EclecticBlogs
A little bit about anything
American Idol = Success?
Jan 22nd
I was driving between schools the other day, Tuesday or Wednesday I think, and was listening to the radio like I usually do when I am in the car. When I am in my own car on the weekend I listen to satellite radio because I just find the local station boring. In my work vehicle I don’t have much choice other than CDs and they don’t always work properly in the extreme cold so CJCD it usually is.
The one thing I like to listen to CJCD for is the local news. It’s always good to find out what is going on in the city. I don’t always get to read the local paper and their online presence is limited unless you are a subscriber so the radio is it.
Anyway, I was driving and the DJ, Janel, happened to be talking about the premiere of American Idol’s new season on Wednesday night. She was talking about how she liked the first shows the best but she really didn’t understand why people kept going on the show. I think her words went something like “no one ever becomes famous for being on the show’. “Other than the first winner Kelly Clarkson that is”.
Well you think that someone in the music industry would know or at least do some fact finding before they start talking about things on air for everyone to hear. It is very easy these days to find out any information you want.
Kelly Clarkson is one of better known of the American Idol winners mostly because she was the first winner. But, she is also successful and continues to crank out music after 9 more seasons of the show. But she isn’t the most successful of the winners and she isn’t the only contestant that has won awards. The fact is that Carrie Underwood is the most successful of the AI alumni. Kelly Clarkson has picked up 2 Grammy Awards, 4 American Music Awards and 12 Billboard Music Awards. That is 18 awards since winning in September, 2002.
Carrie Underwood (season 4) has collected 5 Grammy Awards, 6 American Music Awards and 15 Billboard Music Awards. Her 26 awards since winning in May, 2005 makes her the most successful of the winners. While winning doesn’t guarantee success, it does give one the exposure to at least have a shot at a career. 2 other winners have also collected awards with Fantasia Barrino (season 3) has collected 1 Grammy Award and 3 Billboard Music Awards, and Jordin Sparks (season 6) collecting an American Music Award.
Just being on the show at least gets the exposure to possibly make headway into a tough market to get into. 3 other non-winning alumni have also won awards. Chris Daughtry (4th on season 5) with his band Daughtry has picked up 4 American Music Awards and 6 Billboard Music Awards, Clay Aitken (2nd on season 2) received 1 American Music Award and 3 Billboard Music Awards and Jennifer Hudson (7th on season 4) collected 1 Grammy Award and is the only alumni to get an award not associated with her music as she was awarded and Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
So, while appearing on Idol doesn’t guarantee success, it does get your foot in the door and sometimes that is all that is needed and often is the hardest part. Once the foot is in the door it is up to the individual and their talent. Those that have it will make it, those that don’t will just disappear. Has anyone heard of Justin Guarini (second place) or Nikki McKibbin (third place) since?
Parking–Part 1
Jan 19th
Any of us who drive a vehicle know what it is like to find a parking spot at the mall or other public place we go. Have you ever gone to West Edmonton Mall on a Saturday afternoon? NO PARKING!! You know how it is. We all start by driving around the lot looking for a close place to the entrance and after 5 or 10 futile minutes decide that a parking stall anywhere is better than driving around.
Then you have those times when you see someone getting in their car so you wait behind them to take their place only for them to be doing who knows what before they actually back out of the stall. Seriously! I am sure some people take their freaking time just to make those waiting for the spot wait longer. Or do some people get in and check their hair and make-up and who knows what else while full cognizant that someone is waiting for the spot?
Still the biggest mystery to me is why people find it necessary to either back into a stall or drive through the stall to the other side. What is the point. Those that back in tend to take 3 or 4 times longer to park their vehicle holding up traffic in the process and then they are too far over one way or the other or too far back into the stall.
