This week, Ottawa has been abuzz with talk of an election and today, it was confirmed - the government was defeated in a historic vote in which they were found in contempt of Parliament. Great, we have a government who has been labelled liars by the opposition - the result is a $400 million boondoggle for an election that will produce what will be another minority government (party to be determined).
This will be the four time Canadians head to the polls since 2004 - four elections in seven years makes for very grumpy voters, especially considering the 24 years before 2004, Canadians headed to the polls only six times. If the cost of an election is truly $400 million, we've spent $1.6 billion - that money could have been better spent for social programs or needed tax cuts for lower income families.
Albert Einstein famously stated that the definition of insanity is doing something the same way over and over again and expecting a different result. This is a perfect description of this fourth election. There are so many things that are the same from the last election in 2008 that Canadians should not be surprised that we get yet another minority government this April.
What's the same you ask?
(1) Same guys running the show - Harper, Duceppe, Layton, May...are we back in the election of 2008 again? The only leader change up has been Dion to Ignatieff, which in my opinion is trading someone incoherent and boring for someone who's just boring. How will one decide between such uninspiring leaders? I mean, you have one candidate who's party was just found guilty of lying to Parliament, another who's party's motto is "go fuck yourself if you're not from Quebec", and one who's struggled in the last three elections (and several by-elections) to try to even get a seat in the house. It's time Canadians demanded a change at the top of each of these parties - boot Harper, Iggy, Layton and Duceppe (well, I'd say boot Duceppe's party altogether) and ask for fresh talent that inspires Canadians to care about politics.
(2) It's doubtful any of the platforms are going to be anything inspiring. In elections where the parties have a feeling that there might be a minority government, a strange phenomenon occurs - rather than heading up bold and aggressive party platforms that would likely motivate people to vote in your party as a majority, parties revert to safe platforms that barely rock the boat, which ultimately causes a minority. I hold no high hopes for any big policy proposals from any parties. What would I like to see a party have in their platform?
- how to overhaul the failing Canadian health system by investigating how private health care can play a bigger role in helping to improve services and reduce procedure waiting times
- a focus on supporting our big cities by developing better transportation infrastructure
- incentives for companies to go green and a more aggressive plan for the environment portfolio
- tax cuts for small and medium enterprises as they are the ones who will provide the job creation in many communities
(3) A lack of cooperation from any party to work together. With five major parties set to fight it out, it's likely none of them will get a majority, which means that from the get go, parties should at least look to one another and say alright, how can we work to form a majority? Many might remember my staunch disapproval of a coalition between the Liberals/Bloc/NDP back in 2008, and say, why the change? The difference here is that the coalition was proposed after the election in a bid to steal power. If a coalition started out during an election, at least people know what they are voting for.
(4) Voters won't be showing up. People are tired and the latest round of shenanigans on Parliament Hill isn't impressing anyone to show up to the polls to make sure things change. Politicians are to blame for making voters fatigued, voters are to be blamed for not standing up and saying enough and firing these jokers who've made our government so unworkable for four years. Then again, you're not really firing them because it's the same people at the helm.
In any case, things won't be changing anytime soon. I look forward to seeing what the parties have to throw at each other in the coming weeks.
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