Why Do Municipal Elections Matter?
October 3, 2022
Municipal Elections are Coming and Your Vote Matters!
It’s important to pay close attention to your municipal elections. Your municipal government makes many decisions that have a major impact on the citizens and working people in your community.
You have the chance to vote on October 24, 2022.
What Does Your Municipal Government Do Anyway?
It’s easy to lose track of what the three levels of government – Federal, Provincial, and Municipal – in Canada are responsible for and what services they provide. Often, there is overlap between levels too and that can change from one community to another.
For example, do you know which level of government provides police services to your community?
Municipalities provide a lot of services to you. This includes:
- Your water supply and sewage treatment;
- Garbage and recycling pickup;
- Road and sidewalk maintenance;
- Community planning and development;
- Parks and playgrounds; and,
- Many other services.
And, don’t forget that municipal elections include your School Board Trustees too!
How Does Municipal Government Affect Workers?
While most of the legislation that applies to the membership of Locals 175 & 633 is set by the provincial government, the municipal level also affects working people. Many municipalities employ workers directly to perform municipal services like garbage pickup, road maintenance, library services, fire and police, etc.
UFCW Local 175 has Members who work for municipalities in homes for the aged, arena operation, road maintenance, and as first responders too. These workers get an opportunity to have direct input into their employers’ management structure by voting for their local municipal representatives.
Municipal bylaws can have a direct impact on workers as well. Municipalities, for example, have the power to allow retail businesses to open on most public holidays. This type of decision has the potential to strip away up to eight paid days off from retail workers. Attempts to pass such a bylaw have been made in The City of Toronto and the Region of Peel. In November 2017, the Region of York did pass this bylaw and they did so with no public consultation. Plus, city staff in the City of Windsor have recommended to that Council to do the same there.
Planning and business development can have a huge impact on the workforce in a given municipality. The approval of new commercial and business space can provide for more jobs in a community, and maintain existing businesses as well.
Often, municipalities can attract manufacturing plants and other development based on the planning, tax rates and services offered. Your municipal government ultimately determines most of these incentives to business
How Can You Make a Difference?
The most direct way that you can have an impact at the municipal level is to make an informed vote for the local representatives that best support your interests.
Voting day is October 24, 2022.
You can find details through the Government of Ontario website at ontario.ca/page/municipal-elections, and your local municipal office or website. Try Googling your city or town for its official website or type in the city/town name + Municipal Elections.
For more information on the kinds of things municipalities do every day, you can also visit the Association of Municipalities Ontario, which is a non-partisan organization made up of municipal representatives from across the province.
Looking for more guidance on your local candidates and the issues?
Municipal elections can be confusing and can include a lot of candidates. Across Ontario, there are District Labour Councils. These councils are made up of Union members from many different Unions. Each council has a process to review every candidate’s position on issues affecting workers and Union members. After review, many of these Labour Councils will endorse a candidate/candidates that the council members believe would be good for working people to consider.
You can find your local Labour Council on the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) website.
It only takes a few minutes to vote! Your vote can have a huge impact on the working people and families in your municipality.