Canadians Need to Wake Up – Opinion by Markus Noé
This is a country suffering from the minority government blues. Since Stephen Harper was elected in 2006 Canadians have been forced to remain in election “mode”. This prorogation has done nothing but remind voters of how ineffective a minority government is.
Maybe that was the point? Either way the main issue during the next inevitable election should not be about the economy, climate change, or harsher punishments for criminals. Those issues have all been discussed enough, its time for final arguments.
The luxury for voters who are constantly bombarded by their politician’s platforms is that we are all well informed on the issues of today. Not only are we well informed but we have been dealing with the same issues for years now, so solutions should be obvious. The government’s own bureaucracy keeps parliament at a snail’s pace on its own. It doesn’t need split votes and prorogations to slow it down any further.
Its circumstances like the one we are in now that makes movements like “rock the vote” imperative. The time has come to stop letting a minority of our population decide the outcome of elections. Voter turn out, especially among the youth is diminishing every election. Voter turn out statistics have been painting this same picture for decades now. Canadians are smart enough to decide who will best represent them, and the onus is on us to do that.
A contributing factor to our problem is that there are too many parties and platforms to split the vote. The Conservatives are on an island of their own with their ideals as are the Bloc, but the NDP and the Liberals could find mutual ground on a variety of issues. A combination of ideas and platforms could be just what the doctor ordered. It certainly worked out well for the for Alliance party.
This would allow voters to be able to clearly identify the differences between the two parties and our odds of getting a much needed majority government would increase. It is time to take responsibility for ourselves and end this nonsense. We need to put our complete confidence into one party and give them four or maybe even five years to accomplish something. Anything is better than letting these endless déjà vu’s of election promises and prorogations to continue.
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I have been saying this for a long time now and I wholeheartedly agree. Canadians need to start standing up for themselves!
We have the right to have as many political parties as we want. Which parties would you throw into the garbage bin? Would you get rid of the smaller ones or a really big one that you don’t like? You want to stuff us all into two groups just so that we will end up with one group getting a majority. Life is not that simple. Their are more than two points of view on most topics. The US has a two party system and I would not trade the Canadian system for the US system. Their cridlock is a lot worse than ours. What looks like a simple solution is a threat to democracy. Minority governments are better than two party systems. Coalition governments are also better than two party systems. Let the people decide. And if we elect a minority government, then learn to live with it.
Yes the US has a 2 party system but on the last Presidential election there were 6 parties running. Besides the 2 noted, there were independant, libertarian, constitution and green parties.
I still do not like the idea of a provincial party being in the federal domain, but we have the bloq anyway.
And I think a majority is difficult to attain with more than 3 main across Canada parties and they would offer enough choice in policy for most.
You’re quite right. It was a minority government that led to Medicare in Canada. I think it’s becoming more and more necessary to create The Medicare Party of Canada; not to ever win, but for Canadians to be able to have a device to truly show how much that Medicare means to our country; much more than squiggly things on Naval uniforms….
Well as the Conservatives discovered, when you split a vote it’s hard to win. Right now it’s to their advantage in that the Libs and NDP are splitting the centre/left vote while the Harper Government manages to not alienate enough people to skid through with minority governments.
Either way it’s a tough call. The solution; short of systematic change is to force Canadians to consider their votes more carefully and look at more of the issues. IE we have to tell politicians that if they don’t perform and listen to more people they will lose their jobs. And those are mighty cushy jobs to lose.
And some people will have to lean less on partisan politics. If I felt strongly for example, by voting in the next election for the Green Party (just throwing that out as an example) I could get rid of the Harper regime and help Canada I’d vote Green.
Complain, complain, complain! It doesn’t matter if it’s a minority or a majority government, you will still complain. Thats a Canadian trait – complain about everything!
Markus, you are right. On the other hand, a lot of people feel that a vote against the Conservatives is a ‘lost vote.’ It seems voting habits have been passed down from previous generations – either stick with the ‘status quo’ or spoil the ballot. Canadians need a little faith. If we screw things up by rocking the parlimentary boat, could they possibly be worse than the present? Keep it up, M-dawg!
I vote with my conscience every time I hit the booth, I try to remain informed on all issues going on. I say rock the parliamentary boat, lets see what happens! The general population needs to get out of this apathetic attitude they have and get back to the voting booths. 10-20 years ago, there were huge lineups to vote, I never see that anymore. Its time to take our country back and get a government in power that doesn’t bank on this voter apathy to keep their power!
People are fed up with voting. Until the mandate of the party becomes secondary, and the mandate of the people is addressed, nothing will change. I would love to see the Ministry of Health audited. Then, an audit of the Ontario Lottery Corporation. There has been 2 billion dollars missing just from those 2 agencies. Dalton said no to an inquest. You must ask yourself, what is he hiding? And the voting public says, oh well, there is nothing we can do about it.
My own friends and family don’t even want to discuss it. Again, they say, we can’t do anything about it. So far, they are correct.
So Willie other than writing posts on websites like this one what are you doing to become part of the solution
I joined the NDP party. I am just getting my feet wet. I want to be part of the process, as well as be part of the solution. The NDP have been fighting for health care for many years now. The people always say we had an NDP Premier with Bob Rae. Hindsight tells me the Bob Rae was a liberal in NDP clothing.
I have met Darlene Jalbert, and feel she has the passion and desire to speak for the people of this riding.
Thank you for asking admin.
BTW admin, I do enjoy the Cornwall Free News. It is for the people.
willie191, actually there is something we can do about it, DON’T RE-ELECT THOSE LYING BUMS!
Why don’t people vote? Because it is pointless. Big business runs governments, both right and left wing. If you want to affect government policy, get rich.
Destructo that’s what big business pay media to make you think 😉 = Your vote is still very much powerful; especially if it’s combined with like minded people.
No, big business pays the media to numb our minds with sports and pop culture updates. They don’t want us to vote, because they don’t think we’re smart enough to handle the responsibility. It’s all about profits, and money has no conscience. Just drink your beer, watch your hockey game or talent show, or whatever, just don’t pay attention. How many people vote for Canadian Idle, or So You Think You Can Dance? That’s where peoples’ attention is, because that’s where they are told to put it.
The point is whether we elect Conservatives or Liberals, it doesn’t matter. They don’t answer to us. They answer to those who paid to get them elected. The old “you scratch my back” scenario. All the ignorant masses are expected to do is go to work and pay taxes.
I’ll leave you with my favourite Ben Franklin quote: “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for supper. Liberty is a well armed lamb.” (Ok, maybe my only Ben Franklin quote, but I still like it.)
That’s a great quote Destructo, but if enough lambs vote the wolves have to behave themselves; at least for awhile 😉 – And as long as Lambs are running in a pack together in the same direction the wolves have a harder time feasting on them.
Markus, you say “it’s time for final arguments.” About what?
Good Day, PJR
I meant that it’s time for Canadians to choose one ideal over another. We hear about the same key issues every election; it’s time for this nation to collectively pick one side over another. Then our government can deceive us into believing that something is actually being accomplished. Do you member the good old days when we could just criticize our government and say they weren’t doing anything? Now we have to witness it firsthand everyday and deal with it consequences.
Markus,
Marcus … We do not live in an ideal world that you dream about. Dividing everyone between one ideal and one other ideal is not realistic … just count the number of opinions you got on your opinion piece. I want to have more than two choices … don’t you too? This is not a yes or no world. Learn to live with it.