The Vote Is In

So it is now official... the teachers voted today on whether or not to strike. The unofficial vote count is that just under 75% actually voted and 57% voted in favour of a strike while 43% voted against it. Those results can be found here. OPSEU has also released a statement here that does not list the actual numbers but they did vote yes to the strike. It should also be noted that the earliest they would strike is mid-February. On one hand that gives them more time to reach an agreement which is good. On the other hand, the later you get into the semester the more it impacts the students which really is what they are going for... maximum impact. More marks are due later in the semester and you start having finals... grades not going in... courses not being completed... people not being able to graduate. Not a good scene. Hopefully it does not go to a strike and they can reach an agreement.

Election Results

So now that the dust has settled and Ontario has voted it seems that the Liberals have another majority government which is what was predicted. I am not sure if it was won based on actual platforms, attacking the opponents or because of a mistake made by the Conservatives. There is no question that the decision to provide funding to faith based schools caused some flak but then to rescind that platform halfway through might have been an even bigger mistake.

I question whether or not you can truly call it a democracy however. Take my local riding for instance. Only 59% of voters even turned out. And of those 59% 48% voted for the Liberal candidate. So really only 28% of the people in Petborough actually voted for him. Does that mean that he really represents Peterborough? More like he represents about half the people who bothered to get off their ass and vote.

What makes it even sadder is that this is not just a local problem. Only 51.4% of eligible voters went to the polls and cast a ballot. So when the Liberals achieved their majority government they really only represent about 25% of the entire population. Something seems kind of wrong with that picture and with our sense of democracy. The Liberals are cheering their victory and having a majority government but they should really be concerned with the level of voter apathy.

Got Out to Vote

Today I went out to vote. I wasn't sure I really wanted to. I am still pretty apathetic about it and am not sure that any of them are saying anything that will really benefit me. But I know that if I don't make the effort I really can't complain about what decisions are made and what laws are passed. So I did my civic duty and got out to vote.