Minority Report

Canada’s loyal opposition is in the hunt for an election. Stephen Harper, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe are anxious to go to the polls, hoping to find the oasis of democracy to quench their collective thirst for a vote.

Well, the people aren’t so ready, having little faith in the leaders, their platforms and their rhetoric. But the real issue facing the opposition is who’s going to be the election scapegoat? Not one leader wants to be burdened with the fall of the government because it will not bode well during the campaign. Some voters will lay the blame on them and vote Liberal. Others will simply stay home. [that much can be predicted]

So Messrs. Harper, Layton and Duceppe try to spread the blame by introducing a motion to suggest a January vote. The government, led by Prime Minister Paul Martin, isn’t interested because they know that the party that pulls the plug in a non-confidence vote will take a political beating.

It’s one of those, “shit or get off the pot” scenarios, too and it all proves the point that our federal leaders lack any vision of what this country should be and where it should be going. All they discuss is how to manage the country, not to any specific idea of what Canada should look like in the future.

Keep an eye out for these confusing messages about management. They’re often disguised as a vision, but they’re not. Alas, the days of Trudeau, Levesque, Pearson, Douglas, and Diefenbaker are long gone. They were passionate men with a vision, whether you agreed with it or not, offering voters a real choice. The only choice the people have now is whether or not to vote.

That’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.