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LETTER: Reshape Canada in federal election

Transformation in government necessary to have locals heard
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The next federal election is only about three months away, but Canada is in the middle of a complex political transformation that makes voting a very challenging process.

Traditionally, we would vote for a party of our choice. Today elections are all about party leaders, as MPs have been reduced to rubber stamps.

It began almost 40 years ago, when the prime minister of the day, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, instead of terminating our colonial relationship with Britain arbitrarily adopted the British North America Act (BNA).

Canadians were never allowed an opportunity to vote on whether we wanted to adopt the BNA as our constitution or write our own.

Instead, Trudeau rammed the BNA down our throats, and kept the colonial two-party system, which almost guaranteed the Liberals and Conservatives alternately would form the government.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper had nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, including our federal Parliament, where he used his power to control our democratically elected MPs and hijacked the Conservative Party’s nomination process, using party discipline to turn the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) into a political control centre.

He also distinguished himself by being the first and only Canadian prime minister found in contempt of Parliament.

Our current prime minister Justin Trudeau has clearly demonstrated he has no more respect for our democratic rights than his late father or Harper.

During the last election he campaigned and won, telling the voters that if he became our prime minister we would never use that colonial first-past-the-post (FPTP) ballot again. Today we all know he lied.

Like his late father and Harper, there is absolutely no way any of them want us to have democratic governments that would fairly represent all citizens.

On behalf of Canada, Trudeau also adopted the United Nations ‘Global accord for migration,’ hoping to win a seat on the UN security council, where he would be in a powerful position to promote his socialist agenda.

That also opened our borders for migrants, legal and illegal, while upgrading another former prime minister ‘lying Brian’ Mulroney’s ‘tolerance and understanding’ to his ‘diversity is our salvation,’ pandering to the ethnic voters.

In the past, policy manuals were based on input from party members.

Today, party leaders and backroom power brokers develop virtually all policies, and policy conventions have become a sideshow where the delegates are obliged to ratify the leaders’ actions and policies.

In other words, local input is of little value, as MPs no longer get their directions from the people.

They are being controlled by their party leaders, and election strategies are all about what party leaders believe they have to tell the people to get their vote, leaving voters empty-handed about what issues they are going to pursue if elected.

The truth is no longer convenient, and lies are just common mistakes.

Andy Thomsen