We are approaching yet another election, mostly because people like me can’t make up our minds on what we want.  For the last few years, we’ve been operating under a minority government which basically means that whoever is "in power" is holding onto it by merely a thread and can be turfed out at any time.

I can’t recall an election where I’ve been so much on the fence about where my vote is headed.  I’m torn between the Liberal party (they inhabit the political center) and the Conservatives (as the name would imply, on the political right).  I honestly believe that either party will lead the country in a direction that I’m happy with, so that leaves me to evaluate how each party’s platform would impact my family.

Let’s start with the Liberals…
They seem to be hanging their hat on a new tax plan called the "green shift".  I’ve read the green shift plan, and I actually think that it is a very well thought out and potentially beneficial approach to shifting our tax revenues in a way that encourages people to live in a more environmentally friendly way.  Basically, I would pay less income tax and pay more consumption tax, with consumption taxes weighted towards things that cause harm to the environment.  It’s not the plan that bothers me, but there is something about the Liberals this year that bothers me.  Probably on the top of my annoyances list is that while the environment is something that we should pay attention to, I’m leery of a party and a leader who consider that the top priority (and to listen to him perhaps even Stephane Dion’s only priority). 
I also have no reason to trust this Liberal party.  I got burned in Ontario after becoming accustomed to years of governments who said what they would do, and once elected they did what they said.  The Ontario Liberal party put forth a plan that I thought was a good one, that I voted for, and then they failed to deliver on almost every single point that was important to me.  So while the Green Shift looks good to me, I don’t know Dion and I don’t know anyone in power in the Liberal party enough to really trust that they will follow through on key promises like lowering the income tax to offset the new carbon tax.  They may very well be worthy of my trust, but at this point I just don’t have any proof that they are; so I default to the pessimistic.  As for the rest of their platform, very little of the changes that they’re discussing affect me.

And next the Conservatives…
I’m still angry about what happened in my local riding a few years ago.  Garth Turner was my locally elected representative, and I really enjoyed his transparent approach to representation using forums like his blog and town-hall meetings in person with the electorate.  The Conservative Party turfed him out of the party ostensibly because he was too transparent.  He spoke his views, tried to represent his region over the party line where it made sense, and was quite open with all of us voters.  The modus operandi of the Stephen Harper Conservatives was and is very much about tightly controlled messages and top-down policies, a direct conflict with Garth’s style, so they kicked him out of the party and made him an independent.  I took that as a slight against the will of the voters (ie me) and a concerning statement about the way that Stephen Harper’s government runs.  Add to that a local candidate who was inserted by party brass against the will of the local Conservative riding association and it is clear to me that the Harper Conservatives are actively working against the concept of local representation.
On the topic of trust, the Conservative government did keep all of the promises that were important to me even while operating under a minority government.  I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the massive flip-flop they made on income trusts, but as noted at the beginning of this post I’m focusing on issues that affect my family and at this point in time income trusts are not an issue for me.  When they say that they will for example maintain the $100 a month daycare benefit that I get for each of my kids, I believe them.  For the most part I’m okay with the Conservative platform and I believe that they will work very hard to keep promises for fear of the repercussions.

So if I look at my choices (eliminating the NDP and Green party up front), for me it’s between the following come election day:

• Strong local representation from a politician whose style I generally like, but with a national presence that is focused on what I believe to be the wrong issues, and an uncertainty as to whether I can trust the promises made at that national level (Liberal).
• Strong national leadership, a platform that I’m generally okay with and can trust will get delivered, with basically no local representation (Conservative).

Writing this all down has certainly helped me make sense of it all, but I still have no idea how I’ll be voting this year.

I had intended to write about this about a month ago, when I found myself in the middle of a repatriation ceremony.  I was traveling between Milton and Ottawa to attend company meetings, and noticed that there were people congregating on overpasses in the Toronto area.  After traveling through several cities and seeing every single overpass crammed with people, emergency vehicles, and flags, I figured that something was going on and called home to Jodie to find out if she knew what was happening.  Surely enough, a group of soldiers had been killed over the weekend by an IED in southern Afghanistan and were returning to Canada today.

