Why I Want to...
... enter politics as a Conservative Member of Parliament.
Shocked? Most who come here (which for the most part are a small group of friends) won't be all that surprised. But I've been mulling the question over in my mind for the last week, and after a visit to Ottawa, and a tour of Parliament, I think the question has been settled in my mind.
I've talked to a few people, and I've thus far only received positive feedback. Most of it is generally in the context of "I'm not surprised, go for it, our country could use more people like you in Ottawa".
Of course, if you plan on doing such a preposterous thing, you have to have a platform. An agenda, and not allow the other guy to tell everyone else what "scary/bad things" you want to do to the country. So I figure if I set the agenda now, I should be good to go in 5-9 years.This country is in a mess. And our biggest problem is that most of us, mainly in Ontario, don't have a clue that there is a problem. We have some major problems, and if they don't get taken care of NOW, this great country of ours will become but a blip on the world stage, and this great country of Canada, as we know it today, will cease to exist.
Here are the issues that I intend to raise and deal with in Ottawa, in no particular order:
1) Health Care
I DO NOT SUPPORT A TWO TIERED SYSTEM. The Canadian Health Care system should be kept Universal, no matter if you have the money to "jump the queue" or not.
I DO SUPPORT SOME PRIVATE DELIVERY OF SOME HEALTH CARE SERVICES. If some company in the private sector can do the same job sooner and at equal OR LESS cost, why on earth would anyone in Canada want to prevent that? In Ontario, we already use some private delivery of services... when your doctor writes a requisition to have blood work done, you often get directed to the local MDS Lab; a PRIVATE company that performs the services at NO COST TO YOU, and then bills the government a government SET FEE. MDS wants to keep their costs down, so they ensure that they do so in a cost effective manor. And my longest wait at an MDS Lab was less than HALF my average wait time at a local hospital... not to mention the wait time I had to get an appointment. At MDS? You can just walk in, any time, with your doctor's requisition in hand.
2) National Unity
A VOTE FOR THE LIBERAL PARTY IS A VOTE AGAINST CONFEDERATION.
a) The Liberal Party has been disgraced in Quebec, and is offensive to most Quebecers. The very program designed to make Canada more appealing ended up insulting the people of Quebec by implying that they could be "bought". Sovereignty has never had more support, and if Canada sends a Liberal government to Ottawa, it will be the final slap in the face. This country is for the first time, really in danger of being broken apart. The people of Quebec will not stand by as the rest of Canada insults them by returning the corrupt Liberal Party to Ottawa. A referendum will be held, and the result will be a resounding "OUI".
b) The Liberal Party has no interest in addressing Western issues, unless you live in one of the three major cites. A recent poll indicated that 43% of Albertans are now willing to talk about the concept of separation. They don't need Canada, and are now willing to talk about it, as the Liberal Party has no interest in dealing with their issues.
c) The Liberal Party does not care about issues relating to rural Ontario because...
d) The Liberal Party only cares about the cities, because that's where the votes are. And they will say anything to make cities happy, at any cost, (say, $4.6 billion dollars or so...) yet they will continue to do nothing unless it happens to look good for the media.
e) The Liberal Party is more interested in giving hand outs to the Maritimes in order to buy their votes than it is in actually solving the employment issues of seasonal workers and the under or un-employed. The fisheries will continue to close, and nothing will be done about it until a new party is sent to Ottawa.
f) The Liberal Party is CORRUPT. The Party's top echelons still contain many of the same corrupt people responsible for sponsorship, who have not been purged, and who cannot be trusted with your money.
3) The Economy
More to come
4) Our First Nations
How long have they been waiting for Ottawa to address their legitimate concerns? In the last 12 years, can you tell me that the lives of Native Canadians have gotten better? True, we now have Nunavut, with a mainly aboriginal government; however, more needs to be done. Land claims need to be settled, use of natural resources need to be addressed, (hunting, fishing, forestry) the issues of unemployment need to be addressed. Native Canadians need to be given the tools to solve most of these problems in their own ways, and not simply have more money thrown at them. (though more money may and likely will be needed) I desire to correct as many of the misdeeds of past generations as can be corrected, and help our First Nations to rebuild their ancestral nations within our own.
5) Crime and Justice
Guns - I used to live in TO. Many friends still do. One of my best friends lives and works with youth in Malvern; home of the "Malvern Crew". 44 dead, 34 in gun related crimes, THIS YEAR ALONE. And what has the Gun Registry gotten us? More paperwork and costs to our farmers, and NO REDUCTIONS IN GUNS ON THE STREETS. How about a mandatory 10 years added to any sentence for using a gun in a crime? Yes, there are root causes to crime, and they need to be addressed, but the DECADES needed to change things is far too long. So, let’s start making the changes, and in the mean time, make sure that everyone knows that even CARRYING A GUN will land them in jail for a good and LONG time.
