Less than a week until the 2008 Canadian Federal election.

I'm really interested in what's going to happen with the Federal election next week. I haven't posted all that I wanted to with my various thoughts throughout the campaigning but I thought I would share some of my somewhat random thoughts in the few minutes I have free here.

NDP. I read a few blogs that are obvious NDP supporters. I always read with interest despite the fact that I would never vote NDP, federally or provincially. I enjoy the fact that people care about politics and issues more than I do about who someone actually supports.

Is it me or is Layton looking really old all of a sudden? Sorry but I've really been wondering! I'm not an NDP supporter for a lot of reasons but mainly because they gain support by promising to prop up labour interests in this country without accepting the reality that our country is in desperate need for a change in the way we think and do things. It's not enough to promise to protect "jobs" in failing industries when the nature manufacturing and resource extraction is changing rapidly. People in these industries should be looking elsewhere for real employment security instead of waiting for bail outs and clinging to paradigms that have changed long ago.

Liberal. I wouldn't call myself a Liberal supporter but I find myself enjoying Dion more as time goes on. I watched some of the Liberal leader's race awhile ago and thought what a surprise it was that Dion came out on top. He didn't seem to be the right leader. Almost like he wasn't politician-like enough. He seemed too much like a real person. Ha. Turns out I like that kind of politician and feel like I can trust him more. I like the promise of systemic change, even if it's hard for some Canadian's to swallow. I think Dion could lead us through a period sweeping changes and still maintain the common values that Canadian's seem to share.

Conservative. I'm not sure there's much to say on this front. Economy economy economy. Having the economy as a prominent feature on your election platform (such that it is) is really only paying lip service to a beast that is largely out of their control. Our government, whoever they are can not significantly change the economy in any immediate fashion. It's gone the direction it has because of the policies and agreements (read: Free Trade) made in the 80's and 90's. I don't think it's such a bad thing in the grand scheme of things for the economy to wane. This could provide the motivation for us to look into the future and decide what we want our country to look like. 

Ideally, I'd like the government to start thinking less globally and consider what would be good for Canada not having to fear whatever the world economy is doing. Less exporting of jobs and resources and less importing of food...... I'd like to see Canada move in a more self sustainable direction. I have no confidence that a Conservative government would do anything in the interest of Canada apart from lining their own pockets as well as the wealthy and of those who own big business. I've said it before but I'll say it again. I don't think profit for the wealthy should be the bottom line.

Green. What's interesting to me about the Green party is their ideology. Their platform shows them to be quite financially conservative (small c). Many peg them as left when they are actually a pleasant mix landing themselves in the middle. I hope that the Green party can at least keep one seat in Parliament and offer their different yet very pertinent perspective to our government.

I admit I'm very turned off of one part of their party platform and that's the interest in legalising marijuana. I suppose that could be a whole separate posting ranting about how un natural marijuana has actually become, how physically damaging it is to use. While I may not be opposed to a little discreet personal use I absolutely disagree with allowing it to have mainstream acceptance.

Bloc Quebecois. I have almost nothing to say about the Bloc except that I think they are just as important a voice to be heard in Parliament as any of the parties. Even if they are only running in one province they are speaking for a large population of our country and therefore an important part of what makes up our government.

So who do I vote for? In the past I've felt a kinship with the favourite Canadian pastime of political apathy leading me to vote against the party I liked least. This year I'm happy to say that I feel like I have two real choices. I could gladly vote for the federal Liberals or Green party. Sadly where I currently live neither are favoured to be hitting that finish line first. 

It seems that in many places in BC, voters confuse provincial and federal politics. And rightly so thanks to our provincial Liberals actually being a Conservative (big C) party. I imagine this makes things a bit harder for the federal Liberals. We live in a world that is increasingly dominated by the actions of political and religious extremists. Canada is a multi cultural society and centralist politics will address the needs of the greater proportion of the population in these extreme times. It's unfortunate that people feel that they have to vote in such a polarised fashion. Neither hardline conservative nor leftist government will fully address the needs of the province or the country. 

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Vote for the Environment

Cathedral Grove being logged by Island Timberlands!! Speak up!

This happened this last weekend but I thought it was worth forwarding for others who haven't heard yet...

Wilderness News, Oct.4, 2008
Cathedral Grove being logged by Island Timberlands! Speak up!

Yesterday, logging began by Island Timberlands in Canada's most famous old-growth forest, Cathedral Grove, near Port Alberni. Millions of tourists from around the world have visited Cathedral Grove within the 300 hectare MacMillan Provincial Park while driving along the highway on the way to Port Alberni and Tofino. However, significant stands of giant Douglas firs and redcedars remain outside the park boundaries on lands owned by Island Timberlands. Incredibly, the company began greedily logging in these unprotected parts of the Grove yesterday and plans to continue until it logs 7500 cubic meters - over 200 logging truck loads - of old-growth forests in the Grove. The logging will even be visible from the highway.

Island Timberlands is a logging company owned by a Bermuda-based corporation, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, which was created recently by its parent company Brookfield Asset Management as an offshore investment firm that would be exempt from Canadian taxes and the enforcement of Canadian civil judgements.

There will be two protests for Cathedral Grove:

This Sunday, Oct.5, at 11:00 am at the Cathedral Grove parking lot in the provincial park.

And Monday, Oct.6, at 11:00 am in front of Island Timberland's Northwest Bay Division office on the Island Highway in Nanoose Bay at teh corner of the highway and Northwest Bay Rd.

BRING SIGNS.

Where is Premier Gordon Campbell in all of this? Where is the federal Harper government and the other politicians when it comes to logging in the most famous ancient forest in Canada?

Update:

Cathedral Grove Logging Blocked by "Frogs" and "Mice"

Early Monday morning, Vancouver Islanders placed a symbolic roadblock across an active logging road in Cathedral Grove next to MacMillan Provincial Park. Volunteers with Friends of the Grove (FROG) warned Island Timberlands contractors that others in the forest are prepared to interfere with logging operations by playing "cat and mouse" with the loggers.

Volunteer Seamus McCormack said the tree-cutting crew left the area at 9:30 am on Monday. "[The contractors] said they were just coming to get their truck so we let them in. When they drove back out, they said the company told them they are not going to log this block right now." McCormack said it was not clear whether the company was pulling out because of protests that began Sunday or for other reasons. The volunteers will continue to guard Cathedral Grove, he said.

"Cat and mouse" is a civil disobedience tactic that involves slipping into an area being logged, announcing one's presence, and disappearing again. Fallers are required for safety reasons to stop work if people are in the area.

Meanwhile, the Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC) held a rally at the Nanoose headquarters of Island Timberlands at 1420 Island Highway. FROG and WCWC are demanding more protection for the ancient
cedars and firs at Cathedral Grove, and they denounced Island Timberlands' plan to cut down the forests alongside the Cameron River and MacMillan Provincial Park

MacMillan Park includes part of Cathedral Grove and some of the largest trees remaining on Vancouver Island. The grove provides habitat for Roosevelt elk and other rare species, but logging leaves the giants vulnerable to blow-down and erosion.

In 2006, a two-year-long treesit defeated a provincial plan to build roads, parking lots, and trails through Cathedral Grove. A BC Supreme Court justice declined to issue a court order to remove protestors camped out in the treetops, and the province eventually scrapped the parking lot plan.

The Nature Trust of BC is negotiating with Island Timberlands to acquire another section of the ancient forest grove adjacent to the park.