I was incredibly moved and indeed choked up as I drove the highway, knowing that a procession carrying fallen heroes was likely to be passing me in the opposite direction any time soon.  Veterans stood at attention, police, fire and ambulance services from every region donned dress uniforms, and the general public gathered in sombre groups along the highway.  When the motorcade did pass by on its journey between CFB Trenton and the coroner’s office, the crowds stood silent.  I reflected.  And then the crowds got back into their vehicles and quietly returned to their daily routines.

It made me proud to be a Canadian, and re-invigorated my belief in the power of community.  Canada is a relatively small country, and our military even smaller.  We do get involved in several conflicts globally, but when we do each one is closely scrutinized.  I would suggest that most Canadians are aware of the Afghanistan mission, of Canada’s prominent role in the dangerous Kandahar region, and are aware of almost every single death that occurs in our military.  You can call that quaint, you can call it a luxury afforded by our limited global involvement, or you can even call it silly.  I call it humanity.

So why am I finally writing about this today?  I came across an article in the Daily Mail out of Britain that compares the journey of a fallen Canadian soldier to that of a British soldier.  It would seem that the way we treat our fallen soldiers here is being shared amongst British troops, somewhat revered amongst others in the world, and provides a focal point around which this newspaper believes that Britons should feel shame.  I don’t personally know anyone in the British military, but the article paints a pretty bleak picture of how the dead are treated upon their return.  I sincerely hope that the article is hyperbole.

I’m a political geek, and I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I get all giddy around elections.  This has been an interesting campaign, with multiple issues tabled and one major issue (faith based school funding) that stole the show.

I know how I’m casting my ballot, but I won’t be sharing here with you.  My personal beliefs fall generally between Liberal and Conservative, so for me every ballot I’ve ever cast is based on the issues of the day and the platform of each party.  I have to think that elections are far more boring for someone who has declared themselves a “conservative”, “liberal”, or “socialist” and has pre-cast their ballot before the campaign even begins.

I look forward to taking the kids out to the polling station tonight so they can take part in this civic duty/privilege.

With two weeks to go for people to give comments to the CRTC on the future of television broadcasting in Canada, I’ve launched a new website, dropthebox.ca.  This website is a simple attempt to inform Canadians of the cablecard issue, and provide an easy way for them to write their own letters to the CRTC expressing their opinion on the subject.

So to all of you who have asked me in the past “what can I do to help?” you now have your answer.  Visit dropthebox.ca, click on “Write Your Own Letter” and send along your comments to the CRTC.  Tell your friends about it, and send an email to your MP.  The goal here is to get noticed, and if there’s more than just me writing in to the CRTC it is more likely to get noticed.

Press releases will be going out today to media outlets.

We are heading to the polls for a provincial election in about a month, and there is a referendum on election reform riding on the ballot.  So what is this newfangled idea they’re trying to push on us? 

Let’s start with how things are right now:
We all vote for our local representative who goes to parliament and represents our interests.  Each representative is affiliated with a political party, the party with the most representatives elected runs the government.

And now for the new way (mixed member proportional):
We all vote for our local representative, plus the party who we want to form the government.  Like before, my local guy gets a seat at the table but then the powers that be take a look at what party I voted for and do some shuffling to make sure that the party with the most “party” votes gets control of the government.  They add in random non-locally-elected party representatives to make up the difference.

And finally, what I think might work:
So this whole “the Queen of England is the head of state and has veto power” thing just seems a little silly.  If we could elect a real head of state at both the federal and provincial levels then I think we would be fine.  I would vote for my local representative, as well as the premier/governor/whatever who is in charge and wields the big veto stamp.  Check, balance, and mate.

And to be clear, I think MMP is a stupid idea.