The provincial Conservative and B.C. United parties are so concerned about another N.D.P. victory in this year’s October election that they are reportedly engaged in behind-closed-door negotiations to work together to prevent this from happening.
Fingers crossed that they are not successful, as the election of a B.C. United/B.C Conservative coalition would be a catastrophe for the environment and for any progress in reducing carbon emissions, to say nothing about the threat this would pose to many of the progressive initiatives the N.D.P. have implemented over the last few years.
If provincial right-of-centre political parties can consider merging and putting aside their differences in order to keep their eyes on the prize – victory at the ballot box – then surely progressive parties at the federal level can and must do the same to prevent the disaster that is looming as we move closer and closer to a federal election in 2025 – the election of Pierre Poilievre as our new Prime Minister.
The federal Liberals, federal New Democrats, federal Green Party, and the Bloc Quebecois all differ from each other in major ways. However, these differences pale in comparison with all of their differences from the federal Conservatives.
Although he remains fuzzy about many of his intended actions as Prime Minister, here is just part of what a Pierre Poilievre election could mean:
- He would slash funding for the CBC.
- He would do away with the carbon tax.
- He would mandate housing construction targets on cities and would withhold federal funding from those who built less that his required numbers.
- He would potentially take more control of Canada’s Central Bank.
- He would likely take steps to weaken unions and reduce worker protections.
Eighteenth century writer Samuel Johnson once observed that “when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”
The prospect of Pierre Poilievre as Prime Minister will hopefully focus the minds of Canada’s four progressive parties to the point where they put the interests of Canadians ahead of their individual partisan interests and collaborate in the next election.
Daily atmospheric CO2 [Courtesy of CO2.Earth]
Latest daily total (May 22, 2024): 426.23ppm
One year ago (May 23, 2023): 423.66ppm
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