Canada Votes & Easter Treats

We have a federal election coming on April 28! I am a self admitted political junkie, and I feel like this election is the most influential election or consequence election of my life. Lately I have seen a lot of misinformation online. Honestly, my local Facebook page is so inundated with anger, hate, and lies… I’m not sure I’m going to be able to look some of my neighbours in the eye at the grocery store after all of this is said and done. I had to read a book about media literacy for my reading challenge and with the election so close, I thought this would be a good time to share it with you now.

Fact vs Opinions vs Robots by Michael Rex About media literacy

This is a children’s book with an adult message. Robots teaching kids the difference between fact and opinion. It asks questions so YOU can decide if it is a fact using the rules that the robot gives you. A fact is something that is proven while an opinion is something you feel, & not proven. Sometimes it is hard to decide which is which so we have to wait for more information. There are many fun examples. There is an example of 2 robots fighting about opinions and what steps can be taken, like listening, so we can understand each other and get along.

I’m not here to fight with anyone. I’m not here to tell you who to vote for. But, this is MY blog so I’m going to tell you a little bit about me and my voting history and some of the factors that help me make a decision on who I am going to vote for in this all important upcoming election.

My first election was a mayoral election. When my parents received their voting cards in the mail, I was still 17 so I went down to the Winnipeg legislature building and made sure that I was able to vote in the election which was just days after my 18th birthday.

I voted for Glen Murray. He won and became the very first openly gay person to hold office. The first in the whole world! That’s a pretty impressive first election!

After that, I started taking classes at the University of Manitoba. After many years, lol I graduated with a double major in history and political science. Politics has always fascinated me. At that time, I voted for Preston Manning. That’s right, I was a HUGE Reform and Canadian Alliance Fan. Stockwell Day and Preston Manning really made an impression on me in my late teenage/early 20’s angst years. At that time, I was angry and I wanted to stick it to the man and didn’t care that I was voting against my own interests.

Here in BC, politics is completely different than in Manitoba. I was shocked to find out that there really isn’t a conservative party in BC. Here, we basically call the provincial conservative party, the liberal party. That can get confusing lol. Because of that fact, I have never, in my entire life, voted liberal. Oh wait, I think I may have voted for John Harvard in the Charleswood-Assiniboia riding when I was 21, but only because he was my friend’s uncle lol. In my own riding, here in the Okanagan, we haven’t had a liberal representative in decades.

This year I will be unapologetically voting LIBERAL from the top of my lungs! Why? Why after almost 30 years of voting, why would I vote liberal this year for the first time?

I am so glad you asked! Lol This is why I am voting for my liberal representative in support of our current Prime Minister, Mark Carney. Now I have compiled a list of some pretty fantastic reasons, but there is a caveat, in any other circumstances, in any other year, I don’t think I would vote for Mark Carney. He is much much much too conservative for my tastes, lol In fact, in any other year, most conservatives would love Mark Carney. In fact, Stephen Harper, and many other conservatives DO love, Mark Carney and have invited him into their conservative cabinets in the past. However, we are in an economic shitstorm because of Donald Trump. We need somebody with an economic background to get us through this. So, I am willing to vote for a very conservative, liberal.

