Initial Debate Thoughts

Well, I apologize for my tardiness on getting out a response to the debates. I have spent some days discussing the debates with others, and the reactions of other people have possibly been more fascinating than the debates themselves.

First of all, I enjoyed these debates much more than the 2000 federal election debates. While there was still quite a bit of redundant repetitive argumentation (as per usual for politics), there was some constructive debate at the same time.

Duceppe's insight that Martin has refused to release the report on the sponsorship scandal before the election in order to maintain a good image was remarkable.

I felt that when Martin was avoiding the sponsorship scandal (I know I was Finance Minister but do you really expect me to know what was going on with the country's employment insurance finances?), he was continuously attempting to make Harper seem like a "wrong" man. Then there was the blatant arrogance of Martin to assume that there are only two parties that matter in this federal election (an unsettling trend that I'm hearing from many Liberal candidates these days). Come on, Canada. Does anyone else not find this an insult to their intelligence? Only smart Canadians vote Liberal or Conservative.

Of course, see my Voting NDP post for more details that I feel on this.

This is why people are becoming more disillusioned with democracy. They've been screwed by the Liberals ($40 million in theft especially from the people of Quebec), and they've been screwed by the Conservatives (re: Walkerton, ON). Now the Liberals and Conservatives and arguably the majority of media in Canada tell people that you can only really vote for either party in this federal election. What kind of choice does that present to people? None at all, in many people's minds.

When Martin and Harper were questioned on how to solve the apathy of democracy in Canada during the French language debate, they responded with statements like "making government accountable" and "keeping promises." Neither of which either party has done in their service to Canada. Jack Layton comes forth with the idea that Canada could vote for someone other than the Liberals or Conservatives, the media doesn't say "boo" about it.

This is no way to solve apathy in Canada. Neither party can do so. The only real solution is a party that "shakes things up" so to speak. And it's entirely possible. I have spoken with people who state that they can't allow a Conservative government, so they will vote Liberal. As far as I'm concerned if you vote Liberal, you're saying "Yes, Mr. Martin, please take our money again. Please continue to privatize healthcare in Canada." Just how do you think we got to the point where we're discussing privatized healthcare in a federal election? Is it because the Conservatives and Alliance are well known for their trend towards privatizing healthcare? Could it be because we got to this situation under the current Liberal federal government? I think so.

Anyhow, I will cease my rant there and continue to write more on this on Monday.

The Debates Begin!

Le debat de la langue francaise pour l'election federale Canadien est ce soir.

I highly advise all Canadians to put aside Fear Factor in order to watch this very important piece of television programming. Tonight, the federal candidate mud-slinging and (hopefully) issue-grinding kicks off. Tomorrow night, there will then be the English language debate.

This could be a good chance for you to get caught up with the various party platforms, if you have not already done so, and make an informed choice in this year's federal election. Of course, visiting the various party websites would also be a good idea.

Some of my initial thoughts: It will be easy to sling mud at the Liberals. I expect Mr. Harper to do a lot of this. I pray that Mr. Layton will refrain from too much of it. I hope that our federal candidates engage in much more meaningful debate than simply pointing out how much the Liberals suck.

I hope that these debates will be much more meaningful than the last federal election debates. In 2000, Stockwell Day and Jean Chretien called each other names. Gilles Duceppe presented some intelligent views from his province. Joe Clark giggled at the fighting between Chretien and Day, and Alexa McDonough tried to get people to talk about medicare (ironically, one of the top issues in this current election and a conversation that was subsequently avoided by any of the other candidates in the 2000 debates).

At any rate, I'll likely post some of my thoughts on the debates here over the next couple of days.