Politics in Canada
I rarely post about politics.. but the events of the federal election in Canada, and the campaigns leading up to it, make me feel like i need to get some stuff out… This is half-baked and rant-y, but I’m compelled to post it anyway.
(originally written as a response to comments on the BlogTO.com election results post)
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People really need to do some research.
Harper, and most neo-conservative governments (ie. Bush and his predecessors) are actually NOT FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE. They actually spend more than “liberal” (not the party) governments. Our deficit after the Harper Conservatives over the last few years is far higher than it was before. The Conservatives spend just as much, but they tend to spend on military, police, and prisons rather than services that actually help people. Our economy is stable because our financial industry is highly regulated.. regulations that the Conservatives would have done away with had they been in power (some of them tried, and this is what happened in the USA).
Conservative governments also give away billions in tax breaks to corporations, while actually raising taxes for the majority of citizens. All of this, with no additional services to help normal people.
That is just the fiscal issue… Harper’s Conservatives have also shown that they don’t care about our system of government and have no respect for Canadians or other view points. They have lied, hidden facts, and abused the system (ie. prorogue twice for personal reasons).
This is not a political ideological difference. I’m not a social conservative, but would be in favour of fiscal conservatism in many ways. However, if people want to elect a socially conservative government, I might complain but that’s ok. That’s how democracy works… In this case, that’s not what happened. We have elected a party that abuses their power, does not listen to the people, and throws money away on things we don’t need (jets, G8 project funding corruption, prisons, internet surveillance).
Ask yourself what Conservative policies are actually helping you in your daily life? Which ones could hurt you? What do you think of their behaviour in regards to secrecy, contempt of parliament, and G8/20 funding irregularities and spending? An election is not about voting against the other parties, it’s about voting for a party or candidate that represents your best interests. How does the newly elected Conservative majority do that? I would genuinely like to know.
I’m not interested in partisan debates. Everybody needs to take a rational, educated, and detailed look at how these parties behave, their policies, practices, and opinions. They work for us, and we need to keep the accountable and honest. If that doesn’t happen we are no longer in a democracy.
There are also system level issues at play here. The party who now has a majority only received 39% of the votes.. That’s actually a minority of support. I’m not sure how to fix this problem with our election system, but something isn’t working. I’d be saying the same thing no matter who won the election.
