Skip to content

Upcoming election is not ‘unnecessary’

So Frank Bucholtz thinks that an election now is “unnecessary.” (Leader, March 25).

Well, I’m sure that Stephen Harper would agree. Gambling his slim seven per cent lead against the possibility of being evicted from Sussex Drive can’t be much fun. I would also bet that he would prefer not to go to the polls right now, after being found guilty of contempt of parliament.

In fact, Harper has never shown much love for the democratic process. Given the choice, he would probably just govern indefinitely, without ever bothering with the inconvenience of elections.

Unfortunately for Stephen, Canadian democracy doesn’t work that way, and when a government has lost the confidence of the house, an election becomes very necessary indeed.

Despite the Conservative Economic Fiction Plan, Canada is deep in debt and getting deeper. Five years of generous corporate tax cuts, coupled with lavish military spending have hurt our ability to provide necessary services to citizens.

As a result, 65 per cent of Canadians now disapprove of Stephen Harper.  Two thirds of the country wants a change of government. An election campaign is the best possible way to examine the alternatives to a widely unpopular leader.

That means that for every Frank Bucholtz whimpering about an “unnecessary” election, there are at least two others saying “Election? Bring it on!”

Patrick Truelove

Delta