Here is a story of something that happened to me in November. I went grocery shopping at the Yellowknife Co-op, where we usually do. The Parking configuration, like most shopping malls is like the picture below:
The parking lot this day was fairly busy and I usually have my favourite area that I like to park. When I arrived spot “A” was open so I pulled in. In spot “B” was a vehicle that had either backed into their spot or pulled straight through from the spot I now occupied. I pulled in as far as I could and was about 6 inches from the rear bumper of the vehicle in “B”. The driver had also either not pulled through far enough or backed in too far as the back end of the vehicle was slightly over the center line into spot “A”. No big deal as I pulled up close and was not hanging out with my back end into the drive lane.
I spent about 45 minutes to an hour inside the store getting the groceries we needed, packing them up, paying and pushing the buggy back out to my Veracruz to load them in. Half way out I pressed the key for the power tailgate and voila, the back opened so I could just start loading when I got to my vehicle.
As I pulled up to the back of my vehicle to start loading I had a guy come up to me and say “It’s about time. I have been waiting for you for 15 minutes” “Excuse me” I said. “I couldn’t load my groceries into my car because you pulled in too close to my back end” was his response. All I could do was look at him with a dumbfounded stare for a few seconds. My response was then “well I guess you shouldn’t have pulled through or backed in”. I then said “you know, you could have gotten in your car and drove it forward 3 or 4 feet instead of waiting”. He shot back “I shouldn’t have to move forward to load my groceries. You should have had the courtesy to leave me enough room or park elsewhere”. All I could do was shake my head why mumbling “Yea right”.
I finished loading my groceries and then deliberately strolled to the cart area to return the buggy before returning to my vehicle, backing up and leaving. Even while I was loading my groceries, the guy stood there waiting for me to move my vehicle instead of getting in his and moving his up slightly.
That incident was 2 months ago and I am still dumbfounded that the guy actually had the nerve to say that to me. I have also taken note at both the Extra Foods and Co-op ever since to note the number of people who back into their stall or pull through the stall.
I have one big question – WHAT IS THE POINT?
2012 Comeback
Jan 7th
I decided in December that I needed to get back to blogging. I wanted to do this because I enjoyed writing when I was doing it regularly. I have vowed to post at least once a week. That is my goal for the year with my blogs.
I think I have interesting things to say but even if others don’t find it interesting, it is a way to track my thoughts at the time. I am not getting any younger you know and we all know that the memory starts to fade as we get older. Well, I am not sure that is really true but it is the excuse everyone uses.
In reality, I think that as long as the mind is being used and tested on a regular basis, there is no need for the memories to start fading. Like the old saying goes…Use It or Lose It!! Blogging is one of those ways to “keep using it”.
Exercising your brain on a regular basis is as important as exercising the rest of your body. An old Chinese Proverb states “The palest ink is better than the best memory.” Is this true or does it have to be? I am not sure, but one thing I know is that I use my brain every day and so far so good.
There are several things we can do to exercise our brains and help keep ourselves sharp.
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Physical exercise helps to keep our mind sharp. Walking and running are good ways to think. Many people do their best thinking when they are out for a walk or run. Strength exercises are also good for thinking. The concentration required to correctly do resistance exercises makes the brain work to remember correct form. If you are not thinking of that correct form it is a good possibility you will injure yourself from that incorrect form.
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Hobbies are a good way to exercise the brain. Whether you are writing, sewing, building models, reading, building things, taking pictures, drawing/painting pictures etc., you are using your mind. Find a hobby and do it regularly and it will not only reduce stress in your life, your brain will benefit.
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You are never too old to learn. I know it is an old saying but it is true. Try to learn something new every day. Whether you are learning a new language or updating your education. Whether you are learning something on the job or just reading something you didn’t know before. Just make a vow to learn something new and keep learning new things.
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Treat others as you would expect them to treat you. Equally important is to treat yourself as you would expect others to treat you. Your mind will be sharper, you will be happier and your attitude will improve because of the reduced stress. This is also contagious and would be a benefit to everyone.
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Do the little things with your mind. If you need to do some basic math, try using your brain rather than using a calculator. Whether you do it in your head or with a pencil and paper, the thought process of doing it by yourself will strengthen your memory. When was the last time you did basic math functions by yourself? This is one thing I do all the time.
