A Tale from the Campaign Trail
by Nick Lin, Independent Candidate, Trinity-Spadina

As part of the work of the Youth Organizing Project to organize and politicize youth, I am running as an independent youth candidate in the
Toronto riding of Trinity-Spadina, just one of several youth candidates who are running in the elections as independents across southern
Ontario. What follows is a little story from the campaign trail, which illustrates the much larger political problem everyone in society faces.

The timing of the election could not have been better for us. Yes, it's true that the government can drop the writ at any moment, throwing off the plans of everyone who is not running for one of the big parties. Still, the election comes at a time when the constituents of YOP, i.e., youth and students, are back in school and eager to discuss.

I kicked off my campaign at the University of Toronto, which is located in the riding. Myself and another youth who is also running as an
independent candidate sat at a table for the Toronto Student Movement, the Marxist-Leninist Party Club, during orientation for new students. People were excited and interested to hear that I was running as a candidate in the riding.

I made a point of approaching the youth in the PC, NDP and Liberal party clubs on the campus to let them know about my candidacy, and to get their views on the upcoming elections and what the important issues were for them. The first person I spoke to at the PC club table was a young
woman, whose mouth hung open in shock when I explained that I was from the MLPC and I wanted to discuss politics with them. "You're from the Marxist-Leninist Party Club, AND you want to talk with us?", she said incredulously. I was referred a young man who politely gave his views on the election and their significance, and also left me his card. I must admit that I too was pleasantly surprised by the whole interaction.

I got a similar reaction from the youth with the Liberal and NDP clubs. A young woman that I knew from the NDP gave me a flyer for an all candidates meeting happening on the campus in few days. At this point, it only had the names of the candidates for the three major parties. She
asked if I already knew about it. I said that I didn't and thanked her for letting me know. Another young woman from the PC table came by the TSM display, and stopped to ask about the Dossier on Palestine, which we had on display. After some back and forth about the situation in that part of the world, we both agreed that the best thing for both sides would be for Israel to end the Occupation of Palestine. She later returned with the flyer about the same all candidates meeting, also wanting to make sure that I knew about it. I thanked her as well for letting me know about it.

Fast forward a week. I had handed in my nomination forms, and now with some official record of my candidacy, I proceeded to get myself added to
the all candidates meeting on the campus. First stop, the Varsity, the university's student-funded newspaper. After a couple of attempts, I spoke to the news editor, explaining who I was and that they should proceed to include me in the all candidates meeting. I was told that as far as getting myself added to the meeting, I would need to speak to one of the other sponsors, SAC. That was where the buck stopped. That was strike one.

Onwards to SAC. I waited to speak to the president, and then resorted to an email and a phone message, both to the effect that I was a graduate and a recent student of U of T, and that they should expect me at the meeting. Two days later, more waiting at the SAC office, and then finally a call to the president's cellphone. Yes, he had received my message. No, I couldn't speak. Why not? Well, the sponsors decided that three candidates would be all that students and their short attention spans could handle. If by accident, one of the other sponsors had invited another candidate to speak, then I could speak. This seemed like strike two.

What to do? One of the principles of YOP is "Working as a Collective." So, I discussed the matter with other youth and independent candidates who are also running. This was a perfect example of one of the main issues that we are trying to raise they said. If you do not belong to one of the major parties, you are viewed as irrelevant, no matter how much political experience you have, no matter what your credentials are defending the rights of all. As someone who was a graduate of U of T, a young person, and someone who stood with the students in all their struggles for their right to an education, it was important that a stand be taken and that I make sure that all candidates had the right to speak on an equal basis at the meeting.

Yes, this was the way to go - necessity demanded it. We strategized, and I called upon friends and supporters to be in the audience to defend my right to speak at the meeting. The plan was to meet another youth candidate who is running in Kitchener-Waterloo at Queen's Park before the meeting, and he would accompany me and provide support from the audience. I spoke to the two other uninvited candidates, from the Libertarian and Green parties. No one was agreeable to this idea that only some and not all should speak at the meeting, or that students should be patronized and denied the right to be fully informed.

