Hello, I’m not sure who posted the original thread (I am assuming that it was posted by the moderators of this forum). Regardless of who posted the article I have the same solution for everyone: strategic voting. My strategy is to do everything I can to remove Stephen Harper from power. I think that everyone should vote using the same strategy as well, including you (whoever you are).
This strategy might manifest itself in different ways depending on your riding. The idea is to vote for the most competitive party in your riding as long as that party is not the Conservatives. If the Conservative party is projected to win in your riding then vote for the party which holds second place in the polls. For example, if your riding is traditionally NDP and polls indicate that they are projected to win in your riding then vote for the NDP. Accordingly, I cannot recommend one party over another; it really depends on your geographic location.
After all, the Liberals, the NDP, the Bloc, and the Greens have all promised to make meaningful progress on the environmental front. Their progress, as I understand it, would go well beyond the empty, weak, long range promises made by Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party. For example, the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc have all made the pledge to support Kyoto Plus (http://www.kyotoplus,ca/en/pledge.html). Stephen Harper, on the other hand, has chosen not to make the same commitment.
Unless you vote strategically the environmental vote will be split between four descent parties. This split will make it easy for the Conservatives to win a majority or a minority government. We cannot let this happen. If we manage to stop the Conservatives this time around perhaps they will exchange a single minded spokesperson forAlberta’s tar sands (like Stephen Harper) for a conservative leader smart enough to accept the severity of our environmental issues. Progressive Conservative alternatives do exist: McCain, Mulroney and Schwarzenegger are some of the more popular examples.
I hope I've been helpfull,
Dante Ryel
3 Comments
Well said, I think that about sums up Canadian Politics. A good place for a young country to be, I suppose.
Shelley
Why are we interested in having a Mulroney in a position of power, even if it would be only as a member of the opposition? And lets remember that when we, as individuals, support the policies of American polititions, be it a McCain or a Schwarzenagger, that we don't slide into the mindset that we Canadians are "only a satelite country that revolves around, and is for all intents and purposes, only a provence of the USA".
Thank you Shelley,
Gwen, my number one issue during this election is the environment. I realize that the environment is not the only issue but most people here, and throughout the country, also view the environment as their number one issue. I mention Mulroney, McCain and Schwarzenegger because they are examples of right wing politicians who have shown progress on the environmental portfolio. Mulroney, for example, has been praised as Canada's greenest prime minister in all of our short history ( http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060420/mulroney_green_cp_060419/20060420?hub=TopStories). Mulroney has also encouraged Harper to embrace environmental issues. My point is not that we should support these politicians but that we should make it clear to right wing parties that they need to have more mainstream policies on environmental issues if they want to succeed in mainstream politics.