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Learn from everything you do. If you are driving somewhere, think of the best route to travel. Map it out in your mind. Cutting the lawn? What is the most efficient path to follow to do it the quickest way? Typing something? Try doing it without automatic spell check enabled. Double check your work manually first. Can’t remember or don’t know how to spell a word? Look it up in a dictionary (online or physical) and learn how to spell the word and learn the meaning of the word. If you are writing something by hand (I know, who does that anymore?) then concentrate on making it as neat as possible. The little things we do help to strengthen the brain and as a result the memory.
We all want to be healthy. Being healthy means we can live a happy life. Since everything runs through the brain, it’s a good thing to make sure that the brain is exercised and kept healthy.
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Canadians Have Spoken
May 8th
Election 41 is over now and we got pretty much what I expected, a majority Conservative Party government. Was it the right decision by Canadians? I think so but only the next 4 years will actually tell whether or not we made that right decision.
The biggest surprises of the election? The Liberal Party being soundly beaten by the NDP as the opposition party by a tune of 34 seats to 102 seats. To me it shows how much Michael Ignatieff was disliked as the party leader and his candidates paid the price. Even worse for them was the NDP admitting they would never be able to pay for all their promises yet they were still able to dominate the Liberals. The fact that the people in Ignatieff’s home riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore didn’t elect them as their MP is proof of the dislike of the party leader. The day after the election he resigned as party leader. I guess he can head back to Harvard to teach again.
The next surprise was the Bloc Québécois dropping from 49 seats down to 4. This clearly shows that the people of La Belle Province want to be part of this great country of Canada. Surprising too was that it was the NDP that picked up the seats in the province and not the Conservatives or Liberals. Totally amazing! Like Michael Ignatieff, Gilles Duceppe was also beaten in his home riding of Laurier–Sainte-Marie. The people spoke and he too resigned as party leader following the election.
Some will say that Elizabeth May winning a first ever seat for the Green Party was a surprise. I had expected this all along. Yes, she beat a Conservative Cabinet Minister but she ran a good race and the Green Party had been close before. It is always good to have a major party leader represent your riding. I guess the broadcasters will have to come up with another reason to exclude her from the next debate.
So what do I expect from the new majority government? I do expect much of what we have seen from Stephen Harper the last couple of years. We will get arrogance for sure. But we will also get a stable economy, an economy that has been one of the strongest in the world. There will also be some promises broken but many of those were made in the prospect or garnering votes that never materialized. I don’t expect the election promise of $150 million to build the year round road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk to be kept because the riding didn’t elect the conservative candidate Sandy Lee. You scratch my back and I will scratch yours. This type of promise breaking will happen all over the country wherever this has happened.
This type of thing happens all the time and you live with it. People will be up in arms over the broken promises but if you want what you are promised you need to elect those who make the promises and form the government. Hopefully we as Canadians made the right decision for Canada and we become and even stronger country with an even stronger economy. I guess the next 4 years will tell.
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It’s Time to Vote! Make it Count!
May 1st
We at the final day of the election campaigning for Election 41 in Canada. One thing that has caught my attention lately is Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party criticizing the opposition of a government formed by a coalition of the opposition parties because coalition governments don’t work.
While this may be true with our current form of electing our MPs, this would work with a government elected through proportional representation as is proven by many successful governments around the world that work with coalitions all the time. It is because no one party has a large enough of a control to make the coalition volatile.
But until this happens, I happen to agree with many of Conservative Party policies. According to many major newspapers across Canada, the do to as posted in an article today showing a recap of various editorials. While I think that Stephen Harper can be aloof and even arrogant at times, the Conservative platform is what is going to be needed in Canada.
I do like some of the policies, however, of the NDP but the problem is that they have been unable to explain how many of the things they want to do will be paid for. The last time I checked, everything costs money and that will only come through the reduction of existing services or the raising of taxes. Since the NDP platform promises everything, nothing will be reduced which means higher taxes for all of us.
