Last night I caught the BBC news about India's national election which started yesterday and goes on for several days. The story reminded me what sets apart mature and immature democracies.
Of the 545 members of the Lok Sahba, India's lower house in Parliament, 162 (30%) have criminal cases pending against them.
Of those 162 criminal cases, almost half, (76) are serious in nature, including murder and abduction.
Of the $801 million raised in political funding by the six major parties, $601 million comes from undisclosed sources.
So let's look at our democracy with a certain level of pride. I certainly don't want to compare ourselves to India, but our election system is fair and efficient.
Most important is the level of maturity displayed by voters, where sovereigntists and federalists have respected the will of the majority without violence or rancour. It's a lot to be proud of.
Compare ourselves to the United States with all their voting machines and technology, where results are often murky, sometimes taking days to figure out, often leading to court challenges.
Last Week I predicted..Lib-73..PQ-39...CAQ-9...QS-3..Pretty close to this final poll! |
Here in Quebec, as in the rest of Canada we count every vote by hand, but usually have results within an hour and a half of the polls closing.
There's little controversy, with recounts happening only when the tally is extremely close, a few dozen votes or less.
I haven't counted votes since I was a teen, but remember how a painless the process was, with scrutineers from all parties agreeing on just about every vote, once in a Blue Moon, referring a ballot to the returning officer.
These past two years have been somewhat humiliating for all Quebec citizens, the level and depth of corruption a shock and surprise to all regular Joes and Janes who pay their taxes without too much griping and certainly with no opportunity to thieve the system.
These past days have proven that the PQ is as dishonest as the Liberals and I'm not buying the argument that its a level of degree as the PQ proclaim
...Qui vole un œuf, vole un bœuf
(Someone dishonest enough to steal a small thing can steal a big thing as well.)
The reality is that this corruption has pervaded all strata of Quebec society, with no distinction for language, ethnicity, political persuasion or political affiliation. If the Liberals were more corrupt, it was a result of opportunity
But in respect to corruption, I remain hopeful that the worst is behind us. Like addiction, admitting the problem is half the solution.
Unlike certain crime which is a zero sum affair (like busting a cocaine distribution ring, only to have another pop up almost immediately to replace it,) corruption can be reduced significantly with the right safeguards and a commitment to stamp it out.
I think we are getting there..
I look at the Charbonneau Commission as our very own Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a necessary and cathartic exercise, that will hopefully see us move into an era where public officials are more honest, perhaps not out of integrity but fear of being caught and punished.
The over-riding opinion by miscreants that everybody was stealing and that they wouldn't be caught was the main impetus to corruption. That idea is in the process of being destroyed.
But I digress...and so back to the election;
To those of us who will lose 'their' election tonight I sympathize, it always tough.
I never was a big gambler, but I stopped altogether (even Lotto tickets) many years ago, because losing always hurt worse than winning felt good. I just hated losing.
It's the same with elections.
So with eager anticipation, we vote and then we live with the results, like or not.
By the way, not many people who drop by this blog omit to vote, but if you are oner of those, don't feel bad despite the holier-than-thou rhetoric of those who say that if you don't vote, you can't complain.
The real mark of a democracy is freedom, and those who demand that you vote are the same who demand a greater government intervention in our lives.
Freedom of choice includes the freedom not to participate. I loathe those commercials beseeching people to vote, they are a waste of money and a misguided effort to tell us how to live.
Those who don't vote gives more power to those who care, and that somehow in my humble opinion, is actually a good thing!...
And now focus your attention, if you please, on the comments section, LIVE BLOGGING starts at 8:00PM.
Please participate!
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ReplyDeleteLast night, at Wrestlemania, the Undertaker's career came to an end. Now it's Marois' turn.
ReplyDeletetoo bad king kong bundy wouldn't sit on marois
DeleteWell I cast my ballot in a riding where ones vote is meaningless as 80 percent of the population always votes the same. But I still made my statement and however small and meaningless at least I exercised my right to vote. Its a shame we have such an unfair electoral system. Its high time we have a system in which all votes are equal. We are far from that..with ridings much bigger than others..a system that results in many votes not counting for anything. You can have a riding in which 33.5 percent vote for party a, 33.3 for party B and 33.2 for party C. The votes for party B and C are flushed out of the system..no influence whatsoever even though the majority of people in that riding DO NOT support party A. This is NOT democracy. Perhaps we are better than India but thats not saying much..lets strive to be the BEST in the world when it comes to democracy.
ReplyDeleteMr. Berlach,
ReplyDelete...because losing always hurt worse than winning felt good. I just hated losing.
And you remain a season-ticket holder of the Habs? :-)
"But with one fiery declaration, Mr. Péladeau appears to have all but demolished his party’s hopes for victory in Monday’s snap election." New York Times
ReplyDeleteI made a comment a few weeks ago about PKP. I found it very odd that he jumped in with the PQ and then started spouting off on seperation as if he intentionally was trying to sabotage the PQ. There are reports that he was on pretty friendly terms with Harper..Videotron was just awarded a big license across Canada..Sun News is very pro-Harper..and Mr.Mulroney is the chief of the board of directors in Quebecor.
