Remember when Canadian elections were fun? The cutting cartoons, the gossip, the gaffes, the babies who would not be kissed? This expensive, unnecessary and possibly dangerous election is about as far from fun a plebiscite can get.
Canadians seldom vote for anybody; we usually vote against the candidate we like the least. Canadian voting patterns used to be quirky and interesting. We love the benefits of socialism but we have never given socialists the power in Ottawa.
September 20th should be the crisis election dubbed “The Climate Change Election”. The Green Party should be getting all the attention but instead, with all the infighting, they should change their name to the Green Beret Party. Annamie Paul, battered, dismissed, a golden opportunity missed.
All things being equal, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh should be leading the race. He’s young, cool and the smartest guy in this candidate’s room. He’s already saved us from two previous calls to polls, errant warning shots fired by Erin O’Toole across the bow of the ship Sunny Ways.
Vowing affordable housing, pharmacare and dental care, Singh embodies the ‘greater good’ of democracy in which the less fortunate citizens should also enjoy the spoils of society and not be left behind. Jagmeet Singh is running a distant third position.
Although Erin O’Toole is a significant upgrade from the lightweight, half-American Andrew Sheer. It’s the ‘buts’ that worry me.
O’Toole states repeatedly that he is pro-choice and therefore pro-abortion… but he also supports ‘conscience rights”. So if doctors have the right to refuse to perform the procedure for whatever reason, we could be headed back to the dark days of Henry Morgentaler and women fighting the state for control of their bodies.
O’Toole swears he supports our universal healthcare system… but he’s also promoting a dangerous and vague “private sector innovation”. That smacks of “for profit” medical care. The COVID-19 shutdown revealed the deadly consequences of “for profit” long term nursing homes.
In every Canadian election all candidates should take the “Tommy Douglas Oath” promising never to mess with our universal healthcare. Hell, it’s the only thing we have left that assures us that we and the very rich, breathe the same air.
I was intending not to vote Liberal, disillusioned by the leader’s list of really dumb decisions.
Yes, he proved to be a good manager of government affairs and a solid player on the world scene despite being slapped around by China. Surveys show 75% of Canadians believe Trudeau did a very good job of getting us through this pandemic. Compared to Doug Ford’s leadership since the initial wave hit, Trudeau should be nominated for the pandemic Nobel Peace Prize.
But that Christmas vacation with the Aga Khan, the $12M to Loblaws to install new fridges, his minister of finance who, when declaring his assets, conveniently forgetting he owned a villa in South France — all stupid mistakes made by a privileged kid who’s lived a sheltered life. Frankly, Justin Trudeau has had more dates with the Ethics Commission than his dad had with beautiful women.
And remember, when Jagmeet Singh puts on a turban he’s not impersonating a Bollywood star in some ill-advised photo shoot in front of India’s Taj Mahal.
I began by saying there’s no fun in this election but thanks to the People’s Party of Canada and Maxime Bernier, there is black humour. Bernier’s view on everything from climate change to immigration and the pandemic are so extreme and assbackwards he could be sued by Donald Trump for theft of intellectual property. Not invited to participate in the TV election debates Bernier has however been granted three weeks worth of cartoons in the comic strip Bizarro.
So I’m about to cast my mail-in ballot when the Canadian election campaign got sucker punched in an ugly attack that was more violent than climate change and more devastating than the Afghanistan debacle.
The mob riot in Caledon, Ontario that drove the Trudeau campaign crew running for their lives was Canada’s US Capitol riot moment. Every evil tool from Nazi symbols and racist taunts, from the vulgar language to death threats was used to shut down the right of free speech in this country. It was frightening, it was absolutely un-Canadian and gawd, it was so unoriginal.
Ripping a page from Donald Trump’s playbook, they chanted “Lock him up!” and made sick accusations of pedophilia as Trump’s hate patrol did to Hillary Clinton. Even the “Mike Pence noose” was on display and fitted for our prime minister.
I realize that police were assaulted and overwhelmed but why are we not, as they are in Washington, identifying each of these lawbreakers and charging them with crimes of violence and hate?
So now I’m thinking if I also vote not to re-elect the prime minister, am I endorsing the will of that horde of haters? Or should I vote Liberal and hand the mob their worst nightmare?
I mean, I may not be fond of the guy but 215 threats against Trudeau and his cabinet in the first six months of this year, as reported by the RCMP!?! You can like him or dislike him but if you hate him, you have a serious problem.
Right now it seems like the winner of the election matters less than the survival of our Canadian democratic system. Respectful and responsible — that used to be how we treated our political representatives. Folks, we’re in tight on this one.
For a comment or a signed copy of The Dog Rules – Damn Near Everything email: williamjthomas@gmail.com
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