THE VOTES ARE IN AND THE WINNERS OF THE READERS CHOICE AWARDS ARE . . .
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015
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TPP deal could have been worse
The
politics of voting There exists a small subset amongst the First Nations community who believe the system is too broken to bother, others disagree
Larry Commodore won’t vote in this election. BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com
Smaller farmers will be hurt, taxpayers will make up shortfall BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com
T broader population, they went overseas to fight for Canada, in part to come home and get the franchise. “I keep telling these younger folks, ‘Your grandparents and great-grandparents paid with their blood to vote,’” Crey says. “’And you turn around, and you come up with two or three reasons why you shouldn’t? You are not obliged to vote. Just remember the price paid by your parents and great-grandparents.’” Crey, who is 66, said there is even an element of what he calls the “aboriginal version of the hipster” who is too cool to vote; just above voting.
he dairy industry here in Chilliwack and across Canada held its collective breath as negotiations wound down in the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) fearing supply management would be dismantled. Now, a collective sigh of relief as the final agreement looks to be EB IRST not as bad for milk producers First reported on than the industry chilliwacktimes.com feared. Conservative incumbent and candidate for Chilliwack-Hope Mark Strahl said the government promised to promote free trade and protect supply management “and we’ve kept that promise by doing both.” “This is a great day for Canadian farmers and the Canadian economy,” Strahl said in a press release issued Monday. The dairy industry itself, however, was less gushing about the outcome. “B.C. dairy farmers are not happy
{ See VOTE, page A21 }
{ See TPP, page A4 }
Ernie Crey is encouraging aboriginals to vote.
“Governments are no longer representative of us as a people but are serving corporate interests.” - Larry Commodore Ernie Crey and Larry Commodore, both well-respected activists and leaders in their circles. For Commodore, who used to be involved in get-out-the-vote campaigns—he even received 1,511 votes when he ran for the Green Party provincially in the 2001 provincial election—the system is too broken to bother. “Governments are no long representative of us as a people but are
serving corporate interests,” Commodore says. “After listening to some of my progressive friends, finally I said what the f--k am I doing this for? I’m just enabling a corrupt, rotten system.” Crey finds that argument “forced,” and he has one over-arching reason why Indians (his term) should vote: Because aboriginal people were not allowed to vote in 1939, yet in numbers proportionately higher than the
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To vote or not to vote. For many in the broader community, not voting in any election is a measure of apathy or indifference, perhaps ignorance of the issues, but for a small subset of the First Nations community, not voting is a political act in itself. So amid a broad-based movement across Canada among aboriginal leaders to increase voter turnout in the on- and off-reserve community, there are those who suggest democracy is broken. Take local Sto:lo band members
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