Saturday, December 17, 2005
You shall unite, or you shall fall.
Today, on Footsteps (not to sound like a TV program), we're going to do one of my favorite things (have a philosophical discussion) and look at...
THE 'FANTASTIC' FOUR.
AKA - The major political parties of Canada.
Now the first question is... why. Why look at the parties? Sure, you can say they're all corrupt. But I think corruption has always been a part of politics and no political party can say they're not corrupt. The Liberals (not under Paul Martin note, but under Jean Chretian) had Adscam. There were a lot of suggestions that Brian Mulrouny did similar things under the Conservative party leadership awhile ago. Those are the two major parties in Canada and they both have examples of corruption in their history. Furthermore, no political party can deliver on all of its promises. The BQ hasn't delivered seperation. The NDP has stood with the Liberals on a lot of issues and then claim the Liberals were slowing things down. Corruption and lies are a part of politics because we the public demand the lies. I'll get to that in a moment, right now I want to outline the major parties platforms. Again why? Because its important to vote in our society. We are a democracy and if we're not voting, we're not helping the democracy to function. But a lot of you are too lazy perhaps to do the research and find out which party is better for you. This is a simple, short guide that deals with the major issues (I just watched both debates - english and french) facing Canada today.
Bloc Quebecois - Gilles Duceppe(sp?)
(Socialist Seperatists)
- Believes Canada and Quebec should be two seperate countries.
- Is for gay marriage and gay rights
- Is for social programs such as healthcare, daycare, education, etc and puts heavy focus on putting money into these progrrams.
- Is for taking a moderately hardline with the United States (ie redrafting NAFTA)
- Is for a cut in taxes (whether GST or personal income, I can't remember)
The New Democratic Party (NDP) - Jack Layton
(Socialist Federalists)
- Believes in the unity of Canada
- Is for gay marriage/rights
- Is for social programs and puts heavy focus on putting money into these programs.
- Is against cutting corporate taxes
- Is for a cut in taxes (both the GST and personal income)
- Moderate stance against the US, open to the possibility of redrafting NAFTA
The Liberal Party of Canada - Paul Martin
(Moderate Federalists)
- Believes in the unity of Canada, is very passionate about it.
- Is for gay marriages/rights
- Is for social programs, with a moderate-heavy focus on putting money into these programs.
- Is for cutting corporate taxes
- Is for a cut in taxes (personal income primarily, though the GST was mentioned as well)
- Takes a very strong stance against the US and wants to redraft NAFTA
The Conservative Party of Canada - Stephen Harper
(Conservative Federalists)
- Believes in the unity of Canada, though would be willing to let Quebec seperate if the process was fair.
- Is for gay rights but against gay marriage (note this is a recent change in their position which was originally against both)
- Is for cutting taxes in general (GST heavily mentioned)
- Is for social programs, with a light-moderate focus on putting money into these programs.
- Takes a softer stance against the US and doesn't want to change NAFTA.
- Increased military spending and increased participation in the war in Iraq as well as increased cooperation with the US.
That is, in a nutshell, the four main political parties of Canada (note that since I am Quebecois, I've included the Bloc). So who should you vote for? I leave that completly up to you. What follows is my own opinion.
CANADA FOR ME
Canada, for me, is about a number of things.
(1) It's about acceptance. As a bisexual man living in this country, I am very thankful we don't have some of the issues that there are in the states. While we may not be perfect yet, we are at least progessing towards it.
(2) It's about unity. I live in Quebec and I'm actually proud of living here - we have some awesome things (not the least of which is cheap education). But I also love being a part of Canada and I just don't think things would be same if Quebec was not. It's true Quebec and Canada have fundamental differences but perhaps they should try to find compromises instead of just splitting up.
(3) It's about socialism. Yeah, alright, paying taxes is a bitch and some of that is squandered. But a large amount of it goes into helping people. If education was privatized, I don't think I would be able to afford it (look at the States where it's hard to go to college - I get it for free in Quebec and the rest of Canada is still far cheaper). Look at healthcare and the rest - you may not need it now, but IT IS THERE when you need it. Sure the system doesn't work and needs to be cleaned up - but the concept is still good. I would not have the education I have today if it wasn't for social programs and therefore, since I benefited from it, why shouldn't others?
(4) It's about patriotism. We are, contrary to popular belief, not the United States doorstep. We are not their lapdog, nor are we the 51st state. We are a seperate country with different ideas on things. And I congradulate Paul Martin on his responses to the United States on the issue of softwood and the other various issues. I think we haven't taken all the steps we need to take, but we are moving in the right direction.
Therefore, for all these reasons, I come down to the Liberals or the NDP. I don't know which way I'm going to vote but I like Paul Martin's passion. He's a very passionate man and you can tell he really gets into the issues and into politics. The other leaders seem reserved somewhat. I'm sure they love Canada as much as Mr. Martin, but Paul Martin puts passion into his statements, in the same way that Gilles Duceppe(sp) talks about Quebec. I believe he is a man who truly loves his country and I think he has what it takes to lead this country into this new century. Thus I will probably be voting Liberal, but my mind is open to the NDP as well until the last moment.
And that is politics. I hope you've learned something and I hope you'll all vote on the 23rd of January.
