Every so often, we get an opportunity to change our little corner of the world in a way that may seem at first like insignificant ripples from a pebble thrown into a pond, but which will cause some pretty big waves.
One such opportunity is facing the voters in the federal by-elections to be held on Monday March 17. (St Patricks Day for those who will merely pick their candidate of choice by colour…..)
The Green Party, or course, has four excellent candidates running in these by-elections:
- Toronto Centre – Chris Tindal
- Willowdale – Lou Carcasole
- Vancouver Quadra – Dan Grice
- Desnethé – Missinippi – Churchill River – Robin Orr
If you’ve read the newspapers, you’ll know that the Liberal Party is confident that they will win at least three of these four by-elections, including electing Bob Rae (you remember the former NDP Premier of Ontario?) in Toronto Centre, and Martha Hall Findlay (another of the many Liberal leadership contestants) in Willowdale.
They are so confident of this that they have been studiously avoiding confidence votes in the House of Commons so as to not bring down the government before the by-elections. They have agreed to keeping our soldiers in combat till 2011, agreed to the do-nothing-but-militarize-Canada budget, agreed to letting go of their RESP bill, and have even voted (by not voting) that they have confidence in the Harper governments actions (or lack thereof) on Climate Change. Boy, do I feel well represented!
I’m not sure I can improve on the words of Chris Tindal with respect to this Liberal expectation, so I’ll just steal this quote from his web site:
“This election represents a choice between the past and the future. If we elect one more Liberal, one more Conservative, or one more New Democrat, we change nothing. On the other hand, if we make history and elect Canada’s first Green Member of Parliament, we change Canadian politics forever. This Monday, March 17th, I would be proud to have your support and your vote.”
-Chris Tindal
And as noted by the Georgia Strait newspaper in their endorsement of Dan Grice:
A vote for Grice will send a message to every federal party that it’s time for a carbon tax.
A vote for Grice will strengthen Green party leader Elizabeth May’s sensible argument that she should be allowed to participate in the televised federal leaders’ debates before the next general election.
A vote for Grice will announce to the country that the first-past-the-post system is an anachronism that undermines democracy and public participation.
A vote for Grice will warn New Democrats that they should work cooperatively with environmentalists rather than engaging in drive-by smears.
Finally, a vote for Grice will reward a young man who has worked extremely hard and sacrificed making money because he wants to save the planet. Isn’t this a good enough reason for anyone who lives in Vancouver Quadra to make the relatively minor effort of visiting a polling station on Monday and placing an X on the ballot?
These comments apply equally to all four of our Green Party candidates.
Many people who have become cynical about our old line political parties wish that there were a “None of the above” choice to mark with their X. This is understandable.
In these by-elections, the ballots could reasonably have only two choices:
- Your Green Party of Canada candidate
- Or more of the same….
If you live in one of these ridings you have an opportunity to make history.
If you know anyone who lives in one of these ridings, please contact them and remind them of the great opportunity they have on Monday March 17 to change their little corner of the world, and to subsequently change Canadian politics.
