It's expected that Canada's New Government will soon be Canada's Old Government. Since there's a virtual tie in the opinion polls between the Liberals and Conservatives, the Liberals were threatening before Xmas to bring down Canada's New Government and force an election. If there is an election, I think I'll be voting for my fourth political party.
Twice, I've made the strategic vote. When I was living in Sunnyside, I voted for Joe Clark as a Progressive Conservative. Since the PCs weren't going to do anything in that election, it was good to vote him in and deny a seat to a Reformer. Last election, I voted NDP. I might have my socialist leanings but I also cannot stand unions. The NDP candidate had great exposure and I thought this meant he had some support and the possibility of defeating the Conservative. He came third and the total of his votes and the second place Liberal's didn't add up to the votes for Jim Prentice. In Calgary, you only need to put your name on the ballot for the right-wing party and you'll get elected.
Ergo, if I'm going to waste my vote, I'm going to waste it properly. After Stephen Harper's minion was the worst obstructionist (except for the U.S.) at the recent global climate change talks in Bali, it's clear that someone needs to let the Conservatives know that Canadians accept climate change and would like to do something about it. The Green Party won't form the next government but, if a few get elected and the Party gets recognized nationally, maybe Canada will get back to working the rest of the world and not being an obstructionist. It's hard to believe a Canadian Prime Minister invented peace keeping and now we're a rogue nation on environmental issues.
There is only one problem with my plan: according to the Green Party of Canada website, there is no candidate for my riding. Hmm... Maybe I should try voting for myself.
09 January 2008
04 January 2008
The Abolition of the Canadian Government
The Canadian government should be abolished. 308 people arguing and then doing what Stephen Harper wants them to do anyway. 27 ministers in the cabinet and a similar number shadowing them. As far as I can tell, the backbenchers are mostly used to boo and otherwise stifle discussion and create interest for C-SPAN viewers who can try and spot them napping. Canada's New Government hasn't done anything productive except giving Canada a black eye by siding with the U.S. at the climate talks in December in Bali, taxing an insufficient child care benefit and hiding upper-class tax cuts as a reduction in the GST.
Tax-payers would save a bundle of money if we threw out those 308 MPs and replaced them with just one person per province or territory per party. 13 provinces and territories and one Conservative, Green, Liberal and NDP each. By my count, that's 52 people; just like a deck of cards. I guess we'd have to let in one joker from Quebec to represent the BQ.
The good part of this idea is the direct democracy. Currently, you vote for someone in your riding in the party you like. Even if your constituency wants public day care and your Conservative promised he'd convince Stephen Harper to implement public day care once elected, as soon as your MP got to Ottawa, Steve told him to go to his desk in the back row, sit down and shut up. I'm suggesting that all decisions be made on-line in a referendum. This isn't as stupid as Reform's idea to hold referendums on everything if they got a petition asking for one. (I'm looking at you, Doris, uh... I mean, Stockwell Day.) This is 13 people for each party coming up with ideas about how to run Canada. One party submits an idea and then there are two weeks to lobby the position of each party and two weeks for Canadians to log in and vote. If logging in to do your banking and file your taxes is secure, then logging in to vote for the GST going back to 7% or being removed completely has to be possible. Estonia votes on-line! In the West we think they're a backwards, former Communist country yet they can go to their computers and cast a vote in elections. If a public voting computer was set up in every Tim Horton's, you'd easily beat the usual 40% or lower turnout on federal elections.
The best part is that Stephen Harper can no longer stick his fingers in his ears and sing, "la la la, I'm not listening." You wouldn't get John Baird going to Bali, refusing to co-operate with the rest of the world and then returning home to lament that more could have been done. You also would be saved from a government which won't think more than four years into the future because that's the time-line for the next election. If 90% of the population logs in and votes to agree to the next agreement after Kyoto, then 90% of the population realizes that they'll have to make some sacrifices to meet the country's goals. I wouldn't have to hear Harper complain that Canada's New Government will become unpopular because they happen to be governing when Canada starts to realize we need to make some big steps to fight global warming and some people might get upset when you ban their SUV from the road.
Of course, the absolute best part of this plan is that I don't have to see thousands of campaign signs on the side of the road every two years when the latest minority government gets ousted.
Tax-payers would save a bundle of money if we threw out those 308 MPs and replaced them with just one person per province or territory per party. 13 provinces and territories and one Conservative, Green, Liberal and NDP each. By my count, that's 52 people; just like a deck of cards. I guess we'd have to let in one joker from Quebec to represent the BQ.
The good part of this idea is the direct democracy. Currently, you vote for someone in your riding in the party you like. Even if your constituency wants public day care and your Conservative promised he'd convince Stephen Harper to implement public day care once elected, as soon as your MP got to Ottawa, Steve told him to go to his desk in the back row, sit down and shut up. I'm suggesting that all decisions be made on-line in a referendum. This isn't as stupid as Reform's idea to hold referendums on everything if they got a petition asking for one. (I'm looking at you, Doris, uh... I mean, Stockwell Day.) This is 13 people for each party coming up with ideas about how to run Canada. One party submits an idea and then there are two weeks to lobby the position of each party and two weeks for Canadians to log in and vote. If logging in to do your banking and file your taxes is secure, then logging in to vote for the GST going back to 7% or being removed completely has to be possible. Estonia votes on-line! In the West we think they're a backwards, former Communist country yet they can go to their computers and cast a vote in elections. If a public voting computer was set up in every Tim Horton's, you'd easily beat the usual 40% or lower turnout on federal elections.
The best part is that Stephen Harper can no longer stick his fingers in his ears and sing, "la la la, I'm not listening." You wouldn't get John Baird going to Bali, refusing to co-operate with the rest of the world and then returning home to lament that more could have been done. You also would be saved from a government which won't think more than four years into the future because that's the time-line for the next election. If 90% of the population logs in and votes to agree to the next agreement after Kyoto, then 90% of the population realizes that they'll have to make some sacrifices to meet the country's goals. I wouldn't have to hear Harper complain that Canada's New Government will become unpopular because they happen to be governing when Canada starts to realize we need to make some big steps to fight global warming and some people might get upset when you ban their SUV from the road.
Of course, the absolute best part of this plan is that I don't have to see thousands of campaign signs on the side of the road every two years when the latest minority government gets ousted.
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