Sexual Offenders - Lock them up. Register them, including via DNA. Keep tabs on them for the rest of their lives. Make sure the police knows where they are, and in RARE instances when warranted, the public. Make sure that everyone who considers committing a sexual offence knows that though perhaps they will one day live outside the walls of prison, that any sexual crime WILL HAVE repercussions ON THEM FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.
Consecutive Sentences - Make criminals actually accountable for their actions. Kill three people? Three sentences - 75 to life.
Early Parole - A joke, but not to the families of victims of repeat offenders who were "out for good behavior". Just ask the Shaw family. Overcrowded prisons? Build more, and hire more guards.
Cannabis - I support the MEDICAL use of marijuana; I DO NOT support the "recreational" use of it. I am in favour of granting permits to those who have a legitimate (doctor controlled and monitored) medical need for it. I support the eventual establishment of a government grow-op, regulation and distribution, though most recent attempts have been complete failures. I support stiffer penalties for those who traffic it, and seizure of their product for medical use until a reliable supply is available.
I have a friend who was a daily user for 8 years. He once said he had "an eight year hole in my life". I have seen the effects of it in young people's lives... wasted time, money, poor performance in school, committing crimes to get money to buy the drug, etc. It's a drug of young people, the very people who are too immature to deal with it. (I say that being a young person myself) And yes, it CAN be a gateway drug, though that admittedly applies only to a very small percentage of users. It should remain a controlled substance.
My Conservative Agenda - An MP in Training
1st Draft - Aug 16, 2005
Shocked? Most who come here (which for the most part are a small group of friends) won't be all that surprised. But I've been mulling the question over in my mind for the last week, and after a visit to Ottawa, and a tour of Parliament, I think the question has been settled in my mind.
I've talked to a few people, and I've thus far only received positive feedback. Most of it is generally in the context of "I'm not surprised, go for it, our country could use more people like you in Ottawa".
Of course, if you plan on doing such a preposterous thing, you have to have a platform. An agenda, and not allow the other guy to tell everyone else what "scary/bad things" you want to do to the country. So I figure if I set the agenda now, I should be good to go in 5-9 years.This country is in a mess. And our biggest problem is that most of us, mainly in Ontario, don't have a clue that there is a problem. We have some major problems, and if they don't get taken care of NOW, this great country of ours will become but a blip on the world stage, and this great country of Canada, as we know it today, will cease to exist.
Here are the issues that I intend to raise and deal with in Ottawa, in no particular order:
1) Health Care
I DO NOT SUPPORT A TWO TIERED SYSTEM. The Canadian Health Care system should be kept Universal, no matter if you have the money to "jump the queue" or not.
I DO SUPPORT SOME PRIVATE DELIVERY OF SOME HEALTH CARE SERVICES. If some company in the private sector can do the same job sooner and at equal OR LESS cost, why on earth would anyone in Canada want to prevent that? In Ontario, we already use some private delivery of services... when your doctor writes a requisition to have blood work done, you often get directed to the local MDS Lab; a PRIVATE company that performs the services at NO COST TO YOU, and then bills the government a government SET FEE. MDS wants to keep their costs down, so they ensure that they do so in a cost effective manor. And my longest wait at an MDS Lab was less than HALF my average wait time at a local hospital... not to mention the wait time I had to get an appointment. At MDS? You can just walk in, any time, with your doctor's requisition in hand.
2) National Unity
A VOTE FOR THE LIBERAL PARTY IS A VOTE AGAINST CONFEDERATION.
a) The Liberal Party has been disgraced in Quebec, and is offensive to most Quebecers. The very program designed to make Canada more appealing ended up insulting the people of Quebec by implying that they could be "bought". Sovereignty has never had more support, and if Canada sends a Liberal government to Ottawa, it will be the final slap in the face. This country is for the first time, really in danger of being broken apart. The people of Quebec will not stand by as the rest of Canada insults them by returning the corrupt Liberal Party to Ottawa. A referendum will be held, and the result will be a resounding "OUI".
b) The Liberal Party has no interest in addressing Western issues, unless you live in one of the three major cites. A recent poll indicated that 43% of Albertans are now willing to talk about the concept of separation. They don't need Canada, and are now willing to talk about it, as the Liberal Party has no interest in dealing with their issues.
