Riveting Canadian election discussion.

The election is tomorrow. Any of you who are over 18 had better go vote unless you intend to vote for Harper. Then you should stay home.

Seriously though, this election is super important, so make sure you do your part.

I'll vote next election, 'cause I'm not 18 yet. :<
But I lol'd @ the Harper comment.

Hm, I dunno. Conservatives are much better than the NDP in my opinion. NDP's fiscal policies have always involved spending massive amounts of money without giving a second thought. Rather have Harper spending $3bil or whatever on fighter planes than for Canada to have nothing to spend in a few years.

The NDP rising in the latest polls encourages me to vote Conservative since I doubt that Liberals can even be the Official Opposition plus the fact I don't like Ignatieff.

Hm, I dunno. Conservatives are much better than the NDP in my opinion. NDP's fiscal policies have always involved spending massive amounts of money without giving a second thought. Rather have Harper spending $3bil or whatever on fighter planes than for Canada to have nothing to spend in a few years.

The NDP rising in the latest polls encourages me to vote Conservative since I doubt that Liberals can even be the Official Opposition plus the fact I don't like Ignatieff.

NDP has rarely had a chance to be in power and in the few instances they have it's been an issue of personnel rather than policy, like Bob Rae and his moronic Rae Days. Harper is a tyrant who will run this country into the ground. No money is better than no jobs, which is where Harper is taking us with the destruction of our schools and hospitals.

While unrelated, the things the BC NDP have done to BC are quite bad if anybody can recall what they did many years back. The next election was completely swept by the Liberals.

It doesn't matter though, the Conservative representative in my riding has been in power for over a decade with a sure spot in Harper's cabinet. It's quite funny actually. The NDP ads (not sure what the signs are called) don't even have the person's name on them and the Liberal ones are non-existent.

I hate that we vote based on Prime Minister and not based on the validity of the person representing our riding. Out of the people running where I am, the conservative has the best platform by far, but no one will be voting on that. Everyone is too preoccupied with the political parties. I wish that there were no parties, and that each member was selected on their merit. Then they would choose from the group of them who would best lead the country.

Sadly, being ideological only works when people want what is best for everyone, not themselves.

Missed the chance to vote by 16 days. But I know I'd be voting for the Marijuana Party.

Missed the chance to vote by 16 days. But I know I'd be voting for the Marijuana Party.

It must be nice living in a country where 3rd party votes actually do something besides help the other guy win.

</American>

I don't really think Harper is destroying hospitals just that the budget increase for health is being decreased in favour of a system of private and public health care. I rather like this idea as the rich can quickly get medical services that they would otherwise get in the USA. Underpaid doctors/assistants/whatnot can make more money this way. On the flip side, patients in need of medical care may get it sooner since I'd assume with a private system, there would be a slight decrease in the number of those using public services. The reduction of the health budget increase is compensated by a private health system being introduced.

I'm not sure what he's doing with schools but as far as I know he's cutting down student loan interest?

I don't think employment is as bad as some people may think, though ironically I'm struggling to find a second part time job =P. The Conservative low tax policy does help businesses cut costs and hopefully be more hire friendly.

NDP definitely focuses on what the average Canadian wants, but at what cost?

Voting Conservative tomorrow.

It must be nice living in a country where 3rd party votes actually do something besides help the other guy win.

</American>

They don't. A vote for the green party is a wasted vote. Typically a vote for any party besides liberal or conservative is wasted, but this year, strangely, it seems like NDP is taking liberals place. Probably due to all of the attack ads against Ignatieff and the fact that Jack Layton hasn't taken to attacking any other parties (he has one negative ad, though) and he also has a fucking rad ass mustache. Either way, I'm happy. NDP has a decent chance of winning, but we need the youth to get off their fat fucking asses and put down their controllers to do the right thing.

I will be championing for NDP tomorrow, just as I have been for the last few weeks.

It would be nice if the political parties could be honest, and only mention things that are likely to happen.

"If we elect Stephen Harper, bees could* attack you!"
"If Stephan Dion were a pokemon, would you want him running the country?"

* if you see/hear 'could' in a political attack ad, it's safe to ignore the statement.

The NDP's been in power a few times at the provincial level, so hopefully they've got their act together by now.


Personally I favour an NDP/x coalition, with x being anyone who can agree with the NDPs and give the coalition the seats for a majority. But then I'm a left leaning commie...

It would be nice if the political parties could be honest, and only mention things that are likely to happen.

"If we elect Stephen Harper, bees could* attack you!"
"If Stephan Dion were a pokemon, would you want him running the country?"

