Several dozen voters wait in a half-hour long lineup at the advance poling station at OCAD in downtown Toronto, Ont. on Monday October 12, 2015. (J.P. Moczulski for The Globe and Mail)J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail
Freedom House, a non-profit organization that monitors political rights and civil liberties around the globe, says 2015 has not been a good year for democracy. In fact, according to its latest report, twice as many countries (61) suffered declines in freedoms as those that saw gains (33) this year.
Egypt, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and China are more authoritarian than ever. In Nigeria, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, terrorists are massacring innocents and systematically destroying the lives of girls and women. Saudi Arabia remains a medieval torture state.
Here in Canada, we are going to the polls, again. We are one of the freest countries in the world. We can hold our government to account and express our views without fear of recrimination.
And yet 40 per cent of us don't vote in federal elections. How is that even possible? How have so many Canadians lost sight of the privilege it is to live in this country?
Vote. You owe it to yourself, and to people everywhere who will never get the chance. Please vote.