Given that Canadians are pretty election exhausted, it would make sense, to ensure we don’t have record low turn out in this election as we did in the last, that the whole event be girded by and predicated upon issues of substance that will galvanize Canadians to the polls and drive an important and meaningful discussion among the citizens of this country. The question, of course, is: what are those issues?I have decided to do the same thing. I don't get the same readership that The League does, but if anyone wants to comment here, go right ahead. If you want to go over to Scott's post and comment, you should do that too; you can bet I'll be commenting there.
Alright, enough prologue. Now go at it: if we go to the polls, what issues should we be debating?
(By the way, while you're there, poke around a bit. I've started delving into some of their posts, new and old, and very much enjoying the writing, tone and relative civility on display.)
Posts
OK, no one's commented, so I should probably kick this off. Here are a few potential topics for the next election:
ReplyDeleteAfghanistan
I mean, how can't this be an issue? I still support the war, but I think there needs to be a new focus. We have to decide on our goals, and what we'll need to see to get out. We should probably stop worrying about poppy eradication. We might want to think of setting milestones - not strict deadlines - in order to gauge our effectiveness.
Taxation
Our tax system is offensively complicated. We need to address that, preferably moving away from income-based taxation to consumption taxes. Failing that, flattening out the tax system wouldn't be a bad idea.
Trade
We need to re-dedicate ourselves to free trade. This means, not only, pressuring other countries to adopt free trade, but be willing to go it alone, no matter what protectionist measures other countries take.
Honduras
We need support the new government as they move towards elections this fall.
School Choice
Yeah, I know, education is a provincial concern, but if the feds can argue about health care, they can spend some time on education. There isn't a lot that the feds can do, but (assuming we don't totally simplify the tax code) the feds could give a tax rebate for private school tuition. It's insufficient, but its a start.
So... anyone else want to say something?