For years, I have stood alone on my soapbox and insisted that Canadian politics is not boring. It seems this painfully long election, with its ridiculous scandals and equally embarrassing smoke and mirror issues to deceive Canadians of what really matters, has made people in my home and native land finally pay attention.
The spectacle has been worthwhile. It’s had much of the insanity most of us find appealingly appalling in our neighbours to the south. We are enthralled by American politics, enticed by the power and pandemonium caused with every sound-byte and salacious scandal, always followed by a tearful apology for getting caught in a compromising position. Or the boldface indignation that freedom of speech and freedom to hate are one and the same. We Canadians lap this Kardashian-style politics up, because we think we’re so much smarter, better and more dignified.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me present the election of 2015. What began with the downfall of Mike Duffy and the Nigel Wright testimony, and the ghost of elections past with the Sona case, somehow eclipsed Patrick Brazeau’s cocaine habit, assault charges and let’s not forget the now dropped sexual-assault charges. Who needs Senate reform? It’s clearly working out. Besides, who even cares about Pamela Wallin now?
The campaign trail has been a rocky road with the occasional landmine, like the school board trustee who didn’t know the tragic truths of Auschwitz, but has a role in educating our kids. My personal favourite? “Peegate” – even though it has triggered my OCD so that I know wash every coffee cup twice, it made for great television. We watched as journalists were verbally assaulted by crack-pots with party buttons on their lapels. Nice. Mind you, Canada is home to Mohammed Fahmy and we all know how fast our government jumped to support his imprisonment. Yawn.
My recent favourite was the homophobic candidate who used his religion to spare our youth from their sexual orientation. I wish I was shocked.
And just when you thought our nation was all wrapped in a debate about citizenship and the niqab, you realize how well that distracted us from the horrific reality that we have missing and murdered Aboriginal women disappearing without a trace, but hey, let’s not invest in supporting our police with that search.
I mean, if half of Wellington County’s women went missing, surely nobody in Ottawa would care, right? We know the answer. Racism exists here. Don’t even get me started on the water issue in Nations communities. Clearly that wouldn’t happen here. Ever.
You want change? You like status quo? I don’t care. I really don’t. Everyone has the right to vote according to his or her own conscience.
But it is your responsibility to tick a box on Election Day. You owe it to every veteran in this country, either living or now gone, to vote. And if you feel you cannot, on whatever principle you claim to hold dear, I implore you to visit your local cenotaph. Read the names.
They died for a better Canada than the one we have now. We can do better. We must. Vote.