State of the Union

Jonathon Kay wrote a piece in Foreign Policy magazine about how this election has turned so dumb.

He says that in absence of any real, substantive issues, parties have drawn on tribalism, identity politics, cancel culture, etc., saying and doing anything they can to make the other guy look bad for things that happened a long time ago, or things that maybe, really don't matter.

If you read the article (which I suggest you do) he's mostly right. This has been a bitter and nasty campaign, just like Justin Trudeau predicted it would be, almost exactly one year ago. Don't think Trudeau could have anticipated that he would be the one painted black (forgive the reference) but even back then, the Liberals were amping up for a bile-filled campaign and they have what they wanted.

Back to the article . . . Kay is right -- this has been a really dumb campaign. If you've read anything I wrote during previous elections, it's not miles ahead of the others for stupidity and viciousness -- I think the difference this time is the social media affect. Recent elections had their own threats of 'secret agendas' and 'soldiers in our streets with guns' and of course the accusations of racism, homophobia and an abortion ban -- funny how all of that negativity seems to have come from one side.... but I digress....

This campaign has been stupid and nasty, and that absence of substantive issues is not the reason. The reason is, that no one wants to really talk about the substantive issues. We talk about gun control (again), nationalized pharmacare and daycare (again), abortion (again), immigration - or migration (again) and we know that none of these things will change significantly regardless of who is in power. 

What we aren't talking about is that Alberta is dying -- the oil and gas industry has been hit hard by the inertia of the current government -- an inertia that is meant to appease environmentalists while pretending they still intend to build pipelines. It's all a game of smoke and mirrors and the rest of Canada had better realize that in terms of this industry, and in terms of ALL trade issues, this government has failed drastically -- we can't get product to market and we have former trading partners boycotting our goods due to political BS. So far, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes haven't noticed … B.C. is getting a little taste --- but the status quo is not sustainable and that is a discussion that NEEDS to be had in Canada because Alberta is still footing the bills that hugely benefit Quebec, and which takes the pressure off others --  but no one cares because there aren't enough ridings to make a difference and NONE of the parties needs to care because it's safe Conservative territory. 

Maybe an election is not the time to sit down and explain to the rest of the country how transfer payments work, and how unfair it is that Alberta is funding programs it can't provide for its residents. Maybe it's not the time to talk about the personal bankruptcies and closed businesses. Maybe it's not the time to talk about the myopia of a country that is literally destroying itself from within.

This is not an election devoid of 'real' issues. We are a country that cannot speak our truths to each other. We are a country that elevates some citizens above others, based on geography, language, history and culture. We are a country that is risking not being a country because we really don't understand the value of our natural resources, or of ALL of our people.

It's a sin.

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