Give and take is fair play!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) October 6, 2011 -- When it comes to the provincial election, what has happened in Ontario, in the last 30 days, illustrates that the mainstream parties hold this cynical view: “Rules, like promises and pie crusts, are made to be broken.”

There are 21 registered parties in Ontario, of which one third have been registered recently, and there are over 650 candidates running for 107 seats in Queen’s Park. What we have witnessed recently is a total embarrassment for the free world; only the mainstream Liberals-Conservative-NDP have received a voice, and all they have accomplished is to give democracy a bad name.
Democracy comes from the Greek, demos "people" and kratos "power",and it means "rule of the people". However, what just has happened in Ontario is nothing but Monecracy, if I may coin a new word, emanating from kratos and moneta, "money". These three amigos of Monecracy started their campaign just after the last election in 2007, and they have raised needed funds, recruited and trained candidates, and made connection with their affiliated media.

At election time they already have their staff and members in the strategic places, signs and advertisement materials are printed, commercials are produced and broadcasted months before the writ is dropped, interviews are scheduled, questions and answers are planned, prepared, and practiced to perfection, statistics and the demography of each riding is scientifically mapped and uploaded into their databases, volunteers have received their notices of draft, and all that is left is for them to do is have fun, spend money, and have a blast. It’s ”party time.”
In contrast, for those limited number of concerned citizens, candidates who are independent, or from up-start or fringe parties, who genuinely try to restore basic Democracy and mitigate the existing Monecracy, a futile attempt at best, it is a different story. They must first learn the rules of Elections Ontario, then collect a number of voters’ signatures, and find both a CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and an auditor to complete their application for nomination, in a period of eight days.

After their nomination they must beg their friends and relatives to help them (which is unlikely) write down what they have in their minds, squeeze a few bucks to make few photocopies, knock on doors, explain to the cynical electorate what they are all about, try unsuccessfully to participate in their so-called “All Candidates Debate,” and make sure to follow the rule of law.

When it comes to that law, I guess “what is sauce for the goose is not sauce for the gander.”According to the Elections Finance Act, it is prohibited to publish, broadcast, or transmit political advertising during the blackout period on Election Day and the day before the election. Last night, when that advertising restrictions and blackout period was in effect, I saw an older gentleman with his bicycle walking around my neighbourhood around 8PM distributing flyers of the incumbent NDP MPP, Mr. Peter Tabuns, door to door. To my disbelief when I came down from my apartment with my camera to take a picture of him, I saw another middle aged gentleman doing the same on behalf of Mrs. Rita Jethi, the Conservative candidate in the Toronto-Danforth riding, and later I saw her and couple of other gentlemen doing the same, a few blocks away. Although I reported both incidents to the District Riding Officer in person a few minutes later, it seemed that nothing could be done at that time.

Not only do these mainstream parties’ candidates break the law, they also contradict what they claim they stand for. The NDP, which advocates fairness and justice, breaks the rules shamelessly and takes credit for actions that they never perform. For example, Mrs. Cathy Crowe, who is running in Toronto-Centre, appeared on the Goldhawk show on September 26th, and compared Mr. Peter Tabuns with Mr. David Suzuki when she said “up there with Suzuki in Canada” with regard to his environmental awareness, and yet one cannot miss the sea of plastic signs that have covered the entire riding for the last month, or the frequency of the glossy colour pamphlets that were delivered into more than 44,000 households in the area.
The other two amigos are not better either. The Conservatives claim to be tough on crime and portray themselves as the moral compass of society, and yet their very own candidate and her bodies are crawling in the dark to distribute their campaign flyers, when it has conspicuously been communicated not to do so. And yet, we blame games, movies, and TV programmes for misbehaviour of the younger generation whereas these so-called righteous members of mainstream parties lead these young minds by their own example?

Last month, the campaign of these three amigos turned the whole process of democracy into a farce, and a mockery of taxpayers. It feels like their candidates are being selected and coached based on the high school system, especially when it comes to the one who runs government.

At the top there are a few “Seniors” who know for sure that their ridings are solid. This group usually consists of cabinet ministers who have been given the means to take care of their ridings because of the posts they hold, and the power they have been given, by the party leader, I might add.

The second tier are “Juniors” who, I believe, are in the recycle system of the party, placed logistically as needed, mainly because they have a connection to a specific group of people who predominate in a specific riding. “Juniors” are usually like travelling snake oil salespersons.
“Sophomores” are the third group, which I call the “maybe” pile, and these individual are positioned in the areas where they do not have anyone from the first two categories to place. Usually these individuals have limited experience and are given an opportunity to prove themselves and climb the ladder in their party, and the party executives treat them as a gambling bet, after estimating the odds, of course.

The last group consists of “Freshmen” who become candidates for the ridings that their party has the least hope of winning. The majority of this bunch have no political or campaign experience and this is a chance for them to wet their feet for the first time and learn the game. These rookies usually carry a binder and engage in questions and answers, using the notes that have been provided to them. They can easily be identified since their own party doesn’t bother to give them minimal basic training. Their performance, however, is closely evaluated by their chaperones.

Now here we are, in the 2011 Ontario General Election: a lot has happened and nothing has changed. The voters are going to the polls today and one of these amigos will be elected for the next four years and all that they have preached will be erased from the public’s mind. People are busy preparing for the upcoming long weekend and the Thanksgiving Monday and starting Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011, the planning for the 2015 election will commence by these three mainstream parties, using the taxpayers’ resources. As for the electorate, they will go back to their routine of complaining about politicians and their empty promises. But are these complaints justified ? After all, “fair exchange is no robbery.”

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