The Liberal Party is and always has been there to look after Ontario and Quebec. This is the same this year and like the NDP have promised the world without thinking about where the money to fund everything is going to come from. Both the NDP and Liberals want to reduce the development and production of the Oil Sands in Alberta but they don’t bother to think about the impact this has on the economy and employment in Alberta or the tax revenues that the Government of Canada receive from it. I actually agree that over time the need for development of the Oil Sands will need to be reduced however until such time as a viable and affordable alternative to fossil fuels is being produced, the Oil Sands and other projects like the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline are needed and help fund our governments.
Again, I am all for the Green Party and their ideals. But at the present time we have to just hope that Elizabeth May can get her seat to become the first Green Party MP and go from there. As the push for alternative sources of energy becomes more prominent the Green Party will continue to grow however like the Red and Orange parties, funding for some of their initiatives has not been explained. Maybe in 10 years the Green will stand a chance of being a viable alternative to the major parties but until they can explain how government will be funded without the taxes that come from the industries and businesses that they would prefer to eliminate and how the jobs they will chop with those businesses will be replaced. The ideals for both the Greens and NDP are there…just not explained.
So on the last day I think I have made my decision. I received the obligatory Liberal Party, NDP and Green Party propaganda stuffed in my door although I will say the Green Party got here a couple of weeks ago whereas both the Liberal and NDP showed up yesterday trying to get my vote. Last day is kind of late I am afraid. I doubt anyone who is voting tomorrow hasn’t made up their minds. The same thing with the Conservatives who phoned me with a pre-recorded message that politely told me the benefits of voting for the Conservatives and giving them a majority government.
So while we spent the last 35 days listening to promises from everyone you need to vote. It doesn’t matter who you vote for as long as the decision is your own and you are deciding for reasons that make sense to you. You can’t vote a specific way if you don’t understand the issues. If you have not followed along, then visit the party websites and do some reading so you can make at least a semi-educated decision. Voting without reason is as bad as not voting.
THIS IS YOUR COUNTRY AND GOVERNMENT SO GET INFORMED AND MAKE A DECISION TO VOTE. USE YOUR DEMOCRATIC RIGHT TO VOTE.
The Dangerous Walk
Apr 23rd
Time to take a break from the election today and talk about another issue that has been stuck in my craw for a while now. My issue is walking, speeding, attention and crosswalks. Here is what has had me up in arms for several years now.
I walk to work every morning. I usually walk back home for lunch and back to work again afterwards with a final walk back home at the end of the work day. It is not a long walk…only about 3 blocks or so. But many days it is a very dangerous walk. It is dangerous because the road is a busy road and I have to cross it.
Sometimes it is dangerous because of the road conditions, sometimes the sidewalks are pure ice. Sometimes, as on Thursday, I am half way across a crosswalk only to have some moron talking on their cell phone go speeding right behind me and miss me by inches. Sure, they slowed until I was half way across and then sped right through. Sometimes I get half way across the road and have to stop because the driver coming from the right side is not paying attention and will zip in front of me.
The problem with all of this is that my entire walk to work is a school zone. A SCHOOL ZONE. Where people are supposed to do 30km/h and be paying attention. This school zone is also not only for one school but for 3 schools. A section of road that travels in front of 3 schools where approximately 1700 students attend school. I am talking about 52nd Ave. running from 49th St., past the 3 schools and finishing at 50th Ave.
The City of Yellowknife bylaw enforcement does their small (read that as minute) bit to help on this stretch of road. On the first day or 2 of school they manage to set up a couple of speed traps to catch those speeders traveling the road. After that? I see the odd car travel by, and occasionally they even park at the curb in a wide open space so they are easy to see from each direction hoping to pick up the odd blind bat driver. Unfortunately, this does little to curb the speeding that takes place on this road. And don’t get me started about after school hours where the road is used as a race track by drivers in a hurry. I guess bylaw forgets that the 30km/h speed limit is in force 24/7/365. Funny thing is they seem to have little problem in tagging cars who are parked at an expired parking meter downtown. I keep forgetting what a safety issue that is.
