In 2015, I lost the right to vote in federal
elections because I had been living outside Canada for more than five years. This
post is not a retroactive rant about the government’s decision to restrict the
vote of more than one million non-resident Canadians like me. Rather, it’s a
valentine to a system of government that can change.
Earlier this year I read the measures taken
to restrict voting rights for Canadians abroad were being contested in the
Supreme Court. The court's ruling led the current government to reverse course
and restore the vote for expat Canucks. I soon applied online to be part of the
new international register of electors. I received a notice in the mail
confirming I would again be able to vote. Good stuff, right?
Canadian citizenship entails certain rights,
freedoms, and responsibilities. Every citizen should have the right to vote
regardless of where they live. It’s wonderful the law changed thanks to healthy
civil discourse, political action, and the rule of law. That process rendered
change without any violence. If that’s not another terrific example of
democracy (and the Canadian social contract) in action, what is?
I need to get off the soapbox, I know. In a nutshell,
I was gratified to have my right to vote returned to me. I can again be a part
of the elections that steer the direction of my country. Once a Canadian,
always a Canadian. And huzzah for democracy.
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| Courtesy of the Parliament of Canada |
