Election debate live-blog

Follow here for my live-blogged thoughts on the English leader’s debate that I’m watching from the SFU Highland Pub.

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One thought on “Election debate live-blog”

  1. This is an open letter to my Canadian friends and family. Please share this widely!
    I am asking for your help.
    Now, more than ever before, we need to take a stand. If you DON’T want Harper and his right-wing, US-based approach “leading” our government, get out and VOTE in the May 2nd election!
    Polls show that most Canadians don’t have confidence in Stephen Harper as a leader. But voter turnout in federal elections is at an all-time low. The problem is that the conservatives are good at getting their supporters to vote. And a conservative majority with Harper at the helm would be a disaster for Canada.

    Here is why WE don’t want Harper in charge:
    • He wants to spend billions building prisons for “unreported” crimes (when the crime rate is actually going down).
    • He wants to spend more billions buying jets without any kind of process to ensure we are getting the best deal, and was found in contempt of parliament for failing to provide information.
    • He killed a proposal to double CPP benefits, which would have benefited ordinary Canadians, instead proposing an opt-out proposal (PRPP) that would give the largest benefits to the banks and finance companies who run the plan.
    • He has been giving corporations multi-billion dollar tax breaks without requiring reinvestment in Canada. The result? Bigger corporate profits and executive bonuses, but decreased government revenues to provide services to Canadians.
    • He has cut funding to key regulatory agencies, damaging the ability of government to protect the environment.
    • He has refused to take open questions from the media, limiting Q&A’s to just 5 questions.
    • He ejected Canadians from his “public” forums, showing just how much he values democracy.
    • When he isn’t getting the results he wants, he just shuts down the government.
    • His government brought the HST to BC, transferring a $2 billion year tax burden from large corporations onto taxpayers, despite telling voters he would not introduce any new taxes. The HST is the damaging restaurants and service industries on which the BC economy increasingly relies.
    • The auditor general’s report on G8 spending was delayed, likely because it alleges serious mismanagement of public funds, bad news just before an election.
    Do we truly want this control freak privatizing what is left of our country, dismantling our social programs, and turning it all over to corporate control? Look how well that’s worked in the USA…! Our middle class is being squeezed on every side, until they can barely afford to live here anymore. In the past 30 years, the ONLY beneficiaries of Canada’s economic growth have been the top 10% of income earners, while everyone else is struggling to stay in place or going backwards. If you want a more egalitarian country, where everyone can afford to live, PLEASE VOTE! (…and preferably for someone other than Harper, who cannot be trusted.)

    Thank you for supporting democracy in Canada. Now tell all your friends to VOTE, too, please…
    (And if you can’t be bothered voting,
    YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE RESULTS!)
    ________________________________

    For more details, here are a few great resources: [feel free to add more to this list…]
    • How Stephen Harper sees Canada: http://thetyee.ca/News/2011/03/23/StephenHarpersEyes/
    • Fact checking the leaders debates: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/realitycheck/2011/04/fact-checking-the-leaders-debate.html
    • English language debate summary: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/ignatieffs-rebuke-of-harper-majority-hailed-as-liberal-turning-point/article1983695/
    • Harper’s proposed PRPP (benefits banks) vs. expanding the CPP (benefits Canadians): http://betterpensions.ca/
    • [Add your links here…]

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