(Apologies for the long silence… jumping between lives takes time… back into life #3- Finland and quite enjoying it – aside from the near freezing temperatures!)
We Canadians like to do things fast – like, spring an election in a month. Yes, whereas our neighbours to the south spend years campaigning (not to mention billions of dollars and wasted international media coverage…I could go on about the ridiculousness about this, but not now), ours was called last week and it’ll be scheduled for October 14.
Now, first things first, there are politicos out there reading this and the politically clueless. I’d say I’m somewhere in between. I try to stay up to date somewhat, but frankly, I tend to hate politics. It’s just too, well, political. It’s embarrassing to hear the childish bickering on the House floor and it’s hard to trust any of them when they care more about winning seats than about the issues at hand. Sigh…
Nevertheless, I’m a citizen of Canada and as such, I have an obligation to partake in this sacred, albeit likely useless* election.
Note for int’l readers: we have an unsatisfied minority Conservative gov’t and it will likely be the same after this election…
Who will I vote for?
I don’t know yet. That’s my nightly homework right now – looking at the issues, the candidates etc. (Not to mention, I usually watch/read international news, not just Canadian news, so now have to shift my focus a bit.)
I’m not a partisan voter. I vote on issues, not parties. Just as I tend to hate politics, I tend to dislike (hate’s such a strong word!) all of the parties, and I’ve shown my swinging power by voting for almost all of them at some point or another.
I’ll be using this blog to express my thoughts as I do my homework. So stay in tune…
Up Next:
Environmental policy : Conservatives vs. the Liberals
4 responses so far ↓
Avery Henderson // September 11, 2008 at 4:55 am |
Speaking of childish bickering, did you read of Harper and Layton refusing to participate in the debate if Elizabeth May (Green Party leader) was going to be in it? What the hell is this, grade school?! It’s like saying to your friends that they can’t use your soccer ball if Jonny Whosits is playing. Even though elections in general are some of the biggest and influential competitions, these guys are afraid to compete because they don’t know what they’re opponent’s going to do, which is the point, right? Am I missing something?… it’s lame, but I guess I have to vote for someone, right?
Jonathan Puddle // September 11, 2008 at 6:57 pm |
Glad you’re safely back. Welcome to the big freeze.
We’ll be in Toronto for voting time. Not sure who we’ll vote for either, maybe Conversatives because they seem to be the least ineffectual at present.
janeporter // September 11, 2008 at 7:52 pm |
Avery… agreed. Not allowing the Greens in the debate was plain stupid and un-democratic to say the least. Yes, they took sides with the Liberals but they’re also the fastest growing party… ridiculous.
Jonathan… my take on the conservatives coming up:) talk to maija – might have bbq chez moi this weekend.
Canadian Election 2008…shifting sides « janeporter.ca // September 14, 2008 at 6:02 pm |
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