The mistakes Conservatives, Liberals, NDP, Greens and Bloc Quebecois made. However there is no mistake when you vote!

Make sure you vote!

In my estimation, these are the errors each leader made during this campaign. They are in no particular order, however I welcome your comments.

Harper and the Conservatives

1. Called the election in the first place, knowing that Canadians wanted the minority government to remain, as is. We wanted everyone to work “together”.

2. The perceived indifference to voters and the electorate during these tough economic times.

3. Hoping to get the election done, before the market meltdown, the Conservatives hoped to get a majority government.

4. Telling Canadians that there were “good deals to be made on the stock market now”.

5. Trying to give leeway, albeit the judges, and more options in allowing 14 year old criminals to be placed as adults in court or placing them in jail for longer periods of time.

6. Cutting off Arts funding and then flip-flopping on that plan. He totally misread the importance of this issue, and the crime bill, in Quebec.

7. The “optics”, no matter how true it may be, of telling Canadians that the “fundementals are sound“. A leader must be able to tell Canadians that he/she will do something, even if nothing is to be done. Canadians need that assurance, however you may feel about that situtation.

8. Offering no ease to the manufacturing section or some kind of plan. People are hurting and loosing jobs in Ontario and Quebec. The perception is that he is uncaring. I know that this is not true, but the the optics are bad.

Dion and the Liberals

1. The Green Shift. You may agree with it, however it needed to be implemented in a different fashion. The economic meltdown has destroyed this plan (albeit unfairly). You need to explain it in layman terms. Just give us the basics. They allowed the Conservatives to control the message. Carbon taxes are not a bad thing and even conservative economists believe it is the best way to deal with taxes. This reminds me of the religious school funding issue in Ontario and how it played out.

2. The unfair perception of Leadership in this campaign. Somehow the Liberals needed to fix that.

3. Not offering clear and precise answers to Canadian voters.

4. Again restoring to “don’t split the vote and vote for the Greens or NDP“. The scaremongering was low! Yes, they just came to my door and told me that and it really pissed me off! This is a democracy, I will vote based on the issues and who “I” feel is the best option for Canada. I do not vote based on fear.

5. The anybody but Harper campaign. I am starting to wonder, can you not offer anything better than that? Old tactics, which makes me believe that they are worried about Jack Layton.

Layton and the NDP

1. Should have “never” tried to stop Elizabeth May and the Greens from appearing in the debate.

2. They should have got their message out even more in the media. Tell people what you are going to do.

May and the Greens

1. Going after a blogger for trying to post a video/audio of her telling Canadians that they were “too stupid”. If you listened to the entire phrase you would understand that she was actually making sense. However, this is a free Country and threatening a mere blogger is a pretty junior mistake. let people decide for themselves.

Bloc Quebecois

1. There biggest mistake is ignoring the NDP in Quebec. They may be in for a surprise come election day.

2. Not running candidates outside of Quebec.

3. Instead of looking for a way to break up the Country, find a cause of unify the country with Quebec culture. I will never understand, if we are a bilingual country, why we were not ingrained in learning French while growing up. Look at some of the European countries and how successful those strategies are.

Conclusion

In the end I cannot tell you who will win and loose. It is too close to call. I know what would happen if people voted how they wanted to. I can only say that Elizabeth May and Jack Layton seemed to perform the best. They had the least amount of gaffs and missteps. The Dion and Harper have not looked good through this election. I sense that the electorate would love to punish both of them and send the NDP and Greens to Parliament in force. However I sense the fear. Even though they want to vote Green or NDP they fear giving the Liberals or Conservatives a majority. The Liberals have done a good job and swaying voters in that manner. That is not a democratic ideal. Our soilders fought in wars for YOUR FREEDOM TO VOTE, so use it! Vote you conscience! Canada will go on no matter which major party is in power. Although I do not agree with his policies, Harper is NOT the devil.

