Given all the rhetoric, posturing and vitriol we’ve heard coming from Ottawa over the past few weeks, the consensus appears to be that our members of Parliament will hit the campaign trail by Saturday at the earliest. While every party has its reasons for bringing down Stephen Harper’s government, we as the voting public must ask ourselves — why are we voting in the first place?
The most recent national polling numbers show a similar picture compared to what we saw during the last federal election — the Tories have a lead over the Liberals, but shy of majority government territory. Harper, even though he has lost a few points in recent days, is still seen by most Canadians as the best man for the job of prime minister. So why is the opposition ready to ostensibly fire the government and how will we as Canadians benefit?
The Liberals would have us believe the Conservatives — specifically Harper — are drunk on power, acting unethically and spending money the country doesn’t have. The latter argument rings true as Canada’s deficit continues to pile up despite pledges to rein it in. The true cost of upgrading the air force’s fighter jets to the F-35 has become a guessing game as everyone from the opposition to the auditor-general and the parliamentary budget officer has claimed the Conservatives are deceiving Canadians with lowball numbers. Both the Liberals and NDP are also adamantly opposed to the corporate tax cuts contained in yesterday’s budget.
The Conservative brand of ethical government is also at risk as the opposition is set to bring charges of contempt of Parliament over minister Bev Oda allegedly misleading the House and the government failing to provide the full cost of prisons to a government committee. A finding on either would be the first time in Canada’s history a government would be found in contempt. Harper’s own judgment is at risk as just this week the media aired his dirty laundry about his associations with former advisor Bruce Carson. The RCMP is investigating, as is Elections Canada on the ongoing issue of the in-and-out spending fiasco.
The Conservatives have been fighting hard to paint Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff as someone more interested in opportunity than patriotism, increasingly ramping up their attack ads to even include Ignatieff’s dead father. The Liberals have countered with their own ads while the Green Party has been attacking attack ads. Lost in all of this is the pivotal question — what is in the best interests of Canadians? At this point, it doesn’t appear anyone has answered that question.
It is difficult to see one specific issue that will define this campaign that goes deeper than all the insults and scandal. Will it be about trust? The Liberals still can’t shake Adscam from their history. The economy? Besides a corporate tax cut, it is difficult to argue the economy isn’t in better shape than many other G20 nations. The military? Crime? National unity? None of the usual central subjects seem pertinent.
The country is not in perfect shape, but an election without cause will make it difficult for voters to deliver anything different from what we already have. Canadians won’t feel personally invested in this particular election, whenever it comes because there is no one glaring issue at stake. All that’s really on the line are the heads of the individual party leaders should they fail to improve upon the last election’s results. This is about nothing more than pride. Unfortunately, the fall might have to come first this time for any one of them to see it.
