Dear Editor:
The Justin Trudeau federal Liberals called an early election in the late summer and now Canadians will head to the polls on Sept. 20.
But do we want or need another federal election two years after the previous one (2019)? I say absolutely not.
Reason #1: Canada, as well as the whole world, is in the midst of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. While most Canadians have already received their first vaccine and others are “fully vaccinated” there is a great number of our fellow Canadians who are unvaccinated and there are cases of stronger and highly contagious COVID-19 variants, especially the Delta variant outbreaks throughout different parts of our country. Even those who are fully vaccinated can still be affected by the variants. And, let’s not forget many Canadians will end up needing COVID-19 “booster” shots due to their weak immune systems.
Reason #2: Our federal Liberal government has a lot of unfinished business to do. Rather than have an unnecessary election, I would like to see our federal parliamentarians work on the real issues: the current coronavirus pandemic, fully implementing pharmacare, basic livable income, dental care, mental health, wildfires and forest fires in British Columbia and other regions in Canada, Afghanistan, Reconciliation with Indigenous communities, investigating Residential Schools abuse, climate change, etc.
Reason #3: In 2019, The federal Liberals were re-elected back into power – this time in a minority government situation. They have received a mandate to govern until 2023 provided there is no “non-confidence” motion in parliament. Jagmeet Singh is right, there is no non-confidence vote from the political opposition, especially from the New Democrats. So in other words, our liberal minority government enjoys the confidence of Parliament. While Trudeau should have been reminded before calling the election that Parliament in 2007 adopted Bill-C16 which stipulates that a Federal General Election will take place on the fourth calendar year after the previous poll (October 21, 2019), He should also remember Parliament’s near-unanimous approval last May of a motion, which he himself supported, not to hold an election during the pandemic.
As of now, the Trudeau Liberals are up in the polls but an early election may not guarantee a majority Liberal government. Instead, one of the opposition parties may end up winning a minority or even a majority government or we will end up having another Liberal minority.
Justin Trudeau should ask former Ontario Liberal Premier David Peterson and the former Ontario NDP leader and now fellow Liberal Bob Rae what can happen during an early election. Anything in politics can happen between now and election day.
Edward Sawdon,
St. John’s, Newfoundland