Signs, Signs, every where there are signs! Sounds like the lyrics to a Five Man Electrical Band song, but I am actually talking about the Federal Election on May 2nd! There are signs up in every riding across Canada including SDSG, where many people choose to publicly show support for their favourite political party or candidate. During one of his skits at the Mayor's Spring Celebration of the Arts, Graham Greer spoke about lawn signs. Greer joked about how his Father-in-law who lives across the road had a tiny blue sign on his lawn, while he (Greer) had a much larger red sign on his lawn. The next morning Graham awoke to see Guy Lauzon's team hammering a gigantic Conservative sign next door. In response Greer requested an even larger Bernadette Clement sign for his lawn. Visual artist Jacqueline Milner asked on Facebook: "This has me pondering the question, does size really matter?" My reply is "LOL". Very funny Jacqueline and thanks for giving me permission to print your quote. Lawn signs themselves are not always the best indication of who will win or lose an election. Former Member of Parliament Ed Lumley whom I recently spoke with would probably agree with this sentiment. I assume current Cornwall Mayor Bob Kilger would also agree, because despite being out signed by his opponent, Builder Bob still won the municipal election.I would like to share an experience I had last week while volunteering and going door to door with one of the local candidates. I met this elderly lady who had recently became a Canadian Citizen. In her home country people do not have the right to vote in free elections. She started to cry at the prospect that some Canadians are too apathetic to vote. I wish more people felt like her. I know my grandmother who is an immigrant from the Ukraine appreciates the freedoms we have here in Canada. The Nazi's took over Ukraine, and after World War Two the Communist conquered her home country. She came to Canada as an immigrant to be free from tyranny. That is a part of the reason why I organize events like Rock the Vote, to promote voting and volunteering in the community. Exercising democracy is so important! I would like to say kudos to Awish Aslam (whom I recently added on Facebook). She is an intellectual young lady, a visible minority, and university student. She is voting for the first time in her life on May 2nd. Like any responsible citizen learning about politics, she is carefully studying each political party. She attended rallies for the NDP and Liberals and had photos taken with Jack Layton and Michael Ignatieff. She wants to meet Elizabeth May of the Greens. However, when she attended a Conservative rally to hear Steven Harper speak she was denied entry because event organizers spotted her photo on Facebook with Ignatieff. I think it is a shame that Aslam would be denied the opportunity to hear Harper speak. In a free and open country our Prime Minister should be proud of young Canadians like Aslam who want to vote, and not denying young thoughtful people the chance to make an informed decision. Youth voting is traditionally low in Canada, however that might change thanks to the rant of CBC celebrity Rick Mercer speaking up about the issue. “Voting Mobs” have taken place at several universities, a grass roots effort to get young people to vote. However Guelph Conservative candidate Marty Burke wants to stop a special ballot that took place at the University of Guelph claiming the vote was illegal. Special ballots are allowed under election law to help groups like students who are often underrepresented vote. For the sake of our democracy I hope those 700 votes count.
A political celebrity is visiting Cornwall, and no I am not talking about Elizabeth May's three minute pit stop off the train. A former Premier of Ontario is visiting Cornwall. Normally having a former Ontario Premier visit your riding to support your candidacy would be cause for celebration. Unfortunately it's former NDP boss and now Liberal MP Bob Rae. Sure it was over twenty years ago since Bob Rae was sworn in as Ontario Premier, and he has certainly matured as a politician, however he left a long lasting bitter taste in many people's mouths when he was unable to cope with Ontario's worst recession since the Great Depression. Rae was not able to solve the problems created by NAFTA and Free Trade, and in the next Ontario election the NDP was wiped off the political map. Toronto Centre has forgiven Bob Rae, and they elected him as their Liberal Member of Parliament, however people in Cornwall and SDSG might not be so forgiving. At best, Bob Rae visiting Cornwall and SDSG is a mix blessing.
I recently had a conversation with a school teacher and small business owner. He indicated that he might be voting Conservative in this election. I decided to play devil's advocate. Here is the scenario I presented to him. Pretend your business is worth $13,000 dollars, and you vote and decide that I am going to take over your business for five years. Over that span I make some bad investments, and I borrow some money, and now I have a deficit of $56,000 for your business. Will you re-hire me for another five years? He answers, “well no, of course not, you would be fired.” I then explain that this is what the Conservatives did, except the figures are in the billions. The Liberals had a $13 billion surplus, and over five years Steven Harper's Conservatives turned it into a $56 billion deficit. I understand the importance of fiscal responsibility, however the current government has made some really bad financial decisions, and even the most blue conservative should be worried about this.
In hockey news, the Cornwall Colts lost to the Pembroke Lumber Kings. It was a great effort by the Colts, however the Kings were just a little too much to handle. In the Stanley Cup playoffs Vancouver has Chicago (the defending Stanley Cup Champions) on the ropes with an early 2-0 series lead. Vancouver are the favourites to win the series. In the east, hockey experts including Don Cherry all agreed Montreal had no chance in hell of beating Boston, despite the fact that the Habs won the seasons series against the Bruins. Now Montreal is up 2-0 winning both games in Boston. Carey Price is starting to show real maturity, and PK Subban has been simply incredible. Boston should still not be discounted, despite the two game deficit, however the Montreal Canadiens should never have been underestimated in the first place.
My name is Jason Setnyk, and these are my coffee grinds.
About Unknown
Blogger Comment
Facebook Comment