The campaign ads are dominating TV now. It’s the last few days of a pretty vigorous campaign and this is when the war chests are being opened fully. Truly, it’s a beautiful thing.

We shouldn’t fear or loathe elections. They are one of the greatest things Canada has to offer us. It’s the politicians handing us control of the gov’t; saying “pick’em!” So few of us take the offer. It’s easy, especially if you’re young, do be disillusioned, disinterested, or just disgusted by the whole process. We seem to have taken a gov’t model that should suit any nation well and morphed it into something that is easily exploited by partisan politics. Still, the give us a chance to change things ever 3-5 years and we, the lowly Canadian punter, don’t capitalize. Nearly two thirds of us apathetically tell the country that we’re fine with how things are done.

Vote. It’s simple. They make it really easy. Check out the Elections Alberta website and find out how convenient it is to get info about who’s running and where to mark and X.

But… don’t just vote. Vote for yourself. I’ve never been a fan of strategic voting. It makes zero sense. The purpose of our form of gov’t is to represent the population fairly. The only way that can function is if each citizen uses his ballot to reflect his interests and desires. Backing a candidate just to bolster numbers regardless of how you feel about his or her position on key issues undermines the process. If we vote for ourselves and pick the player we most agree with, only then will we have a truly representative gov’t. (I’m aware of the argument that popular vote isn’t reflected in our gov’ts.)

Using the ballot to punish or oust a party won’t speak for your interests. Don’t use elections to cause a coup. Use the ballot to speak individually about what’s important to you.

In Alberta, we’ve had PC reign for 37 years. There’s a reason for that: Albertans have voted for it.

Vote for what you want. That’s the message you want your ballot to send.

I wish it didn’t have to be said, but it does.

If you feel neglected by the current election format, I recommend you check out ways to implement real change. Here’s a Wiki page about the Single Transferable Vote. Maybe you’d like to talk to your MLA about backing something like STV.

It has been pointed out that I tend to have a negative stripe on this blog. I can’t deny it. I think that most of it is because politics is so frustrating. It’s like that magic trick theory: distract them with one hand so they don’t see what the other is doing. We get it from all leaders of all parties. Understandably, too. Why point out the deficiencies in one’s plan?

The word “change” is being kicked around in Alberta as much as it is in the States right now. People want a change. Or do they? The better question is, do they know what they want to change to?

You wouldn’t change out of your clothes without knowing what you were changing into. It’s as simple as that, but that’s not how we vote in Alberta, or Canada for that matter.

It’s important that you vote, but you have to vote FOR a party. Voting Liberal because you don’t like the the way the PCs are neglecting Calgary isn’t right. Vote Liberal because you like what they stand for. That’s what voting should be.

Kevin Taft (Alberta Liberals) is talking about pulling $800M from the Sustainability Fund (for disasters et al.) to help build the ring road.  Hey, I want the Calgary ring road, too.  That doesn’t mean I’d go out of my way to broker a bad deal to get it.

Let’s look at the South-West corner of it.  This is a road that is going to connect a huge portion of Calgary to Sarcee Trail.  Um… and that road will cruise you right by the Grey Eagle Casino… owned by the Tsuu Tina nation.  How much is that road worth to the Tsuu Tina?  Here’s a hint: MILLIONS!

As it is now, lots of gamblers are happy to keep driving to Silver Dollar, Stampede, Cash, Elbow River, or Deerfoot.  They’re all very accessibly from Deerfoot Tr. and Blackfoot.  To be honest, GE is tough to get to unless you’re coming down Sarcee Tr.

Yeah… a major roadway directly to the front door of my already-advantaged money printing business would be worth a couple hundred million to me.  We may as well give it away to the Tsuu Tina Nation… and toss in a couple hundred million as well.

Whew! I gotta say, this is some pretty boring action on debate night in Alberta. Maybe it’s because I’ve been watching the American debates of late. They’re great! Wait… The States… I digress.

Anyway, those are some serious debates with some heavy hitters. I know the stakes are greater South of the line, but that doesn’t mean our leaders have to look so minor-league when they cut each other up.

Here’s what I’ve gathered so far:

Ed Stelmach - Looks like Ernie of Bert & Ernie fame. Saves time by only using a 25 letter alphabet. (No T!)

Kevin Taft - He really took that “neither” response to heart. Came out of the gate trying to be really personable… dude. Also, seems to like choo-choo trains with all the “runaway train” and “derailed” comments.

Brian Mason - Seems like a capable leader, but has the worst ideas in all of Alberta. It’s fun to watch a guy think he can get elected while he bashes oil companies.

Paul Hinman - Badly needs a new suit.

Go vote on March 3rd.

If you observed Canadian elections for the last 10 years (probably more!) you’d think Canadians are the stupidest people on Earth. We keep voting for people who claim to be able to solve the same problem with the same solution.

Yeah… healthcare again. I know…

Read the Canada Health Act. Find out how limiting it is. There’s only so much a province can do to deliver healthcare to its people.

I don’t want to go to the ER and wave a big wad of bills around so I can get my broken arm set. I want to go to some guy’s business (AAA Aardvark limb menders?) where I have to have a big wad of cash to get it done. So do a lot of us.

And don’t give me this bullshit about “do you want an American system?” That’s idiotspeak. Say what you will about the US system. At least there, when you need a hospital bed, you can get one. Paying for it… that’s another issue.

I would be able to afford the privilege if the gov’t would quit taking 40% of what I earn and blowing it on the same broken system.

I this still the biggest issue in any election?  I think the reason every poll says “healthcare is the number one issue…” is because respondents don’t know what else to say; it’s reflex by now.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 30-year career as a Canadian it’s that there are two things money can’t buy: Happiness and improved healthcare.  If this weren’t true, we’d have better healthcare in Canada.  How much more money should we throw at the issue before we decide that we have to start doing something radically different.

The biggest problem in Canada is that people don’t know how to use hospitals properly.  Sounds dumb, but everybody knows it.

Here’s a very elementary analogy.  Hospitals are like restaurants.  People wait in line to have a nice big meal.  There is no reason they should have to wait behind a guy who just needs a quick fix like some bread and butter or a muffin.  That muffin-eating schmuck is going to take up a whole table… you see where I’m going here?

That guy needs a snack-bar or a convenience store.  We need more of those.

If death isn’t imminent, don’t go to the hospital.  Bloody noses, sprained joints, and upset stomachs belong in clinics, not ERs.  We don’t need more spending.  We need a clue.

I’ve been nervous about this number for a while, and this article in the Globe and Mail confirms that I should be.

It seems like just last year… wait, it was just last year, that I moved back to Alberta from the socialist commune of British Columbia.  I despised the province because I believe that the most capable labour groups are more concerned with a 37.5 hour workweek than they are with building a thriving economy.  The Alberta way is to give a little blood and get a lot of oil.

Now, I find that those same people who abandoned their provinces and rushed to Alberta to take part in one of the world’s hottest economies are willing to trade the gov’t that made it happen for one that could stifle it.  Interesting…

The sky isn’t falling.  It’s not doom and gloom (yet.)  But it does make me wonder.  Why vote in the same ideologies that made you leave the place you came from?  You don’t meet many Soviet defectors who would vote Marxist-Leninist, even if it did mean lower rent.