Vote Wisely October 19

No Time for Apathy: Vote Wisely October 19

By William Doyle-Marshall

Apathy, dishonesty, attack ads, misleading comments and downright lies have become the foundation of this election campaign. Even the television debates should be scrapped as they are now fodder for stupidness. I get the impression that pollsters, media houses and generally some members of the public use them to make serious decisions. How unfortunate!

Gone are the days when politicians presented voters with choices aimed at addressing concerns and communities’ needs. What we see in this campaign for October 19 general election is tremendous grand standing that has replaced conversations around issues. One major dishonesty that comes to mind is the use of marijuana. Stephen Harper keeps telling the nation that the New Democratic Party (NDP) wants to put marijuana into the hands of children. Thomas Mulcair never said that nor did he imply any such incredible thing. Make marijuana legal and take it out of the hands of criminals or words to that effect were uttered by the New Democratic Party and the Liberals.

   In case some of you may be tempted to claim that I am trying to scare you, pause for a moment and look at things around you. What about those missing and murdered First Nations Women: why isn’t there a serious investigation or national inquiry into their disappearance? Our First Nations communities: is it okay for them to live in poverty? Why is there no national plan for medical services so that our cost of drugs could be reasonable? How many seniors you know who maybe struggling to make ends meet? Are you holding down three jobs to barely survive? Are you earning more than $15 an hour? Are you paying a reasonable fee for your child care? Are you stress free when you have to get someone to care for your child while you go to your job? Ask your family or friends who have served in our military about their level of satisfaction with treatment by our government? Are you pleased with the “Gold Digger clause” which denies spouses of vets from obtaining their benefits? According to your answer to these questions and your level of comfort, then you know you have a responsibility to yourself and those close to you to go out and vote as your conscience dictates.

 Stephen Harper is determined to continue telling the nation lie after lie. With the few remaining days before polling, it is worthwhile to casually thumb through the pages of the number one bestseller “Party of One: Stephen Harper and Canada’s Radical Makeover”. Chapter five should be of importance to this election time. It deals with the Unfair Elections Act. Chapter sixth is aptly titled “The Big Lie”. They are well worth reading. You would understand why it is very difficult to believe anything your Prime Minister tells you.

   Big news these days is the conclusion of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. Harper and his cronies will tell Canadians it is the best thing since slice bread. Well reflect on the North American Free Trade Agreement signed by Brian Mulroney. In promoting it through his election campaign, the then Prime Minister promised Canadians they would get “jobs, jobs, jobs”. We have lived to see the direct opposite. American companies closed shop and either returned home or sent their businesses to Mexico and other parts of the world where workers earn cents and pennies. Canada was no longer a viable place to do business. This resulted in the Ontario New Democratic Party Government under Bob Rae being forced to incur a deficit to slow down the mammoth unemployment that was staring Ontario in its face like a tiger in your mirror. In spite of the challenge the government was able to invest in social housing and transit which was eventually destroyed by the Mike Harris Conservative Government with its nonsensical “commonsense revolution. This is my way of reminding Canadians that the Trans Pacific Partnership may not be what the Conservatives are promoting it to be. Yes, it is the biggest trade agreement in the world but 20 years ago NAFTA was also the model for big trading partners (Conservative governments). Remember workers and Canadians as a whole did not reap any benefits. From a right wing political viewpoint Mexico, America and Canada, it was a great deal. But what happened to our manufacturing jobs? Trade Union leaders will tell you they are gone and will not return. Politicians talk about how many jobs are created through these arrangements but they are silent about job losses. If these trade deals were good for Canadians we should not have 2 million people unemployed or under-employed. Those empty political promises should have had positive impacts on all of us. Our bank accounts would be in the black rather than showing negative zeros.

  One thing is certain, it would be a disaster for Canada to continue going down this road to hell in a dirty, rusty wash pan.