Dear Canada

Dear Canada,

Hi, how are you? Things are going great for me out here. Work is great, making lots of friends, and the weather is nice. I know that it’s been a while, and we haven’t talk much, what with me moving to China and all, but I was hoping that I could ask you a favour, since we go back twenty-five years and all. Could you please, please, do me a solid and vote against the Conservative Party of Canada? I know that the alternatives look bleak. The Liberals are disorganized, the Bloc is not a viable option, the NDPs are risky, and the Greens do not have enough national experience, but they are all better than the Conservatives right now.

I know that things haven’t been that bad in the past two years of a Harper government, but if they get voted in, especially with a majority, things will change. Think about all of the ways that we define our country, bilingual, peaceful, tolerant, and a world leader. Now, think about all of the ways that Harper and his cronies have opposed these.

Do you remember where the Conservative Party comes from? Why Preston Manning and his Reform gurus. A big part of their platform, and the platform of the Canadian Alliance that bridge the gap, was to oppose bilingualism and multiculturalism. Granted, when Harper merged the parties he removed that from the platform, but remember, the roots of Reform are still there.

Also, does anyone else remember the build up to the current Iraq war? While much of America was very gung-ho to support a war that has since turned unpopular, most Canadians opposed it from the beginning and were very thankful when the Liberal s refused to join Bush’s Crusade. Note that I said most, as Stephen Harper and current Cabinet Minister, Stockwell Day, co-wrote an article to the Wall Street Journal condemning the Canadian government for not joining the US in their cause. And then spoke to American TV saying that the majority of Canadians supported the war. Do you really want to have someone in power that will join a war based on lies for political purposes? Don't we admonish the Americans for the same thing?

Canada is one of five countries in the world to currently have full legalized gay marriages. Do you remember who opposed this? And do you remember who wanted to reopen the debate after it had already been passed in Parliament? I’ll give you a hint, it was one of the party leaders and it was not Dion, Layton, Duceppe, or May. Any guesses?

If that doesn’t give it away, it was the same leader who accused his rival of “Being in league with the Taliban” for opposing the Afghan mission. Kind of sounds like he was accusing him of “Pallin’ around with terrorists”, does it not?

Lastly, the Conservative government has arguably the worst environmental record of any developed nation. This was especially clear at the Bali Conference last year as Jim Baird was routinely named the “Fossil of the Day” for his opposition to international consensus on a very serious problem. Remember, we are the country that pioneered International Peace Keeping, set up the first MASH Unit, were a founding member of NATO and the G7, and gave far more help to the Space Race than we will ever get credit for. Do we really want a government in charge who will not take the lead on the most important challenge that our generation will face?

So please Canadians, I am begging you to vote for someone other than the Conservatives. I don’t care if it’s the Liberals, NDP, Bloc, Greens, Natural Law, anything to get rid of Harper as Prime Minister has to be considered a success. Please Canada, do me a solid and lets vote this guy out before it's too late, because if he gets a majority, it really will be too late.

Standing on Guard for Thee,

Glen