I voted in the Canadian federal election yesterday (Monday January 23rd, 2006.). I have never missed voting in a single federal or provincial election since I was legally able to vote. I feel strongly that it is important for all eligible voters to exercise their right to vote. It is our responsibility as well as our right. So, I take my right to vote very seriously.
Yesterday, for the very first time since gaining the right to vote, I spoiled my ballot. I did not take that decision lightly. I agonized over that decision. There were somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes that had passed between the time I received my ballot and sat down at the little desk to vote and the time I got up from the desk and put my ballot into the box. I thought about my choices. I had a ballot in front of me with the names of my local candidates on it. There was an empty circle beside the name of each candidate. There were 5 candidates in my riding. I had 5 little circles. That’s all I get? I want to be able to write something else on my ballot. I want a place on my ballot available to me, should I decide to let you know just how pissed off I am that all of my choices make me want to vomit.
I didn’t like any of my choices. I had asked before getting my ballot “What happens if I don’t like any of the choices I have? What can I do? Can I register a protest vote? Is there any way for me to officially decline to vote?”. I was told “No. Just vote for the person that you can stomach the most.”. So, I thought about my choices again, before filling out my ballot. I studied the ballot, trying to decide who to vote for.
My local candidates mean as much to me as I mean to them. I don’t even know them. So, like most Canadians, I usually vote for the political party, rather than the individual running in my particular riding. So, my choices last night were Liberal, Conservative, NDP, PC or Green.
The Green party and the PC party don’t get a lot of exposure and I really knew nothing about them. I can’t cast a vote for someone I don’t know. Perhaps, in the future, these parties can be invited to participate more in nationally televised debates. It would certainly help to get their agenda known. Dare I say, they might even get more votes if there was more information available about them.
The NDP is next on the list for consideration. They haven’t got a hope of forming a federal government any time soon. Votes for the NDP party are often used as a block against the Conservatives or the Liberals. I don’t like the idea of voting strategically like that. I feel that if you are going to cast a vote, then that vote should be FOR somebody, rather than against somebody else.
The Liberal party didn’t deserve a single vote yesterday. They have been in power far too long and have abused their power far too openly. We expect a little bit of corruption in politics. That’s a sad statement, but true. The Liberal party took corruption to a whole new level. They also took their power for granted. They smugly took our money and expected to get voted back in again, as if it were their right to govern. Thanks, but no thanks. You don’t get my vote.
The Conservative party is not as scary as the Liberal party wants us to believe. But, I still think there are some seriously flawed policies of theirs that warrant thorough scrutiny. I don’t think we should be revisiting the abortion issue or the issue of gay marriage. The abortion issue is long dead. Leave it alone. Canada is a great country, built on tolerence of the differences of others, among other things. It’s difficult to say that all people have the same rights, regardless of sexual orientation and then tell them that they can not marry because they are gay.
So, I didn’t have one single palatable choice. I couldn’t choose someone. I couldn’t choose nobody. Elections Canada has to provide another choice on the ballot for people like me. I suspect that there were a lot of Canadians who would have submitted a “non-vote” last night if they were given that choice.
The Conservative party won the election last night. They were given a minority government by the Canadian people. They succeded a Liberal minority government. It would appear as though many Canadians agree with me.
I have a message for ALL of our politicians. Smarten up! We have been forced to choose between bad, really bad and worst for far too long now. Canadians deserve to have a government they can be proud of, an official opposition they can count on and politicians that they can trust. Canada is an amazing country and home to great people. Start acting like it.
I have a special message for Stephen Harper. You have been given some control, but not a blank cheque. Use your position wisely and treat us with respect. We don’t want any scandals. We don’t want financial irresponsibility. We don’t want to lose what we’ve gained. We don’t want to be taken for granted. We want you to do the best job you possibly can for our country. If you can’t do that, then step aside for someone who can.
You are from United States. 
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