St-Joseph's Oratory-
where thousands crawled up the stairs on their knees to be healed by brother André.
This notice was also the first introduction that I had to any of the candidates in my riding. Apparently the days of door to door campaigning have gone the way of political honesty. I discovered that my choices were:
Dear Raymond Bachand (Liberal), perhaps if your party had not just cut 100 million dollars from student loans and bursaries and weren't contemplating lifting the ten year tuition freeze, you might stand a chance of getting my vote. But as it stands, the Liberals seem to stand for lies and broken promises. Whatever happened to those tax cuts? Weren't you even campaigning to keep that 1% of the GST cut by the Federals? Sorry, Raymond- you're cut. I also believe you to be the same man who left many of my phone calls unanswered a couple years back. Not a chance, Bachand.
Hmmm... Yvon Breton (Marxiste-Léniniste). I have to say my interest is peaked, but seriously- did you really think your party name said it all? I'd like a bit more of an explanation of your platform. Just because you're communist, I'll pay you a little more attention and venture to your website... strictly out of curiosity. The site is completely in French, with no English tab. I have to look for the tab marked platform and discover that even the communists of Quebec are separatist. On their platform page, all I find is an assurance of separatist sympathies and an indication of hatred for the Liberals. Sorry, Breton- you're out.
Luc Côté (Green Party), well Luc Côté, I can't say I'm too impressed. For a party that is up and coming, I'm shocked that I didn't get a little notice in my mailbox about you. If you didn't want to waste the paper, it's okay- I get it. Stick up a notice of a meeting at my dépanneur and I would have been there. I know you're pro-environment, so am I. But what else do you stand for? I consult the website. Political accountability, okay that's good. Economic sustainability- not something you hear alot about in Quebec. Health care- create easy access to healthy lifestyles, I like that. A family doctor for every Quebecker, that's a good thing. Policy in support of supporting a healthy lifestyle and encouraging health, rather than treating sickness. Sounds like something I've been saying for the last two years. Accessible education, promotion and encouragement of the arts. Hmm... so far, so good Mr Côté... We'll come back to you.
Sujata Dey (Québec solidaire). Well, to start off- I've heard nothing about you Ms. Dey and little about your party. Being that you seem to be all the rage with disgruntled separatists, I'll check you out and find out what you're about. It should perhaps be noted that separatism doesn't necessarily strike a party immediately in my mind, if they can make up for this fault in other areas. English tab on their website, point one. Okay... platform- equality between the sexes, solidarity among citizens, environmental protection and sovereignty. Anti-union laws? Really? Health care- all you have to say is that we have the right to affordable medication? What about the ridiculousness of new doctors in the province being required to take a three year position in Chibougamu before working in Montreal? How does it help our shortages if our doctors don't stay? Whatever, solidaire- I think you might be crazy. Education- well, you seem to be okay there. Reduce debt, accessibility and so on. Okay, on sovereignty- more referendum talk, great. Oooh, with tax cuts- tax cuts are good. But how do you achieve accessible education, improve environmental standards, reduce prescription costs by 50% AND cut taxes. Sounds suspiciously like the ADQ too good to be true platform. NEXT.
Pierre Harvey (ADQ/L'équipe Mario Dumont). First and foremost, if you really feel that you need to put Mario Dumont next to Action démocratique, perhaps it is true and Mario Dumont really is a one man show. Having fired two or three candidates over the last couple weeks for racist and sexist remarks, I think I have to skip right you, Harvey.
And last, but certainly not least- Salim Laaroussi of the Parti québécois. That's not a terribly québécois name. I wonder... oh, Morocan immigrant. I wonder how he feels about the racist comments that have spewn from the mouth of his leader. I wonder if it's a coincidence that one of the few people with the parti québécois who is not pure laine is running in one of the most ethnically diverse ridings in the province. Twenty-eight, impressive résumé. Salim Laaroussi on his own may have a good shot with me, but not affiliated with the Parti québécois. I really don't want to see Boisclair take the leadership...
It looks like the Green Party wins out, as I expected it would. Many tell me I'm throwing my vote away, but I'd rather support a party who will be able to grow a little bit every election and may one day be the big kid on the block than lie and say that any of the big three represent me when they don't. It's amazing how quickly we begin to lose our idealism. I used to listen to my mother complain that there was no one to vote for and get so frustrated. Now part of me feels like I'm in the same boat, especially in a province where your vote comes down to a decision between being Canadian together or being québécois apart. I hate that people continue to vote for the Liberals just because they don't want to separate, and that others vote for the PQ just because they do. The ADQ may be trying to toss it up a bit, but I'd really like for them to answer the question of where they stand on separation instead of being ambiguous about it so they can get votes from both sides. So tomorrow we go to the polls and vote to see if we will once again be faced with a referendum, or as Boisclair is calling it 'a public consultation on separation.'
