It's municipal election time, and there is something that kind of ticks me off. Why is nobody in CBRM asking candidates what they have already done for their community? Our democratic process is wonderful. Anyone can put their name forward and that shouldn't change. Some people are popular. Some have wonderful dreams and aspirations as mayor or a council member. Some have worked in important jobs, some have a good academic background. But not everyone should be running in my opinion, and they should be reflecting on their track record before they put their name forward. If you haven't done anything for you community why would anyone believe you will all of a sudden start once elected? In many ways there has never been a more important time to push for involvement in the volunteer sector. It needs all of our help. COVID-19 really highlighted the challenges within this sector which is a fundamental part of the social, environmental and economic prosperity of our communities. Many of our most vulnerable are the ones volunteering, being the glue keeping communities together. When the pandemic hit several organizations ceased to operate due to a sheer lack of capacity. With emergency funding some short-term needs have been addressed, however the medium to long-term poses serious hurdles - not that we weren't facing insurmountable challenges before. And during this time a municipal election is happening where candidates aren't asked how they have been giving back. So guess what? I asked a few people. Nothing like a credible survey but something that could help me be more personally informed. First off, being active in this sector I know certain people running are and have done an awful lot. So I canvassed a few others running I didn't know. Although there were a lot of positive experiences being shared, there were some delayed and short responses from councillors and candidates. One mayoral candidate took days to answer, and after I sent numerous messages stating that answering would help their campaign, they stated "I volunteer" and "I didn't know it was a prerequisute." Then I was challenged on my volunteer record by them. Not exactly what I was looking for. Do we not deserve to know more? I want to encourage everyone to check in on the community contributions of the candidates you are leaning towards with your vote. If you don't know what they have done already it might be a bit of a red flag. If they don't volunteer at all or don't answer you it might be a bigger red flag seeing we are putting confidence in them to perform an important civic duty. A good candidate should be eager to answer you because community is their main motivation. Right? And please consider participating in volunteer activities yourself for the betterment of your community if you don't already. If you do thank you - you are not thanked enough. The volunteers I know are overallocated, carrying the load and being involved in so many important activities based on the great need. Let's spread the effort around more. You don't need to be mayor or on council to make a difference, and you really shouldn't wait until you are to demonstrate your ability to make a positive change in your community. Chris Bellemore Community volunteer