Election in the cards

By Tyler Olsen - Vernon Morning Star Published: September 04, 2008

With all signs pointing to Prime Minister Stephen Harper calling an election this weekend, Okanagan-Shuswap candidates are getting reading to hit the hustings. However, some are more happy about the impending election, likely Oct. 14, than others. Green Party candidate Huguette Allen and NDP candidate Alice Brown both say an election is unnecessary. “It’s very unlikely that we’re going to see a majority government anyway,” said Allen. “I think a minority government filled with leaders who are supposed to be good leaders ought to be able to work together.” Brown, who will be running for the third time, agrees. She said that minority governments can be more effective than majority situations, with parties having to work together to find consensus and pass legislation that appeals to a range of voters. However Liberal candidate Janna Francis thinks it’s time Canadians headed to the polls. “I think an election is necessary. Certainly we would have liked to have the prime minister follow through with his commitment to October 2009,” said Francis, referring to a fixed election date law the Conservatives passed last year. She said Harper’s demand for cooperation by the Liberals was unrealistic. “The prime minister has asked Stephane Dion basically for a blank cheque and in a minority situation nobody is going to do that,” said Francis, who ran for the Liberals in Kelowna in 1997.

Conservative incumbent Colin Mayes agrees that it’s time to head to the polls, although he places the blame for an early election with the opposition. “Quite frankly, (Parliament) hasn’t been really functional for the last while,” said Mayes. “I’m sure the prime minister had lost patience with the opposition as far as trying to work together to make good policy for Canadians.” Mayes said fixed election dates were intended for majority governments, not for minority governments where the opposition parties can force Canadians to the polls. “I think the opposition parties were carrying on because they thought they could get away with the fixed election dates,” said Mayes. “If the opposition parties had cooperated and said, ‘We’d work with you on committees’ and cut the shenanigans out, obviously we would have kept Parliament going.”

The candidates don’t disagree on everything: they all agree that the economy and the environment will be the two chief issues in the coming election. Among other issues, the candidates also stressed a variety of other issues. Mayes said the Conservatives will reiterate the importance of tackling crime and drugs, Brown stressed the need to fight poverty, Francis said the parties’ track records will be key and Allen said health care will be a main issue. Of course, the candidates have very different ideas how these main issues should be addressed. The Liberals have rolled out their Green Shift plan, which includes a tax on carbon emissions and reduced income taxes. “Stephane Dion has placed the environment front and centre and he has built an economic plan around the environment,” said Francis.

Mayes, however, thinks enforced regulations will do the trick. “We feel we are approaching the issues around the environment the way they should be approached,” he said. “We have lowered taxes significantly to try and stimulate our economy and consumer confidence.” Allen said she’d like to see economies strengthened locally in order to ease consumers’ dependency on food and products produced elsewhere. “If we were to switch and really go to a local economy we could do so much.” Brown, meanwhile, blamed the Conservatives for a shrinking surplus and stressed that the environment must be preserved. “The environment should be our main issue because without a world to live in, the rest doesn’t matter.” Each candidate thinks they have the chance to win locally and represent the region in Parliament. But they have different views on what would be considered a successful election for their respective parties. Mayes and the Conservatives will be looking for a renewed mandate from Canadians, although he downplayed the importance of winning a majority government. “It’s a big country and it’s a tough country to win majorities,” said Mayes. “I think Canadians, on the whole, like the direction our government is going.”

For Janna Francis, the goal is decidedly different: “I’m looking forward to a majority government for the Liberal Party of Canada.” She said the differences between the Liberals and the Conservatives are becoming clearer and that her party will work to educate Canadians on those contrasts with the confidence they’ll choose the Liberals. The NDP’s Brown and the Green’s Allen know their parties are unlikely to lead a government after the upcoming election. Still, they think their parties can play prominent roles in a new Parliament. Brown would like to see another minority government, albeit one with different leaders. She said past minorities, with the NDP acting as the power broker, have proven productive for Canadians and led to cherished programs like Medicare.

For their part, the Greens have just welcomed their first MP into the fold, with Independent B.C. MP Blair Wilson announcing last week that he was joining the party. Allen hopes her party can break into Parliament in a big way, claiming from six to 12 seats. And if she doesn’t win locally, Allen hopes a significant vote total will send a message to politicians that Canadians want action on the environment.