Did you watch the English language federal election leader’s debate, April 12? To those who did, we pose a question: Did you learn anything? We didn’t.
What discussion there was about government policy, and how it effects real people, was relegated to snappy 10-word sound bites. It was a dreadful waste of time that served little purpose other than to confirm the notion that politics in this country is broken.
The truth is that governing a country as diverse as Canada is incredibly difficult. The gut-wrenching decisions that must be made by the prime minister involve hard choices.
Take, for example, Libya. Our prime minister faced a choice - send Canadian forces into an air battle over North Africa to protect civilians from a dictator’s deadly advance, or stay on the sidelines. On one hand, the prime minister risks Canadian deaths and the ensuing telephone conversation to Canadian families who have just lost father, mother, son or daughter. On the other hand, could the prime minister live with himself if he allowed yet another dictator to murder his own people without stepping in to help at the behest of the United Nations? The military action also risks empowering Muslim extremist-backed forces intent on replacing the dictatorship with their own repressive theocracy.
There is no 10-word answer for this particular situation, and no candidate who gives a 10-word answer for this situation deserves to win an election.
The truth is, most problems a prime minister faces on a daily basis are complicated. Yet, coming away from last week’s debate, we are left with the impression that governing is simple.
In the debates, every single leader played to their base, reinforcing the notion of politics as a sporting event. Voters are encouraged to pick a team and cheer for them. Voters are not encouraged to think for themselves. We challenge all of the candidates in the local debates to move beyond their 10-word answers.
Let’s show Canada that we can do better.