You should not fear making any mistakes when voting. There are no mistakes when you vote based on your conviction and what you believe makes Canada better. If you want to vote Green than do so. If you want to vote for Jack Layton and the NDP, than do so. For the day we start voting based on fear, it is no longer a democracy! it is not longer Canada.

By: Andy MJ
a.k.a The G.T.A Patriot

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Why social democrats should vote Green…

 

The Green Party Canada

Submitted by Arif Jinha

I grew up NDP, and through my adult life shared interest in Greens and NDP. I finally joined the NDP while working in global health, under the inspiration of Stephen Lewis. Stephen Lewis remains a greatest living Canadian for me. I left the NDP when I realized that unlike Lewis, the NDP weren’t very social and weren’t very democratic.

From my experience as a ‘New’ Democratic Party candidate, here are several reasons why I say this, and there are likely more. These are the opinions of an ex-NDP candidate, they do not reflect the views of the NDP. For the NDP’s own good, I hope they receive a message in the next election akin to what happened to the PC party under Mulroney, and are reduced to nothing. Canada needs a party that stands for social justice, ecological wisdom, peace, respect for diversity, sustainability and participatory democracy. And a woman as Prime Minister! (Blogs are opinions and may not reflect the position of the GPC.) Here’s why social democrats shouldn’t vote NDP, but Green instead.

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The end of democracy in Canada. They have a seat in Parliament, but why are the other leaders afraid of change?

May shut out of leaders’ debate

Janice Tibbetts ,  Canwest News Service

Published: Monday, September 08, 2008

The Green Party of Canada

OTTAWA – Elizabeth May said her party will pursue legal action against a consortium of TV networks, which decided Monday to exclude the Green leader from the televised leaders’ debates on grounds that three other leaders said they would boycott the show if she were allowed to share the stage.

A defiant May accused the party leaders of preserving a tight “old-boys club” and the networks of turning their backs on democracy instead of calling the leaders’ bluff on their warnings of being no-shows.

“Day 2 of the Canadian election and democracy has taken a nosedive,” the May told a news conference on Parliament Hill.

  

A defiant Green party Leader Elizabeth May accused the other party leaders of preserving a tight ‘old-boys club,’ and the networks of turning their backs on democracy instead of calling the leaders’ bluff on their warnings of being no-shows.

May said the Greens intend to go to court, likely Tuesday, to challenge the networks for shutting her out of the debates when her party is running candidates in all federal ridings but one, had one MP at dissolution and secured 4.5 per cent of the vote in the 2006 federal election.

“This is anti-democratic, closed-door decision making . . . to keep out the one woman of a political party,” said May.

Read more at the link below:

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=e726c5b9-aa01-440a-8cdc-6711890656fc

The 50% factor – Only half of Ontario’s voters bothered to even vote!

The Green Party seemed to bleed votes from the NDP and the Progressive Conservatives tonight, not the Liberals. Provincial and Federal parties across the county will take note. Voters seem to be hearing the “green mantra”. However, unfortunately this did not translate into any seats. The Green Party actually took 8-9% of the vote in Ontario. In many ridings they placed 3^rd and in one 2^nd. The Liberals ended up with a majority; however they only had 42-43% (this may change +/-) provincial support, with the Conservatives taking 31-32% (this may change +/-). In many ridings the count was extremely close. Albeit this was a big win for the Liberals. MMP lost, in a disaster! There was just not enough information, which begs to question the wisdom of the proposal in the first place. Or was it a plan to say that “we tried”? It seems to have been sabotaged or on death row from the onset. Just too complicated for a quick decision. Now, if only 50% of Ontario voters decided to kill MMP, than what does this say? Our current system we have works well for a 2 party system, such as the United States, but with multiple parties our system still needs to somehow improve. But I guess since the other 1/2 of the province did not show up then it means they don’t give a damn about it either, or anything else! However, the biggest story tomorrow, which I hope the media will resound tomorrow, is only approximately 50% of the province, or electorate, actually bothered to come out and vote tonight. 50%, that’s all! The other 50% decided to stay home and play with their XBOX 360, new iPod or attempt to figure out why they could not get their latest sitcom on TV. This is a sad day for democracy and even the need for an electorate. What half of the province said today is “I do not care, so do not bother me”. With the defeat of MMP, this can only get worse. How can a government have a mandate with only 50% of the vote? It boggles the mind, but I guess WWI and WWII, and what people fought for long ago is no longer on the minds of individuals in this province. We are truly now a society that only cares about the “me” factor. Although the Liberals have a larger majority, they will have to think long and hard. The voter turn out is going to get worse because somehow we are not engaging the electorate. Every party will need to take a hard look in the mirror. Now that MMP is dead, what will happen in 4 years? Based on the results tonight I believe that the Liberals will govern as they always have to ensure that the win next time round. The assumption is now that since no one cares any government can go ahead and do as they wish. But is that a democracy? Or is our democracy the fact that people can choose not to vote? Maybe people just do not think there vote matters anymore or they just don’t care?

