9 minute read
Editorial
Dropping Vote on Campus program is voter suppression
When I first voted in 2015, I went to the ballot with high hopes that my decision on election day had the capacity to address issues that were important to me. Things like climate action, debt relief for students, fully subsidized university tuition, the growing inequality gap, fair and redistributive tax policy, proactivity toward clean and accessible drinking water on reserves and progress in terms of truly universal medicare were all issues in the back of my mind when I selected the candidate that I wanted to represent me and my riding. But as time passed, my stake in Canada’s democracy felt less and less important. Although the party I selected that day wasn’t elected, the Liberal Party of Canada — which managed to win a majority in a runaway election that year — broadcasted a somewhat similar platform. While 2015 made significant progress with youth turnout records, today, very little has been done to address issues most important to this demographic. In 2011, a mere 55 per cent of voters from ages 18 to 24 managed to express their fraction of political influence at the ballot. However, in 2015, youth voting saw a large 12 per cent jump thanks to Elections Canada’s introduction of the Vote on Campus program, which allowed students to vote for candidates in their riding at the campuses they attended. Instead of moving through bureaucratic mazes trying to apply for a mail-in ballot during exam week, travelling home to vote or participating in a local riding with less knowledge of the candidates, students were able to participate in their democracy without unnecessary stress. A combination of apathy, the inconvenience of voting and political cynicism plagues this demographic. However, making voting for young adults easy, to no surprise, improved turnout dramatically. In turn, it also improved the chances that our generation’s most pressing concerns might be represented in parliament. Unfortunately, Elections Canada — along with the Liberal party’s decision to call a rapid and disputedly illegal snap election — is hindering youth ability to vote in one of the most consequential elections in history. Elections Canada said
Decision could make the 2021 election the most undemocratic in years EDITORIAL COVID-19 and its inability to conjure voting stations on such short notice were behind the organization’s decision to suspend the Vote on Campus program. An already disenfranchised population that is disproportionately affected by job loss, stagnant real wages, evictions, mental health issues and the potentially disastrous future of global warming is now facing the challenges that accompany voter suppression — not to mention the various marginalized populations that intersect within this age demographic. These developments could have a potentially calamitous result on Canada’s policy decisions going forward, and it already shows in many politicians’ campaign trails. So far, only leader of the New Democratic Party Jagmeet Singh has addressed student issues during his campaign — albeit only once. Katherine Scott, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, noted politicians are likely ignoring the youth vote due to the abrupt nature of the upcoming election, forcing leaders to focus on the most important constituencies. However, it certainly doesn’t help that these same politicians are likely aware the youth vote will be significantly reduced due to Elections Canada’s decision. Suppressing young adults’ vote not only has a stake in this year’s election, but in years to come as well. Research has shown voting is a habitual practice — the more you vote while young, the more you will likely vote in the future. The same goes for not voting — if you make it a habit, that habit is likely to continue in the future. In the two years since Canada’s last election, over 800,000 people reached the appropriate age to vote. By suppressing these newly eligible voters in this year’s snap election, Elections Canada is digging a massive hole that may be difficult to get out of. For years, media outlets have targeted youth for being apathetic voters, but social restraints produced by our voting system is the causal factor. If voting is made accessible, young adults are more likely to partake in democracy. Now more than ever, the world needs the young vote represented in Parliament. Engaged voters are aware that the post-pandemic recovery plan could dictate the future for decades to come. However, one question remains: whose future will it be?
graphic / Dallin Chicoine/
staff
words / Lucas Edmond/
staff
Podcast series explores Franco-Manitoban identity
Alumni cross language gap to raise English awareness of minority communities
ARTS & CULTURE
Sarah Doran, staff Two born-and-bred Winnipeggers have created a podcast examining the history, identity and challenges surrounding Canada’s minority francophone communities. Beyond Riel, a limited series presented by cohosts and U of M alumni André Marchildon and Ian T. D. Thomson, aims at expanding non-francophone understanding of the rich culture across the country beyond surface knowledge of Louis Riel, the founder of Manitoba and a prominent Métis figure in Canadian history.
In February 2020, the pair connected at a U of M alumni event in Toronto, Ont. where they are both pursuing further degrees at the University of Toronto. A shared interest in public policy and politics led to discussions of francophone affairs. Marchildon, who grew up speaking French, was interested in reconnecting with the topics affecting minority French communities and quickly realized language barriers had created accessibility complications around sharing information.
He drew particular inspiration from the French podcast Mon drapeau franco-manitobain — in English, My Franco-Manitoban Flag — which discussed the history of the FrancoManitoban community and its flag on the 40th anniversary of the flag’s creation.
