Democracy is never easy

Ben Bull, Columnist –

As we hurtle towards another municipal election, with arms flailing and hearts racing, a cou­ple of questions spring to mind:

What are the main issues? And what’s this about an elec­tion?

Nobody I know seems to care much about what’s happening down at Toronto City Hall. Sure, my household will trudge to the polls on October 26 (is that the date?), but it won’t be with ex­citement. More a reluctant sense of duty.

Let’s be honest: Toronto city politics aren’t that exciting.

Mayor Olivia Chow doesn’t get me hot and bothered when she announces another road clo­sure. She doesn’t get me scram­bling for the epi-pen when she mumbles something about pot­holes and property taxes.

Isn’t our Chief City Spokes­person supposed to get us riled up about our future? Isn’t she supposed to sell us a vision, tell us where we’re going and how much fun we’re going to have when we get there?

Maybe I’m thinking of Willy Wonka.

The only thing I think of when Mayor Chow comes to mind is that barely-there Caribana cos­tume she wore a few years ago. It doesn’t matter how many times I bang my head – I can’t erase that image.

If any of our city councillors have a vision and a passion for this city, it too is not emanating very far.

The other thing that makes this election a good opportunity for a nap is the incumbent fac­tor. Those damn incumbents! They always win!

It wouldn’t be so bad if they were voted in on merit, but we voters are so risk-averse and easily distracted – squirrel! – that they get an automatic X be­cause we once saw them on the telly.

My councillor is hopeless. I’ve lost count of the number of emails she’s ignored or miscon­strued. To give her credit, she is very good at attending photo ops. When I flipped through her election brochure, I realized she must have walked on the moon and invented insulin while opening a new skateboard park.

What is this election about anyway?

According to a cursory Goog­le search I made about two min­utes before starting this article, the key talking points are taxes, TTC fares, housing and data centres.

What’s that? No, I wasn’t yawning – I was just, er, swal­lowing a fly.

These aren’t unimportant is­sues, they are just, well, the same. Every four years we ar­gue about the same subjects, and every four years our city council fails to remotely address any of them. Other things that will get worse before they never get bet­ter didn’t even make this year’s hit list: homelessness, road safe­ty, bike lanes, pedestrianization.

It’s no wonder we’re apathet­ic. Political apathy is spreading all over the globe, as the voting public awakens to the reality that democracy is not meant for them.

But democracy should not just be for Doug Ford’s buddies or the backroom deal-makers at City Hall. City councillors should answer our emails. They should take our calls. They should make the changes that will improve all of our lives.

Democracy isn’t easy. We know that, but it shouldn’t be this hard.

During England’s recent byelection in Clacton-On-Sea, the main challenger to incum­bent Nigel Farage – a space alien called Count Binface – promised to build one affordable house.

That would be a start.

Our city council has been hobbled by the double whammy of Mike Harris’s amalgamation and Doug Ford’s remapping the wards. But there are still so many things we can do to fix these same old issues.

Maybe this time it will be different. Sure, the faces will be the same, and my pulse will probably never get above sixty beats a minute. But maybe we’ll get a pedestrianized street in my lifetime, or a sidewalk you don’t need to walk sideways on.

We can always hope. We can always vote.