Elections, never ending.

Elections, never ending.

 

Alberta, my home for more than fifty years, is nearing elections. Signs show up, and advertising is wasting more money than I lived on for the last fifty years, but the people are not very concerned. Life will not change regardless of the outcome. Most of those I ask have stock answers. Most people have a party that they proclaim loyalty to just as they do for a favorite professional sports team which they will support even if all the players and coaching staff were changed. They will do so even while admitting that it's illogical. Many more say that they do not vote since all the politicians lie and a change in government will make no difference to their lives.

There are 22 countries, including Australia, where voting in elections is mandated by law and I am not sure that they are wrong.

There are some people who vote because they “like” or “dislike” a politician and every now and then will vote for a change, regardless of what is happening. The reasons often are trivial.

Quebec recently voted out a government that brought them the most prosperity ever and replaced it with a party that promised to force a few Muslim women not to wear a religious headdress in government-controlled areas. One or two women teachers will lose their jobs. Ontario is a different story.

Ontario picked Doug Ford who ran without a real platform and promised anything that people wanted to hear without any idea if it could be achieved. His most potent attack on the government was criticizing the sale of half of the power company to private interest which hiked prices.

In less than a year he managed to achieve the lowest ratings of any premier ever and the province is witnessing protests and job losses such as no one remembers.  According to the Globe and Mail, hundreds of renewable Energy projects were scrapped, programs for school maintenance discarded, Green Ontario program for insulating older homes discontinued, the 19 year Drive Clean program gone, finance to help disabled and autistic kids slashed, help for low-income students gone, the building of a new Francophone University scrapped, and more. Class sizes increased, fewer jobs for new teachers, Health Care became less accountable to the people but “The buck a Beer” came through only benefitting out of Province breweries.

Ford’s attempt to hire his friend ex-policeman Ron Taverner as the Top Cop failed and the tax cuts for Corporations failed to produce the expected jobs. As a matter of fact, last December Moody’s Investor Services downgraded its rating for Ontario to its lowest level in 16 years.

The fight to scrap the Federal Carbon Price “Carbon Tax” proved to be costly. The Ontario Government budgeted 30 million to fight in court, which they will probably lose and 40 million dollars was granted to major polluting industries to find ways to reduce pollution. So far Ontario is on the news a lot, but not the way that Ontarians want to be.

I watched the Alberta leaders debate and came out empty handed. I already knew that Premier Rachel Notley is a fighter and knew that Jason Kenney, who avoided the subject of Pipelines while he was in Ottawa, will promise one without any ability to build it. His promise to hold transfer payments is completely impossible and there was nothing in the debate to change my views. If I was in power I would do my best to work with Ottawa to get our oil out which is already being done. We must keep in mind that the mood in the rest of Canada (or the world) is not in favor of building more oil infrastructure. With oil prices sustained so low, it is hard to convince people to invest for such low returns.

Personally, I think that if there is a change in the Alberta government we can kiss the new pipeline goodbye.  

I don’t believe for a moment that the fight against Carbon Tax is going to get us anywhere. We shut down oil production because of low crude prices and we are paying over a $1.20 at the pump. The oil companies are going to charge the maximum they can and, yes, prices of everything are going to rise. If we subsidize them, and we do, cut their taxes and even name our children after them, they will pocket the money. Our only hope, at this time, is to build enough alternative energy to compete with their monopoly on energy which we are addicted to.

I don’t think that I can change anyone’s mind about who to vote for. Most people are set in their ways. I think that is important that all the people in the province will attempt to find out what the political parties stand for, and vote. I think that people should give strong consideration to what will or not work for their communities, towns, cities and take into account which government will be best for their locals. I am over the old feeling that I used to have that if big business does well the average people also do. Now I am old and I demand cash on the barrel.

You want my vote, politicians, I want to see what you are doing for my community. Build something, help the less fortunate, improve living conditions, or convince me with more than promises that you may not keep. Even more, I want you, my elected representative, to do your job efficiently, honestly and without any backroom deals with rich corporate friends. I don’t consider corporations as people and I don’t feel sorry for them.

Above all, I will not support ANYONE who cheats their way to the top. I am loyal, to the people I live with and no one else. I want to see more money circulating in my community and that’s the end of the story.