The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - Your Turn: Elections On Your Mind

Episode Date: October 24, 2024

Lots of your letters again this week, and many of them are about elections.  Both provincial ones in Canada and the big one south of the border. But there are lots more issues on your mind as well with your thoughts from across the country. Then, of course, it's Random Ranter time with his thoughts about what's almost always on the mind of voters in elections around the world these days.

And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here. You're just moments away from the latest episode of The Bridge. It's Thursday, it's your turn. It's what's on your mind. That's coming right up. And hello there. Crawling towards the end of another week. Yes, sir, right here on the bridge. Peter Mansbridge here, looking forward to reading your letters this week. It's a What's On Your Mind week. And we have a variety of concerns and opinions and issues that are brought up by your letters from coast to coast to coast this week.

And a little later on, the Random Ranter will join us with his latest rant. So lots to look forward to. Let's get right at it. Let's get to your letters. On that wide open topic of, you know, what's on your mind. It's always a good one. And, you know, and I thank you, the listeners,

for having pushed towards that. You know, we started in the past year this throwing out a question of the week, which you've responded to wonderfully. But occasionally I'll get letters saying, you know, I also like to talk about some other things as well. And so that's why we've implemented this. Every couple of weeks we do a What's On Your Mind. And we get a variety of different concerns that are being expressed.

So let's get at them for this week. Roy Filer in Vancouver. Roy writes, I listened to your interview with Andrew Lawton. We ran that two weeks ago. It was an encore edition. Andrew Lawton is the author of the new book on Pierre Poliev. Well, new. It came out in the spring. I listened to your interview with Andrew Lawton

and it has only reinforced my dislike of Pierre Poliev and his policies. Mr. Lawton says Mr. Poliev has left himself no choice but to follow through on his promise to shut down the CBC. This is far from my only beef with Poliev, but this intention of his symbolizes that at heart he is a thin-skinned bully who can't take any amount of criticism.

Shutting down the CBC may be the beginning. Where would that line of action end? Listen to Trump's utterances for a clue. Yeah, maybe. But look, you know, obviously I'm a staunch defender of the CBC, not necessarily on some of the things that the corporation and its management have done in the past few years, but the idea of a national public broadcaster

is something that I believe in, obviously. You know, I worked there for 50 years, so obviously I had some attachment to the place. But as I said, you can't have it both ways. You can't argue that politicians promise one thing and don't do it, and at the same time say, politicians who promise something shouldn't do it. You know, shouldn't do it.

So I don't know. Somewhere in there, there's a... Listen, there's a dilemma for voters, and you can absolutely express your opinions about some of the promises that are being made by all sides. Marvin Holman he writes the issue of foreign interference is in my opinion too big to play politics with

both sides are guilty of politicizing the issue and that is sad to see if this is a matter of national security I fail to understand why CSIS, the RCMP or whoever has jurisdiction isn't just dealing with it. You know, I've got to say I have some sympathy for that argument from Marvin because how long have we been dealing with this issue now? A couple of years?

And all it turns into is this back and forth slashing and burning from both sides on the other in the House of Commons. Christosneves, or Christosneves in Toronto. I've noticed that many Canadians have no idea that provincial, not federal, policies are largely the cause of more local issues. We have an extremely firm separation of powers, something championed, especially hard, by Quebec. In Ontario, our housing, health care, traffic, cost of living, and education difficulties are more the result of Doug Ford or uncontrollable international crises than Trudeau. I suppose my question would be this.

How do we remind Canadians of their basic civics courses? You know, the separation of powers is always a, well, it's not a confusing thing, but it's a misunderstood thing. And I think that's basically what Chris is arguing here. But some of them do interweave or interlap with jurisdictions. Housing is one of them. I mean, listen, all the federal parties have housing policies. But so, as you say, do the provinces. And the example being given here is Ontario.

And that's where different levels of government have to work together to achieve a common goal. And if the common goal is to provide better housing, surely they can get together on this. And there have been examples of some. I mean, it's also a municipal issue too. And that's where you've seen some of the parties with their policies try to involve all levels of government.

