There are some mixed emotions about the federal election with many calling it unnecessary and others saying it is a must. I for one am sitting on the fence. I wanted to see what the courts were going to say about the Conservative party officials breaking the Election Act. Then again why should a government continue to govern when it has been found to be in contempt of parliament? In many ways I feel like Harper has been laughing at the electorate this entire time. From breeching the Elections Act to ministers lying to parliament, you have to wonder what he has been up to.
I have heard people say that it was Jack Layton and the NDP who would be the ones to blame for going to the polls this time because they were not going to support the Conservative’s budget. I can’t help but laugh at this idea. It was Harper who tried to demonize the NDP as socialists when there was a threat of a coalition government with the Liberals. Now it is up to the “Socialists” to prop up the same government who were so fast to discredit them. Turns out it wouldn’t have mattered if the NDP backed the budget. It was the Conservative’s own actions that sealed the fate of the current parliament.
Now here comes another election with the same players and more than likely the message will be the same as the one we have been hearing for months now. It doesn’t excite me. Actually, it makes me a little mad, not that Harper and his party were found in contempt and lost a confidence vote. That actually is a good thing. It shows that there is some accountability in Ottawa. What makes me upset is that it even got this far. The fact that our parliament is so dysfunctional and that a minority government can do as it wishes and have such little regard for the parliament and the electorate makes me sick. I want to see real change.
I would actually like to see a coalition government. I know I have heard all the fear rhetoric that Harper and his spin masters tossed around when we almost had a coalition last time around but think about it: If we had two or more parties actually working together to come up with a budget and planning we might actually see things get accomplished for a change. It couldn’t be any worse than what we have seen in the past few parliaments. I know when I vote I expect that the person I send to Ottawa will work with others for what is best for Canada and their riding and not just what some party leader wants. Unfortunately I don’t see this happening. I see more of the same and more people turning their backs on the system and at the end of the day I see democracy paying the price for our politicians’ inability to function as adults.