MARK CARNEY

• Born in small town in Northwest Territories, raised in Edmonton, AB.
• Mother was a stay-at-home mom, and father was a high school principal.
• Earned economics degree from Harvard, followed by master’s & doctorate from Oxford, graduating with high honours.
• Played hockey at both Harvard and Oxford (so Canadian)
• Spent 13 years at Goldman Sachs, working in Boston, London, New York, Tokyo, and Toronto, advising governments & major institutions on financial stability & economic restructuring.
• Was Governor of the Bank of Canada, trusted by both Liberal and Conservative governments, and has experience working with both parties.
• He was appointment by both liberal and conservative prime ministers stemming from his reputation as a highly skilled economist and central banker, capable of navigating complex financial crises. His track record and expertise have made him a trusted figure for stabilizing economies, which aligns with the priorities of conservative leaders during times of economic uncertainty.
• He was appointed by 2 conservative Prime Ministers to lead their economies during tumultuous times in the last few years.
• He was appointed Governor of the Bank of Canada in 2007 by then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
  Acted quickly to cut rates and stabilize markets, making Canada the first G7 country to fully recover from the Great Financial Crisis and the only one that didn’t have to bail out our banks.
• After helping Canada manage the worst impacts, his leadership through 2008 recession is what lead to the UK hiring him as Governor of the Bank of England (the first non-Brit to run the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694), where he led the UK through Brexit (despite his warnings of economic risks).
• Became an expert in financial crisis management, made Chair of the Financial Stability Board from 2011 to 2018, working with world leaders to regulate global finance & played a key role in re-shaping global economic policy.
• Has experience negotiating with U.S. leaders, including during previous Trump administration.
• In 2020, he began serving as the United Nations’ special envoy for climate action & finance, where he’s been a key voice in advocating for policies that balance economic growth with sustainability.
  Strong advocate for reducing U.S. dependency.
• Plans to expand existing trade relationships and building new ones, including the infrastructure necessary to increase shipments overseas.
• Has a deep understanding of how global markets impact Canada and knows how to create long-term economic strategies to protect and grow the country’s wealth
• His book Value(s) argues for an economy that serves people, not just markets, focusing on trust, fairness, and responsibility in economic policy.

On a more local note. I’m very worried about vote splitting. Since I have lived here, we have been represented federally by the NDP party. With new district electoral lines, 2 new faces representing NDP and Liberal, and the only 1 with name recognition being the conservative representative Helena Konanz. Konanz is on my city council. Unfortunately. She’s running for the conservative party and their motto is Canada first! Let me tell you about Helena Konanz, she was born in Santa Barbara, California. She graduated from UCLA and played for Team USA having a Mediocre tennis career. Then she started working at Nike in Portland, Oregon, where she met her husband. They got transferred to Vancouver in the late 90’s and today… Canada First!

Yeah no, ELBOWS UP!

Another reason why am I willing to vote Liberal for the first time is…

Pierre Poilievre.

• Pierre Poilievre voted for the $196.1 billion cut to funds for surgery and reducing emergency wait times.
• Pierre Poilievre voted for Bill C377 and Bill C525 – attacking unions – demanding access to the private banking info of union leaders and to make it easy to decertify a union and harder to certify one.
• Pierre Poilievre vowed to “wield the NOTWITHSTANDING CLAUSE ” thereby taking our charter rights away.
• Pierre Poilievre publicly stated that he would not support Pharmacare and Dentacare (at least twice) thereby enriching insurance companies.
• Pierre Poilievre supplied coffee and donuts to the Trucker Convoy who were funded by MAGA and Russia. EWWW Gross!
• Pierre Poilievre advocated to replace Canadian money with Bitcoin.
• Pierre Poilievre publicly stated “Canada’s Aboriginals need to learn the value of hard work more than they need compensation for abuse suffered in residential schools”.
• Pierre Poilievre has never held a job outside of the government.
• Pierre Poilievre holds the same BA as me and we BOTH took 8 years to earn it. I am NOT qualified to lead the country, neither is he.
• Honestly I could go on for DAYS listing everything he has voted AGAINST. Because he is a whiner and a complainer but not a DOER. 

We all need to look inside ourselves (Rosemary IYKYK). Supporting Poillieve, isn’t for economic reasons. It’s about privilege. Those who have it and THOSE who don’t have it. Those people who don’t want to pay for THOSE disabled people, and don’t want THOSE mental health supports in their backyards, and yet they don’t want to see THOSE addicted people overdosing in their beautiful parks. Those people that make WELL over a living wage that think THOSE people are taking their jobs. Those people that don’t want their taxes to pay for THOSE people so that they can have more. As if we don’t have enough already? 

This is my opinion. I’m not putting it out there on social media. I’m not sharing stupid fake memes. I’m putting my thoughts in MY blog, where people come to me. You don’t have to be here. You chose to read this. If you did, thank you. Thank you for hearing me out and reading what I stand for. If you don’t agree and still read, thank you for being opened minded enough to read a differing opinion. Whoever you are voting for, just remember to vote! It’s so important to use the rights that our ancestors fought for. Despite what some angry people are telling us, life here in Canada, is pretty good. We live in a time where opportunity is abundant. We have so much. I am so grateful. Therefore, I vote. Please make sure your voice is heard and get out and vote on April 28!