Canadian immigrants want to be 'heard"

Canadian immigrants come from various countries all over the world. They arrive from Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, South America, Latin America, China, India, Russia, Israel and the Middle East. They come from poor and rich countries, peacetime and wartime countries, communist, socialist and capitalist countries. They may be victims of torture and persecution and they can also be economic, environmental, political and wartime refugees. One thing, most of them agree on, is that they arrive in search of a “better life” in Canada.

The challenges they face are numerous in Canada. There are cultural, linguistic, social, economic and political hurdles to overcome as they resettle in their new homeland. Many Canadians including politicians don't really understand the issues and concerns that many immigrants face when they migrate to Canada. At election, time, they are courted by all the major parties for their votes. They have many issues that they want to be addressed. You have to be a Canadian citizen in order to vote in the Canadian federal elections.

Read more here.

Canadians head to the Polls, May is a winner

On Sunday, September 7, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper pulled the plug on his government, Canada's 39th Parliament. The Federal National Elections will be held on October 14, 2008, which is the day after the Thanksgiving holiday here in Canada. Personally, I am not too happy going to the polls again so soon. This will be the third election in four years, and who is paying for all this - well the Canadian taxpayers naturally.

So, a quick review about the happenings of the last couple of days. On Monday, Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada was excluded by a TV Network broadcasting consortium, CBC, Radio-Canada, CTV, Global and TVA, and the other four candidates, all men - Stephen Harper, Jack Layton, Gilles Duceppe and Stephane Dion. Dion was the only party leader that actually wanted May present at the debates, but he also wanted to ensure that Harper was present for the debates.

Harper and Layton seems to be the main culprits. Harper was exhibiting his sexism and bigotry by stating that the decision was already made by the consortium and there was nothing he could do about it. Layton and Duceppe were also taking the position that May should not be present at the debates. Layton wants to be seen as the "green leader" since he has much to lose with May representing a similar agenda. Now he has to compete with her. May decided to take the matter to court.

This debacle caught the Canadian public attention and ignited the blogoshere with everyone throwing in their two cents.....Canadians were outraged.....since Canadians are known for and pride themselves on their fairness and equality. Hopefully, this will encourage everyone, especially women, to pay close attention to the upcoming elections and the issues that concerns them, their children and their families. Voters should ensure that their political candidates earn their votes.

As of this morning, Dion came out defending May's right to participate in the debates. He had a meeting this morning in Mississauga with some women candidates of his party. He comes out strongly by courting the womens' vote right away. I don't recall the Liberals doing this so early during the last election. Duceppe, Layton and Harper, respectively, have now fallen into line, and May will be participating at the upcoming debates. So now we will have all five political leaders at the debates in October.

The second brouhaha was about a Conservative party website that showed a puffin continually "pooping" on Dion's right shoulder.....yes, that is correct.....Let us not debate the issues, let us throw mud at each other...So the score is -: Harper is being juvenile and sexist, the underdog Dione has defended another underdog (May), so he gets $200 and passes Go, Layton is not the strong leader that he says he is (Jack, you should have known better) and Duceppe, well he just keeps on ticking...only in Quebec.

And the winner is Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party. I think many Canadians were very unaware of May and the Green Party. By trying to exclude her from the debates, a move that was perceived by Canadians as being undemocratic, May has become a household name and the Green Party has emerged finally, in full bloom, on the Canadian national political landscape.

There are some things money just can't buy. This was priceless for the Greens.

Election Fever

Well, now is the perfect time to start a political blog. I could not resist the siren songs any longer, and decided that there was no time like the present to start this political blog. Currently, we are living in a dynamic era of change. We have the American elections heating up and also hints that the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will call a federal election this coming Sunday.

In Canada, we have Prime Minister Stephen Harper of the Conserative Party of Canada, Opposition Leader Stephane Dion of the Liberal Party, Jack Layton of the New Democrat Party, Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Québécois and Elizabeth May of the Green Party vying for the Prime Minister's position.

On the other hand, in the United States of America, we have Senator John McCain, a Viet-Nam war veteran and Senator Barack Obama, a bi-racial candidate who is a former community organizer and a lawyer by profession. Both are trying capture the White House in the upcoming November Presidential elections. Not to mention McCain's running mate, Governor Sarah Palin, the incumbent governor of Alaska, who is shaping up to be a controversial figure in this upcoming elections and is bent on taking on Obama and the Democrats. Senator Joe Biden is Obama's pick for Vice-President.

September is shaping up to be a very busy month. With two elections to observe what's a Canadian to do? Canadians cannot vote in the upcoming American elections but our votes seem to have already been cast in favour of Obama, the Presidential nominee for the Democrats. Now all that Canadians have to do is get out and cast their votes for their respective Canadian candidates in the, most likely, upcoming Canadian elections.