RM of Mckillop mess demonstrates disrespect for the ballot

Not so very long ago, it was an absolute given that victorious politicians would thank all voters and vow to work for even the ones who didn’t vote for them.

Unfortunately, that commitment to the sanctity of the ballot seems to have became a meaningless cliche over recent decades.

As voter participation declines from the 80-per-cent-plus turnouts we once knew to below 50 per cent, it’s become increasingly easy for politicians to get away with only wanting to represent the most partisan. From there, it’s a relatively short hop to a politician thinking those votes don’t matter and then to questioning their right to cast their votes at all.

Of course, there are those who would assume we are just talking about the U.S. president’s denunciation of counting ballots in Florida’s Broward and Palm Beach counties, where the stakes are critical for U.S. senator and governor positions. The deep divisions in America punctuated by the anti-democratic act of denying voters the sacred right to their franchise affords Canadians a certain smugness.

Yes, we have our political differences like we now do on the carbon tax. But our politics — especially our low-stakes local politics — wouldn’t resort to denying voters their basic democratic rights, would it?

Well, considering what’s going in the RM of Mckillop over the fundamental issue of representation by population, maybe we shouldn’t be so smug.

Last week, Government Relations Minister Warren Kaeding declared he absolutely expects Mckillop rural councillors to abide by referendum results calling to alter division boundaries to better reflect voter fairness.

At issue is the basic democratic principle of one person, one vote. There is a disproportionately large number of cottage owners on Last Mountain Lake — mostly located in one of six RM divisions. (According to the Mckillop ratepayers’ association, 54 per cent of voting ratepayers are in Division Four, with the remaining five divisions accounting for four, four, six, 14 and 18 per cent of the voting population, respectively.)

Frustrated that their property interests in the RM were not being properly represented by the farmer-dominated RM council, voters last month voted 73 per cent in favour of the resolution changing the boundaries in the 108-year-old RM. From here, it should have simply been a matter of abiding by the Municipal Act requiring RM council to “pass the bylaw or resolution at the first meeting following the vote.”

But instead, the existing council — one still dominated by those representing the smaller farming population of the RM — has chosen to pass a resolution to hold a public meeting and accept written statements from ratepayers until Nov. 27.

Clearly, those supporting the referendum have valid reason to believe, as one ratepayer suggested, Mckillop RM council is “attempting to thwart the will of the people by delaying the adoption of the results of the recent referendum to revise the municipal electoral boundaries.”

Admittedly, there is massive fear among year-round farmers in the RM over what was described in one CBC story as “revenge of the lake people.” It sounds like a cheesy horror movie, but there is some complexity in this bitter feud.

This is a long-brewing fight over the encroachment of urbanites into rural Saskatchewan. Complicating matters is the fact Saskatchewan is one of the few provinces that allows ratepayers to vote in municipalities that are not the voter’s primary residence.

RM ratepayers have reason to feel they have not been fairly treated by Mckillop council, which attempted last August to tax its way out of current financial problems with a proposed 130-per-cent tax increase. As a result, Kaeding last September appointed a supervisor to delve into the financial mess.

However, the RM’S money problem is simply the outcome of what happens when elected officials lose sight of the fundamental democratic principles under which they were elected. Democratic principles are always the priority — no matter how small the jurisdiction or how convinced local politicians are that they are right.

The majority rules in a democracy. We can never forget that.