I think though that the major issue on the stretch of road is the lack of crosswalk markings. Let’s look around the rest of the city. There is a fairly main road that runs a block in front of Range Lake North School and there are 2 crosswalk crossing lights. In front of St. Joes Catholic School is a busy thoroughfare and it too has a crosswalk crossing light and a 3-way stop. Mildred Hall School, by its location, has traffic lights and the associated walk lights in 2 locations across the street from it. In front of Sir John Franklin, Weledeh and St. Pats? Nothing!! The funny thing is the city knows this is a busy area.
On the stretch of road I am talking about are at least 7 painted crosswalks. That is it. No crosswalk signs, no crosswalk lights. In fact one of the crosswalks has a transit stop on either side and I have watched students get off the Yellowknife Transit System buses, start to cross in front of the bus only to have a car go racing by. Or kids running across the road to catch a bus only to just escape the smack-down of a car as it races by.
Oh yes, those painted crosswalks. Yeah! That’s a good one. This is the land of ice, snow and 3 inches of winter gravel on the road, at least during most of the school year. From the first snow until the street sweepers remove the sand and gravel, they can’t be seen. Even when they become visible at this time of year, the winter sand and gravel has rubbed and faded them so they are almost invisible. The city then makes sure they are freshly painted for the first day of school so they can remain seen for 2 months (maybe).
My question to the Yellowknife council members, bylaw officers and others of the city is why there is no indication of crosswalks on this area of road. Is it going to take someone getting hurt or worse before this is looked at? Wouldn’t it make sense to at least put a crossing light at the crosswalk where the 2 transit stops are and make sure it is blinking at least during school hours to act as a reminder for motorists? The city put in a 4 way stop at 52nd St. on the same avenue to slow traffic down. If a crosswalk light is too expensive then maybe 47th street needs to be made into a 3 way stop? Maybe more patrols and more frequent speed traps along this section of road?
Regardless of what is done, the city needs to do something and the motorists who travel this section of road need to pay more attention. Students are coming and going during the day all along this stretch of road and you need to be more attentive. Did I mention that the person who almost hit me the other day was on their cell. Yeah, trying to make a point. Pay attention when you drive. I don’t want to be out walking one day and see someone get hit…or be hit myself.
Costs and Veiled Promises
Apr 22nd
We are at the point of the election campaign that I love. The buying of votes. I am sure that the political parties will sway some votes with their promises of this and that but the funny thing that many people don’t understand is that their are costs to these promises and the promises are veiled.
What I am talking about are mainly the regional promises that are made. Not the ones that affect all Canadians like increasing payments to healthcare or the children’s daycare and nutrition initiatives. They are regional promises for a reason.
People need to think of the cost of promises and ask where the money is going to come from. Here are some of the examples of what I am talking about.
The Conservative Party and Stephen Harper has pledged $150 million to build the all-year land road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk. It is a fantastic plan and something that would help the people of the region. But where is the money going to come from to pay for this? The veiled part of this promise; if the Conservatives form the government and Sandy Lee is not the MP for the Western Arctic, do you really think that the Conservatives will still go ahead with giving the region the money? Of course not. If you don’t vote for our candidate and they don’t win then you didn’t help us so we don’t have to help you. Simple as that.
The Liberal Party and Michael Ignatieff have offered to double the Canada Council of Arts budget to $360 million over the next 4 years in order to woo the large contingent of artists in Quebec. Like the Conservatives, there is no mention as to how this is going to be funded and again, even if the Liberals form the next government, if the Liberal candidates in Quebec are not the MPs then the Liberal Party has no reason to follow through with their promises.
