African-Canadian Political Cultural Change Needed

By Lincoln Depradine

In eight months, the people of Ontario will head to the polls to vote in municipal elections. Canadian citizens residing in Toronto and other cities across the province will elect mayors, councillors, school board trustees and other officials. That vote is scheduled for Monday, October 27.

Long before the city balloting, we well may be voting to keep Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals in charge of the province’s affairs; or, we may choose to hand the reins of power to the New Democrats or the Progressive Conservatives. Some Queen’s Park watchers predict that the Ontario elections could be held as early as the spring, around May or June.

And then, there are the forthcoming polls in which to 338 MPs will be elected to the Canadian parliament. Prime Minister Stephen Harper must advise the governor general to call a federal election no later than by October 19, 2015.

The point of all this is not just a reminder but also an encouragement to African-Canadians to embark on a political cultural change; a change that will transform us from a people now more involved in standing on the side and complaining about not getting a fair shake from our politicians, to becoming engaged as activist voters and political candidates.

African-Canadians must be at the table, in the chambers, in the halls of power – at the city, municipal and federal levels – where decisions are made about tax allocation; immigration; funding for education and transportation; policing and law enforcement; roads; child care; and water and sewers.

Too often, our community is on the outside looking in, hoping and depending on the goodwill and the benevolence on those on the inside, in the chambers, to deliver the fairness, the equity, the share of the pie, to which we are entitled.

The community needs a year-round project focused solely on African-Canadian citizens registering to vote and in bringing out the black vote on an election day.

You have the right and the responsibility to vote if you are 18 years of age or older and a Canadian citizen.

In municipal elections, such as Toronto’s in October, you also must either be a resident of the municipality, a property owner or tenant, or the spouse or same-sex partner of an owner or tenant in the municipality during a specified time just before the election.

In addition, to be able to vote, your name must be on the list of eligible voters. You should receive a card telling you that you are eligible to vote. If you do not receive your card, call your municipality to find out what to do in order to vote.

As well, the proposed year-round project also must invest in mobilizing and encouraging more African-Canadians to run for elected political office.

In grooming candidates, especially younger groups of African-Canadian men and women, there is enough expertise from which we can draw; utilizing the experience and advice of people like Howard McCurdy, Zanana Akande, Alvin Curling, Jean Augustine, Bev Salmon, Margaret Best and Maryann Chambers.

Politics is serious business that impacts our lives, whether we like it or not.

The hope is that a solid pool of African-Canadian candidates will be participating in the upcoming municipal, provincial and federal elections.

Those who are considering running, and want to have a realistic chance of winning, must begin their preparatory work now.

They need teams of workers – such as public relations specialists, campaign managers and fundraisers – who can deliver a professional, winning campaign.

Instead of a Rob Ford, in one of his “drunken stupors,’’ attempting to speak in phony Jamaican patois, perhaps we should try and elect an African-Canadian Toronto Mayor who can communicate with a sober, genuine Jamaican accent.