Merit Motion Pictures was in Gimli last Saturday to film a segment of an upcoming documentary, Power to the People: The Origins of Democracy, engaging people in the discussion of and active participation in two different forms of democracy.
Hosted by Anthony Morgan from The Nature of Things, the event, called the Great Democracy Test, was held at the Farmers Hall. The Gimli Chamber of Commerce helped facilitate the event.
It engaged the audience in two different forms of democracy: ancient Athenian democratic practice in which a citizen’s name was randomly chosen from a hat and the person was made leader for a day, and the democratic form of governance that’s practised in Canada and in other democratic countries in which citizens are elected to represent the populace. The audience was asked for feedback on what form of democracy they thought worked best.
Gimli residents Michelle Thomson, Sherry Benson-Podolchuk and Romanna Klymkiw were chosen to participate in the modern form of democracy. As candidates running in a mock local election, they presented a platform that included how they’d improve Gimli and the everyday services on which people rely.
Thomson, an entrepreneur and vice president of the Gimli Chamber of Commerce, said Gimli has character, a sense of community and unique charm. And the community could be made even better than it is by enhancing its appeal, further developing community spaces, continuing infrastructure upgrades, supporting local businesses, diversifying employment opportunities, building affordable housing and expanding access to health-care services.
“Amongst our streets live people who define a true community, and the very essence of Gimli’s greatness has much to do with the residents representing it,” said Thomson in her candidate biography.
Benson-Podolchuk, a retired RCMP officer who runs her own consulting business, said the Great Democracy Test was an “amazing experience.” She loved the discussions about democracy, the professional and engaging set-up and organization of the event, and host Anthony Morgan’s “energetic and inclusive” approach.
Her biggest takeaways from the event centred on the fragility of democracy, how society does much better when people work as a team and the ability of ordinary people to stand up and speak for what they believe in.
Express Photos by Cheryl Cohan
“My biggest takeaway is that democracy is precious and fragile. And that politicians need to be actively involved in what their community wants and needs and to be honest,” said Benson-Podolchuk a day after the event.
She said she was also impressed by the courage candidates and audience members showed in speaking before a large group of people, probably having to step out of their “comfort zone” to present their platform, express their views and provide feedback on the important topic of democracy.
In addition to the three candidates running for the mock election, there were three people chosen at random – their names were drawn from a hat – who had to come up with a platform and present it to the audience. All six candidates chosen were women.
“The two groups of women had fantastic ideas,” said Benson-Podolchuk. “I was totally impressed and learned a lot from everyone. I think that was the point we learned from each other: when we know better, we do better.”
Her final takeaway centred on the importance of having a “thicker skin and not worrying about what other people say,” she said.
Power to the People is expected to be released in either late 2025 or in 2026.
Merit Motion Pictures is a Winnipeg-based film production company that has teamed up with French-based Yuzu [production company] to make the documentary, which has been commissioned by the CBC, France TV and NOVA.
