What's Your Political Party?

When it comes to politics, I can be very clear in my opinions. That doesn't mean that I'm not open to discussion or debate though, but I don't think I make that clear enough sometimes. Let's face it - I am not a political expert and I may disagree often without necessarily knowing all the facts. I'd love to know the facts. 

My opinions are formed through things I have learned 

• through historical experience (let's face it - I'm old enough to have known a lot of different type governments in my life),
• from what I've learned from other people who have different knowledge and ideas,
• from reading the opinions of others for whom I have tremendous respect. 

I've never understood the kind of people who voted for a particular party, regardless of who the leader or candidate was, just because they'd always voted for that party, and maybe even because for a couple of generations their family had always voted for that party.That's so American though! As Canadians, let's be smarter.

My daughter once asked me how someone knew who to choose in an election. My advice to her is advice that works for everyone I think. I asked her to think about the kind of person she was and what she expected of her country, then to listen to each of the various people's platforms and vote for the party who was promising to provide that kind of country or those values.

Some people vote for a party because of a single issue, but I think it's important to understand each of the issues. 

Some people are afraid of change, especially in times of turmoil. Is it a coincidence though, that we seem to be having a "time of turmoil" in one area or another before the last few elections? 

If you're waiting for the "perfect" time to change a government, economic or security wise, let me suggest there never will be a perfect time. The right time is when you really want change.

As the author John E. Lewis once said “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?”

I know it's easy to attack the person currently holding the office and maybe you don't think that's fair. Wouldn't you agree though, that it keeps the governing party from getting too comfortable? If they KNOW that they're going to be watched, measured and judged, don't you think they might start coming through on some of their election promises? If you screw up in YOUR job, wouldn't you expect to be let go eventually? Sure, the company might worry that it's going to take a new person some time to get up to speed, but if they end up being better at the job, isn't it worthwhile then?

Listen, I'm not suggesting who you should vote for. I'm going to continue examining my values and beliefs, and expressing my opinions, and everyone else needs to do the same thing.  Between now and October 19^th, each of us needs to do three things:

1. Figure out,
• What kind of people are we and what do we expect of our country?
• Which party's platform better matches our values?
2. Make sure:
• We're not voting on a single issue.
• We're not voting based on fear of any kind.
3. Go out and vote. Because every vote matters.

This work by Suzette Seveny is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License.

Give Me Back My Canada

Right before every election, I become very outspoken. So much so that many of my friends and relatives think I'm very politically involved. I'm not. I'm not even a supporter of any particular party. I like to judge each of them each on their own merits and record.

In case you're wondering, I'm not anti-government either, because that would make me an anarchist, wouldn't it? No, I'm one of these rare people who actually don’t mind paying taxes. We need people to run the government, right? They need to get paid. We also need all the stuff the government is supposed to do - improve our infrastructure, develop our social and healthcare programs - lots of stuff. It takes money.

What I don't like is wasting money. Or greed. I work hard for my money. I don't want to give it (voluntarily or not) to be wasted foolishly. Isn’t that reasonable?

Our current federal government believes in trickle down economics which, if I'm not mistaken, means giving tax breaks to corporations who in turn will create more jobs. Guess what? It doesn't work.

A business owner I know (who shall remain anonymous) is actually a huge supporter of unions (imagine that!), and when we discussed the tax breaks our government was giving businesses, he told me he'd gladly take the tax break but he wouldn't be creating any more jobs with it. He just increased his profits. He even went so far as to say if the government cancelled those tax breaks or INCREASED his taxes, he'd be okay with it. He said he could afford to pay more.

Isn't that interesting?

So, we have a Conservative federal government that has operated on the principle of trickle-down economics and what does their record show? I've lost count of the number of criminal charges against members of parliament or the senate. Our environmental record is terrible. Our treatment of First Nations people is shameful. Our rights and freedoms are under attack. We have to deal with a secretive, disdainful government (how many times did Harper prorogue parliament? Remember when he was found in contempt of parliament?) Our national resources are being sold off to foreign interests. The economy is stagnate, unemployment remains the same, and we're actually heading into a recession. Good job guys!

On the other hand, we have a Liberal provincial government who loves to waste money. Cancelled gas plants, the ORNGE scandal, the e-health scandal - not to mention the assets we've lost - selling off Hydro One, allowing beer and wine to be sold in the stores, etc. All to "balance the budget". The provincial debt has gotten so bad, we've had our credit rating downgraded. Even the CEO of Chrysler Canada is complaining that the high costs of hydro is this province may force them to leave. But this is the land of milk and honey, isn't it? So we're going to give the organizers of the Pan Am games millions of dollars in bonuses, and for what? For doing jobs they already are being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars (over $400k to one). Wow. Can I get a 100% bonus too for just doing what I'm paid to do? Where's the rationale for that?

It's easy to throw other people's money around I guess. And when we have no more revenue generating assets left, we can always go back to the trough and raise taxes, right?

I'm becoming cynical. I'm starting to believe the reason these people are in politics is because they are incompetent and would not survive in the corporate world. It's time we start holding our government responsible. It's time to see politicians charged when they breach our trust. Take their gold plated pensions away when they break the rules.

More importantly, it’s time to elect responsible government. A Government with the interests of the people in mind - you know, common people, working people, people like you and me.

Give me back the Canada I was born into.
Give me back the Canada who was respected internationally.
Give me back the Canada that was a shining example of fiscal responsibility.
Give me back the Canada I used to be so proud of.

I don't belong to a political party so I'm not going to suggest who people should vote for. Each one of us needs to examine the leaders we have in power today, and decide what type of country we want Canada to be.

What do you want your Canada to look like?



This work by Suzette Seveny is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License.