Provencher By-Election

By Jeff Weeldon

Vic Toews’ retirement last month means that Provencher will be having a by-election soon; at the time of this writing it has not yet been called, but it’s expected to come sometime in September. Right now the upcoming by-election is oddly unpredictable for a riding where, for the past several elections, the results were always very predictable. We don’t yet know who will be running for each party, and because this by-election is taking place before the annual policy conventions of the Conservatives and Liberals, we don’t even know for sure which issues they’ll be campaigning on. But with the disaster of Lac Mégantic and dozens of oil spills in the past year, two issues that are bound to come up are Canada’s energy resources and our environment. Those two issues are at the core of any discussion of sustainability, and an election is a great time to make your voice heard!

Over the next several weeks we’ll be profiling the top four parties in regard to their approach to sustainability. South Eastman Transition Initiative is a non-partisan group, dedicated to exploring and promoting sustainability, and we believe that sustainability is a value that fits in any political vision or party. As such, our party profiles will aim to provide a fair and balanced look at what the parties are saying about issues of sustainability such as: energy development, energy use, and transport; climate change and greenhouse gas emissions; conservation of habitat and resources; approaches to economic growth and accountability; and more. We’ll also look at the track records of the parties, because sometimes politicians have short memories (a by-product of always looking to the future, no doubt!).

We’ll also be looking at each of the candidates, once they are announced. Being a by-election, there will be no change in the government at this time, so the views and qualities of each candidate is even more important than those of their party. The person who represents Provencher in the House of Commons matters, particularly because they won’t be a Cabinet Minister like Vic Toews was (at least at first), which means that they’ll have more time to spend in our riding, listening to the people to find out what concerns us. So when the election arrives, don’t be distracted by Justin Trudeau’s hair, Thomas Mulcair’s beard, Elizabeth May’s passion, or Stephen Harper’s remarkable ability to stay on message; remember that you’re voting for your own representative, not a party leader!

But being a by-election, we will be drawing the attention of the entire country, including the party leaders. This gives us more opportunities than ever to make sure that the issues we care about are being talked about. Take the opportunity to get involved with a party, write a letter to the editor, show up to a debate or information meeting and ask questions. Join us in making sure that all of the parties know Provencher cares about living sustainably!