There are any number of reasons why you should vote, particularly those of you younger than me (which is getting to be a larger number of people every day… sigh…) who may not have given much thought to politics in the past.

Internationally, we have watched as country after country (Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and now Syria and possibly Lebanon) grapple with issues of democracy and the freedom to exercise their franchise. The right to vote in a free and fair election is not one that is shared universally and there are many millions of people who have had to resort to taking to the streets to express their frustration with their government and its rules.

In Canada, we have grown up with the rights our international neighbours are now struggling for. And being so accustomed to democracy has created a level of apathy. Voter turnout has been less than stellar the last few elections and this is particularly true of 18-25 year old cohort. Let me state for the record that when I was that age, I sure didn't want the "the suits" making all the decisions on my behalf, at least not without my input. Different generations have different approaches to issues and often have different priorities. Decisions made by government today may seem to be unimportant to an 18 year old but if those policies are still in place when they are 25, they might suddenly gain in relevance.

The government was not defeated over a budget (as is often the case) but rather, for the first time in Canada history, by a vote of non-confidence spurred on by a finding that the government was found to be in contempt of Parliament. Good governance, or any institution or organization, requires active oversight by both the elected officials and the public. It requires that people care. The same is true at Equity. While Policy Governance ensures that your Council is paying attention to how the Association is run, just like the federal government, it requires active, committed members to make it all work.

Canadians have found ourselves in a strange and sometimes uneasy place for the last number of years, with a succession of short-lived minority governments. It would be fair to say that a significant number of citizens have become irritated by the ways in which the parties have conducted themselves in Ottawa. I, for one, found attending Question Period a distressing activity. "Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made." said Otto von Bismarck, and he must have had our last parliamentary session in mind when he said it.

Unlike the last election, arts and culture issues haven’t made the headlines. I suppose in one way we can be thankful that nothing dreadful has happened in our sector (no targeted or gigantic budget cuts, for example) that would propel us to the top of news reports. We shouldn’t be disillusioned by a lack of attention to arts and culture but take this as a sign that it is more important than ever to be active participants in the election process. We need to make sure that we don’t only make it on the agenda when there is a crisis but come to be considered as vital an election issue as health care or education.

All of us in the arts are dependent on both government policy and government spending to support our industry. It is essential that Ottawa - regardless of who forms the next government - create policies that support and nurture arts and culture and that they back those policies up with sufficient funding to allow us to maintain and enhance the sector. And so I urge you to vote on Monday, May 2nd, particularly those members who may not have been previously engaged in the political process. I urge you to make an informed choice – information about the various parties stand on issues is so much easier to access, with multiple sources providing detailed analysis. Our own website offers information, particularly on the various parties position on issues related to arts and culture.

Democracy is a precious thing – just ask the citizens of Egypt. Please don’t waste your opportunity to participate in it.