“How can a man be said to have a country when he has not right of a square inch of it”
I voted tonight, and I wholeheartedly rejected the form of democracy on offer here in Alberta. Most residents of the neighbourhood of Grandin voted at ‘Saint Joe’s” Basilica, the Catholic church on Jasper where Gretzky got married.
Tonight, outside St. Joe’s there was a homeless man, begging for spare change. He asked why today was so full of action, with people entering and exiting the building all day.
My girlfriend informed him of the election, he asked if Ralph Klein was still around, and he followed us inside to cast his ballot.
Only he could not. He had one form of ID, but since he had no address, he was turned away.
My disbelief was further certified by another man on Jasper who was begging for change. He explained to the two of us that, even though he had government-issued identification, he had no address, and thus no way of voting.
I was inconvenienced by a power-hungry electoral officer who demanded I open a bank statement in front of him (even though it was sealed mail), but that’s besides the point.
Homeless people, the ones who pay the price of progress, are systematically excluded from the electoral process. That it happens in a church of God is an abomination unto itself.
Churchgoers are content to pray for the homeless, insofar as they are able to thank God that they are not like their poorer bretheren, but when it comes to actually teaching a man to fish, there’s very little assistance evident.
No wonder the homeless heckle Taft. His solution is one written by people with addresses, and it’s forced down the throats of people with no means of excercising their voice in politics. All we hear are cries for more funding, more warehouses for humans, and more handouts. And all we are able to offer them are ten-year plans to end homelessness.
Most of them will be dead, frozen hobosicles beneath the bridge by then.
I am a homeless man here in Calgary. I do not have any of the documentation I will be required to produce to get a ballot. I do not frequent public/private institutions and they cannot give me a letter of introduction. It is very unlikely I will be allowed to vote even though I was born in Canada in 1947, I have been an Albertan since 1969 and I have lived in Calgary Buffalo for about 7 years. Should I have to sue the Alberta government to be able to vote? Elections Alberta just goes around and around on this issue. What now? Lawrence
Lawrence A. Oshanek
Calgary
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Poor homeless guy.
Do they go enumerating under bridges?
Ah well. Prediction is for the NDP to get a couple of seats.
Comes the Revolution, Comrade!
Whoops.
Results just came in.
Conservative majority.
Guess the working poor will have to content themselves to stay in the shelter.
I was actually refused a ballot on 3 March 2008 by a man whom I have known for about 20 years because I could not produce 1 piece of government issued photo ID. Ain’t Alberta a grand place to live!
Lawrence Oshanek
I think that we can just laugh off the poor because we are rich. Why even think about them as being worth anything. This reminds me of Louis the 14th who thought this until the French Revolution. Then of course he could not think about the poor because he lost his head.
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