Congratulations to every Canadian that voted. Voting is never just an exercise. It is the greatest privilege we have. How many people in the world today would love to be counted amongst those with a voice in the choice of government? Kevin Smith, President of the Grey Bruce Labour Council, also wonders if “those in government understand that serving people as an elected public servant is a profound privilege.”
In the two ridings that straddle the Grey Bruce Labour Council this level of privilege appears to have been lost on some or all of the candidates in Huron-Bruce and Bruce-Grey, Owen Sound. Smith notes that the “Grey Bruce Labour Council, a voice of thousands of workers in our region since 1956, sent a list of questions to candidates, not one of them responded. This list of questions had but only one objective, to allow the information to be shared and to aid in ensuring an informed electorate. Not one candidate in 2021 is unaware of the Grey-Bruce Labour Council, so for those candidates that were able to see and read the list of questions it is clear that a level of contempt for openness is a casualty of their campaign”. Dave Trumble, Grey Bruce Labour Council Vice President for Bruce, sees the failure to respond “as contempt for workers. How is it possible to deny an open an honest response to questions of interest to the Labour Council locally and also consistent with national organizations representing millions of workers across Canada?”
If all the candidates provided comprehensive answers, would the outcome in the two ridings changed? It is unlikely according to Chris Stephen. Chris Stephen, Grey Bruce Labour Council Vice President for Grey and a past candidate, knows these ridings very well and understands implicitly that the history of Huron-Bruce and Bruce-Grey, Owen Sound is to vote less as informed voters and more as “they always have.” Disappointed in yet another blue wave in our region, Stephen and the Labour Council know that “until demographics force the necessary change in paradigm and people vote on information rather than dogma, we will not see progressive MP’s or MPP’s in our region.”
Labour is clearly not cheering loudly over a Liberal government. However, there is vast sigh of collective relief that we did not wake up to a Conservative government in Ottawa. Being a realist, Smith knows the Liberals quite well as they “campaign from the left and then rule from the right side of the political spectrum. If this were any different, we would have had national anti-scab legislation and a solid move to a national and public pharmacare and dental care plan long ago amongst other legitimately progressive legislation before now.”
Speaking on behalf of the Grey Bruce Labour Council, both Stephen and Trumble understand “that labour in Grey Bruce, and likely well beyond, will stand ready to be accepted as equal players by elected officials as we all dig out from under COVID-19. Any path forward to recovery from the pandemic requires labour at the table as equals and leaders in this recovery. Hopefully our recently re-elected MP’s have a clear understanding of this.”
source: media release, Grey Bruce Labour Council
