Hopefully you read my piece about the election in Canada that took place last Tuesday.‚ If not, here’s a quick look into what’s going on in the immensely boring world of Canadian politics.
An election was called about six weeks ago by Stephen Harper, our current prime minister.‚ His administration had a minority government, which means they didn’t have enough support to have complete control over the country. His party was loosing power, so he called an election for Oct. 14.
The election won him a stronger government, but still, he’s leader of another minority government.‚ He ran mainly against Stƒ©phane Dion of the Liberal party, who stepped down after loosing the election.
Canada has four prominent federal political parties by the way, the Liberals, the Conservatives, the New Democrats and the Bloc Quebecois.‚ Only people in Quebec can vote for the Bloc.‚ Stupid, I know.
So here goes:
I am a liberal.‚ My view on the economy, gay marriage, abortion and on everything and anything that is an issue is pretty much always liberal.‚ I’ve been a supporter of the Liberal party since I started following politics. I think I was about nine.
But last Tuesday, the first election in which I could legally take part, I voted Conservative.‚ Seriously, I’m not proud of it.
I don’t agree with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s policy, especially his administration’s decision to cut funding for the arts and its disregard for the Kyoto Protocol.
More overpowering than my disliking of Harper’s policy is my skepticism toward Stƒ©phane Dion.‚ As leader of our country, I have little faith he would do a competent job on a federal level.
One of my utmost passions is the environment.‚ I had real issue with Harper’s disregard for Kyoto, but Stƒ©phane Dion’s plan for decreasing emissions is worse.
Dion’s suggestion for implementing a carbon tax is pretty outrageous.‚ In Canada, the home of some of the most taxed citizens in the world, more tax on things like gasoline isn’t a good solution, especially for small businesses and individuals.
Implementing a cap on emissions for companies both small and big would be much more effective.‚ It allows companies to get more creative with how they reduce their carbon footprints.‚ It even benefits small business.‚ ‚ But Dion didn’t see it that way.
In the end this election was about choosing the lesser of three evils (four if you live in Quebec).‚ It’s been a while since Canadians have had a formidable candidate for prime minister.‚ A long while.
The prospects don’t look much better for the Liberals.‚ At least not until Justin Trudeau (the son of Pierre Trudeau, one of the most beloved and charismatic leaders in Canadian history) decides to run.
Leave a Reply