- Romain Angeles (Independant)
- Raymond Bachand (Liberal)
- Yvon Breton (Marxiste-Léniniste Party of Quebec)
- Luc Côté (Green Party)
- Sujata Dey (Québec Solidaire)
- Pierre Harvey (ADQ/Équipe Mario Dumont)
- Salim Laaroussi (Parti québécois)
Dear Raymond Bachand (Liberal), perhaps if your party had not just cut 100 million dollars from student loans and bursaries and weren't contemplating lifting the ten year tuition freeze, you might stand a chance of getting my vote. But as it stands, the Liberals seem to stand for lies and broken promises. Whatever happened to those tax cuts? Weren't you even campaigning to keep that 1% of the GST cut by the Federals? Sorry, Raymond- you're cut. I also believe you to be the same man who left many of my phone calls unanswered a couple years back. Not a chance, Bachand.
Hmmm... Yvon Breton (Marxiste-Léniniste). I have to say my interest is peaked, but seriously- did you really think your party name said it all? I'd like a bit more of an explanation of your platform. Just because you're communist, I'll pay you a little more attention and venture to your website... strictly out of curiosity. The site is completely in French, with no English tab. I have to look for the tab marked platform and discover that even the communists of Quebec are separatist. On their platform page, all I find is an assurance of separatist sympathies and an indication of hatred for the Liberals. Sorry, Breton- you're out.
Luc Côté (Green Party), well Luc Côté, I can't say I'm too impressed. For a party that is up and coming, I'm shocked that I didn't get a little notice in my mailbox about you. If you didn't want to waste the paper, it's okay- I get it. Stick up a notice of a meeting at my dépanneur and I would have been there. I know you're pro-environment, so am I. But what else do you stand for? I consult the website. Political accountability, okay that's good. Economic sustainability- not something you hear alot about in Quebec. Health care- create easy access to healthy lifestyles, I like that. A family doctor for every Quebecker, that's a good thing. Policy in support of supporting a healthy lifestyle and encouraging health, rather than treating sickness. Sounds like something I've been saying for the last two years. Accessible education, promotion and encouragement of the arts. Hmm... so far, so good Mr Côté... We'll come back to you.
Sujata Dey (Québec solidaire). Well, to start off- I've heard nothing about you Ms. Dey and little about your party. Being that you seem to be all the rage with disgruntled separatists, I'll check you out and find out what you're about. It should perhaps be noted that separatism doesn't necessarily strike a party immediately in my mind, if they can make up for this fault in other areas. English tab on their website, point one. Okay... platform- equality between the sexes, solidarity among citizens, environmental protection and sovereignty. Anti-union laws? Really? Health care- all you have to say is that we have the right to affordable medication? What about the ridiculousness of new doctors in the province being required to take a three year position in Chibougamu before working in Montreal? How does it help our shortages if our doctors don't stay? Whatever, solidaire- I think you might be crazy. Education- well, you seem to be okay there. Reduce debt, accessibility and so on. Okay, on sovereignty- more referendum talk, great. Oooh, with tax cuts- tax cuts are good. But how do you achieve accessible education, improve environmental standards, reduce prescription costs by 50% AND cut taxes. Sounds suspiciously like the ADQ too good to be true platform. NEXT.
Pierre Harvey (ADQ/L'équipe Mario Dumont). First and foremost, if you really feel that you need to put Mario Dumont next to Action démocratique, perhaps it is true and Mario Dumont really is a one man show. Having fired two or three candidates over the last couple weeks for racist and sexist remarks, I think I have to skip right you, Harvey.
And last, but certainly not least- Salim Laaroussi of the Parti québécois. That's not a terribly québécois name. I wonder... oh, Morocan immigrant. I wonder how he feels about the racist comments that have spewn from the mouth of his leader. I wonder if it's a coincidence that one of the few people with the parti québécois who is not pure laine is running in one of the most ethnically diverse ridings in the province. Twenty-eight, impressive résumé. Salim Laaroussi on his own may have a good shot with me, but not affiliated with the Parti québécois. I really don't want to see Boisclair take the leadership...
It looks like the Green Party wins out, as I expected it would. Many tell me I'm throwing my vote away, but I'd rather support a party who will be able to grow a little bit every election and may one day be the big kid on the block than lie and say that any of the big three represent me when they don't. It's amazing how quickly we begin to lose our idealism. I used to listen to my mother complain that there was no one to vote for and get so frustrated. Now part of me feels like I'm in the same boat, especially in a province where your vote comes down to a decision between being Canadian together or being québécois apart. I hate that people continue to vote for the Liberals just because they don't want to separate, and that others vote for the PQ just because they do. The ADQ may be trying to toss it up a bit, but I'd really like for them to answer the question of where they stand on separation instead of being ambiguous about it so they can get votes from both sides. So tomorrow we go to the polls and vote to see if we will once again be faced with a referendum, or as Boisclair is calling it 'a public consultation on separation.'
2 comments:
Best post in a while. You had my interest piqued. A lot.
What do you think of the results?
Thanks Brett! I'm glad it was readable (is that a word? it should be!) because I was half asleep at the time!
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