Where are the new ideas?

One of the biggest problems I see with the current version of the LPC is its continuing failure to highlight what it would do differently than the Conservatives. I've often heard it said that those in opposition have a duty to oppose the government's agenda. That isn't enough, though; they should be articulating their vision to the public and providing suggestions to make improvements. It makes me wonder what they're waiting for, which is very likely just the opportunity to implement their own agenda on their own terms.

Take this recent press release from their website in regards to unemployment.

Failed Conservative infrastructure plan to blame for job losses: Liberals

OTTAWA - The bad fruits of an overly partisan and ineffective approach to infrastructure stimulus spending by the Harper Conservatives are clear in the latest unemployment numbers from Statistics Canada, Liberal Infrastructure Critic Gerard Kennedy said today.

Job losses in construction would be much less severe if Conservatives were handling infrastructure spending properly, Kennedy charged. Construction sector employment decreased by 18,000 in July, bringing total construction job losses since October to 120,000. Over 80,000 construction jobs have been lost since the budget promised help.

“Sadly, the Conservatives are making the recession much worse than it needs to be,” said Mr. Kennedy. "Mr. Harper has the gall to tell unemployed workers and their families that new jobs are ’underway’, knowing full well they aren't."

Parliament authorized $11 billion in new infrastructure spending to create 100,000 jobs but the Conservatives have failed to produce anything but negative numbers. The Conservatives rejected the direction of Parliament and the consensus of municipalities and the construction industry alike and instead chose a delay ridden, partisan approach.

As a result, only 55 percent of the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund has been pledged to date, and a very small amount has created jobs. The construction season has been lost in many parts of the country with no funds flowing in Quebec, 63 percent of Nova Scotia’s funding has yet to be announced and 75 percent of the funding isn’t even promised yet in BC.

In the Township of North Glengarry, Ontario the Alexandria Water System Upgrade won’t be able to go to tender until January with construction starting next spring. A similar situation exists for the Archives expansion in the County of Simcoe, Ontario where no tenders have been released and construction isn’t expected to start until spring 2010. For the Fire Hall Construction project in Gander, Newfoundland, the municipality has released a tender which has not yet closed and construction isn’t expected to begin until September.

"Families are feeling pain and hardship simply because Mr. Harper and his government are in a bubble and just don't get it,” Mr. Kennedy added. "People need jobs and a government that cares, not photo ops."

Naturally, there is to be expected a certain degree of partisan rhetoric this being politics and all. The trouble for the LPC, especially coming from someone that I would think they are trying to convince to vote for them, is that they propose no solutions. When I look at these kinds of press releases I don't see anything but whining and complaining. You know what, Liberals? I get that you don't like these policies, I really do. So why the hell aren't you telling me what you'd do differently? Why do your keen minds at party HQ think that you need to wait for an election writ to start letting Canadians know how you would run the country? Isn't this about how best to serve Canadians in general?

To be fair, all politicians do this far too much and therein lies the problem with so much of our current political discourse. We don't talk about ideas, we only tear the other side down. And as in the case with most arguments, each side generally become further entrenched in their own perspective. Is it any wonder why increasing numbers of Canadians are simply tuning out of the political process?

I won't pretend to have all the answers because I know that I don't. What I can do is try to make a meaningful contribution to the health of the democracy that I believe in. I, for example, try to teach my students how to look at multiple sides of an issue so that they can make an informed decision about what they believe. I try to foster discussion and debate that doesn't simply result in name-calling and slander, which admittedly is tough to do. I try to highlight how the rising generation can actually contribute to the form of government and make it work for them. All lofty goals but very worthwhile.

I think that all of our politicians would do well to tone down the rhetoric just a tad. I'll be the first to admit that I don't like enough of the policies of the LPC, let alone the NDP or Greens, to justify my voting for them. However, if they want to earn my vote, they need to start talking about real ideas and how they would take advantage of them instead of just pointing fingers and saying how wrong the other side is.

Why I love cynicism

There's a mailbox not far from my apartment. It could be argued that it makes a provocative point about democracy. Truth be told, though, it's just another reason why I hate living in Old Strathcona: there are no shortages of noisy opinion with which to drown yourself in rhetoric and negative commentary.

The sign reads thus:

"Your lifetime supply of democracy: X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X"

It's a rather bleak view of democracy, admittedly, but I feel that than pointing blame at the system itself, it highlights the general misunderstandings about what it really means to be an active citizen in this country. Generally speaking, I think that far too many people are just too lazy than do anything more than cast their vote every few years. If they don't like what they see, they have to realize that they actually do have the ability to make a difference. If they can't take the time to find out how, it's no one's fault but their own.