The Rundown
I was somewhat surprised, the other day, when I came to the realization that Manitoba's current election campaign had less than a week to go. I think for most, if not all, of the elections in the past several years, I've made at least one post, generally with some sarcastic remark about how my vote won't really matter for much, a few links to candidates, and the like.
Well, this year isn't much different. I live in a riding, Fort Rouge, which will likely vote solidly NDP, and in a province where the latest poll from Probe Research suggests that the status quo, an NDP majority in the 57-seat legislature, is unlikely to change.
But I was paging through Uptown Magazine (a free Winnipeg weekly) the other day -- I have a habit of reading the interesting bits and then abandoning the copy on the bus, my part in their distribution scheme -- and I was surprised to learn that my riding was the most widely-, if not hotly-, contested in the province with 6 candidates.
Here is a rundown of the candidates, in order of quantity of campaign literature delivered to my door:
- Jennifer Howard, New Democratic Party: Thanks to an extra-wide glossy brochure featuring a giant mug-shot of Doer and a picture of a constipated looking Hugh McFadyen on the back, the NDP literature seems to emphasize how great a risk the Conservatives would pose should they be elected. I don't know who gets excited about prudence, but its not me.
- Paul Hesse, Liberals: This guy game to our door, but I didn't talk to him. According to the brochure, the Free Press calls him "one of the brightest Liberal candidates", which is kind of like calling someone "one of the sharpest butter knives". Still, the chalk stencils on Osborne Street sidewalks that read "Vote Hesse" are pretty convincing. Still, every time I hear the name I think of this unsavoury character.
- VoteEducation.Ca: I was surprised to receive two brochures from this candidate, since they're not on the ballot.
- Gerald Enns, Green Party: Has all the reasonable sounding, enviro-friendly ideas you'd expect from a Green candidate. Also, the only brochure that solicited donations and one of two (the other was from the Education people) that was not professionally printed.
- Christine Waddell, Progressive Conservatives: If I were to go only from the two-sided flyer I received, it would seem Waddell cares about one thing: putting guys with goatees in jail. She also promises "[a]n army of 350 new crime fighters". I'd rather she just hire some more police officers.
- Edit: The Communist Party of Canada leaves an e-brochure in the comment section to this post, and thus move up the list.
- Ron Nash, independent: No literature, no website, no votes.
Vote Hesse!
Addendum: If reading isn't your cup of tea, I tracked down some youtube commercials featuring some of our fearless party leaders:
- Hugh McFadyen on our children's future.
- Jon Gerrard and the Liberals on Gary Doer's health care record
- Gary Doer on safer communities
- A set of negative ads, back to back: from the PCs, a hilarious piece on our revolving door criminal justice system, featuring the maligned smirking goatee man I mentioned above; followed by the NDP about the PCs' poor health care record.
Corrections and additions (22.05.2007): I guess I didn't wait long enough for all of the campaign literature to find its way to our mailbox. Ron Nash and the Communist Party both made it under the wire, and they have websites.
I voted today, and wasn't asked for any ID, since I had brought my enumeration slip with me. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that, but it is definitely the first time I haven't presented my driver's license when voting.
CBC is showing 3 hours of election coverage this evening, which is a bit much, if you ask me. It also means that playoff hockey (Detroit-Anaheim) is being pre-empted. I'll have to watch the game online if I want to see it at all.
* * *
Results: My riding went as I expected:
Based on 57 of 57 voting stations reporting (100.0%).
Candidate Name Party Votes HOWARD, Jennifer NDP 3795 HESSE, Paul Lib. 2456 WADDELL, Christine PC 1194 ENNS, Gerald H. GPM 507 NASH, Ron Ind. 89 KOMARNISKI, Frank CPC-M 29
And overall there was very little change. Doer and the NDP won, with one more seat than last year, the PCs dropped a seat, and the Liberals still don't have official party status, with just 2 seats.
Oh yeah, the Wings lost too, which I didn't like so much. Go Sens.
Labels: candidates, doer, election, gerrard, manitoba, mcfadyen, results
1 Comments:
Here is the leaflet that never reached your door
Ten reasons to vote Communist on Tuesday, May 22
1. Earn $15.00 an hour (at least) and have a 32 hour work week with no loss in pay! Manitoba needs full employment and higher wages! Raise the minimum wage and reverse years of falling behind inflation.
2. Tax the greedy, not the needy! Raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations. Corporate profits are at record levels. Manitoba does not need tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations! No more bowing down to corporations by the Legislature!
3. End child hunger and poverty! Winnipeg’s food banks feed 18,000 children every month, up from 5,500 ten years ago! Raise social assistance to above the poverty line.
4. Make health care universal, public and complete, covering dental, eye and pharmaceutical needs and with an emphasis on prevention.