I reached the parliament and it was deserted, except for a few tourists. They snapped pictures as I made a circuit on my bike, quite oblivious to the many political rallies that have taken place there. I looked up at the large edifice, the seat of power in the province, and thought to myself, "Why not? Why shouldn't I be in there?" I thought of another youth candidate who did not back down when excluded from a candidates meeting during the federal elections on his own campus. I thought of my friend from Kitchener who I was waiting for. I recalled him telling me of an action he had organized. The police had swooped down scattering the crowd, and he was left with his sign as the lone chanting protestor. That was until others, rallied by his determination gathered once again. Although anxious about how things would go at the meeting, these thoughts galvanized my determination to see that the meeting was turned into an ALL candidates meeting.

I met my friend, and we proceeded to the meeting. There was a vague plan for him to divert the moderator (not that I had a clue who that was) so I could bring a chair up to the front and sit down alongside the other candidates. In the nervous excitement of the moment, the plan was forgotten, and I simply went up to the podium, called for everyone's attention and began to introduce myself as the independent candidate for Trinity-Spadina. I soon found out who the moderator was . I had not even gotten so far as to make my political point - that I had been excluded - when that was clearly illustrated for the capacity crowd. The moderator leapt to the podium and covered the microphone. This was not appropriate I was told. I was being uncooperative, he said. There were planning on giving me and the fellow from the Greens a chance to speak. They would have invited me if they had known I was a candidate. I explained that as another candidate in the riding I wanted to speak on an equal basis, and that it was students, specifically from the NDP and PC clubs, that wanted me to speak at the meeting. Someone came up to the podium and told the moderator that, "The campus police have been called!" I announced this to the crowd, saying that this political matter was being dealt with by criminalizing me. This was neither democratic, nor in the best interests of the students. The moderator decided that what was acceptable to him was to ask the candidates from the big parties if they had a problem with myself and the Green Party candidate joining the meeting. Perhaps to everyone's relief, they took the highroad and welcomed the two of us (the Libertarian candidate was out of town) to the table. I think it was a youth from the PCs who helped us bring two more chairs to the front of the room.

Having established that this was not an all candidates meeting, things proceeded quite well, as questions were directed to everyone, and so each of us had an equal amount of speaking time.

In my closing remarks, I related the insult to students given by the president of SAC as the reason for excluding independent and small party candidates. Since the year had only begun, I said that I hoped the bar could be raised in terms of the level of political discourse on the campus. This was applauded by the students. I thanked the PC and NDP youth for their broadmindedness in making sure I knew about the meeting. I reiterated several points that I had made during the course of the evening, especially that it is the major parties and their stranglehold on political power that marginalizes everyone from politics and decision-making power, and the blackmail is given that anyone else is a waste of a vote. This they had seen for themselves that evening. Then we are left as "special interest groups" to lobby our elected representatives when they break their promises and forego any accountability. This is the major political issue that we need to solve today, I said, stating that this is a non-partisan issue that effects everyone, regardless of their political affiliation, and on that basis invited everyone to get involved in the work to Renew Ontario. It was not just myself, but several youth who were running on this basis throughout southern Ontario, I explained, at this point introducing the youth from Kitchener as a fellow independent candidate and a tireless fighter for the youth and the rights of all with the Kitchener-Waterloo Youth Collective.

I returned home that evening to read the reports in TML Daily of the collapse of the WTO meetings in Cancun, which came about because of the
resolute protests against the WTO, and the courageous sacrifice of the Korean farmer, Mr. Lee. I reflected upon these moving reports, and thought about the importance of defending principle, which won me the students' support, and defending the rights of all. Although differing in scale, the common point between the events at the WTO and U of T was that when one takes a stand to defend the rights of all, the status quo that marginalizes everyone is broken, a space for change is created, and new arrangements which work in our favour can be established. This is the significance of the work that we have undertaken as independent youth candidates - we invite everyone to get involved!

Break from the status quo and Renew Ontario!
Defend the Rights of All!
Together, Let Us Occupy the Space for Change!