By Stephen Vance, Editor
Labour Day weekend is here, and you can feel the excitement in the air – and not just from parents of kids that will return to school in a few short days.
Meaford is a beehive of activity this weekend with the Meaford International Film Festival, the Fall Fair, the Farmers’ Market, the Net Shed, and a host of other activities in full swing.
If you’re lucky, you might even bump into a federal election candidate or two at some of these events. Candidates love to show up at busy events to work the crowd, hand out literature, and beg for your vote. If there’s free food, even better: expect to encounter more than one candidate. Candidates love free food. Some candidates fly solo at these events, while others, particularly those who dress in red or orange, prefer the team approach, and will be flanked by similarly colour-coordinated volunteers – many of whom will have much higher energy levels than the candidates. And, when pressed, some of those volunteers can’t even explain their party’s platform with any degree of accuracy, but they can tell you all about the evils of the other party platforms – better stick with talking to the candidate themselves.
Depending which candidate you happen upon, your experience will likely vary.
The Conservative candidate might not answer any questions, and will likely decline or talk around, defending their record on the Hill, but they will no doubt pose for photos, shake hands, and spout some sort of party-supplied talking points through a clenched jaw.
The Liberal candidate, on the other hand, will talk your ear off as they hand you glossy literature that will no doubt feature a prominent photo of their perfectly coiffed, baby-faced, son of a Canadian icon, leader. You would be well advised to be wearing sunglasses should you encounter a Liberal candidate: head-to-toe tomato red clothing can assault the eyeballs. You have been warned.
If, in your travels, you were to happen upon an NDP candidate, prepare for a lengthy discussion that at times might feel more like a lecture. An NDP candidate is likely to have many facts and figures to share, most of them important, but many will be lost in a bland delivery, and literature sorely missing a pin-up boy quality photo to divert your attention from real issues.
The Green candidate can be an elusive, shy creature. Should you encounter a Green candidate, approach slowly so as not to scare them off; the Green candidates are relatively new to the political jungle, and though their platform is a confusing mess of political ideology and environmental stewardship, they do have some relevant arguments that should be heard – when they have the opportunity to be heard.
Whichever candidates you might bump into over the next several weeks in this longer-than-usual campaign, don’t let them off easy. Hit them with questions that matter to you. If they don’t have answers, or seem uncertain of the answers, hit them harder, make them work – they are asking for your vote after all, and your vote has value.
While it is important to ask tough questions of candidates so that you can decide how best to cast your vote, remember two more things – the candidate is a member of your community who has stepped up to offer their service as your representative in Parliament, and, the candidate is not the leader of their party and they shouldn’t have to account for the actions of their party leader, any more than you should be held to account for the actions of your boss at your workplace.
Treat the candidates with respect. When the election is over they will be back to being regular members of the community just like you (save for the candidate who is elected of course), and if you want to attack or complain about the party leader, contact the party leader. Certainly it is fair to ask a candidate for their thoughts on the actions of their party leader, but leave it at that. You are electing a local representative, and it is far more important to know what the candidate will do for you.
Then again, if their party leader won’t allow the candidate to talk freely – or talk at all – perhaps consider taking your vote elsewhere.
