2011 Federal Election

[Dan]

Calendar Event: May 2, 2011
Event type: User News

---

Monday May 2nd is Canada's 41st general election. Traditional Canadian youth and students have had the lost turn out of any group in the country, it's time to make a difference and be noticed.

If you are 18 or older (on election day) and a Canadian citizen you may still register to vote in your ridding. If you have not received a voter information card (example) simply call Elections Canada (1-800-463-6868) or register at your local polling place (find it here) on election day. All you will need is proof of identification and address (see a list of acceptable options here).

But wait there's more! If you are student living in a ridding away from home you may chose to vote in your home ridding or in your school residence's ridding (more information here!).


RMR: Rick's Rant - Vote:

More Information:

• FAQs for Students: http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=yth/bas/faq&document=index&lang=e
  
• This bilingual information card: http://www.elections.ca/vot/yth/ec90309/ec90309_e.pdf
  
• Where to vote/ridding info: http://www.elections.ca/scripts/pss/FindED.aspx?L=e
  
• Voter Identification at the Polls: http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=ids&document=index&lang=e
  

[Dan]

Major Party Platforms:

• Bloc Quebecois: http://www.blocquebecois.org/dossiers/campagne-2011/documents/EnoncePolitique-Anglais.pdf
  
• Conservative Party of Canada: http://www.conservative.ca/policy/platform_2011/
  
• Green Party: http://greenparty.ca/issues
  
• Liberal Party of Canada: http://www.liberal.ca/platform/
  
• New Democratic Party: http://www.ndp.ca/platform
  

Minor Party Platforms:

• Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada: http://www.environmentvoters.org/policy%20statements.pdf
  
• Canadian Action Party: http://canadianactionparty.ca/policies/
  
• Christian Heritage Party: http://www.chp.ca/better-solutions/
  
• Communist Party of Canada: http://www.votecommunist.ca/2011-platform/
  
• First Peoples National Party of Canada: http://www.fpnpoc.ca/
  
• Libertarian Party of Canada: http://www.libertarian.ca/english/libertarian-party-positions.html
  
• Marijuana Party of Canada: http://www.marijuanaparty.ca/article.php3?id_article=198
  
• The Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada: http://www.cpcml.ca/Program/Program.html
  
• Pirate Party: https://www.pirateparty.ca/uncategorized/platform-2011
  
• Progressive Canadian Party: http://progressivecanadian.ca/index.php/about-us/pc-policies
  
• Rhinoceros Party of Canada: http://www.neorhino.ca/
  
• United Party of Canada: http://www.unitedpartyofcanada.com/our-policies-2/
  
• Western Block Party: http://www.westernblockparty.com/thetruthaboutthewbp.htm
  

For more help selecting a party try the Vote Compass web app: http://votecompass.ca/federal/

[apython1992]

Sigh, I still don't know who I'm voting for. These links help though, thanks Dan

[mirhagk]

I'm voting conservative. yes they had some issues, but so has every single leader ever in history. Also they are the only party to realize that raising taxes will lower the amount of tax money they recieve. (raising taxes will discourage spending, and more spending is always better than higher taxes)

Many people are voting liberal just because they don't want conservative, but I would advise you to ignore the negative things parties say about each other, they are ususally taken out of context, wrong, or severely over exaggerated. If a party did truly bad, the other parties wouldn't need to say anything.

[apython1992]

I don't take attack ads seriously. On a purely ideological stance, I'm conservative; I'm in the "everyone earns their way in this world" camp. Some things do bug me about the party though, and enough so that I'm not so sure they'd be the best choice for myself. I really have to read up on platforms and stuff more.

[mirhagk]

Another problem is people sometimes vote for the ideaology of the party rather than the party. If I actually followed the survey things, I'd probably be liberal or something, the thing is that conservatives are much smarter (liberals want to fund healthcare by cutting the jets, which won't be purchased until like 2020 anyways, so there's not actually any money for them, so it's impossible to fund anything right now with the money saved by not buying thje jets in the future).

