May 2 could be the most important federal election in recent times. In the one corner are three parties that have been in opposition to the government for the past several years.
In the other corner is the Conservative Party and its track record with the minority government. The party feels ready for a majority mandate and has made achieving that majority a plank in its platform.
Voters must be tired of going to the polls, this fourth time in seven years for federal elections. But opposition parties are keen on the idea, but not because they have a chance at forming government by the results of the vote.
Not getting a lot of attention on the various campaign trails is that parties get a $2 per vote subsidy every election, perhaps a reason opposition parties are so eager to head to the polls. At two bucks a pop, opposition parties won’t lose anything and will return to the status quo with bank accounts flush with your, taxpayer, money. The quasi-socialist theft of hard working Canadians money is a black mark on the election process.
These three parties must be somewhat frustrated by the lack of popular support individually, but are empowered by being a majority, collectively, in the House of Commons. The possibility of forming a coalition is knocking at the post-election doorstep, but it is concerning that the opposition parties that would form such a union would do so without indicating such a plan before voters cast their ballots. Opposition parties should be square with the electorate and not play that game. The electorate deserves better.
Closer to home in the Westlock-St. Paul riding, three candidates are hard at work on the campaign trail running good campaigns, while one is nowhere to be seen, for no known reason. Party officials have wrapped up the mystery of the NDP candidate’s non-presence pretty tight, leading voters to wonder who or what the candidate stands for. Westlock-St. Paul voters deserve better.
Opposition parties have typically behaved like opposition parties ought these past years, grilling the government and demanding accountability. But like any unchecked power, current opposition parties may have stopped being effective counterbalances and become nuisances to the business of governing the country.
The 2011 election could be the most important national election this decade - both the vote itself, and the potential for a rather messy aftermath.