Jim Dingledane in Anglemont, BC. I'll have to look that one up on the map. Anglemont, as I am judging, is about an hour and a half east of Kamloops. Jim writes, I'm wondering how much tax money does the federal government receive for the sale of marijuana? It seems that Justin Trudeau was justifying the legalization of pot, back 10 years ago, on the merits of making lots of tax money. Why have we not seen any politicians or the finance department raving about the millions of dollars we added to the coffers?

Did I miss a financial report? It seems there would have been some bragging if it was a hit. Well, actually, yes, Jim, you missed a report. There's been one every year from Canada's public accounts. The last one was for the 2022-23 fiscal year. Federal excise duties from cannabis that year amounted to approximately $894.6 million, of which $667.6 million was transferred

to provincial and territorial treasuries. That left about $227.1 million was transferred to provincial and territorial treasuries. That left about $227.1 million for the federal government. The amount collected has gone up every year since marijuana was legalized. It's 12 times more now than it was in 2018-2019. Okay, Jim, you're not alone. I didn't realize that either. And those are, you know, those are big numbers. A lot of pot being smoked out there. At least that's the way I think it's supposed to sound. Like I wouldn't know. It has been a long, long, long time since I smoked pot

in my corrupted youth. Ken Pellishock in Newstead, Ontario. This week I'm a little more hopeful than I've been in a while. Moldova has managed to vote for EU membership, despite a major Russian disinformation campaign. Gives me hope for other big elections on the horizon in which Russia might have a vested interest.

Moldova, of course, one of those former Soviet republics. It's right on the border with NATO countries, I think. I have to check my map, but I think that's the case. Christine McDonald in LaSalle, Ontario. One of the things on my mind this week is online betting advertisements. I'm a big hockey fan and recently subscribed to a sports streaming channel and every other ad is for betting. Other addictions have been banned or have diminished

visibility, yet this thrives. Can anything be done? Man, sometimes you think the only way these sports channels are surviving is through the ads they're getting from betting agencies. Because yes, Christine, you're right, there's a lot of them. And you know, you tend to hear a lot of people saying, I'm sick of these betting ads. But obviously, something's happening there. They're generating revenue for the channels, but clearly they're generating revenues for themselves as well.

Paula Gratton in Miramichi, New Brunswick. I'm writing while watching the election results roll in here in New Brunswick. That was just a couple of nights ago, right? Change has come to our beautiful province and there is so much hope after electing our first female premier. That's right, Susan Holt of the Liberals won in New Brunswick the other night. I wish I felt the same about our country.

Trudeau cares more about his own ego than this country. I'll vote for him because I have to. I used to vote for him because I wanted to. That's interesting. There seem to be fewer and fewer people, Paula, who are saying that about their vote for the Liberal Party. Historically, they voted Liberal because they believe in the Liberal kind of way, but they're not Trudeau fans. But they feel boxed that they have to keep voting for their party. But those seem to be the minority.

I mean, when you look at the polls, not a lot of people are saying that. By the way, as Paula says, Susan Holt is the first woman to become Premier of New Brunswick. There are now just two provinces that have never had a female premier. Saskatchewan, where there's an election, when is it? It's next week, isn't it? And the NDP is led by a woman, but she is trailing in the polls at the moment. And the other province is Nova Scotia, where the next election should be next July.

But there is speculation it could be called next week. The NDP in Nova Scotia is also led by a woman. Daryl Johanson in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. Lack of leadership and accountability in our public servants, in our public servant politicians. They should be bringing Canadians together and making decisions that benefit all Canadians. Decisions shouldn't be politically motivated for the benefit of political

parties. And Trudeau needs to take his entitled fake smile and leave as soon as possible. Renee Seriani in Pelham, Ontario. That's in the Niagara region, Pelham. Pelham Estates Wines. Isn't that a thing? Or didn't it used to be? I seem to recall that name. Renee writes, what's on my mind and really eating at me is Bill

C-355. I am so appalled that this has not yet passed into law. I worry that many Canadians are not aware. Well, you're right about that. I had to look it up. I didn't know what Bill C-355 was. So here's the deal. This is the bill that would ban the export of live horses for slaughter. They are now exported to Japan to be killed, where their meat is considered a delicacy.

