Stockwell Day

I was brought up to believe that all politicians lie, all the time. The most honest they get is to tell an incomplete version of the truth. What, then, am I to make of Stockwell Day? For those of you that missed the beginning of the story, Mr. Day was recently elected as the leader of the Canadian Alliance party by their membership. He replaced Preston Manning, who was the Leader of the Opposition in Canada's House of Commons.

My interest in the matter comes because Mr. Manning is the Member of Parliament for the constituency I live in. Mr. Day resigned as the Minister of Finance for Province of Alberta, where I live.

Mr. Day is both a fiscal and social conservative. He introduced a flat tax in Alberta's last budget, and has announced that he intends to do the same should he become Prime Minister. This would happen if the Canadian Alliance were to win more seats in the House than any of the other parties. He believes we need less government, lower taxes, and clearer delineation between the federal and provincial areas of jurisdiction. He wants to get into the guts of the healthcare system to make it work better, and is willing to look at all sorts of heretofore unmentionable possibilities. He'd like to spend more money on the Armed Forces.

Socially, he believes we should bring back capital punishment, and reverse the current law on abortion. He does not support gay rights beyond the rights any other person has. He would like to see all religious schools in Canada equally eligible for taxpayer funded support, which currently only goes to the public and Catholic school systems.

Lastly, he wants to do politics differently, from a position of respect. Respect for the taxpayer and the dollars they provide, and respect for people holding other views. His personal statements during the leadership campaign tend to bear out this last point, though some of his supporters got a little out of hand.

Mr. Day is a lay preacher and goes to a Pentecostal church with his family on Sundays. This happened during the leadership campaign, not even talking to the media. This has some of them annoyed, and on that front, more power to him. He has stated on any number of occasions that while he holds certain personal beliefs, he does not intend to impose them on Canadians.

Here we have a dilemma for voters. Most of us would like to see lower taxes, and a healthcare system that works better. Most of us are sick and tired of the wrangling between the federal and provincial governments, but even saying the words constitutional reform will make Canadians run for the bar. A slight majority would like to see a return of the death penalty, and see the justice system as being much too lenient on criminals. Abortion is the big red hot button. I believe most Canadians accept the way the law is now, and don't particularly want to go through the whole debate again. Even the economic changes are going to be difficult for some parts of the country to swallow. Mr. Day was the Minister of Finance for one of the wealthiest Provinces; it may be difficult for him to grasp the regional disparities.

Canada's entire history is a byword for deal brokering and learning to live and let live. Mr. Day is known as a pragmatic politician, and Canada is a notoriously difficult country to govern. Should he become Prime Minister, I suspect that economic issues alone would drive the social issues to the back burner. Canada's Supreme Court has handed the House of Commons its legislative head several times, finding that passed laws were unconstitutional. They well may do the same with any Day government changes to the justice and healthcare systems. Or they may not. There is much about the Supreme Court that average Canadians don't understand. And a Prime Minister with a majority in the House has an enormous amount of power, nearly to the point of being a dictator. At least part of the Alliance party's message is going to resonate with many Canadians, and many of us are damn tired of the current government. Mr. Day is an experienced and telegenic candidate. He could well win it all. Now, tell me again how truthful politicians are?