Eve of the Election

I'm concerned about the direction Mr. Harper and the conservative party will take Canada, I've got my fingers crossed that they won't achieve an absolute majority in Parliament...  here's why:

Taxes 

It's a citizens duty to contribute to the well being of his or her country either directly through public service to the country or indirectly through paying taxes to support the things we as a society require to continue forward (taxes go to provide education, health care, police, defence, public infrastructure, disaster relief, etc). I don't cry about paying taxes, if no one had paid taxes when I was young I would not have been able to go to school or university, I would not be in the financial position to pay the amount of taxes I pay today.

I don't believe in sweeping tax cuts, if you drain too much money from a government you risk crippling it, if you cripple government it fails us all as a society.  Tax cuts benefit those who pay the highest burden of taxes -- those who are rich -- those who owe the most to the society that enabled them to become rich. 

The GST is a consumption tax, the more expensive things you can afford to buy the more GST in total you pay.  A cut in the GST will help to make a plasma TV more attractive to someone who can afford one, but it won't make a lot of difference for those who can't afford such luxury items.  If the conservatives lower the basic income tax exemption from $6500 to $6000 and increase the bottom tax bracket from 15% to 16%, any saved GST will be instantly erased for those in lower tax brackets. 

Health Care 

I'd like to see the government reaffirm it's commitment to publicly funded / publicly provided health care...  Look at the States if you want to see what for-profit private health care can do for your citizens [read this] (where the leading cause of bankruptcy is medical expenses, tens of millions of the citizens have no health coverage, insurance providers have been known to drop the sick forcing them to pay legal as well as medical expenses while they are forced to sue to try to recover costs from their former providers)...

I pay taxes for health care, I don't want companies making a profit from that.  I don't think profiteering on people's illness and injury is ethical.

Environment

I feel very strongly that Canada should make every effort to live up to it's Kyoto commitments for reducing green house gases.  We owe it to our selves, to future generations and to the planet that has given us all so much (think about all the food you eat, the material that went into all the many things you own, your favourite camping ground or park). 

Equality 

All Canadians should be equal before the law, that includes those of different sexual orientations.  I've never understood why people think Gay marriages dilutes the strength, significance or meaning of traditional marriages -- they don't.  Any two people should have the right to declare their love for each other and make a commitment with the legal rights and obligations that go with that if they both wish to do so.

Get Out There!

In any case I hope, should the conservatives come to power, they govern with the aims of retaking the middle ground (the progressive part of the old progressive conservatives) rather then taking a right-wing republican divide and conquer approach to things. 

No sitting on the couch waiting for the Leafs to lose again to Ottawa, get out there and vote for someone, Canada!