The Bloc Québécois and Gilles Duceppe have promised…wait, they can only make promises in one region (Quebec) and never have to worry about how they would fund everything they promise because they will never be the governing party in Canada. All of their promises to the voters in Quebec are veiled. Seriously, why would anyone in Quebec vote for a candidate whose party will never form the government in Canada?
As much as I hate to say it, the NDP and Green Party fall into the same area as the BQ. It pains me because I like many of the ideas of the NDP and I was a Green Party member for several years. But the fact is, both parties can promise all they want, and as good and well thought out as those promises are, they have never formed the government in Canada and are unlikely to in the immediate future. Anything they promise doesn’t have to have an explanation of where the funding is going to come from or worry about having to follow through with their promises.
In the Western Arctic, Dennis Bevington is or was our MP. He is a member of the NDP. What has Dennis done for us lately. Not much really. Why? Because he is a member of a party whose ideals may fit with the people of the NWT (and many other Canadians) but his party will never lead the government. A government formed using Proportional Representation elections might change that but until reform, this will continue.
It basically comes down to you help me and I’ll help you; you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. Unfortunately it also means if you don’t help me then you won’t get what I promised you. It is typical of politicians.
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Where are the Fresh Issues?
Apr 17th
We are now 3 weeks into the campaigning for Election 41 and I have yet to hear anything fresh or new. Have you? As in all elections, we hear promise after promise with no explanation of how it will be fulfilled. Same old, same old.
Seriously, do these leaders think we are all buffoons? That their promises can buy their votes. I am sure that there are individuals in Canada who don’t take the time to look at the issues and whose vote can be “bought” by the promises of the party leaders. But the majority of voting Canadians have brains and can think and read for themselves. So instead of making promises in each location in order to lure votes, why don’t the leaders take the time to make promises to all Canadians that will benefit all Canadians. And if you are going to promise something in one region, why not promise it in all regions?
Michael Ignatieff promised Quebec City funding for Le Colisée under the guise of a Multi-Cultural Centre when in fact we know the facility will be used as the primary lure in getting and NHL team to return. In Edmonton, Mr. Ignatieff told the local people that his Liberal Party would not help fund a downtown arena because they are not into subsidizing private sports teams. Agreed, Quebec City doesn’t have an NHL team at the present but we know a new building is needed if they are to attract an NHL team to return. Does this mean that if Le Colisée becomes the primary home to a private sports team down the road, that a Liberal government will ask for their portion of the funding to be returned to the people of Canada? Not likely. If I remember correctly, Mr. Harper and the Conservative Party said no to both places.
There is the issue making the rounds about our Healthcare System. The NDP claim to be the party of choice for Canadians claiming they would help make the current healthcare system better, yet Jack Layton doesn’t tell us how his party plans to fund this. We have the Liberals showing ads that claims the Conservatives will gut healthcare yet it was the Liberal Party who cut health transfer payments to the provinces in order to reduce spending. Healthcare is a great concern in Canada with an aging population but until someone comes up with an idea of how to change it and how they will fund these changes, we still have better healthcare than many countries in the world.
Today it was Stephen Harper trying to convince Canadians that unless he gets a majority government, there is a good chance that Quebec will separate. Harper says that the confidence vote that Pauline Marois received as leader of the Parti Québécois, the provincial equivalent of the Bloc Québécois, will just push the separatist movement forward in La belle province. Harper is trying to fuel fear into Canadians and those who don’t support the separatist movement in PQ that without his party winning a majority, it puts Canada as we know it at risk. Poppycock!!! We have been hearing about Quebec and separation back as far as I can remember and nothing ever comes of it. It is a threat that Quebec uses to get its’ way with the federal government but in reality, Quebec would have a hard time making it as a nation if they were to separate and take their portion of the national debt.
So my message to the party leaders is this: give us some issues that mean something to most Canadians and give us your fiscal solution to resolving these issues. Change our election process so that more people are interested and have the feeling that their vote means something. Enough of the same old, same old. Give us a fresh view; something that will entice more people to get out and vote. Make ALL of our votes count for something.