Yeah, it would be super cool to see some honest information being passed around instead of

HARPER LOWERED YOUR TAXES
IGNATIEFF WANTS TO RAISE TAXES!
HARPER SAVED 16 SCHOOL CHILDREN FROM A BURNING BUS
IGNATIEFF WANTS TO RAISE TAXES!
HARPER WAS BORN FROM THE MOTHER SAINT TERESA
IGNATIEFF WANTS TO RAISE TAXES!

The choice is obvious, Canada.

I haven't done any research into Canada's election tomorrow, but I just wanted to post underscoring Sarah's comment of "do your part tomorrow and VOTE."

Also, since the signage is way less obvious than it should be:

You mark your ballot with an X next to the candidate you want. They don't tell you this cause they're plantains. There's a sign inside the booth explaining it, but it doesn't say that if you do something else, you spoil the ballot.

I don't really think Harper is destroying hospitals just that the budget increase for health is being decreased in favour of a system of private and public health care. I rather like this idea as the rich can quickly get medical services that they would otherwise get in the USA. Underpaid doctors/assistants/whatnot can make more money this way. On the flip side, patients in need of medical care may get it sooner since I'd assume with a private system, there would be a slight decrease in the number of those using public services. The reduction of the health budget increase is compensated by a private health system being introduced.

Private medicine is the bain of civilization. Everyone should be treated equally regardless of wealth. And who fucking cares if this will allow some dipshit taking appointments behind a desk to make more money? Doing this deprives the real healthcare workers in our hospitals from being able to function effectively. There have already been mass layoffs at most hospitals around the country and they're replacing skilled nurses with low leveled ones so they can cut costs. They've also begun stretching out shifts in order to cut costs because having two nurses work 12 hours is more cost effective than 3 nurses working 8 hours. Not only is this awful for people who need jobs but it's dangerous as pineapple for patients.

If some rich twats want to go get private health care in America than by all means, do it. Get the pineapple out of our country--a country founded on respect for all people, not just those with money.

I'm not sure what he's doing with schools but as far as I know he's cutting down student loan interest?

While cutting the number of teachers in schools, increasing classroom size and decreasing overall number of schools. Once again, great for the selfish but we're fucking future generations with pomegranate policy like this. SWELL

I don't think employment is as bad as some people may think, though ironically I'm struggling to find a second part time job =P. The Conservative low tax policy does help businesses cut costs and hopefully be more hire friendly.

The conservative low tax policy will also run this country into a deficit in the future. They'll need to raise taxes again eventually. Frankly, in Ontario, it shouldn't have ever dropped below 15%. I don't mind spending a ridiculous amount in taxes when I know we're all being taken care of it as a result. And harper isn't really any better in regards to taxes. During his reign he's dropped Ontario's taxes to 13% and then... oh right, he introduced HST, which taxes all of the things we've managed to keep tax free for so many years, effectively creating more taxes for many people than that extra 2% PST ever did. Sweet job, Conservative government. Way to cut taxes. So in regards to taxes, this government isn't any better than previous ones, they just lie about it and make people think they are helping them.

NDP definitely focuses on what the average Canadian wants, but at what cost?

Voting Conservative tomorrow.

??? That's exactly what we should be focused on. There is no cost involved in focusing on Canadians as a whole. The real cost comes when we start dividing treatment and giving those with money big pluses. Then we turn into a shithole like America.

They don't. A vote for the green party is a wasted vote. Typically a vote for any party besides liberal or conservative is wasted, but this year, strangely, it seems like NDP is taking liberals place. Probably due to all of the attack ads against Ignatieff and the fact that Jack Layton hasn't taken to attacking any other parties (he has one negative ad, though) and he also has a fucking rad ass mustache. Either way, I'm happy. NDP has a decent chance of winning, but we need the youth to get off their fat fucking asses and put down their controllers to do the right thing.

I will be championing for NDP tomorrow, just as I have been for the last few weeks.

No vote is a wasted vote. If the party leader and the runner in your area stand for things that you deem more fit than the other parties why not vote for them, even if they might not get in.

Also, since the signage is way less obvious than it should be:

You mark your ballot with an X next to the candidate you want. They don't tell you this cause they're plantains. There's a sign inside the booth explaining it, but it doesn't say that if you do something else, you spoil the ballot.

Maybe they could show you a list of things that would spoil the ballot, to fully idiot-proof the system... But otherwise, it's a pretty simple concept. You'd have to be deliberately misreading the pictographs to screw it up. I'd even go as far as saying that if you manage to screw up something that simple, you probably shouldn't be making electoral decisions.

