Pressured by the Harperites, Elections Canada played perfectly into their Rove-like voter repression strategy yesterday in suspending special ballot voting on campuses across the country. If I were a university student, no matter what my voter preference, I’d be appalled if not outraged at such an ant-democractic tactic, and it amazes me how few pundits and media types have twigged to what’s really going on here. Aware of well-established voting trends on campus, the Harperites know that this potential campus vote is not, in general, going to favour them; it’s going to be for one of the other four parties. And so, in addition to all the strong-arm assaults against students at Harperite rallies, we now have another manipulative, unethical way to work towards that coveted majority. What further imported Republican-style dirt tricks are we now going to witness during the remainder of the campaign? This is really scary.
I urge all those students who want to vote on campus but will not be able to do so to bring your energy and passion for voting to your home riding or advanced polls, which begin on April 22. The future is yours to lose.
The importance of youth voting
Elections Canada puts end to ‘special ballot’ voting
Elections Canada rejects Tory bid to quash student votes
ANOTHER REASON, TO FEAR STEPHEN HARPER is explained by Ted Morton in an Apr 21,2011 debate on recent bills in Alberta's legislature.
ReplyDeleteLike the Wildrose Alliance, Ted Morton explains that when the Reform party was in the minority with Stockwell Day and Stephen Harper, that they ran a campaign of misinterpretation, misinformation, exaggerate and take things out of context.
Here is transcribed portion of
Ted Morton debating Keith Wilson April 21, 2011, Eckville, Alberta, Canada
Go To Part 9, starting at 0:29 to hear it.
http://www.landownersagainstbills.com/apps/videos/videos/show/13448761-part-9-eckville-debate-wilson-morton-berger
Ted Morton: I think our disagreement is more political. Which political party in this province is going to strike the right balance on environment, development and protect property rights. We've heard that, we've heard that the Wildrose Alliance has won a, run a very slick campaign of misinterpretration, misinformation, and scared the, scared the hell out of, and scared the hell out of landowners... jeers from the crowd....
Ted Morton: Okay, okay, I'm not a newcomer to politics. I work, I work I worked with the Reform party, with people that you supported- Preston Manning, Stockwell Day, Stephen Harper, back in the Reform Party days when we were in the minority, and I know what opposition parties have to do, because I've been there. In fact I'm the only member of our caucus that has been there. And you exaggerate and take out of context and I'd have to admit in this case the Wild Rose has done a pretty good job. But at the end of the day, the end of the day, the facts, the facts, the facts are simply not on the side. I think you have an open mind and to listen to us tonight, you would get a clear picture. Now for 40 years, 40 years, people in rural Alberta, rural land owners, farmers and ranchers like yourselves, most of you have supported our PC Party of Alberta, and we've supported you. Bill 36 doesn't change that. The last thing we want to do, in a caucus with half of our, almost half of our caucus are rural landowners are weaken property rights, and Bill 36 does not do that [from audience: Yes it does; inaudible]. In the 21st, in the 21st century, the greatest threat to landowners is not expropriation, this is regulatory taking, (?it, is?) having environmental policy run by interest groups (to? through?) the courts. Bill 36 addresses both of those.