Yet another federal election and nobody to realistically choose from.
This is one of the things I hate about democracy, specifically the ‘First Past The Post‘ system we use in Canada. Simply put, if you don’t vote for the winner, your vote doesn’t do you much good. At least that’s the way it feels.
It looks like the Conservatives got another minority government. Which means they’ll probably just act the same as they did before, call everything they can’t conveniently spin into negative press against the other parties a confidence motion. The Reform Part…. uh, sorry, Conservatives, seem to think that because they have around 37% of the popular vote, that they represent the views of all Canadians. They don’t. Minority governments do not mean you get to do what you want. It means you have to form a coalition and work with other parties to come to some kind of agreement. And if that means working with the Liberals or NDP, thus representing 50%+1 of the popular vote, then you do it. Until someone with enough clout and influence calls the Conservatives on their tactics, they’ll continue to do it.
Who is that someone? That someone is you and me. Even if you don’t have a Conservative MP in your riding, the Conservatives will form the government that will dictate (isn’t that an appropriate word) the direction this country will take on everything from the economy, to the arts, to Intellectual Property and Copyright laws. I suggest everyone write a few Conservative MP’s (it’s free to mail letters to any MP) and remind them of the following:
- It is a privlige and an honor to represent the citizenry of this country and form a government, not a right.
- Because they did not achieve a 50+% majority in popular vote, they need to listen to the 62% of the country that didn’t vote for them.
- They forced this last election because they wanted their own way but were handed another minority government. Compromise will keep them in power far longer than bullying and brinkmanship.
- People have long memories.
If your MP isn’t a Conservative, I’d write them to remind them that it is THEIR duty to work with the other parties to maintain a balanced, cooperative approach to government. Even if that means standing up to the Conservative minority and calling them on their confidence motions.
Personally, while I detest most of the Conservative platform, I think they have the stomach to make the hard financial decisions that will be required if/when the world current financial deepens. It us up to both the average citizen and the opposition MP’s to ensure that the approach and actions taken by this Conservative minority government are in the best interests of the country.
This ends my latest political rant, you may now resume your regular browsing.