Volume 2, Issue No. 33
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail. com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . .
Our latest as of Wednesday, October 28, 2020
~ My heart pulsated with the ebb and flow of the votes being tallied after Monday's by-election in York Centre. One moment my candidate of choice stays up in the counting, the next moment he's down, then up again, then down again. It's a neck and neck fight that finally ends with the other contender winning the seat in a riding where Filipinos are a sizable minority. It's lamentable that Filipino Canadian businessman and advocate Julian Tiangson lost here. The greater loss, however, is on us, not on him.
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YORK CENTRE RIDING BY-ELECTION
Julius Tiangson's Defeat: The Bigger Loss ls on Us
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
“It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.”―
Every 30 seconds or so, the number of votes displayed on the Elections Canada website seesawed between candidates Ya'ara Saks, a Liberal, and Julius Tiangson, a Conservative - the main protagonists, as it turned out, in this electoral fight for the York Centre riding in North York.
Four other aspirants competed for that seat in the House of Commons, namely, Andrea Vásquez Jiménez, New Democratic Party; Max Bernier, People's Party-PPC; Sasha Zavarella, Green Party; and John The Engineer Turmel, Independent. (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2020/10/six-pronged-fight-for-vote-rich-toronto.html).
My interest in this by-election to fill the vacancy created by the recent resignation of MP Michael Levitt was particularly focused on Tiangson, a Canadian of Filipino descent, who had previously run for the federal post in the suburban riding of Mississauga Centre.
Though I am not a member of any of those parties, I do participate in the electoral process as a voter exercising my right to decide on who should represent and advocate for the interests of my community in Parliament. Being Philippine-born, I was certain Tiangson could discern my meaning.
Among the six candidates, he had the depth of knowledge of the strength and quirks of Filipinos who represent a sizable demographic there because it is their place of residence raising families, the hub of their business, and work.
Tiangson was my choice, and that's not because I disliked the others. I see no reason to reject them whatever their views were. I believe they are as qualified as anyone else seeking the office.
However, I picked Tiangson on account of the fact that the Parliament in Ottawa needed someone to speak for us, someone who shares our heritage, someone who looks and talks like us, and capable of crystallizing our collective thoughts into action.
For the past decade at least, I've witnessed politicians of all stripes consider us as fun-loving, celebratory voters that could be relied upon to prop them up. We're no more than statistics, sad to say, forgotten through their terms, and remembered again when elections came.
That will change - the very thought running in my mind from the time a by-election was called. I had pinned my hope on Tiangson and foresaw his winning. I figured that at last, we would have somebody educated, competent, and experienced to look up to in Parliament.
The aspiration was not meant to happen. Voter turnout had been abysmal. Only 18,058 out of 70,434 registered electors, or 25.64 percent, voted. The riding has a population of 104,319.
It hurts and it is disconcerting to know that the riding has a sizable Filipino community. It's the birthplace of the largest Filipino street festival in North America. Where were they? Did they even vote? For these considerations, I had expected that Tiangson would easily breeze through and capture the seat.
Late Monday evening, it became evident that my wish would not be fulfilled. Tiangson lost to Ms. Saks by a margin of 701 votes. She garnered 8,253 or 45.7 of the total votes, as against his 7,552 votes or 41.8 percent.
So my secret aspiration just went pfft. I had viewed the election in terms of having a Filipino MP in the House of Commons and not in the constraining prism of a political party. It didn't matter the affiliation, what was important to me was to see one of us gets elected.
That there was Tiangson standing, wading, and battling in mainstream politics had been so uplifting for a Filipino Canadian like myself. I could see and feel the struggle, particularly for a class of citizens categorized as belonging to a visible minority.
I do not want to see Tiangson's defeat as a reflection of how we as people are seen in Canada. I lament his loss. And the bigger loss that is on us. (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).
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