Political Question 1. Name the leaders of Canada’s three main federal political parties, and name the three leading candidates for President of the USA.
Answer. Justin Trudeau, Jagmeet Singh and Pierre Poilievre are Canada’s political party leaders and Joe Biden, Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy, Jr. the leading candidates for USA president.
Political Question 2. Which of these six politicians are able to articulate their policies and principles with respect to the economy, international affairs including defence, environment, health, education, labour and civil rights?
Answer. To this voter, both Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh appear to have no consistent policies on matters that are important to me. They have an interest in controlling Canadian citizens and gaining more power. Pierre Poilievre appears to be far above the other two party leaders, but remember that it’s much easier to look good when you are in opposition with a mandate to offer criticism.
Of the Americans, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are hopeless. Biden because his mind is past its best before date and Trump because of his apparent ethical impairment. Kennedy appears to have a good grasp of most issues that a USA president will have to address; he reviews the evidence and the forms his opinions. His major handicap is not being the candidate of a major American political party.
Political Question 3. Given the liabilities of at least four party leaders or candidates, why are they still party leaders or candidates?
Answer. Our political parties are dysfunctional. I’m pretty sure that most Canadians would gladly jettison Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh. The USA has lots of intelligent and capable citizens, perhaps 50% of them would make a better president the either Joe Biden or Donald Trump.
Political Question 4. So why are these incompetent party leaders or presidential candidates still in place?
Answer. I don’t know but there are any number of possibilities. Party members are scared of the party leaders or party apparatus. They lack the guts stand up for the electorate. They are comfortable with their place in politics. There is no real mechanism to remove the leaders. Representing the citizens will jeopardize their income.
Political Question 5. What’s the answer?
Answer. We, the people, have let go of our political apathy; we have to get involved. Those who have the credentials should stand for office.
Citizens should demand-
· Ethical behaviour of their leaders
· Evidence-based decisions
· Representatives vote with their conscience and not simply along party lines
· Representatives actually consult and represent their constituents
· The ability to recall a failing representative
· The ability of representatives to recall a failing leader
· Civil discourse and debate among politicians and citizens. Stop to all censorship
Another very glaring problem with the Canadian government is its schizophrenic belief that we need more attention on the world stage than we actually deserve. We are a large landmass country, with a very small population and many problems that we need to focus on solving before we focus outward. It is time for us to all stop putting our faith in politicians that are would-be demagogues and abolish both “the career politician” and adopt proportional representation. Taxing billionaires would also be a great first step.