Who to Vote For in the Upcoming Election Part IV: The NDP

The NDP, or the Dippers, are lead by a soggy noodle who goes by the moniker Howard Hampton. Don’t get me wrong, I intend to vote NDP, however I think Howard Hampton is the most boring political personality in Canadian History. I mean this is Canada where politicians have a long and wacky history. There’s Sir John A MacDonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada, well known drunk and wheeler and dealer extraordinare forced to resign in shame over questionable dealings between the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Conservatives. Then there is William Lyon MacKenzie King, holds the record for longest term (non-consecutive), and he received policy advice from his dead mother and dog, Then there is Joe Clake, the Conservative of the people, 20 years after his defeat he was still trying to regain the Prime Ministership. What about Kim Campbell, she was Prime Minister for about ten seconds, and she lead the conservatives to the worst defeat in Canadian political history destroying the PC Party and putting them in the same rankings as the Green Party. Of course there is my all time favorite Prime Minister, not for his leadership style, not for his policies, but just because he is so darned zany, Jean Chretien, what can be said about Chretien, the man had more charisma then brains. And that leaves out the greats like Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Brian Mulroney, The Dief, and more, not great because of their intelligence or politics, but great because they had what it takes to be PM in Canada, balls the size of coconuts and charisma up the yin-yang. Sure Hampton isn’t going for the Prime Minster position, just the Premier of Ontario, but even for that role there are some notable freaks, look at the last four. Dalton McGuinty broke more promises then he made, a difficult task even for politicians. Ernie Eves is runner up for the creepiest man in Canada (Stockwell Day took that title long ago). Mike “The Hatchet” Harris made more cuts to public services then any politician ever, and yet still managed to avoid becoming the most hated politician alive. Bob Rae is the current most hated man in Ontario. What is Hampton? He should take a look at the “great” leaders of Canadian History and learn to show a little charisma, punch a protester, drink a little too much at the NDP Christmas party, just do something to create some minor scandal that will show Ontario that you have a pulse. Ok now that I have ranted on and on, making personal attacks towards a man I have never met, lets take a look at his platform.

I used to think the NDP was a party of dreamers. They’d shoot for the moon using a slingshot. The NDP has a proud history, the likes of Tommy Douglas, the founder of public health care system, rose from the ranks of the NDP. However in recent years there were too many Dippers like Bob Rae, the get it done and ignore the cost types. However, they learn from their mistakes and while they are still the party for the common man, they are also the party of common sense. A very nicely done PDF document outlines their fiscal plan demonstrating that they can keep the budget balanced AND increase spending. Of course some taxes will have to be raised, but only for the rich, so I know I have nothing to worry about.

The over all NDP platform is based around six easy to understand, self explanatory commitments:

1. Health Tax Rebate
2. $10 Minimum Wage/Roll back MP pay raises
3. Protect the children and environment
4. Making sure kids get the education they deserve
5. Removing barriers to post-secondary education
6. Reducing wait times and improving health care

Of course Hampton is not likely to be the next premier of Ontario, however he will have a powerbase in that the next government will most likely be a minority, they will have to rely on the NDP to prop them up. That means Hampton will hold some pretty kick ass cards come any confidence votes, any party in power will have to play ball with Hampton in order to remain in power. The more Dippers in an MPP chair, the more power Hampton will wield.

Who to Vote For in the Upcoming Election Part III: The Conservatives

The Progressive Conservatives, or the Regressive Conservatives as critics often call them, is headed by John Tory. The Conservatives are often called Tories, which has absolutely nothing to do with John Tory heading the party. The Liberals are Grits, and the Conservatives are Tories. This is from the British parliamentary system and dates back a very long time before John Tory was born. John Tory is running on a Campaign of “Leadership Matters” mocking McGuinty’s apparent lack of leadership. Tory seems obsessed with making McGuinty look bad, this is neither uncommon, nor difficult to do. His platform is broken down into four sections:

1. Investing in Stronger Communities – Tory’s Education, Police, Poverty, and arts and culture stance
2. Fairness for your Family – Tory’s Tax platform
3. Government that Works for You – Accountable government, truthful Taxes, Jobs, and Law
4. Building Ontario’s Future – Jobs, education, immigration, environmental, energy, and infrastructure.

Basically Tory’s stance is that the Liberals had four years to implement a plan and the only thing they managed to do was raise taxes after promising not to. After reading his policy document I would have to conclude that there is very little new in it. It is 90% blame Liberals 5% increase services and 5% lower taxes oh yes and keep the budget balanced while doing so.

