Attention Canadians! There's an election today! (1 Viewer)

[Yee-Ming]

Interesting, I take it from the context of the discussion that an electoral division in Canada is called a "riding"? What the Brits and the rest of us who inherited their system would call a "constituency", and I guess the Americans call a "district", at least for Congressional purposes.

 

[Chris Bardon]

I actually saw an interview with him last night, and he said that he'd stay independent, and decide on an issue by issue basis what is best for his constituents. No idea if he'll be a spoiler or not, but it's definitely going to make the party whip's job a lot more important.

As for the turnout, it probably also had to do with a very badly timed election. Having an election the week after schools let out and when people are starting to go on vacation sounds like a bad idea to me. Sure, the advances were pretty busy, but I'm sure that most people didn't think ahead enough to vote in advance. I don't know hoe much of an effect this had, but it's another factor at least.

Any bets on how long the minority will last?

 

[brentl]

"Brent, I suggest that you reevaluate your statement" I wait to see what happens in the next few months-year.

"and decide on an issue by issue basis what is best for his constituents" wouldn't it be great if that's how it worked everywhere!

Brent

 

[Jason L.]

Kerry,

What I meant is that in the US, the [BQ]- Bloc Québecois is usually referred to as the [PQ] - Party Québecois.


As an American, I just don't get the BQ.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Isn't it sad that this concept seems strang rather then what we'd expect from an MP

 

[MikeH]

Not without getting this thread locked.

Mike

 

[Chris Bardon]

Well, that's actually about it. Basically, the BQ is a national party, and although it shares the separatist ideology of the PQ (the provincial separatist party started back in the 70s by Levesque), it is a distinct entity. The BQ has the same status as all of the other official parties, and could, if they want, run in any riding-they just choose not to. With no rule saying that a party has to run in every riding, there's really nothing that we can do about it. The Bloc makes no bones about being there to represent the interests of Quebec above all else.

 

[KerryK]

Yeah, but what I'm saying is that they both exist and they're different parties. The PQ is a provincial party - they only run for provincial government. The BQ is a federal party - they run for federal government. I know it's confusing, but that's Canadian politics for you.

And the simple answer to the question about voting is that Canadian politics is generally more regionalized than US politics.

 

[Francois Caron]

I may be walking barefoot in a minefield here, but I'll take a chance.

What's been said of the Bloc Québecois' mandate is pretty much accurate. They're a party whose main objective is to protect the interests of the inhabitants of the province of Quebec until such time that Quebec becomes an independent nation, at which point they all promise to resign "en masse". They're not interested in running the entire country of Canada.

Now for you Americans who think this alone is pretty weird, here's another one for you! You'll love this!

About ten years ago, when the Conservatives fell from a majority government down to only two seats in Parliament, the Bloc Québecois won enough seats to become THE OFFICIAL OPPOSITION! Here's a party whose mandate is to protect Quebec's interests in Parliament, and they become the official opposition of Canada! It was totally unbelievable and unexpected! For comedians, it was like shooting fish in a barrel!

Canadian politics can be very weird and even entertaining at times. Still, it pisses me off to no end that less than a third of eligible voters even bother to vote at all. Going beyond Rick Mercer's opinion that it's all about voting for the lesser evil, to me it's about voting period! Some people see voting as a right or a privilege, I see it as an obligation.

 

[JamieD]

That's your opinion, good for you.

 

[Moe Maishlish]

I wholeheartedly agree.

It's a shame that people who have the RIGHT to vote don't actually exercise it. Apathy is at an all time high, and no good came come of it. In Canada we have the freedom to voice our opinions, and we should take it - it's our responsibility to ensure that we have a goverment of the people, and for he people. Not 60% of the people... but 100% of the people! I mean, there are countries in the world where citizens can't vote, and have no say in the way their countries are run (I'm going to leave this subject at that... I'm not starting a political discussion on the matter).

I've been thinking for quite a while that it's time to change the voting system. We have two options:

a) Offer a Voting Incentive - give anyone who votes a $50 tax credit ($50 tax deduction). Bribe the people to the polls.

b) Offer a Voting PENALTY - make voting mandatory. A $50 fine to people who don't have a good reason for not casting their ballott.

I say option "b".

Moe.

 

[KerryK]

With all due respect, I don't think we should force people to vote if they don't want to. I don't want uninformed people just randomly voting for whomever when they have no concept of the issues or barely even know who's running or what they stand for. Of course, I think that everyone *should* make the effort, but that's not the point.

That said, it does suck that only 60% of Canadians bothered when so much is going on right now in our country.

 

[brentl]

The only people that I wish couldn't vote would be convicts, but I wish more people would vote.

B

 

[Josh Dial]

I was truly suprised by the low voter turnout this time around. I personally know of only 2 people in either my circle of friends/family and my coworkers that didn't vote. I wonder if there is a certain demographic that's not being hit. I'm 23, and it seems most people my age are fairly active in politics. I just can't seem to put my finger on it.

cheers!

Josh

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Without crossing that ever so fine line, I don't think most of the people who figure they are informed really know what these elected people stand for. It certainly isn't anything they say leading up to an election!

As for forcing people to vote, I can't say I agree, but it does smack of what is wrong with the west. There are people in this world who would die for the right to have their voices heard, and have died for us to have this privilege, yet we can casually pass it off as no big deal.

 

[Yee-Ming]

As I noted earlier, here voting is mandatory, failure to vote without good reason (e.g. out of country) gets you struck from the rolls, but restoration costs you just S$5 (about US$3). Turnout is usually around 90+% percent, but then again many constituencies wind up as walkovers...

 

[Jason GT]

Yee-Ming, the .sg system sounds kinda neat, though I am definitely undecided about making voting an obligation - that said I don't think it should NEED to be made an obligation IMO it is a moral one.

As for your other question Yee-Ming, Canadians also use "constituency". I find "riding" somewhat informal. It's a Constituency Office, not a riding Office.

Personally I don't think that being a convict should also carry the additional penalty of disenfranchisement. Some (most?) may be thieves, scoundrels, rapists and general scum but this is not grounds enough to remove their right to vote. FWIW the Globe had a very interesting column about this in the op/ed pages a week or two ago (written by a prisoner).

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

For a moment I thought you were talking about the politicians....

 

[JamieD]

Freedom runs both ways. If I choose not to vote, I choose not to. Who are you, or anyone else, to decide otherwise.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Well, there are certain freedoms that we do not have choices on. I would choose not to pay taxes if I could but I can't so I do.

With voting, abstaining is your choice, but if you do, you have no cause to complain about anything that happens as a result of government, since you have opted out of the responsibility that comes with a democracy. If you are okay with that, fine. It is when people decide not to vote, then turn around and bitch about how things are being run that burns me, since you had an opportunity to effect change and chose not to take advantage of it.