ApeRifle

In the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to pass through Victoria Square in Montreal on several occasions. Normally home to the Montreal Exchange and a metro entrance stolen from Paris, the square is now also host to Montreal’s very own incarnation of the Occupy Movement, Occupy Montreal. Given that Victoria Square is a sizeable space, Montreal’s “occupation” is also quite large, a decent sprawl of tents, dreadlocks and, of course, the inescapable Guy Fawkes mask (in this case sported by a statue of the famous British monarch herself).

Despite my largely left-of-centre political leanings and sympathy towards growing societal frustration with crony “capitalism”, one word came to my mind regarding the whole affair: exasperation.

Why exasperation? Well, for one, Occupy Montreal comes across as the flipside of the “business as usual” coin: protest as a sport, as an event, as as end onto itself. It’s hard to escape the feeling that many people are there because it is something novel or “anti-establishment” to do. Its rapid descent into a hippie commune experiment also doesn’t do much to bolster credibility with the public at large, I suspect.

And, fundamentally, credibility is what Occupy Montreal is lacking. Why? Well for one, this is Montreal. Occupy Wall Street, the protest that spawned this litter of worldwide copycate protests, has credibility. The American financial system is basically broken, and Wall Street is the scene of the crime (with Washington as the getaway driver). People down there have something genuine to protest about. But Canada? Well, our banks are fairly boring, and none of them managed to blow up this time around. And Montreal? Well, to argue that the city is a financial nerve centre of any sort in North America is laughable. Even the Montreal Exchange that the protests have camped in front of is a subsidiary of the Toronto-based mothership.

Furthermore, it is strange that people are “occupying” cities to protest a lack of government responsiveness in a country where close to 40 per cent of eligible voters did not show for the last federal election on May 2, 2011. More than 9.4 million people sat that one out, which is tremendous when you consider that Canada’s total population is estimated to be around 34 million. And how many people gave Stephen Harper and his Conservatives a parliamentary majority? 5.8 million. That’s only 40 per cent of people who actually voted, 24 per cent of all eligible voters, and about 16 per cent of all Canadians.

Yes, something is wrong with that picture. Blame the first-past-the-post electoral system if you will, but the real issue is a lack of voter participation. While some of the 9.4 million missing voters likely had valid health reasons, I’d venture a bet that a good number of them were perfectly healthy and able. I’d also venture a guess that some of these very individuals are currently protesting government’s lack of responsiveness to their needs and interests.

Here’s a hint: if the expectation that youth will not show up to vote is realized time and again come election day, then political parties will waste little time, if any, adopting platforms that reflect our concerns and aspirations. Like it or not, political power is gained through the local polling station, not pitching tents and feeling good about ourselves. This is how we’ve decided to organize and distribute power in our society, and I must say it is a preferable system to mob rule. Want to really rock the boat? Make politicians believe you’ll actually vote in sizeable numbers come next election.

I wish all the best to Occupy Wall Street. But Occupy Canadian City? C’mon, guys. Time to end the farce.

With this in mind, I suggest that the Occupy movements in Canada be replaced with Occupy the Polls.

Forget “We are the 99%”.

How about “Who are the 40?%”, or “I voted, what’s your excuse?”

Or, alternatively “Where the heck were you on May 2?”. If you are currently living in a tent on Victoria Square, I hope your answer to that question includes a few minutes in a voting booth.