Election Fever

The advance pole for the provincial election was held this week and today was the last day to get your say before election day on Thursday. The ladies of the house went to vote a couple of days ago and their names were not on the list. They had to go through that song and dance to vote but they did. Today I was greeted with the same message, my name was not on the list. Normally I would have given them a hard time but it was not their fault but the people who are in charge of the enumeration. It would seem like a simple job but apparently not as there were pages of people who had to register at the voting station.

This election is a very close one as the three parties have each a defined niche and the NDP is on the upside of the surge after the death of their very popular Federal leader Jack Layton. The Grits and Tories are in a dead heat or so the poles say but this week will be the clincher when the sober thoughts of the electorate will cause them to polarize. Once the voters feel there is a winner the people will rush to that side and we still could have a majority.

Normally elections are exciting but figures show that apathy leads only some of us to use our vote. Statistics show that we as a nation have turnouts of between 55% and 65% on a good day. Maybe this year we will do better and fool the experts. The issues are many but many of the real bread and butter issues are not being discussed. Care for our mentally ill citizens, the environment, aging populations and all the economic ramifications are barely touched on because everyone is concerned about the economy and jobs.

There is a real divide in the North American political  picture. The right wing conservative movement is growing here and in the USA and the left wing liberal and social parties are being smothered. Less than 25% of workers are protected by some form of a union and legislation is being developed and passed which will take away any teeth or power they have to protect the workers. The divide between the rich and poor is becoming greater every year. There is less sharing of the wealth of the country as the middle class is shrinking at a devastating pace. The very guts of a country is not Bay Street or Wall Street but the little entrepreneur who works for himself and the worker who produces the goods and services.

There is something wrong when CEO's are making up to 300 times the salary of a worker. There is something wrong when CEO's get bonuses worth millions when the company lost money and workers are asked to take a lesser wage and loss of benefits. This election will not solve all these problems but my wish is for everyone to be heard and when the dust settles we send people to the government which will represent our needs and hopes for a better Ontario.