OPINION PANEL Is an election even needed right now
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Special to Toronto SunPublishing date:
Aug 16, 2021 • 17 minutes ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
Omar Khan, Kate Harrison and Peggy Nash are the Sun's federal election panellists. Photo by supplied photos /Postmedia Network Article content The Sun has assembled a panel of top political and policy minds to break down all the hot topics of the election campaign.
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Article contentToday’s topic: It’s official â€" an election’s been called for Sept. 20. But is it necessary? Do Canadians want one? And will rising COVID cases make us regret it was even called?
KATE HARRISON
An election right now isn’t just unnecessary â€" it’s opportunistic. The Liberals have acknowledged at every turn the threat of COVID persists. They’ve extended COVID benefit programs, tsk-tsked provincial reopening plans, and are now mandating vaccines for certain workers all in the name of ending the pandemic.
That care and concern for public health apparently has a limit; namely, stopping short of Justin Trudeau’s desire to secure more power with a majority government. Touting the dangers of the pandemic while telling Canadians it is perfectly safe to show up at his rallies and at the ballot box requires some major mental gymnastics.
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Article contentErin O’Toole is still introducing himself to voters, and Jagmeet Singh’s Tik Tok followers don’t necessarily convert to votes. That’s why the Liberals think they have an edge.
But the volatility of COVID poses more risk than reward. What happens if someone attending a campaign event gets COVID? Someone on the campaign team? When schools resume and cases rise, what’s the logic behind having these places serve as polling locations?
With COVID anxiety high and the purpose of a snap election unclear at best, Canadians might decide to sit this one out â€" putting Trudeau’s power grab at risk.
Kate Harrison is Vice Chair of Summa Strategies Canada. She has been an active member and volunteer of federal and provincial conservative parties for fifteen years.
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OMAR KHAN
Let’s remember that the average life of a Canadian minority government is 18 to 36 months. Sept. 20th puts us right in the middle of that range.
I think I can speak for most Canadians when I say that an election is not usually at the top of my priority list during the dying days of summer. I also think most Canadians will understand that our world has changed significantly since the last time they went to the polls and that it is reasonable for a government to request a fresh mandate and present voters with new ideas about where they want to take our country in a post-pandemic world.
The Liberals will need to show Canadians what they intend to do to address the structural inequalities within our economy that have been highlighted throughout this pandemic. What can government do to help women re-enter the workforce? What can government do to help the growing number of gig economy workers enjoy the dignity that comes with basic workplace benefits?
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Article contentThe Conservatives will need to put substantive policy proposals in the window. They must move beyond culture war politics if they want to pull together a broad enough coalition of voters to win. I’ve got a lot to say about the other parties as well but will save that for another panel.
Omar is a Liberal strategist who has worked with the Liberal Party of Canada and the Ontario Liberal Party as a staffer and volunteer for over two decades. He currently works as a Senior Vice President for a retail focused cannabis company.
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PEGGY NASH
A recent poll showed that nearly two thirds of Canadians don’t want an election. Most people are focused on trying to eke out the last couple of weeks of summer. They are heading into an uncertain fall, with the Delta variant of Covid-19 on the rise.
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Article contentMany kids are returning to school; many people are heading back to work in person. With a minority government, Liberals have been able to pass all their bills. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh argues that he was able to win Canadians and businesses better benefits and supports with a minority government.
Justin Trudeau has plunged us into a pandemic election for purely selfish reasons. He’s putting his job ahead of public safety. He has talked about bringing in a vaccine passport “this fall†and requiring federal workers to get vaccinated but has not done so. Jagmeet Singh is calling for these and other measures to be in place by Labour Day.
An election isn’t wanted or needed, but now that we have one, Canadians have the chance to choose the kind of future they want by voting for their preferred candidate. They should be able to exercise this democratic right to vote safely.
Peggy Nash is a former NDP Member of Parliament. She is a Senior Advisor to the Dean of Arts at Ryerson University and a board member of the Broadbent Institute.
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