Dear Editor,
Brick by brick, Mr. Harper and his party have built a wall between Canadians and their government. Too many bricks to catalogue in one letter: Omnibus budget bills that shield critical changes to the fabric of our country from parliamentary scrutiny; proroguing parliament just to stay in power; muzzling scientists and destroying scientific evidence we need to steward the environment; cancelling the long-form census so we can’t document and analyse issues that require government attention; gutting regulatory oversight of parliament; attacking the Supreme Court and passing unconstitutional laws; suppressing the vote through illegal actions (robocalls), and emasculating the Chief Electoral Officer; using CRA Audits to punish charities that oppose their policies; stonewalling journalists; treating opponents as enemies, not only of the government, but of Canada; the list is endless.
To tear down this barrier to democracy, we must first remove the Mason in Chief by defeating Mr. Harper and his government. For some this will mean voting for someone other than Mr. Chong despite their fondness for him as a person and as their representative in Ottawa. This cannot be easy.
To his credit, Mr. Chong worked earnestly to achieve a modest first step in parliamentary reform. However, this is outweighed by his unwavering support for all of the policies that collectively have eroded our democratic traditions. We cannot look to Mr. Chong and his party to undo what they have worked so hard to create.
Voters who are concerned about our democratic institutions will need to consider voting together for the party and candidate best positioned to win the election and become a progressive voice for our riding. While we all have our preferences, we would be well served to consider a variety of factors in making that determination. This would include past election results, evidence of support, e.g. lawn signs, level of political activity such as events and canvassing, the strength of the local candidates, etc.
For some of us, this may mean making a choice we would not make under other circumstances. In doing so, we can be comforted by two things: First, the policy differences among parties other than the Conservatives are not as great as between any of these parties and the party in power. Second, the two major opposition parties have both pledged to do away with the first past the post electoral system, ensuring that voter preferences in the future will result in a parliament that better reflects their values and beliefs.
Harvey Thomson