By Kelsey Ehler

As the not-so-distant prorogation of Parliament showed us, most Canadians hold strong political stances. But many believe that their voices are not being taken into account by the powers that be at any level of government, be it federal, provincial, or municipal.

Apathy sets in. Why should they speak out? They won’t be listened to. Their MP or MLA has little power to vote according to their conscience, rather than that of their party. Their vote itself seems to count for little more than pocket change for their party of choice.

If this is so, then this must be fixed. We must identify the problems with our parliamentary process and create solutions to address them. We must hold our elected representatives to account when they ignore the will of those who gave them office. Most importantly, we must make Canadians believe again that they have the power to make changes in their society—and the more people believe it, the more it’s true.

Will it take electoral reform to bring these changes about? Parliamentary reform? A retreat from the rigid party discipline that characterizes most Canadian politics? Heaven forbid, an election? How do we increase voter engagement and activism? We don’t know. But we want to find out.

I myself was disinterested in politics until the events of 2008. Sure, I voted, despite living in Alberta—where there’s oceans of blue in a landlocked province. (This was partly because I was afraid that my wrestler friend might beat me down if I didn’t, bless her.) But then came the coalition crisis, where I learned that the parliamentary system has much more variation to it than the standard “whoever has the most seats rules the day”. I joined a political party. I attended a national convention. I wrote letters to the editor. I signed up for classes. I participated in protests, most recently with Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament—now renamed Canadians Advocating Political Participation—when it concerned the recent prorogation.

I won’t pretend it hasn’t been frustrating. But the alternative—being voiceless and ill-informed—would have been more so a thousand times over.

Are you concerned about the state of democracy in Canada? CAPP’s Vancouver chapter is organizing two upcoming events, which offer you the chance to speak out and shake off voter apathy.

This Saturday (May 8), Andrew Coyne, national editor for Maclean’s and a man known for having and expressing political opinions, will participate in a panel discussion hosted by CAPP. With the aid of emcee Charles Demers, Coyne will discuss participatory democracy, voter engagement, and parliamentary accountability with the audience. The admission-by-donation event will take place at 1 p.m. at the Libra Room (1608 Commercial Drive).

There’s also CAPP’s Day of Dialogue event on May 15 at 1 p.m., to be held at the Unity Church (5840 Oak Street).

CAPP is a grassroots and nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing political participation amongst Canadians and identifying and addressing the reasons for voter apathy. We are open to all, no matter their party affiliation or lack thereof, or their level of political engagement.

We hope to see you there on either Saturday.

Kelsey Ehler is a volunteer for Canadians Advocating Political Participation. CAPP’s Vancouver chapter can be found on Facebook.