Canadian Election 2011: Demand 'Democratic' Debates!

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Glenn MacIntosh | April 8, 2011

Canada

Election 2011 (Canada)

Nutshell

As Rick Mercer reminds us in the video above, Canadians gave their lives on beaches and people the world over sacrifice and die every day for the right to vote.

But many voices do not feel represented or well served by our current choices of parties and policies, or by the numerous inequities and twisted priorities of our social, political and economic systems.

For these citizens, a non-vote is a valid and important statement of disillusionment, disenfranchisement, resistance or refusal to participate in, perpetuate, lend legitimacy to or tolerate the predominance of our white, male, consumerist, oppressive, destructive, unsustainable, fossil fuel and war-based, growth and profit-obsessed 'business as usual' status quo. How's that for a mouthful!

In the case of the climate crisis -- already the greatest crime against humanity, most life and most future life ever -- a vote for 'business as usual' is a vote for suicide/ecocide/biocide/genocide/progenocide/you-name-it-ocide(!) on a massive scale.

But despite the nonsense of the process, the campaign 'promises', photo ops, attack ads and insults, we never-the-less encourage you to engage, take a position and vote, because *more* very bad things could happen if we don't.

3 key considerations

1. Stephen Harper must not be allowed to win a majority government

If this were to happen, among many other things, Canada's already compromised illusion of 'democracy' would become unrecognizable and the balances of opposition would be crushed. The more of us who turnout to vote, especially age 18-24, who tend to be ABC (anything but Conservative), the less likely a Conservative majority will be. (See our compilation:7 charges against the Stephen Harper-led Conservative regime.)

2. Many entities/interests benefit or suffer based on which party is in power

Do you know a group or essential social service whose funds have been cut? There ARE differences between parties that DO have direct impacts on people's daily lives in a multitude of ways.

3. The election of Green Party Leader, Elizabeth May, as a Member of Parliament could be an important game changer

The Green Party, with a full policy platform, is not a one-issue party. But they are by far the most informed advocates of urgent action to confront the climate crisis.

They are also for the rapid transformation of the voting system from the current unfair, undemocratic, disproportionate distortion of the popular vote, to one of proportional representation.

Elizabeth May is a formidable voice for truth in opposition to corrupted, undemocratic politics/media and climate crisis denial.

Watch the great speech she gave at the Rally for Democracy Toronto (embedded above) and you'll see why the broadcast consortium and the other parties and 'leaders' have conspired to ensure her exclusion from the televised debates: She is a powerful threat.

The best way to prevent a Stephen Harper-led Conservative majority government is to vote.

And whatever your party (or non-party) of preference, this is a call to unite in opposition against an unfair abuse of power with the demand that Elizabeth May and the close to one million Canadian voters she represents be allowed a voice in the televised leaders' debates.

Take action

Please sign the DemandDemocraticDebates.ca petition, and consider this list of other things YOU can do to help RIGHT NOW.

Thank you! Glenn MacIntosh, Founder: ecoSanity.org.

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Canadian Election 2011: Demand 'Democratic' Debates!

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