These days, the word "election" has become the word everybody loves to hate. The word is everywhere. It is on TV, in newsprint, in radio shows. Everywhere you go, something will remind you that there's an election of some kind coming soon. With the federal election campaign in full gear, the amount of coverage is so comprehensive that it's like sticking a toothbrush down your throat. To make matters worse, there will be a regional election on Nov. 13 (coincidence? I think not). At that time, most people are probably still recovering from the drama that is the U.S. Presidential race and are preparing to decide whether or not to vote in the Federal election. Men are not designed to handle that many elections in such a short time span.
Like most people, I feel that this federal election was called prematurely. The Liberals came into power in fall 1993 and have already served two terms. That means they only governed for seven out of the possible eight years of their mandate. In other words, we're not getting enough bang for our buck.
I do follow the elections with some interest. I have paid attention to what the federal party leaders have said. After hearing what they say, I usually yell at the TV saying, "Stop using that tape recorder, say something that we haven't heard before!"
In front of the camera, almost every politician will say, "If I'm elected, I'll do this and that." Most of the candidates' promises, as politics dictate, will be broken the moment he/she is elected. There is a simple way to reduce the occurrences of lying — next time a politician makes an appearance to the press, strap a lie detector to him/her and see how much he/she actually says in the entire event.
As much as the Liberal party want to deny it, there are not two, but THREE small c conservative parties in Canada right now. The PM continuously says that the Grits and the Alliance offer completely different visions for the future of Canada. From what I see so far, the two parties practically offer the same goods, only in different amounts.
We are only one week through the campaign and I have already seen the party leaders throw more punches (to each other) than Mike Tyson would in a 12-round marathon. The war of words between the leaders, which can get personal at times, makes a gunfight at the O.K. Corral look like a friendly tea party. A message to the party leaders — stop the attacks on other parties and tell the world what you will actually do. We don't care about your catfight.
In an election, we are free to vote for any candidate. For an MP that has party affiliation, he has as much freedom as a bird in a cage. When voting time comes in Parliament, he almost always has to vote the same way as the rest of the party. The political parties and textbooks call it "party solidarity". As far as I'm concerned, party solidarity is just a nicer way to say, "Be a good boy and vote with the party, or we'll kick you out of here," just ask John "I'm not bitter" Nunziata. If politicians can't vote in the interest of their constituents, why bother putting him in Parliament? We already have to carry the burden of the HRDC's mismanagement of funds. The last thing we need is another misuse of our tax dollars.
One great thing about living in Canada is that one isn't bombarded with the latest presidential polls everyday. While it's nice to publish polls on a regular basis so that the public can learn about the voting trend of those polled, one a day is too much, even for the election-obsessed Americans. People DO have things to do other than watching politics. To the American media: for 2004, release only monthly polls until the final week of campaign. With the amount of election coverage, one doesn't take eternity to decide who to vote for.
Voting is a right many people around the world don't have. So on election day(s), take advantage of the right. At the very least, show up at the polls. The one vote you hold may be detrimental to your, and our, daily lives for the next few years. As for me, I'm going to try and gather all I can get before deciding.
Jason "the Screamer" Lau