Here it is, Oct. 20th, 2015. The world as we know it is still spinning and Canada has a new government. Many people are jubilant; many people thankful that change has taken place and, many people are in wonderment! One has to ask oneself, “Where do I stand?”
All said and done, the majority of age of consent voters have voted for and will receive this change. The eagle has landed or what? No matter what your individual political stance is or was, there is a new sheriff in town, like it or not.
Some of the media pundits are already posing questions. Some of these are:
1) Will marijuana be legalized through government decree or by referendum?
2) Will going into billions of dollars of debt really make a significant difference, if so how will it be paid for?
3) Will the proposed pipelines now be a reality?
4) Will the flood gates be opened to allow any and all refugees into Canada?
5) Will the niqab/burka question finally be resolved?
6) Will the middle class really benefit as promised?
7)Will tax-free accounts be nullified?
8) Will the TPP still be acknowledged?
9) Will the budget really balance itself? If so, how?
10) Will Canada continue to be a bleeding heart nation to assist any all war torn countries?
These are but a few questions of many questions that different media pundits have raised. There are many others yet to be posed. The answers won’t be forthcoming to many of these for some time yet. It’s a wait and see scenario. We all know that Rome wasn’t built in a day!
Democracy works in strange ways. It allows voters to express a personal opinion through voting. It gives a voter freedom of choice, which we accept.
After all is said and done, we are in the infancy stage. The dating stage; engagement stage; marital stage and honeymoon stage will be seen a little bit down the road. I guess the big question seems to be centered around the marital and honeymoon stages. Stay tuned folks.
All in all, irrespective of our personal political persuasion, we should feel content in knowing that far more voters exercised their “fight-for-your-right-to-vote.” The voter turnout was much, much higher than last time. It’s about time that many of us woke up!
Ron Barillaro
Penticton