c) The Liberal Party does not care about issues relating to rural Ontario because...
d) The Liberal Party only cares about the cities, because that's where the votes are. And they will say anything to make cities happy, at any cost, (say, $4.6 billion dollars or so...) yet they will continue to do nothing unless it happens to look good for the media.
e) The Liberal Party is more interested in giving hand outs to the Maritimes in order to buy their votes than it is in actually solving the employment issues of seasonal workers and the under or un-employed. The fisheries will continue to close, and nothing will be done about it until a new party is sent to Ottawa.
f) The Liberal Party is CORRUPT. The Party's top echelons still contain many of the same corrupt people responsible for sponsorship, who have not been purged, and who cannot be trusted with your money.
3) The Economy
More to come
4) Our First Nations
How long have they been waiting for Ottawa to address their legitimate concerns? In the last 12 years, can you tell me that the lives of Native Canadians have gotten better? True, we now have Nunavut, with a mainly aboriginal government; however, more needs to be done. Land claims need to be settled, use of natural resources need to be addressed, (hunting, fishing, forestry) the issues of unemployment need to be addressed. Native Canadians need to be given the tools to solve most of these problems in their own ways, and not simply have more money thrown at them. (though more money may and likely will be needed) I desire to correct as many of the misdeeds of past generations as can be corrected, and help our First Nations to rebuild their ancestral nations within our own.
5) Crime and Justice
Guns - I used to live in TO. Many friends still do. One of my best friends lives and works with youth in Malvern; home of the "Malvern Crew". 44 dead, 34 in gun related crimes, THIS YEAR ALONE. And what has the Gun Registry gotten us? More paperwork and costs to our farmers, and NO REDUCTIONS IN GUNS ON THE STREETS. How about a mandatory 10 years added to any sentence for using a gun in a crime? Yes, there are root causes to crime, and they need to be addressed, but the DECADES needed to change things is far too long. So, let’s start making the changes, and in the mean time, make sure that everyone knows that even CARRYING A GUN will land them in jail for a good and LONG time.
Sexual Offenders - Lock them up. Register them, including via DNA. Keep tabs on them for the rest of their lives. Make sure the police knows where they are, and in RARE instances when warranted, the public. Make sure that everyone who considers committing a sexual offence knows that though perhaps they will one day live outside the walls of prison, that any sexual crime WILL HAVE repercussions ON THEM FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.
Consecutive Sentences - Make criminals actually accountable for their actions. Kill three people? Three sentences - 75 to life.
Early Parole - A joke, but not to the families of victims of repeat offenders who were "out for good behavior". Just ask the Shaw family. Overcrowded prisons? Build more, and hire more guards.
Cannabis - I support the MEDICAL use of marijuana; I DO NOT support the "recreational" use of it. I am in favour of granting permits to those who have a legitimate (doctor controlled and monitored) medical need for it. I support the eventual establishment of a government grow-op, regulation and distribution, though most recent attempts have been complete failures. I support stiffer penalties for those who traffic it, and seizure of their product for medical use until a reliable supply is available.
I have a friend who was a daily user for 8 years. He once said he had "an eight year hole in my life". I have seen the effects of it in young people's lives... wasted time, money, poor performance in school, committing crimes to get money to buy the drug, etc. It's a drug of young people, the very people who are too immature to deal with it. (I say that being a young person myself) And yes, it CAN be a gateway drug, though that admittedly applies only to a very small percentage of users. It should remain a controlled substance.
My Conservative Agenda - An MP in Training
1st Draft - Aug 16, 2005
posted by Christian Conservative @ 3:33 p.m.
2 Comments:
At Tue Aug 16, 09:22:00 p.m. EDT,
Anonymous said…
shocked? No, I was wondering when you'd finally decide to do something like this actually. :)
I actually agree with most of what you posted so far as far as your platform goes, although I am a little more libertarian and wonder if all drugs shouldn't be legalized even though I'd never dream of touching them (just like gun control doesn't seem to work, I don't believe that the "war on drugs" works either). There are lots of other things to consider also though, such as your positions on the economy, abortion, cleaning up the environment, to name only a few.
Personally though, as I'm not sure I can agree with some of the Conservative party's positions (I could never vote for a party that opposes abortion, for instance, as I'm led to believe that the CP does) I think that the best thing to do is completely revamp the Liberal party, but that's just me of course.
Good luck though. :)
At Tue Aug 23, 02:26:00 p.m. EDT,
Anonymous said…
Go for it. Canada needs people who care. I wish you best of luck.
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