Whether it's federal or provincial, voter turnout has become an embarrassment to government.

Federally, in 2008, voter turnout plummeted to 59%. The Harper government's latest plan to improve voter participation is to allow new advance polls on the two Sundays before voting day. This would give citizens more opportunity but no more reason to vote.

Is there incentive to vote when governments totally disregard the wishes of voters as was done in Nova Scotia's voter decision in the referendum on Sunday shopping? Sunday voting certainly won't have Nova Scotians or Canadians across Canada running to the polls.

Whether it's government riding roughshod over the voters; whether it's the legislation setting a fixed voting day which the same Conservative government overturned in 2008, (a scant few months after the legislation was passed); whether it's breaking the promise not to tax income trusts, which was made by the same Conservative government; or whether it's the broken promises of other parties, the problems remain the same-voter apathy and cynicism . An increasing number of Canadians just can't be bothered. They feel that voting is a waste of time; that their vote will not make any difference.

The government is failing to examine the real cause of declining voter turnout, and that is 'the government', and what it has become. Why bother voting when the parties represented in Ottawa all stand for the same big government and high debt policies? Disillusioned voters have given up expecting things to improve; voting throughout the writ period will not address the problem.

CHP Canada suggests some things politicians could do to improve not just voter turnout, but the proper functioning of democracy itself.

• Stop wasting $300 million of taxpayers' money on elections every 18 months to 2 years. Voters have become numb with the constant politicking and bickering.
• Keep promises. Don't make promises you can't keep. Stop buying votes with borrowed money.
• Deal with the "democratic deficit" of our "first-past-the-post" system. Proportional representation would eliminate the tired myth of the "wasted vote" and would restore some sense of values-proportionality.
• Keep voting day a national event! Increasing advance polls simply reduces the nationwide sense of being joined together as a community seeking the greatest good for our society.
• Ensure all voters are well-informed about all their options. Big-party advertising and telephone-polling are intended to make voters think they have only three or four options and that they must vote quickly-before they find out about the other options and the important issues the big parties have been avoiding. Early voting means casting your ballot without all the information.
• Return government to its proper role: defending its citizens and keeping just weights and balances. The social engineering of recent years and the attempt to be Santa Claus to every isolated bloc of voters has done little to earn respect and much to provoke hostility among the citizenry who just want a fair chance to feed their families, safe streets to walk on and freedom from repressive bureaucracy.
• Don't make it EASIER to vote. Make it more IMPORTANT to vote.
• To accommodate voters who will be away on voting day, one advance polling day, one week before voting day should be allowed as well as mail-in ballots.

It's time to be honest about the state of the nation. Many of our citizens have lost the passion for the democratic process because they have not seen the benefits. Democracy's image is tarnished and those who have been entrusted with positions of responsibility need to restore it. CHP Canada is prepared to take on this challenge and committed to restoring this trust.