Dear Editor,

I’d like to thank letter writer Robert Wills for his suggestion that voting for a minority government is the best thing to do. However, I disagree with his analysis that the federal election matters not much to the people of the Pontiac. Encouraging apathy is destructive to morale and democracy.

Wills points out the many ways provincial governments are in control of affairs, for example the Ministries of Transport, Health and Education. However, electing a good federal government and a local Member of Parliament has very important consequences to our lives.

Note for example the failure to connect all the Pontiac with high speed Internet. The downside of this has often been said elsewhere. Note the broken promise of instituting an electoral system other than first past the post. This promise was broken shortly after Trudeau’s first win as a majority government. Instituting a system of proportional representation, which many people were hopeful to get, means that all voters’ votes are meaningful in the end result. It means that while you may not have voted for the winning candidate, your vote still has meaning in determining who goes to Parliament and certainly helps reduce apathy.

Apathy has a remedy? Our previous MP shrugged his shoulders when it came to pronouncing himself on the harmful prospects of making a nuclear waste disposal site at Chalk River. We need to elect an MP familiar with the riding, someone who cares enough about the danger of Chalk River. If the go ahead on the project is given, all residents and communities alongside the Ottawa River are placed in possible jeopardy.

Need jobs in the Pontiac? Industry? After many years and many promises the Pontiac has been ignored by the federal government. Perhaps because the people automatically vote for the Liberals, the Pontiac is taken for granted. The Pontiac needs to elect someone who will speak up for the Pontiac. The Pontiac needs huge investment in infrastructure and services if it is to dig itself out of being the poorest MRC in Quebec.

Our community hospital in Shawville has lost obstetrics and loses many staff. The federal government must give more funds to the provincial government to help fix this shameful situation. Current medical services are not keeping up with the needs that are required. As our population grows older, better senior residences with qualified staff are needed, more doctors and nurses.

There are many federally controlled areas, including the effects of climate change and the meaningful transition to an electrified green economy, that are at stake. It’s time to consider electing a voice for the Pontiac, someone who brings vitality and determination to the challenges ahead.

Carl Hager

Pontiac NDP Riding Association