The GTA Patriot
Toronto, Ontario

2007 Ontario Election: Have we forgotten the 905ers and 289ers again?

Polling is an interesting subject. Over the weekend the Toronto Star published the various polls, which seem to indicate that the Liberals will be victorious on October 10, 2007. However, what is more interesting is the 905 region. There are a lot of, dare I say, extremely close ridings. Who knows how the vote will swing now that the faith-based issue is off the table. The Conservatives have a lot to gain in these ridings and we really do not know the “mood” of the public. It will definitely be an interesting night indeed. The spread in predicted Liberal seats, based on the polls below, will definitely be something to watch on election night. Another item that has been overlooked is Toronto and the NDP. Are people angry enough with Dalton McGuinty to cause them to lose seats? My gut tells me that the NDP will steal some ridings from the ‘Grits’ on Wednesday, but that is to be seen. If the Liberals come out as the winner, they will definitely get a “bloody nose” from the electorate.

For poll and predication information, on the October 2007 vote, go to http://www.democraticspace.com

Innovation Key To Poverty Problem – Green Party

The Green Party of Ontario is proposing an innovative solution to poverty: using budget surpluses to help economically vulnerable families buy their own homes. “Paying rent keeps people poor,”. The Green Party doesn’t just want to make sure our poorest citizens have a roof over their heads; we want to help them own the roofs over their heads. “Encouraging and facilitating home ownership will help people break the vicious cycle of poverty and dependence, while creating further economic and employment opportunities.”

Under the Green proposal, future provincial budget surpluses would be used to build up a $5 billion Long-Term Affordable Housing Investment Fund. The interest generated by the fund would then be used to support and leverage the construction of affordable housing, including seniors’ housing, co-housing developments and sweat equity housing, where the buyers invest their own labour. “A government program to support home ownership is a viable long-term solution as well as a sound social and fiscal investment,” de Jong says. “By offering low-cost housing, manageable payment schedules and no down payments, we would give even those with the most modest incomes a way to build up equity.”

The plan is similar to the Habitat for Humanity model, which lets the economically disadvantaged buy affordable homes at cost, financed with affordable loans. The homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments are then used to build more houses.

“Most housing programs are just stop-gap measures that cost taxpayers a lot of money without providing long-term benefits,” de Jong says. “Subsidized housing, for example, doesn’t address the root causes of generational poverty, and it doesn’t give people any real means to escape that poverty.”

The Green Party’s housing fund would benefit the working poor by helping them build a solid financial foundation that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. It could also give disabled people more independence, provide a way for the homeless to get off the streets, and give people on welfare the means to take control of their own financial futures.

“After the Affordable Housing Investment Fund reaches the target level of $5 billion, we would apply future surpluses to Ontario debt repayment,” de Jong says. “This sequence of policy priorities recognizes the fact that the cost of not eliminating Ontario’s current high social deficit is costing us all many times over in other costs what it would cost to fix the problem now. It is also the proper thing to do.”

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