Supporters of the bill say the conditions of export are cruel. Jan Arden, you know, Jan Arden, singer, comedian, good friend of Rick Mercer's. Jan Arden is probably the best-known advocate of the bill. The bill was passed by the House of Commons in May, but is still being debated in the Senate. Mike Bensky in Toronto. What's on my mind is the upcoming election in the United States.

I think that Trump is a deplorable candidate. Having said that, I hope he wins. And if for only one reason. Harris in no way portrays herself as a strong deterrent to the forces that are an anathema to Western civilization. She comes across as weak, ineffective, and fluffy. When she speaks, it looks like choreography rather than confidence. Khrushchev placed missiles in Cuba years ago because Kennedy came across as weak and inexperienced.

He wasn't doing that with Eisenhower in the White House. Trump, despite all his faults, exudes some degree of strength, even if it's lunacy. I don't think China would make moves against Taiwan with the Donald in the White House, but I fear they would with Kamala. I don't know, Mike. Really? First of all, Khrushchev and Kennedy? Who won that in the end?

And I, you know, do you really think China is afraid of Donald Trump? You can probably buy him off of suggesting he builds a new hotel in Shanghai. But don't get me started on Trump. You know where I stand on Trump. I just think he's a fraud and a con man, a liar and a cheat. Other than that, he's great. Last point on your letter, Mike, and it was, I appreciate, I appreciate all the letters, but I think at the end of the day, Kamala Harris would probably be pretty happy that you compared her to JFK.

I think she'd take that comparison, and she'd run with it. I don't know. We're close to the election. We're going to know soon. I'm on the record on what I think is going to happen, but as I always say, I've always been wrong about Trump in my predictions, not in my assessment of who the man is.

Heather McPherson in Newmarket, Ontario. You know, just north of Toronto. And Heather has something to say about the U.S. election as well. I'm having trouble understanding why the MAGA women who shout freedom are willing to vote for the very person to take away women's freedoms. You've all got, or many of you have the U.S. election on your mind. Here's Gary Gould from Brantford, Ontario.

He writes, one thing to remember is regardless of the winner's promises, only a portion are typically implemented and those are often watered down. Their system of separation of powers provides the necessary checks and balances with the judiciary serving as a very important check on presidential orders. Media hype and candidates boasting grossly inflate and overstate the power of the president. Since 1953, their best economic outcomes happened with a democratic president and republicans controlling congress. The greatest influence on government policy comes from powerful lobbying groups such as oil and gas, military contractors, pharma, and financial institutions. Like them or hate them, the reality is a president can only do so much harm.

And this from Marge Andre in Richmond Hill, Ontario. I'm trying to figure out why there are about half of 345 million people in the U.S. who want to vote for Trump. For so many Canadians, this makes no sense. Trump is a criminal, disrespectful, doesn't care about the environment, he's vulgar, he's old. Then I found a list on X, you know, Twitter, that said the Democratic Party's policies are so destructive that they're indistinguishable from what America's worst enemies would do to destroy America from within.

Marge added the list with 33 items on it, because she really took seriously what I said, keep it short. There's far too many to read, and I'm not going to, but it includes, you know, open borders, unvetted immigrants, excessive regulations, stifling business, release of violent criminals without bail, and the list goes on and on. Let me read one more before we take our break.

And it's from Marilyn Wallace in Fanny Bay, British Columbia. She's got a record streak going on. I don't know how many programs in a row that is for, I always call Marilyn Fanny, Fanny Bay. What's on her mind? Well, elections are on her mind. Two of them, in fact, and the differences between them. The recent campaign for B.C.'s government was generally uneventful,

with relatively cordial discussions about the issues of the day. And even though the election was so close that the results have not yet been determined, a peaceful environment still exists. No one has suggested that the process is flawed, there are no riots in the street, and the parliament buildings in Victoria are as calm and beautiful as they always are. On the other hand, our American neighbors have been campaigning for months with advertising costs in the billions. It's a gross understatement to write that the political discourse has been truly nasty. I'm grateful to be a Canadian.

