We live in "Ottawa South" and for the first time I am really going to try and figure out what the candidates are going to do for the riding, rather than just voting for the party I want to win. So, I've got to do some reading by checking out the people's sites: Liberal, NDP, and Cons.
We'll see if I can filter through the crap / propaganda and see if there really is any kind of drive to "do good" for the people, or if they just seem that they will go along with the party (haha). Okay, time for bed.
Update: Since there is no "PC" party any more and they are the "Conservatives", but that's too long to say, so I am going to call them the "Cons". ;-)
I, on the other hand, will wote for the party, since most of the MP's vote with the party anyway. What good does it do that the guy is the best when he will back the party that might be pushing some bad legislation?
ReplyDeleteAlso, you are missing the link to the Green Party's candidate: http://ridingsite.greenparty.ca/article171.html
ReplyDeleteThat is one of the things that is ticking me off too; there is almost no coverage for the Green Party and they enjoy about 5% support Canada wide (which is probably more than the Bloc), and they have a candidate in every riding. And they are not invited for the leader's debate!? I know they are small party, but lets be fair.
Not that I'd vote for them (policies just don't mesh), I'm also quite annoyed at the lack of coverage for the Greens. The Greens are running candidates in all 308 ridings across the country and got 4.3% of the popular vote last time out.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I would *much* rather hear what the Greens have to say than what the Bloc has to say ("we're not better, we're different... and give us more money so we can bend you over for a few minutes real quick.."). Duceppe proved in numerous questions during this year's debates that he just doesn't belong there (eg, his answer for "How will your party address growing separatist sentiment in Alberta and feelings of alienation in the west?", (paraphasing) "That's not about Quebec so I don't really care about that".)
I am not a Green Party activist either, and I don't see them as party that should be in majority. However, I would like them to have one or two seats so their voice will be heard and for sure they'll add something new to our political landscape.
ReplyDeleteAlso, nice thing about them: they have an open platform so people can make suggestions :)
Again, I am not saying pple should vote for them, but given the choices at least take a look.
CBC's coverage for each riding is excellent. Here's the link for Ottawa South:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/riding/171/
The most interesting part is "RIDING TALK", where people can post their opinions. Take the opinions with a grain of salt though: parties or backers could submit positive/negative/false comments under assumed names, just like blog comments. Interesting stuff nonetheless.
Like Aleks said, most MPs vote along party lines. That will be especially true if there is a minority government -- every vote will count.
To me the national party issues (like taxes, gay marriage, health care, environment, gun control) far outweigh any local Ottawa issue at the federal level, so I'm voting for a party and not a specific person.
Nice link Ryan, thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou might want to be careful. There's a new PC party known as the Progressive Canadians. They have nothing to do with the conservatives.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that bothers me about this whole election, is that rather than the parties advertising what they will do for you, they are advertising what's so bad about the other guys. This seems especially true for the top 2 contenders (liberal and conservatives). I'd really they talk more about what they plan to do, and less about how evil the other parties are. I really don't care how bad one party thinks the other is, because well, it's pretty fair to say that they are showing a little bias.
Here's another way that people vote. Because whoever gets elected will look out for those in their riding, or at least we hope, some people vote for whichever party they think is going to win (overall). By doing this, the MP in their riding will be in the party in power, and therefore be able to get stuff done which will help out that riding. People think that if the liberals are in power, then areas with liberal MPs will get more funding and therefore be better off. I'm not sure how well this theory works in practice, but I've heard of a few people who vote this way.
ReplyDeleteKibbee, this is as accurate as choosing the car based on a what kind of stereo you get with it.
ReplyDeleteFederal elections are about platforms not about getting $ for your riding. Yeah, Harper might give Ottawa South 500K extra cash (or not), but he also might decide to send our troops in Iraq to get killed (just saying he might). That is what federal elections are all about: big stuff. Vote for the party that you like the most.
I didn't say I agreed with the way some people vote, I'm just informing others on how some people vote. I don't vote that way, and don't think others should. That doesn't mean that other people don't do it.
ReplyDelete