North West River, Labrador -
Many Canadians are wondering if the on-again, off-again fall federal election is a good or bad idea. Here are the top 10 reasons it's a good one:
10A national campaign could force NDP leader Jack Layton to get his head out of Toronto. Any trip away from Hogtown can only broaden his view of Canada. That way he could stop himself from undermining his party's natural support base by doing things like supporting Lower Churchill development because southern Ontario wants the power. If he listens to non-Toronto concerns and acts on them, he might actually win new votes.
9An election will bring Labrador MP Todd Russell home. He needs a break from Ottawa. What with having to put up with anti-seal-hunt protesters who verge on the looney and with the politicians around him, especially on the other side of the House, who not only verge on it, but have taken up permanent residence in Looney Town, Todd needs some rest and relaxation campaigning at home where looniness takes a back seat to common sense, not the other way around.
8 Canadians will get the pleasure, once again, to watch Green Party leader Elizabeth May show the three old-guard parties (Liberal, Conservative and Bloc Quebecois) the thing they fear the most: the face of proportional representation. If Parliament got true democratic reform - or a reasonable facsimile thereof - Elizabeth May could become prime minister. Maybe Jack Layton should be added to the fear-stricken list, too.
7 Still on the Greens: We'd also get to watch May give the other leaders a second lesson on how to debate. She wiped the floor with them last year and could do it again, Michael Ignatieff or not.
6Speaking of Ignatieff, an election will put the new Liberal leader out of his misery. He has yet to prove that he's got the balls his much maligned predecessor - who showed himself ready to lead a government - proved he possessed. Now that Ignatieff has decided to act like the leader of the Opposition, it's time to give him his chance to either prevail or die (metaphorically).
5 All those nasty election ads the Conservative Party has been inflicting on television viewers ever since Stephen Harper squeaked into his first minority will finally make sense. Up to now it seems like the Conservatives issue these public attacks against Liberals just for the fun of it, because they enjoy making personal insults. An election would give the ads meaning, like maybe: Why would you vote for us if we can't get elected without saying vile things like this?
4Elections clarify national issues. It's easy: listen to what the politicians say are the most important matters facing Canada and then look at what they're not talking about. Those will be the real issues.
3An election could give the country's political echelons a good shaking and then maybe voters will have better people to choose between next time around. If the leaders (Jack included, but Gilles Duceppe excluded) all do as poorly as they're been doing for so long and we vote in yet another ineffective minority, maybe the parties will all turf out their current leaders at the same time and we can start again.
2Elections help preserve the jobs of newspaper columnists.
1And the number one reason for having a federal election as soon as possible: Harper doesn't want one. Despite his love of campaigning (shown by his incessant and hurtful partisanship), the prime minister seems afraid of actually letting anything come to a real vote. This fear made him run to the governor general last year to plead for her help and now it's made him run into the arms of the very socialists he professes to despise. Harper is wounded. To heal he must face his fears and try to overcome them. (Then, with luck, we'll discover Harper had good reason to be afraid and he'll finally be gone.)
Michael Johansen is a resident of North West River, Labrador
