Burlington environmentalist likes the Member of Parliament we had before she was made a Cabinet Minister.

opinionandcommentBy Vince Fiorito

February 9th, 2017

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Let me get this straight. You admire Karina’s increased ability to avoid answering questions and spinning her answers? I think that’s why most people have low opinions of politicians. Shouldn’t a leader’s actions reflect their words?

Watching Karina Gould evolve since the election, feels like a political version of “Breaking Bad”. I like the old Karina better when she made statements like these:

Gould in the House of Commons

Karina Gould, then just a Member of the House of Commons.

Karina Gould June 2016
“Electoral reform is the next step in this evolution toward a more inclusive system. We can build a better system that provides a stronger link between the democratic will of Canadians and the election results.”

Karina Gould Sept 2016
“The first-past-the-post system that we have is pretty good at producing majority governments but it’s often considered to be a false majority because our government and the previous Conservative government didn’t really go above 39%, 42% of the vote yet would have much more than 50% of the seats in the house.”

Now, she says Canadians don’t have consensus on electoral refrom. What asked what would be a consensus, she couldn’t answer that either,

For the record, consensus is when everyone agrees. IN a large group, consensus is a super majority (2/3) or better. Consensus is where people working together to solve a problem end up. Its not where they start. Not achieving consensus means the job isn’t over.

I can’t know what Karina was thinking when she accepted this bag of excrement from Justin Trudeau. I hoped when I heard the bad news that she’d stand up to Trudeau and show everyone who voted for her in good faith, that their trust was well placed.

Speaking of Trudeau. Why didn’t he break the bad news himself, considering his words:

Trudeau Justin with signs behind

Justin Trudeau during the election campaign in which he announced this would be the last election where the first past the post was the winner.

Justin Trudeau, December 2016
“I make promises because I believe in them. I’ve heard loudly and clearly that Canadians want a better system of governance, a better system of choosing our governments, and I’m working very hard so that 2015 is indeed the last election under first-past-the-post. Canadians elect governments to do hard things and don’t expect us to throw up our hands when things are a little difficult. ‘Oh, it’s more difficult than we thought it could be’ and therefore we’re just just going to give up. No, I’m sorry, that’s not the way I was raised. That’s not the way I’m going to move forward on a broad range of issues, regardless of how difficult they may seem at a given point.”

Gould - first scrum

Minister of Democratic Institutions Karina Gould at her first news scrum.

Yet when it came time to break the bad news, where was Trudeau? He sent Karina out by herself. He didn’t even have the guts to stand behind Karina in symbolic support. That’s cowardly imo.

I also thought the timing of release was a little rushed, like they were trying to hide the news about breaking their promise to reform our unfair electoral system behind a bigger news story around the same time that got far more national coverage.

While you might admire these qualities in politicians, I don’t. IMO, Politics doesn’t get much sadder, self-serving or cynical than this. The Trudeau Liberals never had any intention of reforming our election system or taking action on environmental issues. They were just empty words they used to steal support from the Green Party of Canada.

I feel sad for Trudeau’s and Gould’s gift of political cynicism he gave to all the young Canadians who believed them. I doubt many of them will vote in the next election. Why would they?

Background links:

Rivers on breaking election promises

The evolution of a politician

Vince FitorioVince Fiorito was the Green Party candidate for Burlington 2015.  He has   not stopped trying to reform Canada’s electoral system or taking action on the environment. Fiorito was the recipient of a watershed stewardship award from Conservation Halton. getting new - yellow

 

 

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4 comments to Burlington environmentalist likes the Member of Parliament we had before she was made a Cabinet Minister.

  • Hi Dan,

    Thank you for your compliment.

    I welcome all opinions, including ones I don’t share, provided the tone is respectful and polite. I believe everyone has something to learn and something to teach. I learn more by listening than by talking. I will bash ideas and actions if I disagree with them.