“I found it very interesting, but I realized it was not accessible to non-francophones,” Marchildon said.
“In general, there are a lot of resources focusing on the Franco-Manitoban community in French but few in English. This is where the idea of creating a podcast in English to explore the Franco-Manitoban community came from.”
The podcast showcases Marchildon as part of the minority francophone community it seeks to highlight, while Thomson plays the role of the anglophone target audience.
“As a Winnipegger and non-francophone, I found myself initially unaware of the issues and challenges of the francophone community that André would bring up in conversation,” Thomson said.
“It occurred to us that many non-francophone Canadians are not aware of the challenges facing francophone minority groups. People know about Louis Riel, but there is so much more to minority francophone communities across Canada. With Beyond Riel, we saw an opportunity to shed light on those francophone topics to a non-francophone audience.”
The pandemic proved an unexpected benefit to creating the podcast, with the pair returning to Winnipeg and guests able to contribute via Zoom. Thomson’s previous experience producing podcasts, both with UMFM and at other universities, also came in handy.
“With this project, we knew we had to be well researched, sensitive to the topics discussed and ensure that we were gathering a breadth of experiences and perspectives from those across the community,” he said.
Episode topics include francophone culture across Canada, questions of who is included in francophone communities and the Official Languages Act — which requires all Canadian federal institutions to provide services in both French and English — with guests ranging from historians to politicians and artists. The podcast’s music comes from Franco-Manitoban singer-songwriter Rayannah.
While both Marchildon and Thomson are currently focused on their studies, the duo have not ruled out returning to the Beyond Riel premise.
“We think this is an important topic and we certainly have ideas for further episodes,” Marchildon said.
“We have already discussed the
provided / UMFM image /
possibility of producing a second season if this first one is well received. We believe that there can — and should be — more discussions around the issues and challenges of minority francophone communities.”
Beyond Riel airs on UMFM 101.5 every Monday at 11 a.m. and is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. More information is available at umfm.com/series/ beyond-riel.
arts@themanitoban.com
Rhayne Vermette’s debut feature-length film artistically contends the past
ARTS & CULTURE
Grace Paizen, volunteer The flickering, 16mm of U of M alumna Rhayne Vermette’s first feature-length film, Ste. Anne, speaks more than the limited script of the picture. Just as the narrative follows main character Renée — played by Vermette — and her abrupt entrance back into her family after her equally abrupt exit four years before, the artistic shots of darkness, overexposure and fauxaged film bring an accuracy to how memory functions.
The film follows a linear path of Renée’s rejoining the family in a Manitoba fall, living in the house of her brother, Modeste, played by Jack Theis, his wife, Elenore, played by Valerie Marion and Renée’s own daughter — raised by her brother and sister-in-law in her absence — Athene, played by Isabelle d’Eschambault. However, the highlights of the year — Halloween, Christmas and a Manitoba summer — are interrupted by bursts of visions and memories. Athene confides in Elenore that Renée “doesn’t resemble the memories [she has] of her,” pointing to the romanticization of memories that happens over time, especially if that figure is someone we love — and in the case of Athene, her birth mother.
In humour, during the Halloween sequence, the funniest line of the film is uttered after the women of the family have gone trick-or-treating as nuns with white coverings hiding their faces — “there’s nothing scarier than a nun!”
In this moment, the niche territory of rural Manitoba becomes manifest, where stories shared by those who survived cruel nuns in the francophone communities of the Prairie province are ignited in the local viewer. Moreover, this moment, juxtaposed against the film as an artistic memoir of a Métis family, suggests that through humour, racism and reconciling past trauma can be broached. shots at dusk. However, the slowness eventually hooks you in as you realize the silences between become moments for reverie.
In fact, the film itself acts as a proxy for the narrative as the viewer attempts, along with Modeste and Elenore, to piece together what happened to make Renée leave and what her next move will be.
The familiar Manitoban sound of the train is heard throughout the film, grounding an otherwise artistic picture in realism, paired with the calls of local vireos and sparrows, as well as the notorious honks of Canada geese.
At the core of the film, the complicated relationship of family is brought to light, and the unspoken words between siblings ring loud.
The question of where Renée had disappeared to is just as unanswered as why Modeste and Elenore took it upon themselves to raise Athene. In fact, it begs a third question: what do we owe our family and ancestors?
/ provided photo / Rhayne Vermette
state an answer to this, Renée’s return and purchase of a lot near Ste. Anne, Man. suggests there is no real escape from our past and that the only thing one can do is embrace who we are by where we came from.
