Why I Vote: Wab Kinew

Oct 1, 2015 | 8:00 AM


As part of our coverage of the 2015 Federal Election, we are asking Indigenous people in this province to tell us “Why I Vote.” These are the unedited words from our interviewees. You can find more in our

Interviews section

.

Wab Kinew, 33, Associate
Vice-President for Indigenous Relations at The University of Winnipeg

Are you voting?

100 per cent I’m going to vote. I hope everyone else votes
too.

Why should people vote?

Even if you are a staunch Indigenous nationalist, I would
still say why pass up the opportunity to influence the other system. The way I
view it I am both. Both an Anishinaabe person and a Canadian and some of my
issues are going to be dealt with by federal politicians. Sure I care about
Treaty rights and the Sun Dance, my spirituality, but you know I also care
about taxation and the amount of money spent on health care. I go to public
hospitals and my kids go to public schools. And we use public infrastructure. I
care about those things so would I cede that part of my personality and not
influence the leaders that are going to be making those decisions.


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