Tag: Elizabeth May

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News

Liberals win federal elections as minority government

Photo by Andrej Ivanov.

Same Parties, New Results: A Recap of the Federal Election.

The results are in for the 2019 federal election, signaling a second term for the Liberal Party under Justin Trudeau. However, the Prime Minister cannot celebrate just yet, as the Liberals no longer have majority status due to the loss of 20 seats.

At 157 seats, Trudeau will have to form a coalition or loose agreements with one or more of the other parties in order to maintain the ruling majority. This is due to the legislative condition that bills require more than 170 votes in order to pass as law.

The New Democratic Party under Jagmeet Singh, with its 24 seats, is sizeable enough to form such deals with the leading Liberals. Should this happen, the NDP would be able to push for compromises on new legislation, placing its platforms on government agenda. A welcomed development for the New Democrats, given that the NDP has lost 15 seats from its previous 39.

The Green Party under Elizabeth May has in fact reached a new milestone by gaining three seats in parliament, up from two. Nevertheless, any Green contribution to a Liberal-NDP coalition would be limited due to low seat numbers and overlapping platforms.

On the other side of the political spectrum, the Conservative Party under Andrew Scheer has increased its seats by 26, up to 121. The Blues have collected most votes in both Alberta and Saskatchewan, with strong showings in Manitoba and Ontario as well. They also lack any realistic chance at forming a coalition government, given that Singh himself has denied any possible collaboration with Scheer, as reported in an article in the Globe and Mail.

Another party unlikely to ally with the Conservatives would be the Bloc Québécois under Yves-François Blanchet. Now larger at 32 seats, having gained 22, the party can further its claim of representing much of the Quebec population. Furthermore, with increased influence in parliament, the BQ is poised to bring separatist sentiments out of the sidelines.

Interesting to note, former Liberal candidate Jody Wilson-Raybould is the only independent victory of this election, keeping her seat in Vancouver-Granville.

Finally, the People’s Party of Canada under Maxime Bernier did not win any seats, as none of its candidates have been elected. Additionally, Bernier lost his own riding, Beauce, to a Conservative candidate.

 

Photo by Andrej Ivanov

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News

Poli Savvy: The storm before… the storm?

It’s been a whole new world of pain for the Liberal Party, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau deals with accusations of racism over his use of “brown face.”

Old yearbook photos have been posted by TIME Magazine, showing Trudeau with a unique take on Aladdin, complete with a turban and dark face paint. Naturally, many Canadians were less than impressed with this attempted display of multiculturalism, leading Trudeau to issue apologies to the public and… NDP leader Jaghmeet Singh?

According to CBC, Trudeau approached Singh to apologize for the incident – a confusing move, seeing that Aladdin is of an Arabian background, not Indian. Moreover, it seems that Singh has enough on his plate, given that the Steel Workers Union of Regina might vote Conservative according to the Regina Post. A traditionally New Democrat group in the NDP heartland, workers are being forced to choose between work opportunities provided by a pipeline or job protections offered by Singh. Whether this highlights a dangerous trend among unions is yet to be seen, but the NDP certainly cannot afford to lose support after previous defections to the Green Party of Elizabeth May…

… who is facing her own scandal, covered by the Toronto Sun since an image on the party website shows her holding what appears to be a photoshopped reusable mug, though the truth is much more sinister. It was proven that May was instead using a single-use paper cup to store her coffee, leading to calls of hypocrisy by voters who feel that the pro-environment leader should lead by example. How this will affect the Green Party’s chances at a federal majority is too early to say. Regardless; Liberal scandals, NDP popularity drops, and Green Party controversies could prove to be advantages for the Conservative Party of Canada’s leader, Andrew Scheer.

Well yes, but actually no, since the National Post reported that Ontario’s CPC base is in trouble due to major cuts in healthcare, environmental protection, student grants, social services, legal aid… basically everything, by Conservative premier Doug Ford. A fact not lost on Scheer, who, interestingly, has conducted most of his Ontarian campaigns without Ford by his side. Undoubtedly a risky move that could alienate “Ford Nation” voters, but one that would gain the approval of no other than Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet.

Incensed by the cuts to French-language services, under Ford no less, Blanchet has expanded his campaign to include francophone towns in Ontario; as covered by Global News. Claiming that French-speakers outside Quebec are being treated like second-class citizens, he has called for votes towards an independent Quebec, a bilingual Supreme Court, and expanded powers for the federal commissioner of official languages. In other words, nothing new; but a stark contrast to fellow Quebecer Maxime Bernier.

From claiming that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant to backing a candidate who had published racist tweets, as covered by CBC, the People’s Party of Canada leader is no stranger to controversy. However, Bernier is facing a lot of criticism for calling environmental activist Greta Thunberg “mentally unstable”, in a series of tweets back in September. Aside from the fact that picking a twitter fight with a 16-year-old is frowned upon in politics, his choice of words proved quite poor seeing that Thunberg has autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.

