Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has committed. She has called for pointless by-elections in the electoral districts of Thornhill and Niagara Falls in February. It is a waste of time, money and political capital. She could have done the right thing as a politician by calling a provincial election.
But, frankly, we are never sure if the name of Ontario premier and the word politician can be used in the same sentence.
While we tend to want to stay away from winter elections, it adds a dynamic to the campaign that needs to be added at this point of time. Ontario needs a hearty dose of reality to add to the decision making.
We have to face the fact that none of the parties or their leaders is particularly appealing. It is a situation that forces us to deal with candidates on a riding-by-riding basis. It will be a novelty but each voter needs to assess the candidates in his or her electoral district and pick the one that represents them best. In other words, this is not the time to vote for some dummy just because of his or her party label.
To vote by party label is lazy, stupid and irresponsible. And in Ontario, in the present day, why would you choose any party over another? What have the political parties in this province done for you lately? They use your money as though it belongs to them. They treat you as though you are an idiot. They lie to you. They blame others for all their mistakes. Most of us have been treated better by our teenagers.
This is ‘tough love’ time folks! To hold a by-election is nothing more than a feint to distract us. We need reality. We need a full-blown election now! We need to choose the best people. And that means we have to ignore party labels. You can hardly park your vote this time with Mother Goose and the New Democrats. We did that more than a decade ago and ended up with Rae Days and a dazed electorate. And we hardly dumb enough to want a reprise of Mike Harris and years of vendettas and union-management wars. And if Wynne and her Whigs do not know what they are doing, what is the point of supporting them?
The point is that the guys and gals running for a general election have to have a label on them to get the support of a party. It is up to us to ignore the labels and ask questions and vote by our own standards. Does this person represent you or not? Even if we have to wait until May or June for an election in the sunshine, we still have to vote smarter. It would just be better if it was sooner.
-30-
Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to [email protected]