Friends scorn the notion that debates matter By MICHAEL VALPY The Globe and Mail Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - Page A5 Chandler Powell is not alone. Here he is with his friends -- all in their 20s -- gathered in a noisy, popular pub on the edge of the University of Toronto to watch the party leaders debate in French. All but one of his friends vote, unlike Mr. Powell. But listen to all of them talk for two hours about the state of Canadian democracy and the images of the four men in dark suits on the wide-screen TV, and, for the most part, little separates them. The debate is seen as theatre, similitude with little substance. "They'll be getting the results back tomorrow from their pollsters and image consultants," says Micheal Fountain, 24, a liberal arts graduate from University of King's College in Halifax and a New Democrat. They scorn the notion that four hours of plotted, carefully crafted and strategized TV debate -- two hours in French, two hours in English -- can determine an election outcome. "There's been four years to watch them," says Sean Lehane, 22, a dot.com entrepreneur who is about to enter graduate school and has been a member of the Ontario Conservative Party. There is agreement in the group that the debate won't alter their election day intentions. Greg Vermeulen, 24, an economics and politics graduate from University of Toronto who tutors at a private school and intends to vote Conservative, says the leaders debates are important --but primarily so the media can get good quotes and citizens can cheer the man they support and watch for his opponents to stumble. No leader really impresses them. "I don't see any of those four on the world stage," says 29-year-old Alysson Storey, a Queen's University graduate in history and art history who intends to vote Liberal. Finally, there is Maryam Khoshyomn, 23, a University of Toronto English graduate who works for a non-profit organization supporting the advancement of women in business, and who, like, Mr. Powell, has never voted. An immigrant from Iran -- and a Canadian citizen --she says she does not yet feel sufficiently Canadian to become engaged in the country's democracy. She has no interest in the election or its issues. About three-quarters of the country's youngest voting-age citizens, an unprecedented proportion, don't go to the polls. The Globe and Mail is tracking Mr. Powell, 23, a University of Toronto student, as a representative non-voter, through the campaign to see what he will do on June 28, and why. What surfaces from the conversation is the belief that the reasons for their cohort's disengagement are numerous, complicated and interwoven. And underlying it is an uneasy sense that electoral democracy has lost authenticity -- perhaps the most damning word a generation steeped in media's secondhand experiences can apply. As Mr. Vermeulen put it: "We're talking about complex issues of governance rooted in a very simple electoral system." Alone in the group, Mr. Lehane, from the tiny village of Troy, 160 kilometres west of Toronto, still believes that political parties connect the citizen to the state, still believes in party election platforms, that at least one party -- the Conservatives -- actually has a vision for the country. Mr. Lehane has been volunteering on political campaigns since he was 12. The others see the individual MP as a bit player in a system controlled by a powerful executive and parties that offer whatever will win votes. Mr. Fountain, Mr. Powell's housemate, talked about being more excited by what the Supreme Court decides than by what Parliament does. Ms. Storey, from Southwestern Ontario -- whose MPs she described as old white men elected to the back benches -- talked about being more enthused by projects she has worked on with Canada25, a young person's public policy organization, that have been submitted to government and received positive response. Mr. Powell's friends were candid that the major campaign issues -- such as health care and fiscal management -- are perhaps not at the top of their personal agendas. Most wanted more discussion about cities and Canada's place in the world. Mr. Powell is in third year; all his friends have graduated. They were quick to point out his community involvement and projects such as organizing public policy information meetings for young people. "Is he more of a citizen by casting a ballot or more of a citizen by being engaged in more meaningful ways?" asks Mr. Vermeulen. "There are competing views on democratic participation just as there are competing views on what is legitimate democracy." Ms. Storey says civic engagement connects young people to the vote. What made her start voting, she said, was her work with Canada25. Asked why the same thing hasn't happened to Mr. Powell, she patted his arm and said, "He's young. I'd like to see in four or five years how he's changed." When Mr. Powell finally does vote, says Mr. Lehane, "I would prefer he feel strongly about his vote." Mr. Powell will be home in Swift Current, Sask., on June 28. He still hasn't decided what he'll do. His friends, though -- on hearing that he likes the Green Party's campaign platform but thinks the Conservative incumbent for his riding would make the best MP-- advised him firmly to vote Green. © Copyright 2004 Canada25