ReplyDeleteDoesnt seem more likely that PKP would be a conservative?? If anything he should have joined the CAQ. I think there is an argument to be made that this was a well planned deliberate take down of the PQ possibly with Harper and Mulroney involved in the background.
What surprises me is how dumb the PQ were in taking a right wing union basher into their party?
And, of course, Quebecor was awarded that contract instead of Verizon - keeping the industry Canadian.
DeleteIt seems that perhaps this was just terrible timing on the part of PKP, that the tide was turning anyway. 40 years is a full generation and enough time for a movement to come to a natural end.
Oh, the idea of separatism will never be gone completely, but then, in most ridings today there will be a Marxist on the ballot, too (maybe even a Maoist...).
Well thats the conventional story that the mainstream media is pushing. The MSM consistently is wrong about many stories.
DeleteIt just seemed a little too obvious PKP showing up with his awkard hand pumping and yacking about seperation right off the bat. I think there is a lot more than meets the eye..in any case the result is a good one..the end of the PQ for awhile..
To my dearest son John.
ReplyDeleteOn April 7th, 2014, PQnet suffered a grievous setback - a setback that ultimately proved deceptive.
What appeared on the surface like a bloodless-bloodbath was in fact the seed of something graver.
The warring factions who ultimately tore PQnet to shreds following it's defeat transformed themselves into the most vicious of all the Xenadrones.
John, take heed - this is not the end. PQnet is merely weak right now, but not defeated.
Their army of rabid sepatrolls are constantly on the ready and all it takes is a strong PQnet to channel their mania.
In the event that you lost my past entries to you John, use the following search tag in Google: sarah connor+nodogsoranglophones
@From Sarah Connors:
ReplyDeleteLame.
I know.
DeleteIt's just that since, after tonight the PQ won't be a threat again for a long time, I couldn't muster the same zeal.
Can't say I'm sorry.
Article from the National Post on Miss Piggy: - by Mr. Kay
ReplyDeletehttp://goo.gl/Rgcpfa
Delmar offering an extra day off to employees if the PQ don't get back into power! Wish more proud Canadian companies would do likewise:
Deletehttp://goo.gl/WP40JU
Well written and so true article by Mr.Kay - lets hope the polls are right in the sense that the PQ get decimated.
DeleteOh..look what the cat dragged in, lol.
DeleteI wonder if we would have gotten such an animated objection had it been a pro-PQ company doing the same thing, should Liberals lose. Mmmm.. Lol
Last ditch effort by some quebecois artistes (highly subsidized with your tax $) to con voters to vote PQ:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.antagoniste.net/2014/04/07/je-me-croise-les-doigts/
Looks like the famous Québecois folk-rock band "Les Chômeurs" practicing their return to the garden of eden poetry.
Deletehttp://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/Letter+What+disappointing+take+values+charter+Frédéric+Bastien/9702287/story.html
ReplyDeleteWell said!
Never have I witnessed such line-up's to vote...I will tell you this, somebody pissed off the Allophones, lol...pissed them off..BIG TIME!
ReplyDeleteWhat I'd give to be inside Marois' head for just 20 minutes right now. She was so smug the night she was elected after orchestrating a fake student crisis, and now she's about to get served...only 18 months later.
DeleteFunny how one of her life's ambition's was to become Quebec's first female premier...but she'll forever be better known as Quebec's most transitional premier.
"Spare Tire" Marois!!
Ho Ho!
Fake Tom Hagen got elected...(barf bag pls)
DeleteHow did brain-drain do?
First official win is Liberal, bitches.
ReplyDeleteJust 18 minutes after the polls are closed, CTV Montreal calls a QLP win.
ReplyDelete32 minutes in, CTV projections point to QLP majority government.
ReplyDeleteIn case you haven't heard, CBC is reporting that Marois is currently losing to the Liberal candidate in her riding. Polling still early though...
ReplyDeletePauline's seat is looking pretty shaky so far... still very early but nice to see her second.
ReplyDeleteCBC just announced a Liberal MAJORITY.
It's not looking good for De Courcy and Lisée is neck-and-neck with the Liberal this early.
ReplyDeleteWho knew there were so many Ontario students "stealing" the election?!
Does anybody know what PKP's current polling numbers are?
ReplyDeletePKP is at 38% ahead of CAQ at 30% and has been declared elected by CBC.
ReplyDeleteIt's not looking good for LBB so far.
The Liberal is leading in Sherbrooke... I wonder if we're going to hear "Ce n'est que partie remise!" again from a certain someone.
Ho Ho!
Nevermind. CBC just reported that PKP has won St. Jerome. He won by a large margin actually.
ReplyDeleteThanks R.S.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWell, finally, we took out the trash...well done people!
DeleteSince the Liberals are back in....maybe now will be the time to lobby for proportional representation.
ReplyDelete@Editor,
Could that not be an initiative we can begin with this blog? Just a thought...
cause he knows what he's talking about. does it bother you?
ReplyDeleteearly would be a more appropriate word than impressive.
ReplyDelete(sad trumpet)
ReplyDeleteGilles Duceppe said Montreal is a bilingual city, he knows what he's talking about! lol
ReplyDelete