Paul Marlon, the other reason to be grateful to be a Canadian is every week you get to listen to the random ranter. And the random ranter is here now. So why don't we cue him for this week's rant? Away you go, sir. Whether you call it tides or momentum, I've always believed that there's some kind of magical pendulum out there

that sweeps across the world, pushing it to the right and then to the left. It's always made sense to me because nothing happens in a vacuum. The world would lurch to the right and then to the left. You'd have Thatcher, Reagan, and Mulroney one minute, and then the tide would turn and you'd have Blair, Clinton, and Kreschen. Well, these days, I think the pendulum is broken. The tide of left and right has been replaced by a riptide of change. Because I'm starting to think that in today's world, it's not the left or right that matters. It's not the policies. It's just change.

People want change. They're frustrated and they're worked up. They don't really know what they want. They don't really care what they get. They just know that they aren't happy with what they want. They don't really care what they get. They just know that they aren't happy with what they have and they want things to change. Now, I'm not talking about people that are tuned in and engaged. I'm talking about regular everyday people who don't really pay attention to the news or to politics. But when they show up, they also happen to decide

elections. Now, it's just an armchair theory on my part. I've got nothing hard to back it up but my own observations watching elections across Western democracies. And what I'm seeing is that no matter the political stripe, it's been a consistently difficult road for any incumbent government at any level. Now, that's all fine and dandy, but my concern isn't so much the desire for change, it's voters not thinking through what that change is going to look like. And that's what I think they're doing, because it's really the only way I can begin to understand how the states can be teetering on the edge of electing a Nazi-loving, Arnold Palmer-obsessed, trainwreck Trump. It's the only way I can understand how so many Canadians can support Polyev's party of climate-denying, chemtrail conspiracists,

convoy-loving, transphobic book banners. Now, maybe I'm being harsh with Polyev there. His party is not defined by any of those things. But we all know that the people who support those things, well, they feel perfectly at home in his party. They're welcome there. And we know that because there's no shortage of selfies from candidates, MPs, and even Polyev himself, hamming it up with all the convoy crazies and the like. We know that because increasingly these conspiracy theories are being pushed into the mainstream. Conservatives are legitimizing them.

And unfortunately, everyday Canadians are not paying much attention to any of it. But they should. Because if I'm a traditional conservative looking for some fiscal responsibility, I might not feel as comfortable as I once did in the big PC tent standing next to a chemtrail anti-vaxxer. And if there's a bunch of flag-flying pickups out front, I might not even make it into the tent at all. It's kind of extreme, but if my theory is right, then there is some hope, because if change is what voters want, then why can't that change come from within? Maybe, just maybe, the liberals are going to figure that out for themselves this week.

And it couldn't come at a better time. Because if people really want to vote for change, then there should at least be a choice that can be relied upon not to deny science. The random Ranter Well, you know, the ranter's best line in that was Maybe I'm being too harsh with Polyev there Really? No Were you? Yeah, you really went to town. You know, for the Polyev admirers out there,

it's worth remembering that the old ranter has taken at least as many shots on Justin Trudeau and the various concerns he has about Trudeau over the last year or two. So I guess it all balances out. But his basic core here, I absolutely believe in, and you can look around the world at it. Incumbency is not a good thing to be running on these days. And we've seen it country after country.

There have been some where it hasn't been the case, or it's been close and the incumbents still want out, you know, like Macron in France. But overall, incumbency is not a good thing these days. Post-pandemic, post-inflation, post-housing crises, country after country, you see the same issue. So I get it, but I get the flip side of it as well, which is what the ranter was the point he was trying to make.

All right, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we'll get to more of your letters, and there's lots of them right after this. And welcome back. You're listening to The Bridge, Thursday episode. That means it's your turn. And we also heard, as we do every Thursday, from the Random Renter. You're listening on Sirius XM, Channel 167, Canada Talks, or on your favorite podcast platform.

We're glad to have you with us. All right, let's get back to some letters. Get organized here in my little studio. I mean, I'm still in Scotland. I'm in Scotland for another week. It's a wonderful thing about the world today, right? You're never really away. Everything is so connected.