I'm not sure what's so bad about private health. Nobody's losing out on anything, but if you have the ability to pay for extra then why not? Respect has nothing to do with it. Where in the world are the middle class and poor on the same terms as the wealthy? I feel like if we're driving Canadian citizens out of the country for health services, then we must be doing something wrong. I'm certainly not a wealthy person but I don't discount the fact that the rich getting better treatment has been inevitable since the existence of any hierarchical system. The fact these tiers exist show that and the only way to solve this is to somehow have everybody be as rich/poor as the next person which is a little silly.

As for employment, money has to come from somewhere. Businesses need incentive to hire more people, by reducing corporate taxes and increasing the amount consumers have to pay, jobs may be created. HST shouldn't be a problem if you're not against paying more money for public benefit, and I think you are not. HST requires time for the benefits to be reaped. HST is what's going to keep you employed and provide additional jobs for those seeking employment. The government has been getting less revenues and the economic downturn has increased government spending so while HST is bad for you and me as individuals in terms of spending, the benefit of the HST could possible exceed the implications of HST. That aside, it's a shame that Ontario residents can do nothing about their HST. It's quite nice that BC residents have the opportunity to revert taxation back to the 5% GST and 7% PST.

The tax cuts are a response to a plan of reduced spending. If the economy improves, then Canada will be doing well to eliminate debt. The Liberal and NDP party are so busy trying to attain power and appeal to the public with their platform that they have no other choice but to increase taxes. This not only worsens the employment situation, but causes Canada to borrow even more money and build on the debt we currently have. A balance between the citizens and the country is pretty important to me. The NDP and Liberal are definitely sided for the citizens. It's all personal preference really. If the debt lessens and the economy improves, then more money can be allocated to the citizens in the long run.

Of course there will be a cost to help Canadians. Lower taxes, lower prices, higher employment, more benefits all need to have funding from somewhere. Eventually the massive spending (especially the NDP) will catch up with us and Canada will be in for a loop. Just look at the USA and their state after excessive spending.

They don't. A vote for the green party is a wasted vote. Typically a vote for any party besides liberal or conservative is wasted, but this year, strangely, it seems like NDP is taking liberals place. Probably due to all of the attack ads against Ignatieff and the fact that Jack Layton hasn't taken to attacking any other parties (he has one negative ad, though) and he also has a pineappleing rad ass mustache. Either way, I'm happy. NDP has a decent chance of winning, but we need the youth to get off their fat pineappleing asses and put down their controllers to do the right thing.

I will be championing for NDP tomorrow, just as I have been for the last few weeks.

No vote is ever a wasted vote. Your vote reflects on what you think is most important. If there's a sudden surge in the Green Party's votes, then that's a signal that shows that environmental concerns may be on the rise. Or if in my riding, more people vote Liberal/NDP (unlikely) than last time, then perhaps it shows the community is expecting the Conservative MP to help the community more.

I haven't done any research into Canada's election tomorrow, but I just wanted to post underscoring Sarah's comment of "do your part tomorrow and VOTE."

I totally agree; this is what's most important.

It sounds obvious, but don't vote for a party just because somebody else in this thread is voting for them. Just because you like Green and chances are they won't win doesn't mean you shouldn't vote for them anyway. Do some research

In alphabetical order, to get you started:

Conservative
Green
Liberal
New Democratic (NDP)

Edit: Something silly, but in case you didn't know it's bane* not bain.

I've been busy with school, so I havent had time to do research on the parties till now, but traditionally, I've supported the NDP (much to my parents' displeasure...my dad gave me a lecture cause I didn't vote conservative last time >_>) because I feel that the Conservatives and Liberals are both pretty poor in their presentation of what they support. When I see their ads, what I'm seeing is why I SHOULDNT vote for the Liberals by the Conservatives and vice versa, not what I SHOULD vote for.

That being said, people in my area (Vancouver South) vote based on the candidate's nationality >_> Ujjal Dosanjh keeps winning cause a majority of the population here is Indian, so Dosanjh gets a ton of votes no matter what he supports. I'm curious how the results will go here, as last election, we had the closest vote in the nation, with like...a 20 vote difference separating Liberals and Conservatives.

NDP vote here.

this government isn't any better than previous ones, they just lie about it and make people think they are helping them.

[COLOR="green"]Welcome to the basis of pretty much all of politics. Sucks real hard, but there's very little that can physically be done about anything, unless literally everyone begins to actually follow these things and become educated on what's going on.

And that's part of the reason I don't particularly like the government.[/COLOR]