In Canadian politics, the voters are taken for suckers. Our leaders lie to us incessantly.
After running on a campaign opposing wage and price controls in 1974, no sooner does Pierre Trudeau win election than he brings in mandatory wage and price controls. “We will cancel the GST ,”promised Jean Chretien. “We won’t tax income trusts,” claimed Stephen Harper.
“An HST is not being considered”, said Gordon Campbell before winning the last British Columbia election. At least in the last case the deceiver was pretty much forced out of office for his shameless lie.
Some interesting suggestions are being made in the media that the NDP was trying to pull a fast one on the Canadian public during the last federal election by not disclosing the true medical condition of Jack Layton, who was seeking the office of Prime Minister.
(http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/lysiane-gagnon/what-if-quebeckers-had-known-the-whole-story-about-jack-layton/article2160221/) Had Canadians known that Jack’s broken hip was caused by his previous prostate cancer having metastasized into his bones, would they have so readily given their votes to him (and the NDP)? I don’t wish to curse the dead in writing this, but to shine a light on the dirty machinations of politics engaged in by all parties. One good thing that can be said about American politics is that you know that you are voting for the one you wish to be president and that his or her chosen running mate could well become the president should anything happen. In Canada as in Britain, this is not at all the case. A prime minister or premier can step down or die in office and anyone can assume their role, elected or not. What kind of democracy is this? Had Jack Layton maintained his momentum and become Prime Minister, who would be leading the country now? Some closet separatist/socialist nobody outside of Quebec has ever heard of? Who knows what NDP bigwigs were planning in the event of electoral triumph. In British Columbia, we are being led by a woman who was never elected as premier, but merely won her party’s leadership convention and was elected as MLA by 7500 people in a largely conservative riding. Her initial suggestion (promise?) of calling an early election to earn a mandate has been nixed due to the HST referendum fiasco, and so she will govern British Columbia until 2013 based on this mandate given by 7500 voters. All this should provide even more impetus for a fundamental shift in how politics works in Canada.
After running on a campaign opposing wage and price controls in 1974, no sooner does Pierre Trudeau win election than he brings in mandatory wage and price controls. “We will cancel the GST ,”promised Jean Chretien. “We won’t tax income trusts,” claimed Stephen Harper.
“An HST is not being considered”, said Gordon Campbell before winning the last British Columbia election. At least in the last case the deceiver was pretty much forced out of office for his shameless lie.
Some interesting suggestions are being made in the media that the NDP was trying to pull a fast one on the Canadian public during the last federal election by not disclosing the true medical condition of Jack Layton, who was seeking the office of Prime Minister.
(http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/lysiane-gagnon/what-if-quebeckers-had-known-the-whole-story-about-jack-layton/article2160221/) Had Canadians known that Jack’s broken hip was caused by his previous prostate cancer having metastasized into his bones, would they have so readily given their votes to him (and the NDP)? I don’t wish to curse the dead in writing this, but to shine a light on the dirty machinations of politics engaged in by all parties. One good thing that can be said about American politics is that you know that you are voting for the one you wish to be president and that his or her chosen running mate could well become the president should anything happen. In Canada as in Britain, this is not at all the case. A prime minister or premier can step down or die in office and anyone can assume their role, elected or not. What kind of democracy is this? Had Jack Layton maintained his momentum and become Prime Minister, who would be leading the country now? Some closet separatist/socialist nobody outside of Quebec has ever heard of? Who knows what NDP bigwigs were planning in the event of electoral triumph. In British Columbia, we are being led by a woman who was never elected as premier, but merely won her party’s leadership convention and was elected as MLA by 7500 people in a largely conservative riding. Her initial suggestion (promise?) of calling an early election to earn a mandate has been nixed due to the HST referendum fiasco, and so she will govern British Columbia until 2013 based on this mandate given by 7500 voters. All this should provide even more impetus for a fundamental shift in how politics works in Canada.
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