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Technorati Tags: Election 41,Conservative Party,Liberal Party,NDP,Bloc Québécois,election issues,healthcare
Bickering or Democracy?
Apr 14th
The so called “Leader’s Debate” was completed Tuesday and Wednesday evening with everyone claiming victory. The Conservative Party claim that Stephen Harper won the debate, the Liberal Party claim Michael Ignatieff won the debate and the NDP claim Jack Layton won the debate. Who actually won? The broadcast consortium won. That’s who.
How did they win? They won because they effectively told the Canadian public that the Green Party of Canada was not a party to take seriously. The broadcasters have decided that a party that received nearly a million votes in the last election, ran candidates in all 308 ridings, had the largest increase in the popular vote and Canadians demanded be involved in the last leader’s debate should be excluded this time around while the leader of a party that represents 1 province with 75 candidates is included. That is democracy?
During the debate, Liberal leader Ignatieff interrupted Conservative leader Harper as Mr. Harper was talking about the supposed “bickering” that appeared to be going on. Mr. Ignatieff quickly made the statement that “this is not bickering, this is democracy”. I would like Mr. Ignatieff to explain himself on this point. How is this democracy when the participants were dictated by a group of suits that are supported by and support the 4 leaders invited.
So, while I was making this point on Twitter yesterday, I was promptly called an “asshat” for even suggesting that Green leader May be included. Jeff Leroux (@jeffleroux), a twitter user who appears to spend more time answering tweets or retweeting rather than coming up with original thoughts of his own, stated to me in reply to my tweet (#db8 Iggy: "This is not bickering, this is democracy". How so @M_Ignatieff when @ElizabethMay is not invited to the debate? Explain? #elxn41) that you need to be a member of parliament to be at the debate. Since when?
And yes Mr. Ignatieff, what was mostly going on during the debate was bickering. Very little was based on what the parties would do if elected and how they would go about doing it. Instead, the leaders all took turns taking shots at the Conservatives while Mr. Harper spent his time deflecting. But did we learn anything new? Not an iota.
So here is my suggestion to the Broadcast Consortium next time there is an election (which should be in another 2 years). Ask the Canadian public who should be invited to the debate. Let the Canadian public decide who they want included in both the English and French debates. Let us decide who we want to listen to the thoughts and ideas of. Don’t dictate to us who we are going to listen to.
Should the Jeff Leroux’s of Canada be afraid if the broadcasters do this. Yes they should. It will be pretty embarrassing for the major leaders when the smaller party leader wins the debate because they actually have ideas worth looking at in Canada. Maybe that was his point. Don’t include Elizabeth May or any other non traditional leader as it might show Canadians that there are actually smarter and more progressive alternatives to the big parties.
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Technorati Tags: Election 41,Conservative Party,Liberal Party,NDP,Green Party of Canada,Bloq Quebecois,broadcast consortium,Leader’s Debate
Is It Time To Change to Proportional Representation?
Apr 9th
Now that we are underway in the 4th election campaign in the last 7 years it is time to look at the future. We are 1 week into the campaigns and we have the same old, same old. Parties making promises they can’t keep. Leaders visiting regions they don’t have control of trying to buy votes for their party by offering things but not explaining how it is going to be paid for.
Maybe now is the time to think of a different, more progressive form of government? Is the current format working for Canada any longer? No!! Voter turn-out keeps diminishing every election. Why? 1 reason is that voters no longer think their vote is going to count. Alberta is one of the provinces where inequality exists in voting. Quebec is another. Why vote if my vote isn’t going to help make a difference?
If we are going to be forced into a minority government then we need to do it better. We need to face the fact that with the BQ controlling 67% of La belle province’s seats, it takes one of the other parties winning 60% of the seats in the rest of the country to get a majority. This is not likely to happen any time soon. Maybe it is time for something like Provincial Proportional Representation (PPR).
