Voting is a right, use it responsibly

A4

By Jim Dumville

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This long weekend most Upper Valley residents will be relaxing over the Thanksgiving holiday. On Tuesday, they will return to work, but – hopefully – most will take time out of their day to cast a ballot in the federal election.

It's rare voters have a long weekend to consider their options before heading to the polls. The extra day off will provide a great opportunity for Tobique-Mactaquac residents to seriously consider their options.

Voting is a cherished right which should be exercised. It is also an important responsibility which should not be taken lightly.

I won't recommend how you vote. I do recommend you closely examine the candidates' and parties' policies before casting your vote.

With three elections in four years – and most political pundits forecasting another minority government with an undetermined lifespan – voters may becoming weary of making the trip to their local polling station. They may also believe the result of the Tobique-Mactaquac race, with Conservative incumbent Mike Allen a clear front-runner, a foregone conclusion, making their vote unnecessary. But whether their chosen candidate wins or loses, a voter is always a winner simply by casting a vote.

Not only does a vote add $10 to their chosen parties coffers, it adds to the popular vote, sending politicians a message on how seriously Canadians consider their party's policies.

Unfortunately, getting a clear picture of those party platforms can be more difficult than it should be. Politicians of all political stripes like to use grandiose statements and generalities during the campaign. They also prefer to tear down opponents, rather than clearly explaining their platform.

However, information is available if voters do ample research by following the news, searching the Web or by questioning those candidates when they appear at your door.

While many elections offer no clear defining issue, that's not the case in this campaign. Whether it's the current economic crisis or the growing environmental crisis, the Conservatives, Liberals, NDP and Green are each offering clearly different approaches to meet the demands.

On the economy voters can choose between Harper's stay-the-course option, Dion's call for greater government intervention or Layton's tax hike for big corporations. The economic platform of the Green Party – which in general is somewhat more right-leaning than either the Liberals or NDP – gets lost behind their environmental policies.

From an environment perspective, the choices are even more stark than in the economy. Anyone who truly believes the science community's predictions of a climate change crisis will find little in the Conservative plan to ease their concerns.

Those who believe the problem must be addressed immediately can choose between the Green Party's hard line on global warming, the Liberal's more moderate Green Shift or the NDP cap-and-trade policy.

Still others may have additional issues to consider. Which party will protect their job, make their homes more affordable, save the forestry or agriculture sectors, make them feel safe from crime, provide better support for their children, keep them safe from food-borne disease.

The list of concerns is long and so is the voters' list. Crossing more names off one could help cross more items of the other.