| The Canadian Election, or Why I Will Probably Spoil my Ballot |
[Sep. 28th, 2008|10:59 pm] |
So, hidden amongst the clamour of the US election, Canada is due to have an election of our own on October 14th. I recommend reading The Canadian Regime if you want an understanding of how the Canadian system works and what it means to call an election. Or, phone me and I'll explain on the phone, it's too much effort to type it all out. Below I am going to explain (generally) the positions of all the parties and explain why I don't want to vote for them. Note: When we vote in Canada, we vote for a local Member of Parliament who belongs to a party. The party with the most MPs has it's leader elected as Prime Minister. For most people, voting for a MP is basically voting for a party and it's leader.
Conservative
Leader: Stephen Harper (Current Prime Minister)
Position: The furthest right of all the parties, during this election Harper has been working really hard to position himself and the Conservatives as the most centrist party (Canadian politics is generally a race to the middle). Too bad they're not at all :)
Fiscally: Harper has been playing it really conservative recently. Cutting the shit out of arts funding in the last few weeks to save money hit a lot of people the wrong way. Too bad his promise to take 2% off the GST was basically a retarded idea considering the near recession, but he did it anyway (woo Alberta votes!). He's a man for cutting taxes, but Conservatives have a bad history of cutting taxes to the point of deficit, and he's already chipped away at Chretien's surpluses a lot. His Finance Minister is currently persona non grata in Ontario where he told a bunch of business people that "Ontario is the last place to invest your money." Remember kids, when you want to be the next Premier or Ontario, don't slander the province when you mean to slander the current Premier :)
Socially: He's already stated that he's going to make his law and order bill a confidence matter (if he loses, then the government falls) which the Supreme Court has already told him is unconstitutional. Taking us back to the polls over something he can't hope to have stick is a pretty stupid idea, but this is the man that tried to repeal legislation that Martin tabled to sanction gay marriage, so who knows! Otherwise, Harper is as Republican as they come, he just hides it so well under his incredibly boring features.
Why I won't vote for Harper: The man is a fucking neo-con. He has basically no experience except running a conservative think tank and the old conservative party. I will admit in a minority situation, he has proven he is willing to go balls out to get his way and has done a decent job, but is effectively checked by the other parties, which has so far been do-able.
Liberal
Leader: Stephan Dion
Position: Historically, the Liberals have been centre-right. A combination of the Conservatives pushing left and Dion himself pushing left, they're now roughly centre-left.
Fiscally: The centrepiece of the Liberal agenda is Dion's "Green Shift". The idea being carbon tax, cutting income tax and investing in greener industry. Alberta, BC, Ontario pretty much hate him for that. The previous Liberal governments (of which Dion was a cabinet minister) had really good track records for doing hard deeds to get surpluses and money flowing. Transfer payments are still a sore issue, but it basically saved the government.
Socially: Due to the Clarity act (Old time Canadian drama) Quebec hates him too, so the Liberals are basically totally shut out there. Generally the Liberals are pro-pan-Canada national policy, and as the "Natural Governing Party" there is still a lot of goodwill they haven't burned yet. The average Canadian is still afraid of Stephen Harper, which the Liberals use to their advantage.
Why I probably won't vote for them: Honestly, I'm a card carrying Liberal, but Dion has burned a lot of bridges, and his green Shift is bad for me personally (being above the average tax bracket and having to commute a lot means I'm fucked both ways). I will probably still vote for them, as the lesser of all the evils.
New Democratic Party
Leader: Jack Layton
Position: Historically really really left, but Layton has been pushing to the centre this election, trying to squeeze in on disenfranchised Liberals.
Fiscally: Layton thinks he can cut taxes for the average Canadian further than Dion can, and also increase funding for arts, health, education past what Harper cut. Honestly, the NDP never really had their head's on straight. It's likely that they'll be the next Official Opposition though, which would likely mean that we'll see neither Layton or Harper's plans go through. Oh yeah, almost forgot he wants to reneg on NAFTA to make it more protectionist for Canada, just like Obama for the US!
Socially: Well, I mean, they're socialists. Big government, lots of taxing the big bad corporations, etc. Gay marriage and free health care to all! (Except those who make more than $37 000/year).
Why I won't vote for them: I'm not a filthy commie. Also, Jack Layton is fucking creepy. Like, worse creepy than Obama.
Le Bloc Quebecois
Leader: Gilles Duceppe
Position: FUCK YOU NATIONALIST PIGDOGS! VIVE QUEBEC! Well, they've gotten a little better but it's basically getting every concession they can for Quebec. As Quebec has the second most amount of seats in the House of Commons, and it is looking like the Bloc will sweep the Province in a wave of anti-Dion and anti-Harper Nationalism, this is pretty terrible for Canada. Technically they're a left wing party, but it's not really relevant.
Fiscally: Honestly, this part isn't going to make any sense if you aren't a student of Canadian Politics. It basically comes down to the fact that Quebec doesn't feel that Ottawa should be taking tax money from them and then doling it out in transfer payments. Even though the system permanently puts Quebec in the "get money" line, they're upset that there are certain conditions to it (like, you know, not wasting it, putting it into things like infrastructure and education).
Socially: Again, this isn't going to make any sense outside Canada, but they're still hung up on the Nation Question. Harper kinda threw them a bone with it last fall, but Duceppe will never rest until Quebec is formally a Nation.
Why I won't vote for them: Well, first I think they should be arrested for treason and mass fraud. But mainly they don't field candidates outside Quebec.
The Green Party
Leader: Elizabeth May
Position: Even further left than the Bloc and the NDP together! They're basically considered a one trick pony with an environmentalism cause. Interestingly, they've never won a seat in the House, even though they usually poll 5%~ nation wide. Just before this election an independent formally joined the Green Party, giving them a seat in the House before the election. This means technically May can join the Leaders debates and after some drama, she's actually leading them off. Good for her, maybe she might even win a seat!
Fiscally: A carbon tax that literally amounts to 12 cents a litre, a income tax cut for Canadians making under $37 000, and income tax sharing, which is a great idea, if it wasn't with the rest of it. Honestly, this is probably the best, most well rounded platform the Green's have ever put up.
Socially: They're the Green Party. It's basically all about the environment. Luckily for them, this election the Environment is very much on people's minds. Otherwise, they're a left wing party, lots of stuff about Health Care, Education, the Arts, etc.
Why I probably won't vote for them: Traditionally the Greens are the protest vote of choice. But, with May getting into the Leader's debates, the Environment being an actual topic, and lots of people hating Layton, Harper and Dion, they might actually have a chance at winning some seats. The problem is their policies are really bad for me (except the income tax sharing, which is outweighed by 12 fucking cents a litre) personally. If Dion doesn't shape shit up, I might vote for the Green in protest.
Wow, that's long as shit, and probably doesn't make a lot of sense. That is basically the top 5 parties (Canada is basically between the Liberals and the Conservatives with the Bloc, NDP and Green fighting for scraps, though maybe not this year) from right to left and generally what they stand for. There is obviously a lot more and I glossed over a lot of stuff (and I'm biased as shit!), but it's a good idea for what sort of things are going on in Canada compared to the USA. |
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