The Public Good

I am regularly accused of being "partisan" - along with a lot of other things that, I suppose, are meant to hurt or offend me. I would like to explain a few things.

Political parties are made up of human beings. Generally, at any given time, one party forms government.

Since parties, and therefore governments, are comprised of human beings, and human beings are fallible, no government is perfect. Someone will always find fault with something.

Governing is hard. There are a lot of moving pieces and even the best-intentioned government can make mistakes, miss doing something someone needed, have to backtrack and tweak programs to make them better. 

This is especially true when a government is having to govern on the fly, under extreme/rapidly changing conditions, like during a pandemic. The CERB came out fast, but then it became clear that this group & that were left out & programs are being developed to address these. 

Some things may be handled well, and others may need significant adjustments. But everything the Liberals have done during this crisis is intended for the public good. To keep Canadians from going hungry, being homeless, getting sick.

If I support and defend them, it is not because they are "Liberals". It is because they are working for the public good. That's what I look for in a party. I want a government in Canada that cares about Canadians and, despite being flawed humans, actually tries to do the right thing. 

I expect any Canadian government to work in the best interests of Canadians. I cannot support any party that seems to actively try to harm some Canadians. Of course, by this, I am referring to Conservative parties post 2003. 

The Harper government did not just pad the pockets of billionaires & self-aggrandize and follow a very exclusive doctrine. They actively engaged in activities that hurt Canadians & others. They cut environmental regulations, bullied charities that were doing important work... 

Cut Veterans' Affairs offices and staff, closed Coast Guard facilities, shut down Status of Women offices, destroyed science libraries, cut funding for health and education, demonized people (the niqab ban/barbaric cultural practices tipline), obstructed harm reduction measures (Insite), ignored Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, tried to bypass the duty to consult to push pipelines through Indigenous lands, stopped refugees from coming to Canada... 

Cut regulations that allowed events such as the Walkerton e-coli outbreak in 2010, the listeriosis outbreak in 2008, the Lac Megantic explosion in 2013... Sent Canadian men and women to war for American interests...

Refused to allow any Canadian aid going to the developing world to address family planning needs, bought billboards in Hungary telling Roma people they are not welcome in Canada... 

Cut the court challenges program which ensured that groups could raise challenges to infringements of human rights in Canada, raised the age of eligibility for Old Age Security to 67, made it harder to be eligible for EI...

Brought in mandatory minimum sentences (many of which have been deemed unconstitutional), carried out trade negotiations in secret, introduced boutique tax credits that do nothing for those with not enough earnings to pay tax... 

The list goes on. All behaviours of a party that does not have the public good at heart. And fast forward to the present, we can see exactly the same behaviours in provincial conservative parties. 

Kenney and Ford have cut funding and programs for the most vulnerable, while giving big corporations huge tax breaks. They are trying to dismantle public health care and public education. 

In Alberta, one of the first things the UCP did after the election was remove protections from LGBTQ2+ youth. And they celebrated by dancing in the fountain in front of the Legislature. 

Here, in these conservative parties, I see not only imperfect people who might sometimes make mistakes. I actually see animosity towards the public. Callousness and disregard for the public good. We live in a SOCIETY, not an ECONOMY. 

The goal of government should be a healthy, well-educated, and reasonably comfortable population. Economic ratings are secondary to the quality of life enjoyed by the population. 

The conservative parties, federal and provincial, seem to have completely lost sight of this. They are willing to cheat, to lie to the public, to make things up or spin them, in order to gain power. 

And once they gain power, they are happy to view the public as a means to an end. We are just "human capital" to them. Cogs in the capitalist machine that pours wealth into a few special pockets. 

The NDP used to be the conscience of Parliament. I don't really know what they are now. Messaging is garbled. Sometimes they are highly principled, like Matthew Green, MP for Hamilton. Sometimes they side with the CPC in fomenting unrest based on conjecture, spin, rumour... 

The PM bought a swingset and gifted it to one of Canada's official residences. The CPC and NDP and our news media crucified the Prime Minister about this for weeks. That does not suggest a party with anything but power on its mind. 

So, the Liberals are not perfect, nor are they my natural choice. I expect they will make mistakes. They are only human, like the rest of us. But of all the parties right now, they seem the one most able and inclined to work for the good of Canada and Canadians. 

And so, you can call me names and suggest I am "stuuupid" and talk about koolaid all you want. I want a Canada that is good for all of us. Even you who troll my posts and spew insults.