OMG COALITION OMG

Well we all knew it would come to this. Harper decided to have an election for all the wrong reasons, reopened wounds and spent millions on PC propaganda, won another minority government and retreated back into his cave. Then there was this great election in the States which ended up with an awesome, progressive leader being chosen and many Canadians were all like “wait- we totally got ripped off.” And now coalition-yesthese Canadian are angry and taking over my Facebook page, excited out of their minds about a progressive collation of Canadian political parties. And they should be- this could mean the end of conservative bullies ruling over the government of my wonderful left-leaning country. This could mean the thousands of Canadians who work in the arts, who value environment ethics, who want assurance they will have control over their reproductive rights will have their voices heard. This coalition is what we have to do.

That being said, I’m not somersaulting onto the coalition bandwagon. This is a situation Canada shouldn’t be in in the first place. We shouldn’t have a Prime Minister well under half the population supports, or a smattering of left-wing parties that can’t get their act together. But my biggest reservation has to do with this mythical creature “the coalition government.” Having many questions about it, I clicked the helpful link on the CBC’s webpage that promised to explain how a coalition government worked. And this is the thing- the article was an interview with a Political Science professor who studies Canadian politics for a living, and his answer to every question was a well-worded “I don’t know.” How will it affect us? We don’t know. Who will lead the party? We don’t know. What exactly is a coalition government? We don’t even know that. This is what scares me. Maybe now the coalition sounds like a great idea, but what if it does gain a majority and has to lead the country? Is the Liberal party going to end up absorbicoalition-leadersng the NDP? What about the policies the parties disagree on, like the war in Afghanistan, or the privatization of health care?

So there’s a rally tonight supporting the coalition government and I’m not going. I will put my vote behind it, if that’s what it comes down to, but it’s just not something I want to wave signs and chant about. I’m not on the bandwagon, but I’ll be there to fix a wagon wheel or give a push if you need me.