Why Voting Matters

Submitted by Blair Fisher

I would just like to take a minute as we approach the upcoming provincial election as to why each of our votes matters. Our industry, post-secondary education, is both highly politicized and politically dependent on government funding. We have seen areas within Canada where education is under attack, and the rights to fair bargaining have been eroded. Ontario was a great example of this not long ago when we saw the Premier of that province, Doug Ford, try to use the notwithstanding clause of the Constitution to force an unfair deal on educators.

Many think that individual votes don’t matter. We have over 600 faculty eligible to vote in the upcoming election and we have a local example from within the last decade of how important 600 votes could be. In 2013, the riding of Saanich and the Islands had one of the closest three-way races in recent memory. Gary Homan of the NDP was the eventual winner with 10,515 votes; The Liberal candidate, Stephen Roberts, had 10,352 votes and the Green Party candidate, Adam Olsen, had 10,136 votes. There was also an independent candidate running on an environmental platform who accumulated 599 votes. Those 599 votes (very similar to the number of faculty votes we would cast) likely would have gone to the Greens and made a difference between first and third!

The upcoming election seems like it may be closer than originally expected. Please get out and represent Camosun and our faculty voice.

In solidarity, Blair Fisher       

Election BC (2013) https://elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/2013GE/2013-GE-SOV.pdf

Blair Fisher

CCFA Vice President, ac.ytlucafnusomac@serpeciv

Blair has been active in the Camosun College Faculty Association for over a decade, serving in several Executive roles, including Treasurer and Chair of the Professional Development Committee. With a keen eye for process and a passion for social as well as criminal justice (which he teaches), Blair seeks to make a positive difference in our community through service, whether that’s in Academic Governance & Policy in his elected position on the Education Council or as the CCFA appointed representative on the Federation of Post Secondary Educator’s Pension Advisory Council.