When voters sluggishly trudge to the polls on October 21, 2019, for the Canadian federal election, many will have the knee-jerk reaction to vote for the old instituted parties that have been around since confederation, under various monikers; the liberals (red) on the left, the conservatives (blue) on the right. Few will pause and consider the ramifications of this. Indeed, it seems that citizens would rather elect a king than an informed democratic government. To you, the Canadian voter, I say this. There are many other options and parliamentary renewal is the only way to ensure our current version of democracy. When you vote for the same colors, election after election, democracy suffers.
Big business is banking on it – literally. They see you coming. You, the voter, who has always voted red, because your parents did, or because a good friend told you to, or because you just don’t like the guy dressed in blue. Whatever the reason, you will vote for an undemocratic choice. You will vote for the king you hate the least. You will vote for the king with the nicest smile. Very few voters will make the right choice, unless you heed my words.
A Green vote is the only vote that matters. It is the only vote that ensures democracy.
It is no surprise that our democracy has slid into a veiled corporatocracy, run by foreign interests and powerful lobby groups. No, it is not the voter that shapes government. It is foreign powers and old rich white men, with a spattering of crazy rich Asians. No, we do not have a democracy. We have a puppet monarch who dances to the tune of foreign powers.
Early in April of 2019, Andrew Scheer had a closed-door meeting with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (the very idea of a private meeting being anathema to democracy), in which their election win was discussed and plans put in place to expand the Tar Sands in Alberta. In this case, the US-based Koch brothers would stand to gain a lot from a Conservative win. This will be touted as “high-quality jobs for thousands of Canadians”, it will lead to a spike in Canada’s GDP, it will lead to more ocean traffic in BC and it will lead to further environmental destruction, the loss of our natural resources to foreign powers and the loss of sovereignty over our own physical nation.
A Green vote is the only vote that can save us now. Here are my top 5 reasons for voting green in 2019.
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GOING GREEN IN CANADA by Steven Hobé
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Vote for a Queen
Fine, politics isn’t your thing. You’d rather not read the platforms. You have always voted liberal because you feel pretty liberal yourself. Fine. But do we really need another king? The only female prime minister that Canada has ever had was Kim Campbell, who served as interim prime minister for 6 months in 1993. It is time to vote for a woman, I think you all agree. Elizabeth May might not be the most visible party leader, but she has been at it the longest. Often, voters are unwilling to vote green due to a “lack of parliamentary experience.”
Elizabeth May has more experience than all of the other party leaders. She is considered the most hard-working and ethical of all of the leaders. She is of the “fairer” gender as well – by this I mean to use the term “fair” in its judicial sense. With May as prime minister of Canada, we will, for the first time in Canadian history, have a Queen who will take back control from foreign oligarchs and protect our sovereignty. She will stand up defiantly to the boys in the backroom and do what’s right.
In the Photo: Elizabeth May with supporters
In the Photo: Elizabeth May with supportersPhoto Credit: Green Party of Ontario
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Vote for Democracy
The Green Party of Canada is currently the only federal party, with a good shot at winning seats, that is not fettered by lobby groups or foreign interests. The GPC is a grassroots party without a political whip or a forced vote. The GPC polls its local members for their ideas and concerns and forms policy around these – not the business demands of foreign oil tycoons. The only way to ensure democracy is to ensure that it is informed and formed by Canadian citizens.
The Green Party of Canada invites all citizens to become members and engage directly with their local candidates to inform the party’s platform. I go even further than this and invite all of my local riding members to participate in e-democracy and direct democracy through social media. Our local members vote on initiatives and propose new ones. When there is enough support for an initiative, a bill proposal will be drafted. Lobby groups be damned. We must do what’s right, not what’s profitable for the 1%.
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Vote for Progress
There are technologies that exist today that can propel us into the 21stcentury and advance our society far beyond what has been achieved in the past. The false dichotomy left versus right, communism versus capitalism is exactly that – false. Progress is neither left nor right, it is what’s right. It is what’s necessary. It is what is ethical.
The Green Party of Canada, if it formed government, would kick start a national revolution and usher in a new golden age of progress. A green energy grid on the scale of Hydro Quebec times a thousand which would not only produce free energy for all Canadians within a few decades, but would also create “high-quality jobs” for thousands.
The same can be said for an overhauled rail transportation system that would greatly reduce the need for air traffic. Elon Musk’s Hyperloop is planned to be installed between Montreal and Toronto and would effectively allow commuters to travel between these cities in less than an hour. Imagine such a rail network spanning all of Canada, all of North America. The list of innovations that the GPC would bring about are numerous and ultimately extremely exciting. I mean, who wants to keep drilling for that sticky black stuff that makes us choke? While many nations and banks are divesting themselves of oil, why is Canada planning on adding more oil infrastructure? Oh, wait…I know why. – old rich white guys.
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Vote for Change
Change seems to have been the theme of many recent elections, both in Canada and the US. But has there really been change?
Not really.
Why? Again, it is because of this false sense that there are only two choices, red or blue. If change is what voters want, then you, the voter, must vote for it. By voting for a new color, you immediately change the makeup of parliament. By changing the makeup of parliament, the country changes. The notion of strategic voting would be irrelevant if voters simply voted based on their values and informed opinions of political platforms. When you vote red, year after year, big business sees you coming and knows what to expect. This time, I urge you to throw them for a loop.
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Vote for Nature
This one comes last, but it is not the least. Without the environment, there is no Canada, there are no Tar Sands, there is no viable future.
Let me be very clear. The climate crisis is an opportunity to surpass ourselves, an opportunity to evolve, an opportunity to reach the stars and beyond. We can either adapt or perish. This is no longer a question for debate. It is happening now. No, the world won’t end, but the ability for humanity to survive will be eroded, year after year, until living on Earth becomes nigh impossible.
To those of you voting Conservative in 2019, I hope you’ve already explained to your children and grandchildren why your oil-sector job is more important than their futures. Why your 5.7 liter pickup truck is more important than feeding the poor, why lining the pockets of foreign oil investors is more important than ensuring clean drinking water for the indigenous communities within Canada who still, in 2019, do not have access to clean drinking water.
To those of you voting Liberal in 2019, I hope you’ve explained to your children and grandchildren why helping foreign governments and corporations take control of our country is more important than standing up for our sovereignty. I hope you have explained to them why lying and doing business with criminals is okay, as long as it preserves jobs. The SNC-Lavalin scandal is a clear example of this. If I were the prime minister of Canada, I would never, ever, ever let a company blackmail me into subverting the law.
Vote Green in 2019. It’s the only vote that matters.