Ultimately, how these scandals impact the upcoming election remains to be seen. Canadians will simply have to vote for whichever party they feel is the best choice for Canada or the best option available.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

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Opinions

The Irony is in the name

If we need to push the agenda on climate change, arguably the single most important focus in this year’s election, then why should we avoid voting for the Green Party?

They have answered that question for us. Throughout their campaign, they have shown a lack of social awareness. Their direct, tunnel-vision approach to the environment is detrimental to the needs of society.

The Green Party has been criticized for defending Bill 21. According to Global News, Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party, is encouraging her candidates not to comment when they do not feel like they want to.

“If you don’t have an opinion, you’re allowed to say: I don’t have an opinion,” May said.

Although this comment may seem diplomatic, it is far from it. What May does not seem to realize is that not having an opinion is an opinion. When people with platforms shy away from selective social and political issues, they are sending a message that the issue they are ignoring is not important. Complacency and avoidance are political positions. Let’s use Danny Celovsky as another example.

Danny Celovsky is a Green Party candidate for Bay of Quinte. According to the PressProgress, this year, Celovsky jumped in on a Twitter discussion in hopes to end an argument regarding a person who raised a Nazi Swastika flag in May this year in a small village called Keilliher, Saskatchewan.

His stance was that this issue is not as important as the environment. Celovsky’s reaction speaks directly to his priorities as a candidate and a leader. When Celovsky tries to bring the conversation “back to the planet,” he is pushing the conversation away from humanitarianism.

He said the opposing comments, “focus too much on distractions made by some that are designed to distract us from the immediate crisis” — “the future of all life on our planet.”

The article also states that although Celovsky believes in equality, he doesn’t care to “focus on racism.”

He is lacking awareness of his position in society. Not “focusing” on racism is easy to do for him as a white man.

There are other cases that uncover the skewed perception of Green Party Candidates.

Jonathan Richardson, a former NDP candidate, spoke openly about his opinion of Jagmeet Singh’s religion and culture. According to the National Post, Richardson said Singh was having trouble finding a candidate in New Brunswick because of his race and religion.

In an article for CBC, May explained that even though she believes every woman has the right to a safe, legal abortion, her party members are allowed to want to reopen the debate. May does not seem to realize that by defending members in this way, she is condoning their concerning behaviour.

In another article by CBC, former Green Party candidate Monika Schaefer openely denied the existence of the Holocaust. She said in a video, “This is the biggest and most pernicious and persistent lie in all of history.”

I wish that was all. Unfortunately, I just scratched the surface.

Let’s look at the facts. According to ScienceDirect, “those people who are most vulnerable to the adverse environmental and health consequences of climate change include poor people, members of minority groups, women, children, older people, people with chronic diseases and disabilities…” etc.

The Green Party is operating carelessly and dangerously, highlighting their privilege. Wake up. Climate justice and environmental issues are closely linked to social justice. Ignoring these elements is oversimplifying a multidimensional issue, and will create a harmful result.

Without this understanding – we are just watering dead grass.

 

Graphic by Victoria Blair

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News

Poli Savvy: Walking on eggshells one week into the election

The election campaign is now in full swing. From the start, the Liberal party was taken aback by reports alluding that their cabinet blocked efforts by the RCMP to investigate allegations of obstruction of justice regarding the SNC Lavalin scandal. Trudeau’s main statement in response to the questions regarding his cabinet’s involvement was roughly his job as Prime Minister is to be there to stand up for and defend Canadians’ jobs.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer debuted his campaign with a public reprimand of the PM, calling on Justin Trudeau to allow law enforcement to investigate his cabinet. The somewhat unknown conservative leader is struggling to make a name for himself that is not Harper or Ford.

Trudeau was not present at the first English debate hosted by MacLean’s and City TV. Instead, he rallied in Edmonton, one of the bedrocks of the Trans Mountain Pipeline project.

The Green Party was almost laughed off the stage by commentators and Scheer, despite Elizabeth May having the only political plan that even begins to address our climate crisis economically and scientifically.

Jagmeet Singh marked some points by connecting the Conservative leader to the much-hated Conservative Premier of Ontario during the debate.

“[Scheer] believes that the priority should be making life easier for the wealthiest,” said Singh. “I believe it has to be different and we can do it differently.” However, Scheer and Ford have not been seen together since the debate, indicating Scheer is distancing himself from his fellow Conservative.

This week hasn’t been all policy. A photograph of Trudeau surfaced on Wednesday, published by the TIMES, depicting the Prime Minister in blackface back in 2001.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Trudeau stated in the Liberals’ campaign plane. “I should have known better, but I didn’t and I’m really sorry.” Trudeau has since admitted to other occasions where his costumes involved blackface.

One leader that has not shown restraint in his response is Singh, stating “What we see now is an ongoing pattern of behaviour that is going to hurt Canadians.”

Needless to say, this will have an impact on the Liberals’ re-election campaign. But does a picture of a man 20 years ago define him? At the end of the day, it is up to the people to determine what to make of Trudeau’s character.

 

Graphic by Victoria Blair

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