Democratic process a shared responsibility

Valley high school students and former premiers were on hand in Berwick Feb. 29 to observe and build upon celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the seeds of democracy in Canada.

With at least one set of elections upon us this year -- the municipal vote in each of the province's units – it’s an important development not just for young people, but all of society.

This will be even more apparent if there’s a provincial and/or federal general election in 2008.

Nova Scotia received its legislative assembly in 1758. It was far from what we know now, but it was the beginning of our sustainable democratic government and institutions. The concept would further evolve through major, hard-won developments such as responsible government as brought about by Joseph Howe into the evolution of the Confederation era and incremental further enfranchisement of the electorate to include just about everyone over the age limit.

Former premiers Dr. John Hamm and Russell MacLellan co-chaired the event, held to engage young people in the democratic process. It's part of the D250 series going on in Nova Scotia this year.

As Hamm told the students, the freedom to vote has helped bring about others such as freedom of speech, assembly and to protest.

MacLellan noted that democracy is like a team sport; it takes everyone to make it work and the future of democracy depends upon sharing this concept with young people.

In a related matter, remuneration for elected officials -- particularly at the municipal level -- are indicative of how democracy should work.

It has become the norm for local municipal councils to review their pay schedules prior to the election of new ones.

Kings County council is looking at the councillor pay schedule and has considered engaging a consultant or at least looking at other comparable units.

Current rates, adopted in 1999 for 2000, are: warden, $29,000; deputy warden, $20,000; and councillors, $16,000.

Even those sums reflect the freeze imposed on the province's public sector during the 1990s.

But it comes down to getting what you pay for; if you're paying someone little, you have a right to ask only that level of service in return. And given the fact that municipal politics is where personal demands are most likely to be made on elected officials, salaries have to reflect the time and effort put into the job.

And it's not one way. The first level or hurdle of accountability is with the election of an official, and that’s where the process begins.

So, with the higher remuneration on the table, it's incumbent on the electorate -- us -- to ensure that the best people get elected and they know all too well what’s expected of them.

You get what you pay for, but it behooves voters to make sure it happens. It’s a little thing called accountability and it all comes down to collective responsibility through democratic action. It's a work in progress, as it has been since 1758.