Whispering in the Wind (WITW 90) September 23, 2015
Canadians are in the middle of a lengthy federal election
campaign with the three major party leaders blanketing the country making questionable
promises and covering up their short comings with deception and political gobbledygook. Public opinion polls are suggesting Stephen
Harper’s Conservatives, Thomas Mulcair’s NDP and Justin Trudeau’s Liberals are in
a dead heat when it comes to public support – each garnering about 30 percent
approval from the Canadians surveyed. Regarding
the remaining four weeks of the campaign, I think it is fair to assume that
Canadians will be exposed to the same stuff: more rhetoric, more promises and a lot more
fear mongering. Canadians can expect a
free-for-all in political shenanigans and double talk, all aimed at winning the
hearts and minds of the voting public on October 19. For this week’s Whispering in the Wind
column, I want to pay some attention to two specific issues that have grabbed
the news headlines in the last few weeks and how these issues might/will resonate
with the electorate come Election Day.
The Canadian
Economy
Last week’s leader’s election debate on the Canadian
economy between Harper, Mulcair and Trudeau was assessed by many political
observers to be a two hour “dud” when measured against historical election
debates. In my view, Mr. Harper’s contributions
to the debate were defensive and out of character. He said:
“I’ve never said things were great …I’ve said we are living in a very
challenging environment … Where would you rather live?” Mr. Mulcair’s contribution was articulate in
his criticism of both Mr. Harper and Mr. Trudeau and his highlight remark came
when he criticised the prime minister’s reliance on the oil industry as the country’s
engine of growth. Mr. Mulcair opined to
the television audience: “Mr. Harper put
all his eggs in one basket and he dropped the basket.” Mr. Trudeau appeared in command of
presentations and very aggressive in his critical remarks of both Mr. Harper
and Mr. Mulcair. Specifically directed
at Mr. Harper, Mr. Trudeau asked Canadians if they were better off since Mr.
Harper became prime minister in 2006. My
assessment, Justin Trudeau won the debate, largely a result of his aggressive
and loud presentations. And from that
performance he demonstrated that he was/is a capable contender. As to whether the debate addressed the needs and
interests of the general public, the debate failed big time. From my perspective the Canadian public are
anxious about the economy and their specific role in it. The Canadian public want to hear from their
political leaders about plans to make their lives and the lives of their families
more stable and more secure. The party
and the leader that can address this central issue will likely win the election
on October 19.
The
Refugee Crisis in Europe
The catastrophic refugee situation in Europe was not ignored
in last Thursday’s electoral leadership debate on the economy. The question asked by the debate’s moderator dealt
with the role of immigration in the Canadian economy and that immediately lead
to more piercing question: What should Canada’s
role be in addressing the humanitarian, refugee crises in Europe? Mr. Harper’s response was stark, exaggerated
and disingenuous to the issue. He
said: “What these guys [Mulcair and
Trudeau] would have done in the last two weeks is having us throwing open our
borders and literally having hundreds of thousands of people coming without any
security check or documentation.” Not
only was Mr. Harper’s outburst untruthful when it comes to the positions voiced
by Mulcair and Trudeau, it was also uncalled for if one looks at history of
Canada – unless Mr. Harper’s dramatics were as a simple ploy to shore up his
base in the Conservative party. Since
the debate the Conservatives have promised to speed up the process, but the
total figure of 10,000 refugees remains as is.
To what degree Mr. Harper’s positions and outbursts are going to have on
the election is an open question, but in my view, Mr. Harper shot himself in
the foot – big time and it polarized the electorate in many ways. My bias is
toward the suggestion made by Justin Trudeau two weeks ago when he suggested
that the Conservative, New Democrat, Liberal leaders meet to set reasonable
targets and implement an expeditious strategy – otherwise it’s going to be a 75
/ 25 split at the polls and that’s not good news in the Harper camp.
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