Once again, I am asking for you to take to the polls

It’s time to vote, Concordians

Just under a month ago, we headed to the polls to cast our vote on a surprise federal election. The underwhelming result of the ballots tied with evidence of a historically low voter turnout, made for a truly bummer display of civic duty. And while we sit with that, Quebec is calling on us to retrace our steps to the voting booth.

Generally speaking, reasons to not participate in elections usually fall between feeling disenchanted in our voting system, or not wanting to waste a perfectly good Sunday standing in line. After all, why waste the effort when the real election is over, right?

However, it’s arguable that municipal elections have more weight on our day-to-day lives than a federal election do. Unlike Ottawa, the debate governing the bureaucratic red tape is in our neighbourhoods for our neighbourhoods; which includes deciding on bike lanes, building codes, and business policies, to name a few.

Last election in 2017, Montreal voted for Projet Montréal’s candidate Valérie Plante to help bring accountability to local government and city construction projects, decrease housing costs, and increase pedestrian spaces, along with a number of seemingly progressive policies to take the city to the next level. Whether or not you think she has succeeded, Plante played a crucial role in breaking or accomplishing these promises.

Just over 70 per cent of Concordia students are Quebec residents (or approximately 32,000 people). Given that the last election was decided by a margin of 27,138 votes, Concordians have a real weight in determining our city’s future.

To put it in perspective, this election will determine how the local government will handle the housing crisis, funding of the police, French and English language laws for business and education, expansion of the public transportation system, revitalizing the downtown economy, protecting heritage sites, and more.

This week, take time to research and compare the different party platforms running to steer the city, because ultimately, this is our city to decide on too.

 

Photograph by Alex Hutchins

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