The Conservative government of Canada has decided that your vote is unwanted. Lots of people like to talk about low youth voter turnout and the importance of engaging us in the political process. No one who cares about democratic participation would claim that Canada is at risk of having too many people voting – during the last elections, 61 percent of eligible voters cast ballots across the country, and only 49 percent in Winnipeg Centre – making it that much stranger that the government tabled the Fair Elections Act on February 4. 

This Act does everything except make the elections process fairer. It undermines the independence of Elections Canada, it gives the winning candidate/party a leg up in the subsequent election, it makes it almost impossible for electoral investigations to be brought to light, it prohibits Elections Canada from trying to get people to actually vote, and it makes it harder for entire communities to actually cast a ballot. 

Of all the changes, students will likely be most directly impacted by the voter-suppressing changes to ID requirements. By tightening the voter ID rules, the Act will make it harder for particular classes of people to vote: those who move often like students, those in poverty, and those who are housing insecure. If you’re studying/living in a riding that is different from your official registered address (eg. your parents’ address), then you can’t vote in the riding in which you live. If you want to do that, you’ll have to change your address with the government every single time you move, even if you know you’ll only be there for a short period of time. Because you never know when a snap election might be called (remember when there were three elections in four years back in the mid-2000s?).

These changes will affect over 100,000 people across the country, including thousands of students.

It’s worth noting that these same changes were implemented in Tea Party states in the U.S. as a way of preventing those who are more likely to disagree with them (read: those most impacted by their policies and decisions) from getting to the polls. During the last election in Canada, the federal government shutdown advance polling stations on campuses, even when one set up at the University of Guelph proved incredibly successful after only one day. High student turnout apparently scares the Conservative party (shocking, eh?).

It is clear that this Bill is not in the best interests of students and not in the best interests of Canadians or a fair and accessible electoral process. The government is trying to fast-track approval of the changes by shutting down debate, which should tell you how much they want them passed.

We cannot let these changes happen, regardless of where we stand on the political spectrum. Youth, students and Canadians of all political stripes are working to push back against this Act. Organisations like the Canadian Federation of Students, the Council of Canadians and Leadnow are asking people to call or write to their MP to ask that they vote against the Bill. There is too much to lose if this Act passes, and it is our responsibility to let the government know that our votes will be cast, whether they want them or not.

Bilan Arte is Chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students–Manitoba. She previously served a term as President at the University of Manitoba Students’ Union and has been involved in student activism in Manitoba for over three years. She is currently completing a degree in Political Studies and Criminology at the University of Manitoba.

Published in Volume 68, Number 20 of The Uniter (February 13, 2014)