What Voting in This Election Means to Me

Today, in honour of the first day of early voting and in a direct act of protest over the “Essential Spending and Strategic Hiring” announcement we got in a Special CamNews today, I’m writing a very personal message to all of my siblings, colleagues, and friends.

I first moved to Canada in 2010, actually, on May the fourth, as many of you may have heard me joke during our 50th Anniversary Party. I immigrated from the United States, and I have to tell you, elections in Canada confused the heck out of me. Not that I have anything to feel superior about, given that the USA has twice elected presidents who lost the popular vote. This will be the first time I’ve been eligible to vote in any election in Canada; I only just became a Citizen in the spring of 2023. In fact, this year, I have the solemn responsibility and privilege to vote in both the BC Election and the US General Elections, and I don’t take either lightly. I won’t go into US Politics in this post, but if you’ve seen me in person lately, you only have to look at my ever-present water bottles to know where I stand.

But first,

A brief recap of past recent BC Elections & corresponding Public Sector Employer mandates

2009 Election (BC Liberals who now identify as and align with BC Conservatives)

• Premier: Gordon Campbell (BC Liberals)
• Outcome: BC Liberals won their third consecutive term, defeating the BC NDP under Carole James.
• Public Service Employer Mandate: During this time, the BC Liberals maintained tight control over public sector wages. The province implemented wage freezes and limited increases to manage budget deficits stemming from the global financial crisis of 2008, such as the “Net Zero Mandate.” Even before this, since 2001, BC had already endured wages nearly frozen for almost a decade. Those workforce reductions under the BC Liberals were part of the “Core Services Review” and included drastic reductions in public health & education funding we still feel today. As far as I can tell, this was the main reason for the current funding crisis.

2013 Election (BC Liberals)

• Premier: Christy Clark (BC Liberals)
• Outcome: Clark led the BC Liberals to a surprise victory over the BC NDP under Adrian Dix, securing a fourth term for the Liberals.
• Public Service Employer Mandate: The BC Liberals introduced the “Cooperative Gains Mandate,” allowing for modest wage increases for public sector workers. This mandate permitted limited wage increases provided savings were found within existing budgets, meaning that wage increases could only happen by cannibalizing our own contract. Even though our economy was recovering, the mandates relied on wage suppression to maintain balanced budgets.

2017 Election (NDP-Green Alliance)

• Premier: John Horgan (BC NDP)
• Outcome: The BC NDP formed a minority government with support from the BC Greens, led by Andrew Weaver. The election marked the end of 16 years of Liberal governance.
• Public Service Employer Mandate: Horgan’s NDP introduced the “Sustainable Services Negotiating Mandate” (2018–2021). The goal was to support public services and workers through wage increases that were in line with inflation while ensuring affordability for taxpayers. Public sector contracts were focused on improving services and securing fair wage increases, with an emphasis on respect for labour unions. We got a 2% yearly increase for three years of our contract.

2020 Election (BC NDP)

• Premier: John Horgan (BC NDP)
• Outcome: The BC NDP won a decisive majority government in a snap election called during the COVID-19 pandemic. The BC Liberals, under Andrew Wilkinson, suffered a significant defeat, and the Greens maintained their representation.
• Public Service Employer Mandate: The NDP’s public sector policy remained similar to the previous mandate, with continued emphasis on fair compensation and sustainable wage increases. Public health and economic recovery from the pandemic became the focus. The “Shared Recovery Mandate” (2022–2025) was introduced, aligning wages with economic recovery efforts and the need for stable public services during the pandemic recovery phase. This was the first time in 25 years that public sector workers in BC won a Cost of Living Adjustment, which we desperately needed due to the 16 years of conservative wage suppression.

So what’s next?

Some of you have the story of how I lost my “at-will” job in the US due to the 2008 recession and had no job protections, no severance, no rights, and no EI. All because I had no union. Then, I was fortunate enough to land a job in Canada with a positive labour market opinion (a job no Canadian wanted), which allowed me to immigrate, and things were great for a while. Then, once again, my job and employment conditions suddenly changed outside my control, but I was part of a union this time, and my rights and wages were protected. That’s What Unions Do. But unions need labour-friendly governments to realize real gains for more than just wages.

Since moving to BC, I have seen a welcome shift from the BC Liberals’ (really the BC Conservatives’) tight fiscal policies that primarily benefited the wealthy and large corporations to the BC NDP’s more worker-focused mandates. And I want to be clear here, that’s us. We are Academic Workers, and we need to VOTE LIKE IT!

• Conservatives in BC have a history of weakening unions, de-certifying and legislating striking people back to work. They severely limited wage growth for public sector workers for decades, leading to financially strained and understaffed public services, particularly in healthcare and education.
• The current BC NDP government has strengthened unions, increased public service funding, and improved labour conditions for public sector workers, which can lead to better service quality for the public. They have increased wages for both public sector workers and minimum wage earners, aligning these more closely with inflation and cost of living. The NDP has focused more on addressing the high cost of living, particularly in housing and childcare, areas that significantly affect the average worker’s budget.

But, you don’t have to take my word for it. I did my memory and fact-checking on Elections BC and Public Sector Bargaining Mandates & Agreements, now I invite you to do yours. Before you head out to vote, get the facts on who will continue to put workers first by reading each party’s platforms.

The BC Green Party full platform:

• Read the full BC Green Party platform (opens in a new tab)

The BC NDP full platform

• Read the full BC NDP platform (opens in a new tab)

The BC Conservative Party (formerly and/or combined with the Liberals aka BC United) has yet to release a costed platform and instead direct people to the “ideas” section of its website:

• Read the BC Conservative Party’s ‘ideas’ page (opens in a new tab)

Early voting begins today. If you haven’t read Blair Fisher’s blog post on Why Voting Matters, I hope that you will before October 19.

Congratulations on getting this far! Finally, you may still be wondering what does voting in this election mean to me as a new Canadian, but then again, maybe not. Maybe you’ve already gleaned some of my motivations from the information I’ve shared with you. Every day, I work to support, educate, and protect your rights because YOU elected me to serve. There’s something sacred about being elected; it is a covenant between the body politic and those we entrust to govern us. I know who I trust to do that in this election, and we all owe it to each other to honour that covenant by voting.

I hope to see you at the polls! If you post on social media, use the hashtag #ccfavotes to let me know! Not sure if you are registered or where to find your polling location? https://elections.bc.ca/2024-provincial-election/ways-to-vote/