A longtime resident of Uxbridge, Ted Barris has written professionally for 40 years - for radio, television, magazines and newspapers. The "Barris Beat" column began in the 1950s when his father Alex wrote for the Globe and Mail. Ted continues the tradition of offering a positive view of his community. He has written 16 non-fiction books of Canadian history and teaches journalism at Centennial College in Toronto.
Promises, promises
It didn't take long to determine whether Canadians would be going to the polls this spring or not. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty hadn't even begun to introduce the 2011 federal budget in the House of Commons, Tuesday afternoon, when we knew that two of the three Opposition leaders - Gilles Duceppe and Michael Ignatieff - would not support it. Only Jack Layton kept the country in suspense until the end of the budget speech. And within minutes of Flaherty's concluding remarks, the other shoe dropped.
“Mr. Harper had an opportunity to address the needs of hard-working, middle class Canadians and families,” Layton said to CBC microphones, “and he missed that opportunity… New Democrats will not support the budget as presented.”
And so, at least at this writing, a federal election seems likely. That's not to say a last minute deal - stranger things have happened - is out of the question. But let's assume, for a few minutes, that the federal government falls, either on its being found in contempt of Parliament or its inability to appease one of the three opposition parties with its budget. Federal candidates will soon be nominated in each riding. Election pamphlets will presently clutter our mail boxes. And the mother of all attack ads will likely pepper each commercial spot from now 'til either May 2 or 9.
As much as most Canadians will whine and complain about enduring yet another federal election, I think there are definite advantages for Canadians, Ontarians and Uxbridgers, no matter what their political affiliation.
If the Liberals think they should run things, for example, let's put their feet to the fire on the kinds of things they've traditionally favoured. For example, let's make sure that their candidate in this riding comes up with enough cash to keep those who are elderly and able to stay in their Uxbridge homes as long as possible with federal funding for family and/or qualified caregivers.
“(The Conservatives) are going to spend a thousand times more on fighter aircraft,” Ignatieff said Tuesday, “than kids seeking a college or university education.”
OK, how much would a Liberal MP care to spend on upgrading the Uxbridge campus of Durham College and/or ensure that those who wish to, could stay in this community to get a post-secondary education? And if the Liberals quash the $9 billion purchase of F-35 fighter jets, will they then take some of that money (not to mention the redirected funding from the war in Afghanistan when the Canadian military comes home in July) and make sure that veterans (then and now) are properly compensated for their service and their wounds?
If the New Democrats believe they can win the hearts and ballots of Canadians, let's ask them to put their money where our needs are. If, as Mr. Layton claims, five million Canadians are without family doctors, or the equivalent of 1,200 new physicians and 700 new nurses, let's make sure his running mate in this riding puts Uxbridge Township patients high on the priority list. For far too long, the highly efficient, community supported Cottage Hospital has been unable to attract sufficient numbers of qualified family doctors and keep them here. There's a promise his party could fulfil.
“Why can't the Prime Minister spend the money to lift every senior out of poverty?” Layton complained after the budget came down.
Fine. If that's a priority over which the NDP feels Canadians should go to the polls, then let's make sure his colleagues in caucus ensure that the $700 million he claims would provide a guaranteed income supplement to seniors, actually comes to pass. Even better, why not bring back COLA? Remember the cost of living allowance that tied employment and pensions to the consumer price index and ensured those with a fixed income could ride out inflation? Well, why couldn't an NDP election platform enshrine that in the Bill of Rights (for seniors)?
If the Conservative Party wants to be re-elected in this riding, it should probably earn votes by following through on some of its traditional electoral promises. Whatever it spent on stimulus spending to assist small business - what free enterprisers always claim is the bedrock of economic recovery - should be maintained (not cancelled) until the economy rights itself. Whatever Conservatives plan in corporate tax cuts should be redirected to the employees who endured cutbacks and layoffs, retrained themselves and got back into workforces despite the recession. They're just as much the engines of the economy as the corporate brains in the boardroom.
And finally, like the Province of British Columbia, maybe the new national governing party - whatever its stripe - should institute the concept of “electoral recall,” voter petitions designed to combat corruption or conflict of interest in elected officials.
Maybe a federal election isn't such a bad idea, after all.