As for Amoralist issues, well I’d have to say that any Amoralist looking to vote conservative better get their heads examined. Sure Tory wants to lower taxes, but he won’t be able to do it. He wants to somehow give funding to religious schools while not cutting any money from the public schools. I have no problem funding religious schools, however I do feel that most of the money should come from private donations, after all they want to bypass public education in order to educate kids in the ways of their religion. The only thing I like is his immigration policy, which would break down the barriers which turn skilled trades workers into cab drivers. His environmental policy is abysmal, his fiscal plan is nonexistent, he will bankrupt the education system, he seems bent on privatizing health care, basically he is a mirror image of his federal counterpart Stephen Harer, but at least Tory has a personality.

And the Winner Is?

Well the Leaders Debate took place last night. Unfortunately I had other pressing matters to attend to so I missed a good portion of it, but what I did see was interesting. After reading many an article on how the pundits think the debate went I think my opinion is justified. As is normal with these debates all three leaders are walking away claiming victory, but who really won the debate.

Personally I hate calling winners in these debates, it seems so pointless. But this time I think there was indeed a clear winner. Howard Hampton won by a landslide I think. Now I know a lot of you will probably point out my bias as a NDP member and the fact that I admitted numerous times that I will be voting NDP. Let me just say though I think Howard Hampton has all the charisma of a doorstop. I’ve never met the man, maybe in person he is much more likeable, but I think the NDP could do much better with almost anyone at the helm. He’s not stupid, I think he is intelligent and well reasoned, there is no other reason for disliking him other then he is dull, at least Bob Rae had personality.

Ok, lets ignore that I just used the name of the most hated Premier in Ontario’s history and continue with my reasoning for declaring Hampton a winner. I think Hampton won because McGuinty and Tory all but ignored him. They fought amongst themselves and Hampton and Tory ganged up on McGuinty and Hampton and McGuinty ganged up on Tory, but very few volleys were fired at Hampton. Basically Hampton was given carte blanche to give his platform with very little criticism, while every point McGuinty and Tory brought up was slammed for one reason or another.

McGuinty spent the entire debate claiming Ontario was on the right road but that “there was more work to be done”. That became his mantra and it was repeated ad nauseam. Tory on the other hand could only rail on and on how he was going to provide more and more services while cutting more and more taxes, while maintaining a balanced budget. Hampton however maintained cool and put forth the NDP propaganda flawlessly, even if it was a little dull.

Who to Vote For in the Upcoming Election Part II: The Liberals

The Liberals, often referred to as the Lie-berals by those who don’t like them, is headed by Dalton McGuinty, and they are the party currently in power. McGuinty is running on a campaign of his record primarily, which is an interesting strategy considering the PC party is also running a campaign primarily on McGuinty’s record. In true Liberal fashion Dalton gave his platform document a flashy title, “Moving Forward Together”. This platform is broken down into five sections, the key issues according to Dalton:

1. A Smarter Ontario – Dalton’s Education Platform
2. A Stronger Ontario – Dalton’s Economic Platform
3. A Healthier Ontario – Dalton’s Health Care Platform
4. A Greener Ontario – Dalton’s environmental Platform
5. A Better Ontario for Families – Dalton’s platform on “Improving Quality of Live”

Basically Dalton is urging a continuation of his rule. Cut back on Private School tax credits, cut back funding of Separate School boards such as Catholic Schools, on the flip side supposed increase in public school funding.

As far as Amoralist issues, federally the Liberals are all for decriminalizing marijuana, though this is more of a cash grab for them then a freedoms issue, provincially there is no indication of what McGuinty’s stance is, although in 1999 he did state that decriminalization is the way to go.

Who to Vote For in the Upcoming Election Part I: The Importance of Voting

Well you probably all know there is an election looming, at least for those of us in Ontario. I thought, that since the Amoralist Party of Canada has not candidates running in any riding (being as it is a fictional party) that I’d talk about who is running, what they stand for, and what it means to fellow Amoralists. Over the next few days I will publish four articles (five including this one), one on the Liberals, one on the Conservatives, one on the NDP, and one on the other alternatives. This article will focus on the election itself and why you should vote at all and the referendum that is being tied to this election.

As always, in most ridings it is a race between the Liberals and the Conservatives (who in Ontario, for provincial elections still use the Progressive Conservative name), with the NDP as the third option. In some ridings, such as the London-Fanshawe, the riding in which I reside, the NDP stand a good chance of being elected. Now I can’t tell you who to vote for (well I could, but that wouldn’t be right), however I can tell you a little about what each party stands for and you can make up your own mind. Of course the best way to vote is to find the candidate in your riding you can trust, believe, and has similar beliefs and vote for them, regardless of what party they stand with.

Voting is the backbone of the Canadian System, sure you’ve all heard this before, and you all know voter turn out is terrible. Voter apathy may be to blame, but apathy is no excuse. Voting is the only say you have in how this country is run, so many laws make the books because the people who don’t want them too never vote. If you want to affect change the only way to do so is to vote. I have met people protesting various issues who claim never to vote because their voice is not heard, to those people I say go home, your voice really isn’t being heard. Stand in front of parliament all day with as many signs as you wish, you won’t be heard until your ballot is cast.

