Vote for what’s best

By Darren Lum

Maybe life will get better.
After more than two years of life during a pandemic, there has been a lot of uncertainty.
Maybe it’s almost over. Maybe not. Vaccines are the answer to all our hopes for a world close to what we remembered pre-COVID. Maybe not.
We’re adding housing to the area. Maybe not. We’re hiring. Oh, wait. There isn’t any housing. So, maybe not. Spring is here. Maybe not. Again, after two years we all should be used to this uncertainty. Maybe not.

With the upcoming provincial election on June 2, there is an opportunity for less maybes and more yes, this can happen. I’m under no illusion that Doug Ford’s time in office is really threatened. His record during the pandemic is suspect. His dealings with healthcare which includes blaming PSWs early on in the pandemic for increasing transmission rates when they are forced to work multiple shifts at different long-term care facilities to work full time hours is an example of the blame game he falls back on. Also, his I didn’t know this was going to happen (at pick a wave) to the complaints about the federal government are tired. Last year at this time, an audit of pandemic-related health spending results showed the province failed to properly track billions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds, including high-profile programs like pay increases for frontline workers.
If Ontario hopes for a change, it’s not likely. The politically left voting group (who can vote for more than one party) leaves Ontario divided in a way that leaves it ripe for another conservative win. I’m not telling anyone to vote strategically. However, the national dental program came to be because of the NDP-Liberal agreement only a few months ago. Sometimes a unified effort is needed. Isn’t this a common lesson for children? Why is politics so different?

So, it’s important now more than ever we hold the politician we vote for to be accountable to what they promise. If they say they’re looking out for the working class, then it’s important to not fall victim to measly handouts of “buck a beer” promises, or a few hundred dollars in the mail from refunding the fees associated to license plate stickers. Giving money back to the detriment of government programming for what typically affects the population with the most to lose, who are the low income earners, is an insult of our intelligence.
One thing that is certain is how we respond to the challenges that face our community and find common ground among other communities, so we can all move forward despite the threat of a Third World War and the rising cost of living from global inflation.
We have the power within us all to decide the government that will serve us the best.
Let’s base our vote on their past records instead of who we think we can have a beer with or thinks gets us. They’re supposed to be our representatives. Not a date. This approach doesn’t really lend itself well to running a province.

And then again, maybe voters don’t care. As in love, we choose who we think we deserve rather than who is best for us in the long-run.
Rather than hope, let’s put action to our words and change the pattern. So, instead of maybe, it’s what if we do this to make a difference we all can derive benefit from? Or maybe not.