What Influences the Voters

 Every political party has some blind supporters. That's why they succeed. No matter how much you campaign or communicate in the community, they won't change their mind. You can only change those candidates' minds who are not that involved in politics, are neutral-minded, don't know about all candidates, and want to decide after listening to everyone.

If men think they won't vote for women, they won't. If you put a bulldog as a candidate, they will vote for the dog, not the woman. It's really difficult to change this kind of mindset.

Some people think, traditionally, we always vote for the same party, and I will continue. But people don't realize that, with time, parties and their candidates are changing, and so are their mindsets. And sometimes someone much better can stand in another party.

Some only look for their own benefit. They forget everyone's benefit is the real benefit and from where people can actually get benefited.

Some don't understand climate issues, global issues, or humanitarian issues. They only know they are the best, so they do things to improve their lives and forget other matters.

Sometimes, to stop someone worse, people vote for the second-placed person. They had to leave the person they actually liked.

The majority of voters are not open-minded. That's why sometimes a good party and its candidates remain partisan.

A story of self

 I am Shahana Shafiuddin. I am from Bangladesh, a South Asian country. Now, I am a Canadian Citizen. I came to Canada nine years ago with permanent residency and started to live in Saskatchewan. I lived in that province for six years. The region is well known for its harsh, cold weather.

The challenges I faced: I came from a tropical country where I had never seen snow. Then, I started living in a place covered in snow for eight months. I also faced language challenges because of my different accent and some new Canadian terms. Like here, people understand what is "a toilet" or "trial room." I started working with minimum wage, and I felt it was complicated to get a good pay job to live well. I didn’t know where I should go for recreation. I didn’t have any idea about the indigenous people. I had learned some misperceptions about them from the whites and other races people.

In this situation, two social organizations helped me. I joined “The Saskatoon Open Door Society” as a volunteer and registered as a newcomer to “Global Gathering.” They helped and supported me in organizing all forms to apply for major benefits as a newcomer and my child’s benefit. We joined and visited different historical places in the province and learned about Indigenous history; I worked with them and gained experience. Mostly, they let me join a city corporation meeting as a consultant, took me to city hall for a general meeting, and gave me an idea of how the City works in Canada. Here I must inform you that I have already completed my Master in Geography & Environment (Group: Urban Planning) from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

These experiences led me to decide to work as a community worker. Since I have been helped by the Canadian community, I can give something back to the Canadian Community.

"A Deafening Silence," Nancy Macdonald (2015)

 In the article "A Deafening Silence," Nancy Macdonald (2015) wrote about Indigenous people's suffering in Canada. To elaborate on the feelings of the Indigenous people, she first told us about some current issues in the Indigenous community. For example, the writer mentioned many suicide cases (The youngest person who committed suicide is an 11-year-old boy), MMIWG: missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (From 1995, more than 800 women and girls have been murdered or missing), poverty, children's school dropping, a considerable percentage of Indigenous people in jail, poor health conditions, and poor living standards (Indigenous people are living like third to fourth world living condition). Then, she gave the audience some examples of the political leader's commitment to solving Indigenous people's problems and how much the Indigenous people had gained from those commitments. The truth is Indigenous people didn't gain much from those who have the power in Canada. That's why many activists are working hard to make the change. That's why the writer said, "The Idle No More movement initiated a massive push for change, and a huge number of activists have been channelling their energy to get-out-the-vote initiatives like Indigenous Rock the Vote." (Nancy Mcdonald, 2015, p. 3)

 

The writer Nancy Macdonald mentioned some quotations from different Indigenous scholars, including Wab Kinew (an author and university administrator), Hayden King (an Indigenous scholar), and Justice Murray Sinclair (the Truth and Reconciliation Commission chair), to support her points. Justice Murray Sinclair knew that the federal government would be the slowest to react and take any necessary actions to solve problems for the Indigenous community. However, the government is primarily responsible for this discriminative situation with the Indigenous community. Now, the only thing that can move them from their current policy is the vote; if voters want to change the case, the government will. Because they need the votes to keep the power, that's why it's essential to educate everyone about the Indigenous crisis. Then, more people will become aware of giving the right to the Indigenous community. The Federal government will have no choice but to take the right policy to treat the Indigenous community. Hayden King mentioned that Canadians have become very sensitive to humanitarian issues in the world. This attitude is excellent, but at the same time, they do not care about the Indigenous problems. All humans should always be treated the same, but Canadian decision-makers didn't include the Indigenous people in this issue. They have been fighting for a long time to achieve their right.

 

Reference:      

Macdonald, M. (October 2015). A Deafening Silence (Volume 128, Issue 40, p. 1- 4.). Maclean's