A Comment by Doug Draper
Niagara, Ontario’s federal electoral map remains coloured with a patch of NDP orange surrounded by a sea of Tory blue as Stephen Harper’s Conservatives won a commanding 167-seat majority government this May 2.
Stephen Harper wins big. Will he accept win with humility or rule like an autocrat?
In Niagara, NDP incumbent Malcolm Allen reclaimed a Welland Riding stretching from south St. Catharines, through Thorold, Welland Port Colborne and part of Wainfleet, while Conservative incumbents Rick Dykstra, Rob Nicholson and Dean Allison won big in their ridings of St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and west Niagara, respectively.
Early figures on the voter turnout across the country indicated that hardly four out of every ten eligible voters bothered going to the polls and only 40 per cent of those who did voted for the party that will now continue running this country for the next four years. And that is pretty pathetic. It hardly makes for much of a mandate for Harper and his parties despite the number of seats won.
The question now is this; ‘Will Stephen Harper accept with win with humility or will he lord it over us?’ After all, this prime minister has displayed a record of leading in a fairly autocratic, even with members of his own caucus, during his last five years of minority government.
NDP leader Jack Layton, who’s party secured 103 seats and will form the official opposition for the first time in 50 years, vows that the NDP will use its gains to fight for public health care, environmental protection, education and other services for Canadians. Sounds good, but there is only so much the most determined opposition party can do if the governing party chooses to use its seat to move ahead with billions of dollars worth of corporate tax cuts, fighter jets and building more prisons to accommodate its get-tough-on-crime program.
Meanwhile, what can one say about the Liberals. Pierre Trudeau and Lester Pearson must be twisting in their graves.
More on the fallout from the federal election later.
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Very frustrating that so few eligible voters choose to vote. I’ve talked to people who choose not to vote, and heard the calculus of their rationalizations. Don’t know what can be done to change this apathy.
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MARK
THERE ARE MANY REASONS TO BE FEARFUL TODAY
Now it’s History
In the U.S.A.
Ruling on McCain-Feingold Law Opens Door for Interest Groups in ’08
The Republican Packed and divided Supreme Court struck down decades-old limits on corporate political expenditures, potentially reshaping the 2010 election landscape by permitting businesses and unions to spend freely on commercials for or against candidates.
Critics said the decision will encourage a financial arms race between well-heeled special interest groups.
“This is a big win for big money,” League of Women Voters President Mary G. Wilson said in a statement. “Chief Justice Roberts has reopened the door to corruption.”
NOW In Canada
The Conservatives attempted, while a minority, to scrape the Election funding to “all” parties relative to the vote count and if this had been allowed to pass the Corporate Sponsorship of the Federal Conservatives would certainly have had free reins in the political forum. NOW with a Conservative majority it basically assures that this funding will cease to exist. And the “Well Heeled elites” of Canada will literally OWN Canada even more than they already do in 2011.
“Steven Harper’s Majority will open the same door to Corruption.”
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Why would Harper suddenly rule with humility? He never has before.
Harper does NOT have a majority with or without the non-voters but that certainly won’t stop him. He’ll put his own private slant on everything regardless.
It’s time for proportional representation as was proposed a couple of years ago but, of course, the 2 parties who figured they had the most to lose did their utmost fear mongering to scuttle that!
As for Toronto – Big business interests spoke and turned the tide against the working Joes and Janes. Thanks a lot.
Congratulations to the NDP. The massive vote shift showed at least some Canadians are fed up with the status quo.
As for the non-voters – SCREW YOU! Too impolite? Who cares.
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For those who are religious and those who are too frigging lazy to get off their fat asses and vote…correct me if I state this wrong..When Jesus Christ was on the cross he was supposedly heard to say “FORGIVE THEM LORD FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO”
If you sit and collect welfare beware it might end if Harper gets his way and who can stop him NOW the NDP does not have enough votes
If you need Health Care Well Harper has always been opposed to it. It’s just a matter of time ask Harper. NDP same position
You might have to bow to Emperor Harper and his First Lady.
You think I am wrong??
40+% of the population voted and I will bet that most of the 40% was the haves while the have nots sat at home with their pit bulls having a beer or two or three and laughed at their neighbors going to vote calling them “Suckers”
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Am I angry? your friggin right
Am I pissed off? Ditto…ditto……ditto
Am I disgusted? you don’t know the extent of my disgust
With who? Do I have to stamp it on their heads.?
Better not it just might wake that brain that has been asleep for so damn long that is if they have one????????????????/
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I talked to some people about voting. One said he was going to vote for himself; another said all the parties are the same; another said he had never voted. Something wrong here.
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We are in a long haul folks. I get accused by some people of raising “conspiracy allegations” when I speak about my concern of a Harper majority. Now, we are in for a very rough four years, where the future of our health care system is at best tenuous, with respect to universality and access. The future of elections and democracy is pretty dim. Look up “Steven Harper v Canada” on CanLii and on Google and you will find a case that Stephen Harper took on behalf of the National Citizens Coalition (that uncoincidentally was set up in 1967 for the main purpose of shutting down medicare). The Harper v Canada case was about “freedom of expression”, so that corporations, individuals and interests groups like the National Citizens Coalition can spend unlimited amounts of money on elections and other related campaigns. The Supreme Court of Canada rejected him. Now that he has his majority, he can appoint whoever he wants to the Supreme Court, as well as most lower courts, and/or change the election law to scrap the per vote subsidy in favour of unlimited corporate and third party donations. He will let them push for private health care, while at the same time he will simply meddle with the province’s transfers by moving more of this “funding” into tax points for the provinces. This would render the Canada Health Act useless, while at the same time burdening the province’s with the forced choice of cuts to health care. Then, Stephen Harper would do, as he did with the HST, and make it look like the province did it, and not his government. Beware of this man, we have to watch him closely.
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We have to watch him/the Conservatives carefully, but I wouldn’t be using the mainstream media to do so.
We need more involvement with Maude Barlow, Council Of Canadians etc.
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There’s a good interview involving Stephen Lewis on Democracy Now (Independent internet news, U.S):” The Right And Left Claim Success In Canada…”
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Every vote counts, My grandaughter and I voted she for the first time and was she a happy girl and she noted it was so easy, we had a great day, neither of us voted for the party that put the Harperites back in.for the lack of 6 votes Anne Marie would have been our Mayor. now we are stuck with Martin and his Chamber of Horror chums.
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The electors are always right as they have been in the past and will be in the future.
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