*hugs*
laterz
- Dep
THE 'FANTASTIC' FOUR.
AKA - The major political parties of Canada.
Now the first question is... why. Why look at the parties? Sure, you can say they're all corrupt. But I think corruption has always been a part of politics and no political party can say they're not corrupt. The Liberals (not under Paul Martin note, but under Jean Chretian) had Adscam. There were a lot of suggestions that Brian Mulrouny did similar things under the Conservative party leadership awhile ago. Those are the two major parties in Canada and they both have examples of corruption in their history. Furthermore, no political party can deliver on all of its promises. The BQ hasn't delivered seperation. The NDP has stood with the Liberals on a lot of issues and then claim the Liberals were slowing things down. Corruption and lies are a part of politics because we the public demand the lies. I'll get to that in a moment, right now I want to outline the major parties platforms. Again why? Because its important to vote in our society. We are a democracy and if we're not voting, we're not helping the democracy to function. But a lot of you are too lazy perhaps to do the research and find out which party is better for you. This is a simple, short guide that deals with the major issues (I just watched both debates - english and french) facing Canada today.
Bloc Quebecois - Gilles Duceppe(sp?)
(Socialist Seperatists)
- Believes Canada and Quebec should be two seperate countries.
- Is for gay marriage and gay rights
- Is for social programs such as healthcare, daycare, education, etc and puts heavy focus on putting money into these progrrams.
- Is for taking a moderately hardline with the United States (ie redrafting NAFTA)
- Is for a cut in taxes (whether GST or personal income, I can't remember)
The New Democratic Party (NDP) - Jack Layton
(Socialist Federalists)
- Believes in the unity of Canada
- Is for gay marriage/rights
- Is for social programs and puts heavy focus on putting money into these programs.
- Is against cutting corporate taxes
- Is for a cut in taxes (both the GST and personal income)
- Moderate stance against the US, open to the possibility of redrafting NAFTA
The Liberal Party of Canada - Paul Martin
(Moderate Federalists)
- Believes in the unity of Canada, is very passionate about it.
- Is for gay marriages/rights
- Is for social programs, with a moderate-heavy focus on putting money into these programs.
- Is for cutting corporate taxes
- Is for a cut in taxes (personal income primarily, though the GST was mentioned as well)
- Takes a very strong stance against the US and wants to redraft NAFTA
The Conservative Party of Canada - Stephen Harper
(Conservative Federalists)
- Believes in the unity of Canada, though would be willing to let Quebec seperate if the process was fair.
- Is for gay rights but against gay marriage (note this is a recent change in their position which was originally against both)
- Is for cutting taxes in general (GST heavily mentioned)
- Is for social programs, with a light-moderate focus on putting money into these programs.
- Takes a softer stance against the US and doesn't want to change NAFTA.
- Increased military spending and increased participation in the war in Iraq as well as increased cooperation with the US.
That is, in a nutshell, the four main political parties of Canada (note that since I am Quebecois, I've included the Bloc). So who should you vote for? I leave that completly up to you. What follows is my own opinion.
CANADA FOR ME
Canada, for me, is about a number of things.
(1) It's about acceptance. As a bisexual man living in this country, I am very thankful we don't have some of the issues that there are in the states. While we may not be perfect yet, we are at least progessing towards it.
(2) It's about unity. I live in Quebec and I'm actually proud of living here - we have some awesome things (not the least of which is cheap education). But I also love being a part of Canada and I just don't think things would be same if Quebec was not. It's true Quebec and Canada have fundamental differences but perhaps they should try to find compromises instead of just splitting up.
(3) It's about socialism. Yeah, alright, paying taxes is a bitch and some of that is squandered. But a large amount of it goes into helping people. If education was privatized, I don't think I would be able to afford it (look at the States where it's hard to go to college - I get it for free in Quebec and the rest of Canada is still far cheaper). Look at healthcare and the rest - you may not need it now, but IT IS THERE when you need it. Sure the system doesn't work and needs to be cleaned up - but the concept is still good. I would not have the education I have today if it wasn't for social programs and therefore, since I benefited from it, why shouldn't others?
(4) It's about patriotism. We are, contrary to popular belief, not the United States doorstep. We are not their lapdog, nor are we the 51st state. We are a seperate country with different ideas on things. And I congradulate Paul Martin on his responses to the United States on the issue of softwood and the other various issues. I think we haven't taken all the steps we need to take, but we are moving in the right direction.
Therefore, for all these reasons, I come down to the Liberals or the NDP. I don't know which way I'm going to vote but I like Paul Martin's passion. He's a very passionate man and you can tell he really gets into the issues and into politics. The other leaders seem reserved somewhat. I'm sure they love Canada as much as Mr. Martin, but Paul Martin puts passion into his statements, in the same way that Gilles Duceppe(sp) talks about Quebec. I believe he is a man who truly loves his country and I think he has what it takes to lead this country into this new century. Thus I will probably be voting Liberal, but my mind is open to the NDP as well until the last moment.
And that is politics. I hope you've learned something and I hope you'll all vote on the 23rd of January.
*hugs*
laterz
- Dep
// posted by Dep @ 12:50:00 a.m.
