It was a
packed room as they say, although it was also a particularly small room. But Wrzesnewskyj
said it was important to him that the meeting be held at the St. Demetrius Seniors Residence, because it was here during the election that many seniors
lost their right to vote. According to affidavits filed by Elections Canada
officials that worked the poll that day, a Conservative representative
disrupted the voting and "suddenly started screaming and waving his arms
wildly ... He was raging in a bullying fashion, which caused confusion, and
frightened many voters."
Wrzesnewskyj
spoke passionately and at length about the importance of making sure everyone
has the right and opportunity to vote, and how that’s a right that shouldn’t be
denied. It’s clear he intends to make faith in the democratic process a key
campaign theme, referencing incidents not just in Etobicoke-Centre but across
the country. When he knocks on doors, he says it’s all people want to talk
about.
I spoke
with him after the meeting for a quick video interview, where he expanded on
these issues. Here’s a key quote:
“This election is about fixing the system, and hopefully fixing it before the next federal election. Because this cannot happen again in Canada.”
The passion
and emotion Wrzesnewskyj has for this (he has funded the appeals process
himself) as a matter of principle is clear, and it was definitely shared by the
seniors that packed the room. I do hope that once on the trail he’ll broaden
the message to also speak to other policy issues, and I’m sure he will. It’s
sure to be a hard-fought race, possibly as tight as the 26-vote margin we saw
in 2011.
In the
interim, all eyes are on the Supreme Court to see if they’ll take the case and,
if so, when.
No comments:
Post a Comment