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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, September 18, 2015 | 6 Will you vote? "Civil society is the oxygen of democracy. Civil society acts as a catalyst for social progress and economic growth. It plays a critical role in keeping government accountable, and helps represent the diverse interests of the population, including its most vulnerable groups." ­ United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Tuesday (Sept. 15) was International Day of Democracy -- an opportunity to review the state of democracy in our world. In just 31 days, Canadian citizens will select our country's next federal government. Do you plan to participate in the democratic exercise that will send 338 elected of cials to Ottawa? Increasingly, the answer to that question has been `No.' Since 1993, Canada has experienced a downward spiral in voter turnout. In the past seven elections, participation has remained below 70 per cent and hit a 141-year low in the fall of 2008 when only 58.8 per cent of the registered electorate exercised its democratic right. While voting is a fundamental right of every Canadian citizen who is 18 or older, it wasn't always that way. The voting age used to be 21 and casting a ballot was initially restricted to those who were male and a British subject by birth or naturalization. Property ownership within the province in which you resided also determined your right to vote federally. Despite representing slightly more than half the country's population, women in Canada didn't receive complete freedom to vote federally until 1918 -- more than 50 years after Confederation. It would take another 42 years -- until 1960 -- before Canada's electoral laws removed racial and religious discrimination from voter quali cation. In addition to who is eligible to vote, much has changed in the way we elect our federal government. In 2015, registered voters can vote over a 12-hour period on Election Day (Oct. 19), on one of four advance voting days (Oct. 9-12), at any of 400 Elections Canada of ces (before Oct. 13) or by mail by obtaining a special ballot voting kit. Whether you choose to support a particular political party -- there are 20 registered parties and another three that are eligible to become registered -- a party's leader or the local candidate, who aims to represent your local interests in Ottawa, the important thing is to research your options and actually get out and vote. Elections Canada's website -- www.elections.ca -- aims to answer everything you wanted to know about the upcoming election, but didn't know who to ask. If you haven't already explored party positions on federal issues that matter to you, there is plenty of time to do so. HAVE YOUR SAY: Are you voting on Oct. 19? If not, we would like to hear what has in uenced that decision. Send your comments, full name, city of residence and a daytime phone number where you can be reached for comment to ablackburn@ oakvillebeaver.com. Editorial "Connected to your Community" Letter to the Editor 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 53 | Number 75 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice ­President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager Halton Region Editor in Chief Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager Director of Production SANDY PARE MARK DILLS MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Oakville students Cameron Mayhew, left, and Connor Hadlow are entrepreneurs as the Grade 7 duo is making Halloween pay off for families in need. | submitted photo Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Proud at budding entrepreneurial spirit Last Halloween, my son Cameron Mayhew and his friend, Connor Hadlow, came up with the idea of selling pumpkins that were already cleaned out and carved with a candle inside, already for lighting. I thought it was a brilliant idea. I thought I most certainly would be delighted to buy a precarved pumpkin and skip the mess of doing it myself, as would a lot of other people. So, the boys went out on two different occasions selling the Jack-o'-lanterns door-to-door in our River Oaks community. They sold like hotcakes. One women bought three. They sold a mix of large ($8) and small ($5) pumpkins. With the money the boys, who are now Grade 7 students, raised, they each donated a $50 gift card to the giving tree at their school, River Oaks Public School, for less-privileged families. I was so proud of Cameron for seeing his venture through and not allowing the fact that he can be shy to get in the way. I was a little nervous at rst that it would be a challenge for him to sell to strangers without stumbling over his words. I shadowed him at the rst house and to my surprise he did fantastic, so I took that as my cue to step away. So, this Halloween he is going to be a pro for sure. Crystal Mayhew, Oakville Proud Official Media Sponsor For: The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to: The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 or via email to ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. 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