Nova Scotia election

Election taste test sans slogans

HBeaumont — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:19:02 +0000

Nova Scotians may need blindfolds to grasp provincial politics

Picture this: you’re blindfolded. A deep voice commands you to choose your favourite of three glasses of wine. Your anonymous tester places the first in your hand and you take a tentative sip. Immediately the taste of rural grapes tingles your tongue, but the drink has a distinct deficit of sugar. You pinch your nose and swallow.

A second glass enters your hand. It smells fresh, so you slurp it down. Uh oh. Maybe you shouldn’t have trusted its sweet aroma. You throw the glass down and gesture frantically for the third.

The musty scent of a more educated vine enters your nostrils. You down the wine while thinking it would pair wonderfully with Atlantic lobster from your local fishery.

“I’ll have another glass of that,” you say, reaching to untie the blindfold.

“You chose the Nova Scotia Liberals,” the voice booms.

“Uh oh,” you think again. “I’ve never voted Liberal in my life.”

Since it was called on May 4, the 2009 Nova Scotia election has forced voters to question their tastes. The Conservatives began the trend with an odd promise to spend liberally, while the Liberals and New Democrats followed with conservative spending strategies. Meanwhile the NDP have strayed from their socialist and environmental-leaning roots to a more right-winged approach.

Shifting party lines might be one reason Nova Scotians could see an NDP government when the sun rises tomorrow; the latest polls show Darrell Dexter poised to win a majority.

Does it matter if you’ve never voted Liberal? This is the election to challenge traditional loyalties; the three major parties have already challenged their own. So whether you’ve made up your mind or not, it couldn’t hurt to don a blindfold before marking your ballot today.

Below is an analysis (sans slogans) of the three main parties’ commitments to four major issues this election: health care, education, the environment and the economy. Some party priorities may surprise you.

Party A:

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Turncoat election

HBeaumont — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:25:25 +0000

Nova Scotians should re-think party loyalties June 9

Jim Smith, Dartmouth North’s Liberal candidate, reminds me of Snoopy; his eyes droop and he has a big shnoz. But, as far as loyalties go, Smith and the cartoon beagle are polar opposites.

Snoopy has kept the same friends since the 1950s: Woodstock, Charlie Brown and the whole gang. Smith, on the other hand, has turned his back on his former friends of 14 years: Nova Scotia’s New Democrats.

He hoped for the NDP nomination in Nova Scotia’s general election three years ago, but lost. This year in the same riding he won his nomination from the Liberals.

Some Nova Scotians have ruthlessly judged him, but Smith says he doesn’t pay attention to their criticisms. He doesn’t look at social networking sites or blogs where he’s been called a “filthy turncoat”. He says he still stands for the same issues he did in 2006.

“I’m just over the line,” Smith says. “As a Liberal, my roots are in social aspects. I certainly still have the same thoughts about improving housing and improving the conditions of people who unfortunately find themselves in hard times.”

Smith says he abandoned the NDP because of animosity amongst party members, not because of a sudden epiphany. But he couldn’t have picked a better election to switch teams.

Since June 4, when the leaders made their first promises, it was clear the three main parties weren’t staying true to their traditional roots. When the election gun went off, the Conservatives, New Democrats and Liberals took off in random directions as if running a race in Monty Python’s Silly Olympics.

The Liberals and New Democrats decided to spend conservatively while the Conservatives said they would spend liberally. These and other promises left voters scratching their scalps, wondering if we should stick with our party pride or become turncoats like Smith.

The problem lies in the meaning of the word “turncoat”. It carries implied negativity. The definition itself includes the terms “abandonment” and “betrayal”.

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Will politicians ever keep Africville promises?

HBeaumont — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:13:18 +0000

Carvery takes election vows with a church-sized grain of salt

Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil squints into the sunlight on Sunday afternoon at Seaview Memorial Park in Halifax. Glancing down at his speech on the podium, he purses his lips towards three thin black microphones, preparing to speak.

“A Liberal government will recognize the memory and spirit of Africville by restoring the Seaview Baptist Church and by creating an interpretive centre on the site,” McNeil reads.

Irvine Carvery, watching nearby from behind the cameras, has heard it all before. Politicians have promised to help the Africville Genealogy Society President so many times that when he tries to recall specific dates, or even years, he can’t be sure.

McNeil came late to Carvery’s long awaited project: the resurrection of his community’s church. When Nova Scotia’s provincial election was called for June 9, Carvery acted quickly. He garnered the support of the province’s New Democrats first and the Conservatives soon after. The former Africville resident does not endorse any of the three parties.

So when the Liberal Leader spouted his vow of $2.2 million over four years, Carvery thought: “show me”.

Carvery is 57 years young – a born optimist, he often says. The wrinkles on the outside corners of his eyes are the topographical evidence of how often he smiles.

“We still remain at the whims of government,” he laughed during a casual coffee shop chat three weeks before McNeil’s announcement. “As always.”

But when asked to describe the City of Halifax’s actions in the 1960s toward the village where he grew up, the corners of Carvery’s mouth turn down.

“It was a form of genocide and it’s cultural genocide, which can be – in my opinion – more devastating,” he said, adding that he does not mean to trivialize historically recognized genocides. “It was race based; it was because we were black, because we were poor.”

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