You know, I can watch, listen, read all about situations that are going on in Ottawa or Victoria or Fredericton or Regina, wherever the elections may be, I can feel like I'm right there. I can talk to anybody I want, or if they'll talk to me. Zoom is an amazing thing. Anyway, so as I sit here looking out my window at the North Sea, I feel like, hey, I'm there. Anyway, I'm back in Canada next week,

and I've got speeches in a number of different parts of the country. First up, I think, is Edmonton in another 10 days. I'm looking forward to that. All right, let's get back to business here. Joshua Winters in Surrey, B.C. Here in British Columbia, we eagerly await the final vote tally from the provincial election. I'm thinking about an unsettling incident that occurred while I was waiting to cast my vote. A man two persons ahead of me in line was loudly shouting at the polling worker, can't you just tell me who to vote for to get rid of Trudeau?

This is the provincial election line he's in, right? I shook my head in disbelief, assured this was an isolated incident. However, over the last few days, I've come across a number of posts on Reddit by election workers with similar stories of people not realizing this was indeed a provincial election. In a race still undecided where a few votes may tip the balance of power, it's disturbing to think that even a few people don't know what election they're voting in. That is pretty bad. Norma Jack in Stouffville, Ontario. What's on my mind?

Politicians that do not seem to be able to be polite to one another. Not sure what the behavior of these politicians teaches our children and grandchildren. Certainly not respect for all human beings. Ruslan Virstuk in Ottawa. This week I've been grappling with the pervasive issue of politicians stretching the truth to mislead the public. It's disheartening to see those in positions of power manipulating facts for their own gain. I wish there were laws in place that mandated any politician caught misleading the public

to issue a public apology with a set time frame or face losing their job. While I understand this is a slippery slope and potentially dangerous for democracy, it's time we demand accountability and transparency from those who are supposed to serve us. You know, I think on the face, most of us would probably agree with that. But we're also looking at the situation, and not just in our country, but elsewhere. I mean, look at the states. Does anybody own up to misleading the public?

Anyone, on any side? No, it doesn't happen. Even when they know it's a lie. Susan Roach is in Perth, Ontario, and Perth is just, let's see, southwest of Ottawa. I remember I used to go through Perth when I was a young boy because that's where summer camp was near there. Susan writes,

Something that's on my mind and has been for a long time is, why does our government and the people of Canada allow a political party that has as its mandate the destruction of Canada, a place in Parliament with all the rights given to the other parties, whose members must take an oath to conduct themselves in the best interest of the country. Surely we stand alone as the only country in the world who would extend the concept of democracy to this extreme.

You know, some might see that as a virtue. Well, clearly others don't see it that way. Talking about the Bloc Québécois, if you're unsure of that. But Susan is right that all MPs and Senators take an oath before being allowed to take their seats. But the oath doesn't say they have to do what's best for Canada. Section 128 of the Constitution requires that parliamentarians swear they will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the reigning monarch. There was a private member's bill earlier this year that proposed a change taking an oath to work in the best interest of Canada

while upholding its constitution. But that was defeated. So Bloc MPs indeed take an oath to be loyal to the monarch, Canada's head of state. As for separatists sitting in the legislature, Canada is far from unique. There are separatists in many countries who have been elected, including in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Anne McPherson in Newmarket.

I was thinking, if Pierre Polyev thinks that there's blowback from people who don't like the carbon tax, wait till he hears the blowback from seniors when they realize that after downsizing, and a lot of them getting rid of their cars and having a small carbon footprint, their four times a year rebate checks are cut off. Okay, Rhonda Mulligan in Sturgeon County, Alberta. That's in the kind of Edmonton area, right? Rhonda writes this. This has been on my mind for some time. History has recorded many atrocities Canada's Aboriginal people have had to deal with.

