A week ago, on Monday, I went to a candidate's forum at the Cathedral community center. All of the federal candidates in my riding showed up. Ray Boughen(Conservative), Russell Collicott(Liberal), Noah Evanchuk(NDP), and Larissa Shasko(Green Party).
The Cathedral centre is a hub for hippies and leftist individuals. This venue is not the kind that the Conservatives would be excited about. I give Boughen props for attending this debate. I recall last election, most Conservatives, if not all, seemed to hide from the public unless they were knocking on doors. Many did not attend any public forums or debates, such as the Conservative running in Wascana against Ralph Goodale. I do not know if Boughen knew what he was getting into, but he stayed the whole way through.
Although I was about 15 minutes late, the vibe was very clear. Larissa Shasko already had the audience in her pocket. Evanchuk was getting a whole bunch of lovin' too. Boughen got scoffs and jeered at right off the bat. But hey, he was the only one whose opening statements were read off of a prepared speech. Everyone else spoke openly to the crowd. Watching these candidates, and being surrounded by people who actually care about democracy, who actually have opinions, filled my heart up with happiness.
Specifically, the reaction to Larissa Shasko speaking about the importance of proportional representation was powerful. Everyone clapped and became very enthusiastic. I felt like crying, it was so great to have people who understand how important this issue is. It is pathetic that all parties don't push for PR, although it makes sense that the ones gaining from first-past-the-post wouldn't want it. People like those who attended that forum need to band together to show how important electoral reform is to Canadians.
Anyways, Ray Boughen was weak sauce. He also got nailed when one audience member noted that Boughen spoke the 9th-least out of all members of parliament. How is a man who occupies a seat but does not speak for his constituents going to represent their values in parliament? However, one audience member accused the Conservatives of not attending a (inter?)national infrastructure conference that took place in our own city. This was an angry accusation. Boughen responded with honesty, that he was in fact there, and that that audience member was mistaken. This young man was a jerk-off. You don't make statements like that without knowing the full truth.
One position that I thought was ridiculous from different candidates was their stance on tar sands development. Shasko stated that a moratorium on tar sands development was necessary immediately. That is ridiculous. Shasko is a university student, and she's in the Green Party. That makes her a dreamer, and that makes her an idealist. You cannot shut down an economic powerhouse immediately. Yes, tar sands are a dirty, dirty operation. I know this. I have talked to others about it, and have even attended a lecture explaining the process by which oil is extracted from the tar sands. It is an energy-intensive process, and it has environmental ramifications. But to shut down the tar sands, that can't JUST HAPPEN. That would have a radical economic effect. I urge for Saskatchewan to not pursue tar sands development. But I also realize that the developments that already exist will proceed, and the most important and REALISTIC(!!) way to act, is to ensure that the corporations involved in tar sands extraction are held accountable for their environmental impact, on all levels. And to continue to search for ways to extract the oil with less environmental impact. We don't live in a dream world. We want the economic benefits of oil sands developments(aka money) but we don't want the environment to get hurt. We may need to compromise our core values, but this radical stance from the Green Party is going to hurt them more than help them. And it just makes it look like they have no basis in pragmatics, just a whole bunch of beliefs that have no ground in the real world.
Anyways, the debate was great, although sometimes long winded. I learned things, and I got to see Ray Boughen grilled on things that really mattered(and I didn't at all enjoy when he was treated like crap based on a lie). THIS is democracy, and I'm happy I went.
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