Some substance, please

June 10

Activity heated up in third week of the campaign as polls showed Conservatives gaining momentum and the Liberals ran scared. They stooped to a new low in electioneering by sending cabinet ministers to heckle in the opposition rallies. Paul Martin must raise the tone of his campaign otherwise he will meet the fate of John Turner; the other right-wing businessman turned socialist prime minister. D-Day and G8 meetings have come at a good time, providing Mr. Martin wide media exposure and a welcome break from campaigning. His platform, recycled from 2000, follows the tradition of buying votes by making promises in areas that are not federal jurisdiction and which can be readily abandoned for lack of support by the provinces. Mr. Martin should state how much of the billions he promised for various services is earmarked for Liberal party donors and how exactly will the leftovers improve the existing services. He may also like to explain why is the notwithstanding clause there if not to be used, albeit rarely.

Tories published their economic blueprint with fanfare. To the surprise of many, including myself, it mostly added up. Mr. Harper is looking more confident with each new day. He is defending his ground and is proving to be tougher than his predecessor, Stockwell Day. Mr. Harper is courageously taking positions on issues like elected Senate, Star Wars defence, U.S. relations, gay rights and abortion which many Canadians are uncomfortable with. As is typical of Liberal tactics in the past, Mr. Martin has criticized Conservative and NDP positions without stating his own views.

Mr. Martin has conceded the West to Conservatives by calling an election before sponsorship scandal was resolved and before he had proven himself as a leader. To retain power, Liberals must win big in Eastern and Central Canada and recover lost ground in Quebec. Therefore, Mr. Martin will divide his time between Ontario and Quebec and the Conservative and NDP Leaders will spend most of their time in Ontario. Expect more promises to suit local interest. Each leader will insist that his promises are reasonable but those by others will cause unsustainable deficits.

Leaders have not addressed the governance issues vital for the future prosperity and stability of the country. Dictatorial powers assumed by recent Prime Ministers have great potential for disaster and the issue has to be addressed before it is too late to matter. Similarly, there have been odd comments and mud-slinging but little debate on gay marriages, post-secondary education, affordable housing, competitiveness of manufacturing industries, integration of first Canadians into local economy and ways to save the justice system from clogging by the misuse of charter of rights by lawyers defending criminals of all stripes.

I do hope that next week's televised leaders' debates will address three issues: Governance, increasing helplessness felt by the poor and the weak, and our clogged justice system in which criminals are rarely apprehended, leave alone adequately punished.

Please God, give us a leader whose vision extends beyond June 28.