The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Commentary By Roger Cathcart Elections: Federal and Provincial As of this writing the federal election is still days away. When this article is published, the results will be history and probably (but hopefully not) have brought another minority Conservative government with parliament really controlled by the third- and fourth-parties. That is not to the benefit of the taxpayer and Canadian nationalists. This unnecessary campaign featured a lot of attacks, many of them personal. A Liberal TV ad attacked Stephen Harper for his dictatorial ways and policies, but did not mention a single thing the Liberals would do in power. However, the Grits had already promised to raise taxes, cut defence spending and give more to the poor. The NDP had not changed much, but would surely harm business and cut back on crime-fighting. The Conservatives pledged to focus on the economy, help business, fight crime and pay down the debt, plus boost defence spending. All the Bloc talked about was spending more on Quebec, and the Greens were hardly in the picture as leader Elizabeth May was concentrating on trying to win her BC seat. She was up against popular Minister of State (Sport) Garry Lunn, who unlike May is a native of the province. There were some interesting races in Manitoba, such as Winnipeg school trustee Joyce Bateman running against Liberal MP Anita Neville, a former trustee herself. A Tory, Joyce is a former Liberal who now claims "she saw the light." The St. Boniface race was a rematch with rookie Tory MP Shelley Glover against former Liberal MP Raymond Simard. As Tory historian Jae told me, since the seat was created in 1925, the riding has gone Tory four times, but in every case the incumbent has failed to get elected. Winnipeg North saw Bill Blaikie's daughter, Rebecca, challenge Liberal incumbent Kevin Lamoureux, and Elmwood-Transcona was supposed to be a close two-way race between incumbent New Democrat Jim Maloway and the Conservatives. Poised to win What about the North? In northern Saskatchewan, Tory Rob Clark was poised to win, especially after getting millions in federal money for the riding. Rob is a prime example of why the North needs a government member. Across the border, Conservative Wally Daudrich was pointing out how useless it is to have a fourth-party member in Churchill, especially one like Niki Ashton, whom he called "a backbench complainer with no influence in Ottawa." (Late-campaign polls, however, showed the NDP might become the Official Opposition). Wally is a solid believer in individual rights. His campaign mentioned his family history, with much of it being wiped out by the Russian Revolution. He also rightly accused Ashton of using radical American Michael Moore to "trash our mining industry." Wally was certainly the most active and energetic candidate the federal Conservatives had in this riding since Buddy Simpson. The countdown to Manitoba's provincial election, set for Oct. 4, is proving to be very interesting indeed. Things are heating up with the polls showing PC Leader Hugh McFadyen with a commanding lead. The Tories are rightly going after key seats in Winnipeg, like in St. James. A spring breakfast brought together the PC MLA candidates from three city ridings. Susan Auch, Olympic speedskater and medal winner, created the most interest as the nominated candidate for Assiniboia. She has a lengthy resume of activities and public service, and is also in business. One notable comment she made focused on the need to keep kids active in sports, which goes a long way in keeping them away from illegal activities. Current MLA Jim Rondeau of the NDP should be shaking in his boots! Silver Heights native Scott Gillingham will give the NDP a good run in St. James. He is pastor and board chairman of Grace Community Church, a member of several advisory boards and a volunteer for many organizations. Scott is most impressive and advocates getting tough on crime, controlling spending and strengthening our health-care system. Look out, Bonnie Korzeniowski! Last but not least is Kelly De Groot, an accountant, businesswoman and powerful candidate in Kirkfield Park. The former school trustee will surely regain this seat from the current hapless NDP member. Kelly is a powerful speaker who presented 15 reasons why the PCs should win the province. More to come. Roger's Right Corner runs Wednesdays.
