By Michael Regenstreif
The federal election campaign officially began last week after Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to the governor general. The election will be on Tuesday, October 14. Although federal elections are traditionally on Mondays, this election will be on a Tuesday because Monday that week is Thanksgiving Day, a legal holiday.
The day Harper chose for the election happens to be the first day of Sukkot, a day when observant Jews will not be able to participate in the democratic process. Although, as both Canadian Jewish Congress and B’nai Brith Canada have pointed out, Jews who observe the festival won’t lose their vote. They’ll have ample opportunity to vote in advance polls.
But there’s more to being part of the process than just voting. Observant Jews will be denied the opportunity of staffing polling stations or of helping their candidate get out the vote on election day. Observant Jews who are active in campaigns may be denied the opportunity to celebrate or commiserate at their candidates’ headquarters as the returns come in on election night. And observant Jews who like to stay home and watch the coverage on TV may have to miss out because they won’t turn on their television set on a holy day.
All of those things, and more, are part and parcel of participating in our democratic society. A religious holiday of any major faith that keeps citizens from full participation in the process should not be used as an election day.
There was no necessity for Harper to have called the election when he did. He could have waited until he actually lost the confidence of the House of Commons; something he had pledged to do when his government passed legislation fixing the election date for every four years unless the government loses a non-confidence vote in the House.
Or, the prime minister could have set the election date for two weeks later when the Jewish holidays would not have been a factor.
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A hearty Mazal Tov to everyone connected to the Soloway Jewish Community Centre. This week marks the 10th anniversary of when the Soloway JCC moved into the brand new Joseph and Rose Ages Family Building. In addition to its first-class fitness facilities, the Soloway JCC provides superb programming for all sectors of the community, and for all ages, from infants to seniors. The Soloway JCC is something we can all be very proud of.
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We’re pleased to introduce another new column this issue. Liana Shlien’s Campus Life debuts on page 52 and will focus on Jewish student life on Ottawa-area university campuses. The column is scheduled for the first issue of the month during the school year. Liana is a fourth-year journalism student at Carleton University and worked at the Bulletin over the summer as our staff reporter/intern. She’s continuing to work part-time with us now that classes are back in session.
Finally, Shana Tova – Happy New Year – from all of us at the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin.
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