Why Independent?

 Why Independent ?

When you are hiring an employee do you expect them to work for you or their ‘people’? When you elect an MP, do you expect them to work for you or their party? You elect them, you pay them, but whom do they represent? Which is better for you?

Canadians are experiencing, participating and watching an electoral process once more. Many Canadians do not know how it works, some would rather not know. Even the many informed citizens don’t fully understand the process of becoming a candidate. I would like to offer some information in common terms and perhaps dispel some of the myths and societal hurdles. For detailed information, please go to www.electionscanada.ca where they list the laws, the process and so forth.

The first obstacle for an independent candidate is getting permission from the electorate. Elections Canada requires that any Canadian citizen 18 years or over, who is eligible to stand for election must collect 100 signatures from people eligible to vote in their riding. These people are being asked permission for the individual to be heard, to offer themselves as a potential representative of the people. Basically no person can stand for election without the consent of at least 100 people in their riding.

So what are these 100 individual voters consenting to? Very simply they are consenting to the democratic process. That is all. They do not have to endorse the person as the best candidate; they do not have to ensure they will vote for them. So in a sense to deny someone the right to stand, is to deny the democratic process. But many Canadians, who say they want a better, truer, fairer and just democratic system of governance, will deny the individual the right to be heard. They do so because they do not like what the person is saying, or they feel they are betraying their political party.

Most often the parties will have a riding association or group of party supporters who will sign their candidates nomination papers. This is not the case for the independent.

An independent must have a very strong desire to run in an election. They must come up with $1,000.00 deposit to give to Elections Canada with their nomination papers. After the election, their financial agent must fill out financial declarations, have them reviewed by an auditor and submit them to Elections Canada. If their paperwork is completed on time and properly they will receive their money back.

The independent must find a suitable person to be their financial agent. This is someone they can trust to handle all their financial duties. This person collects any donations, disburses the money for signs, advertising and issues tax receipts on behalf of the candidate. In a party system, there are most often resources to help with the details. An independent must handle this by their self. Parties can raise funds in between elections. Independents cannot raise any funds until they are registered as a candidate.

The time constrictions on a candidate are very tight. There is much to do and not much time.

So why do it?

With a process that is clearly very demanding one might ask, 'why would anyone want to run as an independent'? I would liken it to this; why would anyone run into a burning building? There must be something inside that building that is worth risking life and limb for! In a democracy where the people’s voice is the government, an independent is seeking something of value that is worth risking their reputation, their personal funds, their time and commitment to achieve.

For some people, democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom from oppression, police state, unacceptable levels of mismanaged public funds, unacceptable levels of perceived corruption in their system of governance, and other issues which they feel are not being addressed; causes them to remove themselves from ‘group think’ and take the leap into standing alone. An independent may say, ‘if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself’. This does not mean they are not willing to work as a team, it means that they want to be part of a change. At some level they have decided that there is something inside that burning building worth risking everything in order to try to get it.

More Hurdles

Standing as an independent can be seen as a very public exposure of self. There is no party or group of people to protect you. There is no platform created by unknown individuals and placed into a handy folder for easy reference during candidate debates/forums. Further obstacles present themselves by way of the media. If you have been given the opportunity to become a registered candidate and your name is placed on the ballot, you now have the obstacle of getting your message to the voter.

Traditions

The big parties will have advertisements in newspapers, on the radio and television. The individual party candidate in a riding doesn’t have to say much, because of the party platform already being offered through media. People will have a certain concept of the party and knowing that the party candidate must follow party lines, they don’t have to inquire too deeply to know what the candidate will do. The public perception of parties is often not entirely accurate. Unless you’ve worked within one, you might think that every candidate has already passed some sort of test, police checks, or intelligence test, maybe even an honesty, integrity check, but my experience has been the exact opposite. Most parties allow their riding associations to find a candidate, perhaps vote within the riding association and then present the name to the party headquarters. Unless something is known in the area, or some person comes forward with a piece of information about the candidate, it is unlikely that much testing has taken place. Small parties that do not have riding associations, will do even less background checks because they don’t have the resources. So if you are relying on the party to have pre-tested your party candidate, you might want to rethink that approach.

The majority of Canadians do not belong to a party. This would indicate either a lack of interest or a conscious declaration of disapproval of the system. Either way the independent is perhaps the most likely mirror of society. Canadians want a true, fair and just society. We keep calling for electoral reform, and more accountability, yet the very method to gain our objective is not understood by many. An independent candidate, is truly free to serve their constituents because they have no party to conform to, no party whip to force them to vote one way or the other in Parliament and their loyalty is not divided. They have one employer and it is their constituents.

The independent candidate must attempt to reach the electorate any way they can. All too often they won’t even be included in ‘all’ candidate debates or public forums. This is an insult to the democratic process that many Canadians simply accept.

Who’s Driving Your Bus?

If you were going on a journey and the final destination was not clear, but you had to choose the person who would take you there, would you not want to examine all of the people offering to take you on that journey or would you prefer to blindly choose?  You, the voter, are being asked to select one individual to represent your voice in Ottawa. You are offered anywhere from 4-16 choices, because we have 16 parties registered in Canada and many independent candidates. Not all parties will have a candidate running in your riding, but there will be several to chose from. When you are hiring someone to act on your behalf, whether it is a lawyer, a doctor, an accountant etc. do you not want to know all of your options?

This is where democracy really gets tested. The electorate must participate in this process. We need to know all the candidates that we are able to choose from. We need to assist the independents or small party candidates to be heard, to have the right to stand and speak their vision. If we disallow any voice that wants to be heard, then we disallow all our voices. A law for one is a law for all. We do not have to agree with the opinions, or visions of the candidates, but unless we actually hear them speak, read their words and are able to ask them questions; we cannot make an informed choice at the ballot.

The Devil We Know or …NO DEVIL!

There is a great deal of fear in Canada and around the world at this point in history. Many are experiencing dire situations; poverty, homelessness, high costs to education, healthcare concerns, the price of oil, the increased violence in the world, the global conflicts and wars, the lack of vision for the future and so forth. All of these issues are reflections of our fears and sense of panic. We seek comfort in what we know, that is human nature. Often what we know is not in our best interest, but we chose it anyway. 

Are We Hiring or Buying?

Political parties have embraced many of the trends used by corporations when they are trying to sell us something. They use the language of marketers and they speak like salespeople. They dress their leaders up in clothing that sends a subtle message, like a sweater rather than a suit, or a colour that says, ‘trust me’. These human response triggers are well studied and the people are swayed, or manipulated through these messages.

These observations are not meant to attack, but rather to inform. Are we buying something or employing someone? Presentation is very important when interviewing a prospective employee.  Usually the way a person presents himself or herself is the ‘foot in the door’ but it is not the criteria for hiring.

We need to know if they have the skills to do the job. The job of the Member of Parliament is to represent our voice, our needs, and our vision and to make decisions that are in the best interest of the people, taking into consideration the needs of the environment we live in.

What we need to know

So what skills are needed to do that job and do it well? That is the question we need to ask ourselves and then decide if the candidates can do the job.  (Read the rest: Here )