What is Provincial Proportional Representation you ask? There are 2 ways this could work. One would be with a closed list and the other an open list. In a Closed List, Provincial Proportional Representation system, all the Parties in a province list in a priority order of their candidates running in the federal election. The people in the provincial ridings vote for the party they want to elect a candidate from. Based on the popular vote from the province the parties would have elected MPs from the list they submitted. So for example, a province like New Brunswick that has 10 seats with the Conservative Party having 40% (as in 2008) of the vote would have 4 MPs…the first 4 MPs submitted on their closed list.
In an Open List, Provincial Proportional Representation system, we would vote for individuals in a riding as we do now. However, winning your riding doesn’t necessarily give you a seat as an MP. Again, using New Brunswick as an example, the Conservatives have 40% of the popular vote even though they win 6 ridings (as they did in 2008). In this system, the Conservatives would still only get 4 seats due to 40% of the vote and those 4 MPs would be the 4 conservative candidates with the highest popular vote in their riding. In the results of 2008, the Liberal Party would have their 3 candidates with the highest popular vote of all their candidates, the NDP with 2 and the Green Party with 1. In either of these ways, the conservatives would lose 2 seats with the NDP and Greens gaining 1 each.
This type of government makes it almost impossible for one party to govern with a majority but distributes the MPs based on the desires of the voting citizens. The Prime Minister would be the leader of the party with the greatest number of seats as it currently is. This system would make it tougher to have a party dominate their views on the people of Canada. All parties would need to work together or we would be heading back for elections every year. The parties and candidates would need to work closely together and work in the best interest of Canada and Canadians and not necessarily the views of the party they represent. There would be a need for give and take; the need for parties to talk with each other rather than against each other
Here is a table I did that shows the results of the 2008 election compared to how it would have worked out in Provincial Proportional Representation system:
| CPC | LPC | NDP | GPC | BQ | Other | Total | |
|
NF |
0 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
|
PE |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
|
NS |
3 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
11 |
|
NB |
6 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
|
PQ |
10 |
14 |
1 |
0 |
49 |
1 |
75 |
|
ON |
51 |
38 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
106 |
|
MB |
9 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
|
SK |
13 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
|
AB |
27 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
28 |
|
BC |
22 |
5 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
36 |
|
NT |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
NU |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
YT |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Total |
143 |
77 |
37 |
0 |
49 |
2 |
308 |
Legend: Actual 2008 Election Results, (Provincial Proportional Representation based on 2008 results)
If the 2008 election had used the PPR system, the conservatives would have still been the dominant party and Stephen Harper would still have been Prime Minister however with much less control. The Conservative Party would have been forced to work with the other parties in a partnership and the problems that resulted in the “Contempt of Parliament” non-confidence vote would have been less likely to happen. In this format the BQ would also have been a big loser however the province would be represented correctly based on how people voted. The Liberal Party would have gained slightly with the NDP and Green Party being the biggest winners gaining 20 and 22 seats respectively. Again, these numbers accurately elect MPs based the overall vote in the province.
As it is right now, the elected members don’t represent accurately the vote. Take a look at Alberta for example. The Conservative Party was elected in 27 of 28 seats which is 96.4% of the seats however they only captured 64.7% of the vote. Is that fair? We are basically telling 400,000 of the people that voted that their vote doesn’t count. And how many people didn’t go out to vote because they knew that the Conservatives would be elected in almost all ridings?
In Quebec the BQ collected 49 of 75 seats or 65.3%. In fact they only had 38.1% of the vote. How fair is that? We are telling over 1 million people that their vote doesn’t count. Definitely not an accurate depiction of voting.
We now are at a time when a change in the way the government is formed might be the best thing for the country and we need to let our leaders know that we want change. Other countries are fighting these days for democracy. We are fortunate in Canada to have the right to vote but if we continue along the current path, we will continue to have an ineffective government.
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Technorati Tags: Election 41,Proportional Representation,Conservative Party,Liberal Party,NDP,Green Party,Bloc Québécois,open list,closed list
