HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2015-09-23, Page 44 News Record • Wednesday, September 23, 2015
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opinion
Hyperbole aside, differences slim among parties
The great irony of the fed-
eral election campaign is
that while it is being uni-
versally portrayed as a his-
toric, wide-open race
between three parties with
divergent ideologies and
positions on key issues -- a
real and important choice,
in other words -- the gov-
ernment we will get after
Oct. 19 is largely
pre -determined.
It's by no means a fore-
gone conclusion who will
win the election. A month
out, it's impossible to
untangle the intricate nee-
dlework of red, blue and
orange threads depicted in
the polls and comfortably
project an outcome. But for
all the rhetoric and fear -
mongering, the truth is that
whatever colour the win-
ning party wears, there will
be little distinctive about
how it governs the country.
In the United States, the
early frontrunner for the
Republican nomination is
talking about literally
building a wall as immigra-
tion policy. In Canada, par-
tisans are accusing each
other of either veiled rac-
ism or reckless inattention
to security over a minor dif-
ference in the number of
Syrian refugees to admit to
the country, the full range
between the three parties'
positions on the matter
being from 10,000 to
25,000.
In the U.S., a serious
Democratic contender is
talking about increasing
spending by $18 billion and
increasing taxes by $6.5 tril-
lion over 10 years, accord-
ing to one estimate. In the
U.K., the newly elected
leader of the Opposition
has advocated sweeping
changes to economic pol-
icy, nationalizing public
utilities and other enter-
prises, and abolishing tui-
tion fees.
In Canada, the wide array
of options for the economy
includes platforms calling
for: a) a balanced budget;
b) a balanced budget; or c)
a deficit equivalent to less
than four per cent of the
budget. Even the party that
is warning of the disastrous
consequences of running
deficits and expanding the
size of government is the
one that ran deficits and
expanded the size of gov-
ernment seven of the last
eight years.
On national security,
among the key issues is
whether to continue, recast
or halt a mission involving
six fighter jets and six
dozen soldiers on the
ground in Iraq and Syria.
It's not an inconsequential
matter, but it's hardly
Vietnam.
On health care, which
ought to be the subject of a
meaningful debate in Can-
ada, we hear very little. Our
system is expensive and
ranks poorly. Surely that
would be fertile ground for
an opposition party, at a
minimum. But nobody
dares touch it in a mean-
ingful way.
The dynamic is a product
of many factors, including
the regional diversity of
Canada and the corre-
sponding necessity to
appeal to a broad coalition
of voters. Apart from the
free trade election of 1988,
we've rarely had a fork in
the road based on the out-
come of one vote.
The parties would have
you believe otherwise.
Calamity is certain if the
wrong party is elected. A
certain amount of overstat-
ing the difference is
expected, but it's a bit rich
to pretend something enor-
mous is at stake this
autumn.
There is some comfort in
knowing that Canada will
not be dramatically altered
by one election. Unlike vot-
ers in some European
countries, we are spared
the fear of an extremist
being elected to power and
implementing radical
changes. To the extent that
there is left and right in
Canadian politics, it is the
wingspan of a mosquito fly-
ing above the centre line of
a four -lane highway.
But when we settle for the
safe, mushy middle, we
ignore bigger possibilities
and brighter opportunities.
Many Canadians would
welcome real debates about
creative solutions that are
more than marginal
differences.
At the very least, we
should spare ourselves the
hyperbole and acknowl-
edge that regardless of who
is in charge, for better and
for worse, modern politics
in Canada follow a very
narrow path and the coun-
try will not look very differ-
ent after the election, no
matter who wins.
- Mark Sutcliffe, Ottawa
Citizen
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