which I can't think of) but what message do we take from the resulting silence?
Whatever. You decide. Fine with me.
I've always thought that at the very least, you give legitimacy to your protests when you don't like what happens after-the-fact, if you were involved in before-the-fact.
Anyway, why isn't it a duty? Because it hasn't been legislated? Maybe the next apathetically elected Parliament can impose that on us.
Post a Comment