5. Save Lake Winnipeg! Put nature before profit! Spend money to treat sewage and develop a sustainable farm economy.
6. Support prompt settlement of Aboriginal land claims, including Aboriginal rights over resources. Recognize the Métis as an Aboriginal nation. Justice delayed is justic denied! Work for a new, equal and voluntary partnership of nations in Canada in a democratically-made constitution.
7. Peace is everybody’s business! Make Manitoba a voice against war and occupation. All levels of government should speak out on burning issues. Get Canada’s troops out of Afghanistan!
8. A Worker’s Bill of Rights, including rights for farm workers and establishing severance pay!
9. Fair Vote election reform! Manitoba’s government should reflect true voter wishes - establish proportional representation!
10. Communist MLAs will not accept more than the average wage and benefits of a Manitoba worker!
The Communist Platform:
People’s Alternative policies for Manitoba!
Improve health care
- Establish universal, public and complete health care, including dental, eye and pharmaceutical needs with an emphasis on prevention.
- Ban ambulance user fees.
- Improve health care in remote areas.
- Improve home care and nursing homes.
Cuba is far less wealthy than Canada, yet it has quality, complete public health and child care and free higher education.
Bill of Rights for Workers
- Ban strike breaking (no scabs).
- Rights for all workers - no exceptions.
- Rights to match or exceed International Labour Organization standards.
- Lift the ban on union donations to political parties; keep the ban on corporate donations.
- Lower the union certification vote threshold to 25%; ensure unions can campaign and hold meetings in workplaces before a vote.
Want to stop your boss treating you like a doormat? It’s time to join a union!
End hunger and poverty
- Raise social assistance to above the real poverty line; make the appeal process fast, easy and fair.
- Establish universal, quality and affordable child care.
- Set price controls on staple foods, including in Northern and remote areas.
- Affordable housing for all! Strengthen rent controls; build quality public housing.
- More job training and apprenticeships.
Child hunger is growing. Too many working people are a pay cheque away from homelessness. Milk is expensive up North, but beer prices are low because of price controls.
Cities and towns for people
- Tax land speculators and curb urban sprawl into rural areas.
- Convert slum and vacant lots into public housing.
- Turn Winnipeg’s CP rail yard into housing and parks.
- Establish low fare rapid public transit in Winnipeg and build safe, direct bike paths.
- Reduce reliance on property taxes and guarantee provincial revenues.
People need to come first in cities and towns, not developers and big business.
Support family farms
- Control farm input prices and establish non-profit agencies to market farm products.
- Ban the use of food grains to produce ethanol
- A moratorium on the expansion of all livestock farming until environmental laws require sustainability; prompt action to reduce environmentally harmful farming practices.
- Remove government income supports for large, corporate farms.
- Support organic farming and reduce or ban the use of antibiotics, fertilizers, pesticides and other potentially harmful inputs.
- Ban terminator seeds and require labeling of all Genetically Modified products.
Manitoba governments have given a green light too long for giant agro-industrial monopolies to ruin family farms.
Full employment and higher wages
- A 32 hour work week with no loss in pay; a $15 an hour minimum wage, indexed to inflation.
- Increase paid vacations to four weeks.
- Reverse the privatization of MTS.
A job with decent wages is a human right. Everyone should be able to contribute what they can to society, and receive what they need.
Self-determination for Aboriginal peoples
- Recognize the Métis as an Aboriginal people.
- Support prompt land claims settlements, including Aboriginal rights over resources.
- Campaign for a new, equal and voluntary partnership of nations in Canada in a democratically-made constitution.
Manitoba was founded on the theft of Aboriginal land. Today, big business interests oppose land claims and self-government agreements that limit their looting of the province’s rich natural resources.
Fight racism, sexism and all forms of discrimination
- Establish and enforce strong job and pay equity laws (such as affirmative action hiring) for all discriminated workers, including in the private sector.
- Create an effective police complaints agency.
- Ban discrimination based on “social condition.”
Racism and profits are keeping Manitoba a “low wage” province. They are behind keeping Aboriginal people and immigrants as a huge pool of super-exploited labour. They are behind the provincial government’s failure to end job and pay inequalities and they are behind the high rate of Aboriginal people in jail.
Education is a right!
- Adequate funding - no more school fundraising!
- End tuition fees for higher education; replace loans with grants for student aid.
- Reduce class sizes and increase funding for special needs students.
- Guarantee instruction in Aboriginal and French languages where numbers warrant.
- Support public education; no elite private schools.
We need our education system to nurture everyone’s fullest development.
Save the Earth!
- Develop a new Carbon reduction plan for Manitoba, covering housing, office buildings, lighting, agriculture, land fills, transportation and industry!
- Save Lake Winnipeg! Protect Manitoba’s waters with a comprehensive plan, including sewage treatment facilities and sustainable farming.
- Stop clear-cutting of forests.
- Improve public transit and reduce fares.
- Impose “green” taxes on harmful products.
Enough is enough – Put nature before profit! Greater hydro exports are an unfair way to calculate Manitoba’s Carbon reductions, and ethanol production from food grains harms the environment and will cause massive starvation.
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