    I agree with you. The perceived choice between a healthy economy and a healthy planet is a false dichotomy. We can have our cake and eat it too. Real change is about a happier, healthier, more prosperous future for all Canadians, while being responsible stewards of the Earth’s biosphere which is the source of arable land, as well as clean air and water.

    When the Liberals won, I was hopeful for “Real Change”. Instead its now apparent they just said whatever they thought would help them win votes and “Stayed the Course” set by the Harper Conservatives on environmental issues. If Harper had won re-election he would have approved the Site C dam, more pipelines, LNG terminals and other big carbon projects, just like Trudeau.

    If we had a better electoral system, more people would have voted Green or NDP in the last election. Many people were conned into voting Liberal, rather than splitting the vote, out of fear of re-electing the Harper Conservatives. Everyone who voted “strategically”, is a victim of inherent unfairness in the FPTP electoral system, which benefits the top two political parties and hammers third parties like the Green and NDP. Every Canadian’s voice deserves to be heard, not just the 39% of Canadians who voted Liberal in our “Winner Take All” electoral system.

    Trudeau understood this unfairness when the Liberals were a third party. Now that the Liberals are the primary beneficiary of the FPTP electoral system, Trudeau no longer sees a reason to change.

    Anyone who would choose personal benefit above what best for their constituents and the country is unfit for public office.

  • Dan Lyons

    Well said Vince. To the previous commenter, agree that growing populations and reducing emissions are opposing forces, but not that technology, education and policy cannot solve those problems. Having said that, what does that have to do with electoral reform? I suggest that if our politicians were more representative and by virtue, collaborative, compromise solutions would emerge that would not only serve the greater good but also solve this conflicting reality. Bashing the Green party representatives views at every opportunity is precisely the kind of dialogue that we need to eliminate from the political landscape.

  • Look if you want to do something like cap carbon emissions AND import 250,000 plus immigrants a year – thus expanding the population. You have two opposing forces and the feds are responsible for each.

    Their is no way to have an environmentally “sustainable” infinitely expanding population. Technological improvements provide some benefit here, but it’s not enough.

    So either you become a leader make decisions and explain this to people OR you focus in what each group in front of you want to hear.

    • Hi Greg,

      Please don’t make any assumptions about me, or put words in my mouth. I can tell by your words, that you don’t know me or follow me on Facebook. (I accept all friend requests from people in the Hamilton Halton area)

      I would describe myself as a right leaning, socially progressive environmentalist. I entered politics to try to make the world a better place. I’m ambitious for change, not power. I don’t need money as I have enough. Also, I don’t dodge questions, or leave you wondering where I stand on issues. I am opinionated and open minded. I can be convinced to change my mind when presented with new evidence or points of logic I hadn’t considered.

      For the record, I wholeheartedly endorse Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Michael Chong’s plan to implement a revenue neutral carbon tax. I believe his free market based approach eliminates the need for many expensive government environmental programs. His approach will reduce government bureaucracy as well as corporate and personal income tax. Oh and as a side benefit, his approach will substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage innovation in clean technology. “GENIUS!”

      I support “responsible” business and development. The role of government is to create conditions which encourage people to dream big, take risks and make money. The more productive Canadians are, the higher everyone’s standard of living will be. Ecologically wise decisions must be the most convenient and profitable choice. Polluting and inefficiency should be expensive.

      Oil pipelines create few permanent jobs. Building refineries in Alberta and shipping finished product by a modernized rail infrastructure would create far more jobs. The people promoting pipelines as a boon to Canada’s economy are exaggerating their benefits and minimizing the risks. Renewable resource exploitation is the future. The stone age didn’t end when human ran out of rocks. They became obsolete as a result of better technology and so will the fossil fuels.

      Please do give me an opportunity to be a leader in Burlington. I’d have a much better chance if we reformed our electoral system. Canadians should be able to vote for who they want, rather “strategically” against who they hate. The FPTP electoral system is reason why we keep getting governments we don’t like.

      If you’d like to know more about me, please follow me on facebook, where you will get real answers to polite questions. I welcome all opinions including those I don’t share.