I should say this was kind of a long letter, so I've had to cut it back. This is not open to debate. I do question, however, $40 million committed in the ongoing search for the bodies of the two Indigenous women in a Manitoba landfill site. Surely this money could have been better allocated within the Indigenous community. Every life matters. And as a mother, I would want the bodies of any of my children returned,

so I get it. But in the meantime, many indigenous children go hungry. The social welfare system languishes. Housing needs go unmet. The country is broke. Every dollar counts. I don't know, Rhonda. I think you're being sincere and caring in the way you write that. But I think for many people,

they just can't accept that we as a country would allow that to go in such a way it's not dealt with, with the family's best interests at heart. But that's a difficult one. I can clearly tell it's difficult for you to write that, but you want to put it out there. And I know when I, because I've seen, there is a debate around this issue. Deb Broomfield in Owen Sound, Ontario.

I'm deeply grateful when you feature people like Dr. Sam Nutt on your podcast. We had a number of letters about our program with Sam which was on Tuesday of this week and if you didn't hear it

you might want to go back and listen to it. Because it's quite something. And she's quite something. And anybody who listens to The Bridge over the last four or five years knows what an admirer of Dr. Nutt that I am. And to be fair, you know, we've known each other for quite a while. We've worked together on a number of issues, including, you might recall last week when Lloyd Axworthy was on the program,

we talked about this advisory board that we were on with McMaster University and trying to get a better dialogue going with Canadians about where they wanted a country to go, what they saw as the country's future 50, 60, 70 years down the road. Well, on that advisory board, aside from Lloyd and I, were a lot of bright, smart, much younger people than Lloyd and I.

And one of them was Dr. Sam Nutt. In fact, she chaired many of the meetings we were in. Anyway, let me get back to Deb's letter. I'm deeply grateful when you feature people like Dr. Sam Nutt on your podcast. As difficult as the subjects are that the two of you covered this time, it's so important to hear. So often we get sound bites that have no depth. To hear detailed information with regards to what creates these situations is most helpful.

Having Dr. Nutt also explain what is being done to aid the people is gratifying. Our particular areas of concern on that discussion the other day were Sudan, which most agree is the worst atrocity going on in the world anywhere today and receiving very little attention. We've tried to focus on Sudan a number of times in the last couple of years, but nowhere near as often as we talk about others. But we talked about Sudan. We also talked about Afghanistan, where Sam had just been earlier this summer

and what's happening there, which is important for Canadians to know. We lost blood in Afghanistan, 158 souls, working to try and better that country, and then we cut and run. Then the Americans cut and run, and we left it to those who we took it away from after 9-11, the Taliban. So Sam got back into Afghanistan,

and it gives us a vivid idea of what's going on there now. Okay, well, on that note, it's going to wrap it up. As we always conclude on days like this, on a What's On Your Mind day, it's great to get that sense from, you know, all parts of the country on how you're feeling about the issues of the day. And I know many of you are going to be conflicted over these next couple of weeks as we watch the Americans come to their decision, as we watch the Liberal Party of Canada come to its decision about leadership.

It's going to be a powerful next couple of weeks in terms of how we feel about our neighbors, our friends, our countries. And, you know, one of the ways we express those feelings is through this program and others like it. But we love hearing from you on the bridge and we'll continue to do that, give you a sense of what's up in the next few days. On tomorrow's program, of course, Friday, it's Chantel and Bruce with the latest on the shenanigans in Ottawa and the impact they're having.

Next Monday, Janice Stein will be here, as she is on Mondays, with her latest assessment of things that are going on in both the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine story. Tuesday, I'm going to ask Keith Bogue to drop by. That'll be one week exactly from the election in the United States. And trying to keep track of what's going on there, I mean, we get kind of sidetracked by constant polls. I mean, there are dozens and dozens and dozens of polls,

and some you can actually read and have some sense that they're credible, and others you probably need to dodge. But there are other things going on, and Keith brings that keen eye to bring forward things that we don't normally recognize or talk about that are happening as we run down the days to Election Day. So Keith will be here on Tuesday, and the rest of the week unfolds as usual, Wednesday the Encore Edition edition Thursday your turn and then Friday like

tomorrow is a good talk all right that's going to wrap it up for today I'm Peter Mansbridge thanks so much for your letters always always enjoy them I know they didn't all get on today but most of them did and we're glad you wrote. Take care. Talk to you again in about 24 hours.