The Martlet

Let’s face it. There is no good choice for us at the polls this federal election.

When I examine the current economic climate, I feel almost ready to vote Conservative. They certainly have Canadians in mind with their cuts to corporations. And no, I am not being sarcastic.

If we want to remain competitive in global markets, especially as the world stands on the brink of a recession, our country needs to attract business. One way to do it would be to cut taxes to them as drastically as the Conservatives suggest.

However, I don’t think that’s the best option. I think Harper’s policy is too dramatic.

The NDP party certainly has the voter in mind. However, their policies would drive much needed business out of the country. Other countries are desperate. They are ready to cut taxes in order to take business headquarters out of our hands. If a recession hits, we’ll be screwed economically.

Then there’s the Liberals. Their carbon tax would put up gas prices but it would also cut income tax. The tax would fall mostly on the oil fields, which are unlikely to move because they can’t take the oil with them. They are more desperate than ever for Canadian oil due to the current situation in Russia.

Yes, it is a new tax. However, it cuts an existing tax, one that hamstrings the poor in our country. The price of consumer goods will go up a little — but that will impact big spenders more than those who struggle to make ends meet.

The thing that scares me the most is that people seem to think that Stephen Harper has done a good job as Prime Minister.

Honestly, does nobody have a long-term memory? If he had been Prime Minister at the time of 9/11, Canadian troops would be in Iraq right now.

He was, and still is, against gay marriage, although he has decided to let the matter fall by the wayside. In my opinion, the so-called “creative accounting” of his party during the last election more than made up for the sponsorship scandal, as did his party’s involvement with the notorious Friends of Science anti-global warming poster campaign.

This is the man who scrapped the gun registry, wasting millions of dollars. Now, gun crime rates are higher than ever.

He has also squandered over $4 billion of the more than $6 billion that the Liberals had tucked away for a rainy day. Now, with a burgeoning recession, our country only has one third of the money left for a crisis.

Harper’s government is against supervised injection sites, even in HIV treatment facilities and despite the fact that they have been scientifically proven for years to significantly increase addicts’ movement into treatment programs and that they make addicts 70 per cent less likely to share needles.

As a woman, I could never bring myself to vote for a man who believes that pay equity is “ridiculous.” As the daughter of immigrants, I am appalled by his policies and words. His tone towards immigrants is also spiteful and proves him to be a bigot.

Harper once stated that “west of Winnipeg the ridings the Liberals hold are dominated by people who are either recent Asian immigrants or … people who live in ghettos and are not integrated into Western Canadian society.”

Racism is not okay. Stephen Harper seems to believe that immigrants don’t have bearing in society.

Instead of handpicking those that do or do not get into the country, our government should be supporting qualified immigrants who are already in the country in bringing their qualifications up to Canadian standards.

But then, this is the man who says that human rights commissions are “an attack on our fundamental freedoms.” He’s also quite happy to offend those closer to home, stating that “bilingualism is the god that failed” and that “Canada is not a bilingual country.”

And let’s not forget his political Band-Aid solutions, which look great at the polls but do absolutely nothing.

He abandoned Canada’s participation in the Kyoto accord in favour of the useless Clean Air Act. He failed to achieve any improvement in childcare. He cut the Government Spending Tax instead of cutting a tax which would actually impact the poor in Canada, such as income or property tax (it is the rich who save the most because they spend the most).

Harper thinks that we should be “tough on crime” like the United States. Where will the money for the upsurge in prisons, guards, and prisoners come from? Besides, the United States has a higher rate of crime than Canada does. Why should we model our system on theirs?

To top it all off, Harper’s proposed changes to copyright law would hamstring our film industry, which brings billions of dollars into our economy.

On Oct. 14, come armed with an opinion you’re prepared to defend. Don’t just vote for someone because they seem all right — vote for what you believe in.

Please be an informed voter. Please vote.