If you watch the debate (highly encouraged), you will realize that the other parties don't actually have a plan, they just want stephen harper to not be in power, much like alot of people.

[apython1992]

Yeah, I did watch the debates. And I completely agree, ideology is one thing, but it really depends on what the party is going to do - this is why I'm having trouble. But yeah, from what I've seen of the liberals, I really don't like.

[mirhagk]

So it's between NDP and conservative then. And to be completely honest how many seats will the conservatives get? So you have the option of a miniority (voting again next year probably), or a majority.

[apython1992]

I'm not terribly concerned with the majority/minority issue really. I'm not going to vote conservative for the sake of a majority if NDP turns out to be a better choice for me (this is very unlikely, but I'm just saying).

[DemonWasp]

I think both of you need to remember that "conservative" and "Conservative" are very, very different. Even assuming that you apply "conservative" to "economy / finances", I think you'll find that the Conservative party isn't actually very conservative. Then you have to consider whether they're conservative on human rights, social issues, or environment (they definitely aren't). A conservative government wouldn't take away money from education and healthcare to spend on prisons and fighter jets, especially not in an age of low crime rates. Doubly so because Canada can't seriously expect to fight a nation that has a serious air force, so what are we going to use those jets for?

It may surprise you to learn that, for example, the Green party is fiscally conservative. Their plan for Canada doesn't include deficit spending: it includes a balanced budget.

If you actually listen, you'll find that all of the parties have a plan. You may not agree that it's a good plan, but each party definitely has a plan.


On the topic of majority / minority, I think I would prefer a minority government, regardless of who's got the most seats. Having a minority government forces the different parties to cooperate, which Canadian politics desperately needs. If you look at European countries, most of them are governed by minority governments that form coalitions, work with each other, and try to come to common ground. If you look at the United States, the political parties would prefer to kill each other than discuss issues rationally. Which would we rather be?


As a final note, it's important to differentiate between attack ads and genuine deficiencies or faults. Of course we should ignore ads that mention how your opponent is a doo-doo head. At the same time, we should really be paying attention to media that points out that, for example, Stephen Harper is the first Canadian PM to have been found in contempt of parliament. That's not an attack ad -- that's just pointing out what he did, and it's something that every Canadian should know and understand the significance of.

[apython1992]

I do know they have different meanings. I don't pretend to know a thing about the economy, so I generally just think about human rights and social issues. Also, I do agree about making the distinction between attack ads and legitimately raising political issues. Pointing out flaws in an opponent/his or her campaign is not an attack that should be ignored.

[mirhagk]

Demonwasp, did you literally just say that we don't need jets. Our jets flew on a mission protecting thousands of lives not even a month ago, and it's not that we're upgrading, we're replacing. Otherwise we won't have jets at all.

The jets again won't even be affected this term (unless it's a really long one for some reason), and the jails are being given things to actually help the criminals, to try and stop repeat offenders. I'd rather spend a little bit to make sure that that rapist being released next year isn't going to do it again, than I would spend on one of the million environmental issues (most of which aren't completely thought through-see organic food, bio fuel etc).

The other parties are literally twisting everything, trying to stop rapists and murderers from repeating their actions is not giving bad guys a hotel.

BTW it's already been decided that jets and corporate tax cuts(which happened years ago) are not concerns for this election, as they are decisions everyone agreed on more than 10 years ago. NDP is just looking for something to pick at, and the fact that that is the number 1 issue means that Conservatives did a hell of a good job.

[apython1992]

@mirhagk: To put aside a political debate, I think much of this is personal opinion and is best not argued here. Maybe a new off-topic post could be made for just that purpose.

[mirhagk]

I was commenting on what each of those so called problems actually relate to, I think it's important people learn the situation instead of just listening to the slander against parties.

I agree that wanting less rapists more than less pollution was my personal opinion, but this thread is about the 2011 election, so I think the discussion of issues within it is appropriate to the thread.

[Amailer]

I my self would also prefer a minority (conservative) government, however even if it were not a conservative I would still prefer a minority government. I find that things get balanced our much more.

For me, I was perfectly fine the way things were going (based on how they affected me directly that is).