Civic election important

Editorial

British Columbians vote tomorrow (Nov. 16) in municipal elections. Tradi- tionally, elections at the local level have the lowest turnout of any level of government. The view has been that the importance of governments diminishes from federal to provincial to municipal.

This assumption not only reduces the fundamental importance of our civic duty to vote, it also ignores the very real changes that have occurred in recent years to the Canadian confederation. If it were indeed true once that civic governments were less important than provincial or federal ones, that supposition is most arguable today.

Increasingly, the federal government has withdrawn from numerous activities. Responding to increased demands from provinces for more autonomy, the feds since the 1960s have devolved many decisions to provincial capitals. More significantly in recent years, the federal government has balanced its budgets by reducing funding to provinces.

In turn, provinces have mimicked the federal withdrawal, again for both policy and practical financial reasons. In British Columbia, the New Democratic party government slashed funding to municipalities to ameliorate its various budgetary disasters. The new Liberal government, guided by the view that less government is better government, is deliberately withdrawing from a number of areas within its jurisdiction.

In response, municipalities are being asked by voters to become the funder of last resort; to pick up aspects of services previously delivered by senior governments. For example, there was a time when providing social housing was far beyond the accepted responsibilities of city governments. As the federal and provincial governments have withdrawn from this field, cities have increasingly faced the choice of either getting into the social housing market themselves or accepting increasing homelessness. This is certainly the case in Vancouver, where the centre-right Non-Partisan Association government has, over the past 16 years, maintained its involvement in social housing even as other governments have withdrawn. As evidenced at an all-candidates meeting sponsored by Canadian Jewish Congress last week, support for social housing transcends ideology in this city and is viewed as a practical stop-gap to the alternative: homelessness.

A similar issue is hate crimes, which was addressed at the same meeting. Crimes, by definition, are a federal matter, since the Criminal Code falls under federal jurisdiction. Implementation of justice occurs at the local level, however, and support on specific enforcement fronts, including hate crimes, has declined in financial terms along with other "expenditures" such as social housing.

As these issues are shunted from Ottawa to Victoria and on to municipalities, it lands on local governments to make the ultimate decision whether a project lives or dies.

Whether one believes in government intervention in these issues or not, the fate of these initiatives rests increasingly at the local level. This may be beneficial in that it is often easier to identify problems near the source. However, it makes voting at the municipal level more important.

Turnout at advance polling stations suggests more Vancouver voters will come out tomorrow than in recent elections. That probably is more a reflection of the fact that there is a hotly contested race (for the first time in more than a decade) than it is a reconsideration of the importance of municipal government in general.

But even if turnout increases substantially, this election should raise concern in the Jewish community. Jews, like all other voters, will probably go to the polls in greater-than-usual numbers tomorrow. But, as has been the case in recent provincial and federal elections, there are very few members of the Jewish community who have put themselves forward as candidates. The exceptions, in Vancouver, are incumbent councillor Fred Bass and former councillor Alan Herbert.

It could be noted that, though they may be leaders and they may be Jewish, they are not intimately involved with the Jewish community.

Though this community is blessed with countless informed and active leaders, each has chosen to limit their involvement in other spheres. Standing for election is not something that can be mandated, of course, by community agencies, nor should it be. It is a personal decision apparently made by almost every member of the community to demur from seeking elective office.

The Jewish community, through Canadian Jewish Congress and other agencies and individuals, has provided leadership in helping to set the agenda on issues of poverty, hate crimes and multiculturalism. It would be a proud moment for the community if we could see that influence reflected in the candidates we elect to office.

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