This particular election is actually more important then others, because not only are we casting our ballot to determine who leads the province for the next four years or so we are also being asked our opinion about how the elections should take place. There is a referendum taking place along with the general election. This referendum is to ask YOU if the current system is fair, or if another system is better.

The referendum question is terribly worded, and most people will probably ignore in entirely. However it is an important issue and your voice should be heard. The question on the ballot will be:

Which electoral system should Ontario use to elect members to the provincial legislature? / Quel système électoral l’Ontario devrait-il utiliser pour élire les députés provinciaux à l’Assemblée législative?

* The existing electoral system (First-Past-the-Post) / L’actuel système électoral (système de la majorité relative)

* The alternative electoral system proposed by the Citizens’ Assembly (Mixed Member Proportional) / L’autre système électoral proposé par l’Assemblée des citoyens (système de représentation proportionnelle mixte)

As I said, a terrible question. It gives no information and many people probably won’t bother to learn what the “alternative system is”. So let me explain a bit.

The current system is a first past the post system. You vote for you local candidate who belongs to a particular political party. That’s not all you are doing however, you are empowering your candidate to a vote in who becomes the Premier. Basically this means which ever party elects the most MPP’s gets to chose the Premier. There is a catch however, the catch is the Premier must have a seat in the government as well. Now this catch is not much of a catch considering any party member may step down and be replaced without a bi-election by the party leader. What this means is that lets say you voted Joe Blow who is a member of the Amoralist Party of Canada, who’s leader is John Stone, now lets say John Stone loses in his riding, but the Amoralist Party still gets the most seats in the house, Joe Blow may be asked by the party to step aside so that John Stone can take his place. In the end you may not get the person you voted for as your representative, and you have zero say in this.

The system being proposed by the Citizens’ Assembly is a mixed member proportional representation system (wow that’s a real pain in the ass to say isn’t it?). In this system you get two votes, one for the party of your choice and one for the candidate of your choice. So you could vote for Joe Blow as your Candidate in your area, but the Conservatives as the party, this would give the Amoralists one vote and the Conservatives one vote for who sits as the premier. Basically 70% of the seats would be local members, the candidates you voted for individually, the other 30% would be what are called List candidates. The list candidates would be anyone the party that was voted for chooses, so if there were 39 list seats (which is what is being proposed) and the Amoralists won 20 seats they could then choose any 20 members to fill the seats. What this means is that they could have the party leader as a list member rather then a local member, and he no longer has to worry about winning his riding, and parachute candidates would be a thing of the past. Of course it is still technically possible for a party to win a majority with out getting any list seats and it may still happen that your local candidate get ousted, but the chances of that are so phenomenally small, basically if a party got 65 seats and zero list members then they could still form a government without a single list member, however in order for that to happen they would have to win in 65 ridings without any of those ridings also getting any votes as a party. Since most people vote along party lines this isn’t likely to happen.

So now you know why you need to vote, and what the referendum is all about, when the polls open, get out there and vote.

Liberals Buying Votes

The Liberals announced that if they are re-elected to power in the upcoming October election they will add a new long weekend to the list of statutory holidays. Family day, as they have dubbed it, will be the third Monday of February. The Liberals say its focus will be to recognize the importance of Ontario families by giving everyone a day to spend with their families.

This is an obvious and blatant attempt to buy votes. Don’t get me wrong, Family Day is a good idea, we could all use a holiday to help cure the February blahs. I just don’t like the idea of so many people going out to vote for the wrong reasons. This type of vote-buying is wrong. Voting should be about the issues, not which party offers the best vote-buying package.

Ontario does indeed need some more holidays. The workers of Ontario have fewer holidays then almost anywhere else. A day for Ontario families is a great idea as well, Alberta already celebrates this day, and both Manitoba and Saskatchewan are working towards passing legislation to make it official in those provinces as well. So why then am I opposed to this plan of the Liberals? Sure it’s vote buying, sure it gets people voting for the wrong reasons, those are some very good reasons to be opposed to the creation of this holiday. What bothers me most about this is there is another day that continually gets mentioned as a possible addition as a statutory holiday that should get this recognition before a made up holiday. A day that constantly gets overlooked because government employees, including MP’s and MPP’s, already get off. Remembrance Day, this is still not a statutory holiday.

If the Liberals insist on campaigning on vote buying they should at least deal with days that should be holidays first before making up a new one. If you want to support the Liberals in their quest to make Family Day a reality, so be it, but please take the time to study the issues as well. Make sure your Liberal candidate is right for your area. Don’t allow McGuinty to buy your vote, make him earn it.