Hey Canada!!

[Jherek]

"Photo health cards? 'Age of Majority' card?

never heard of them ... "

They aren't mandatory (photo health cards)-well they are, but only if they contact you about them. I don't have one, but my sister had to get one... the old ones are still valid until they tell you to upgrade to a photo card. I was unable to vote due to lack of photo ID... photo ID poses a problem for me for an entirely different reason, and it's driving me nuts that it's now required to vote.

 

[dubchick]

The only picture id I know of that adults not in school in the maritimes can get is a drivers licence - and that was/is an more expensive, optional feature, or a passport. .

nope.. you can get a picture id (age of majority card) that looks like a drivers liscence at the dmv.... (in moncton , its at the assumption building) , the card actually says "this is not a drivers liscence" lol .. its around $10 , i paid $9 somthing last year for my new one... i needed a new one because im 29 and still get carded when i want to drink hahhaa. .. but if you move a lot.. and are on a fixed income.. $10 a pop can add up... and sadly there are a lot of people that cannot afford it. it should be free since its pretty much a requirement to have government issued picture id with a current address.

sq.. we dont have the photo health cards.. i believe they are only in ontario.. (or so ive heard).

 

[dubchick]

I guess because I took an interest and voted this year it felt like the turn out would be huge and the conservatives would be out. Didn't my vote matter? How depressing. I should of voted strategically.

thats exactly what i was thinking.. thats crap it was such a small turn out.

 

[Vanessa]

The situation with the photo Health Cards was that the government was going to replace all existing ones with the photo type.
They started to and ran out of money so the initiative was abandoned with only a partial amount of Canadians getting the new ones. If your old one is lost or stolen, then it is replaced with the photo one only, you can't get an old replacement card.
The new ones suck, because they expire and you pay to have them renewed. I got lucky and never replaced mine, so I don't have to keep forking over my money every few years.

 

[jorats]

I got a letter in the mail saying I needed to go in and get my new health card. My little red and white card was still in good condition, I called them and they said nope, if I get the letter, I need to change it.
So now I'm stuck with a card I need to renew... it looks really cheap too.

 

[Jherek]

It was the Conservatives plan all along: require photo ID meaning all the people who would never in their lives vote Conservative no longer have a say. *shakes head*

That and two other things are driving me insane:

1. Not so much here (although, who knows, someday?), but in the US it's between Obama and McCain, the rest are a joke, nonexistent, irrelevant. Someone told my boyfriend, "a vote for anyone but Obama is a vote for McCain, so thank you for your vote." It's ridiculous that people feel they can't even vote for who they truly believe in because the media has turned into "Obama vs. McCain" and no one bothers to educate themselves about anyone else... hell, I bet half of them don't even know there IS anyone else running. He now is conflicted: vote for who he truly believes in, or vote for the better of the two so his country doesn't go to hell.

2. http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6009249 people with no understanding or even INTEREST in politics are voting, and being encouraged to vote. Stay frickin' home if you don't even understand or KNOW the policies of the person you're voting for... if you don't even know who the running mate is... :\

 

[LA]

I dont' think it costs anything to get it renewed. Wayne got his done and he didn't have to pay anything.

I still have my red and white, but not for long when I change my name.

 

[jorats]

I didn't pay for mine either.

Jherek, that was pretty much my thinking too.

 

[Cityratt]

1. Not so much here (although, who knows, someday?), but in the US it's between Obama and McCain, the rest are a joke, nonexistent, irrelevant. Someone told my boyfriend, "a vote for anyone but Obama is a vote for McCain, so thank you for your vote." It's ridiculous that people feel they can't even vote for who they truly believe in because the media has turned into "Obama vs. McCain" and no one bothers to educate themselves about anyone else... hell, I bet half of them don't even know there IS anyone else running. He now is conflicted: vote for who he truly believes in, or vote for the better of the two so his country doesn't go to hell.

Someone told my housemate something similar along the lines of that but basically in terms of any vote other than the liberals is a vote for the conservatives so it does happen here too.....

im pretty sure my vote will and always will be my choice thanks - fear-based statements will never sway my vote

 

[Jherek]

Yeah, but the electoral process and such is different here than it is in the States. The consequences of either voting for a lesser-known party or voting for "the lesser of two evils" so to speak of the two parties who actually have a chance of winning are very different. In Canada, I would always follow my heart and vote for who I truly believe in. In the States, I might not, despite how horrible I think it is that people should even have to choose that.

 

[dubchick]

ya.. i had a tough decision..with the lesser of two evils? or who i believe in?.... i went with, vote for who i believe in!.. because i strongly believe that in 20 years time (providing the world doesnt actually end in 2012 lol).... ndp and green are going to be the two strongest competitors.... just my opinion on this...

 

[Jherek]

Heh... I just came across this: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=25808609138

"Anti-Harper Vote Swap Canada

Description:
A group dedicated to preventing a Harper-led majority in parliament and promoting electoral reform.

OUR FUTURE PLANS

During this campaign nearly 15 000 of us have shown support for the concept of vote swapping - not necessarily because it's what we want to do, but because it's what we have to do under the current electoral system. If you're sick of feeling like your vote is wasted, if it boggles your mind that the Tories could come close to a majority with only 36 or 37% of the actual vote, and if you want to avoid going to a two-party system like they have in the US, it's fundamentally necessary to demand electoral reform.

This group will continue activities towards this end and you can check back with us shortly to find out the best way to help pressure for electoral change. We're currently building a website, launching a nation-wide petition, and planning multiple press releases. As always, we will need everyone's assistance so please get involved!

http://www.electoralreformcanada.ca/

ELECTORAL REFORM CANADA MOVEMENT

We are calling on all Canadians who are sick of feeling that their vote is "wasted" just because the party they support does not win their local election as well as those who know that our system unfairly excludes many voters from having a say in the formation of Parliament.

It is fundamentally undemocratic that a party that obtains 7% of the nation-wide vote is left without an MP in Parliament, while another party with 10% of the popular vote can wind up with more than 50 seats, simply because their supporters are more concentrated in particular ridings.

It is equally problematic that a party can win total control of parliament while being voted for by less than half of all Canadians – should the majority really be ruled by a minority?

The current First Past the Post system simply does not represent Canadians very well and we all deserve a better and fairer electoral system. It actively discourages people from voting (since so many ask themselves “why bother? My party can’t win my riding”) and it has us leading down the road towards a two-party style system like they have in the US. Canadians are intelligent enough to handle more political choice, and we deserve it.

For these reasons, we are calling on all Canadians, of all political stripes, from coast to coast and in every city and town, to sign this petition in support of electoral reform and to fixing Canada’s democratic deficit.

We need to send a strong and clear message to Parliament, but that can only be done with your help! Please circulate this petition amongst your friends and colleagues and get actively involved in supporting electoral reform in your area.

Join our initiative.

13,545 members"

Corruption, CORRUPTION. anic: Interesting that it has quite a lot of support... I guess Canada's begun to feel that way as well, albeit for different reasons. It's too bad it's just as flawed as the actual process, though-how many people actually keep their word?

dubchick - I agree btw. I was talking about the States though. I would vote for who I believe in. But I'm just saying I understand why people down thar are so torn right now.

 

[KMG365]

I don't have a problem with requiring photo-ID to get on the voter's list because I think that at least some effort should go toward proving that people are who they say they are. However, several months back, during all the fuss over whether women wearing burkas would be required to show their faces when voting, I thought it was determined that you could just get someone to vouch for you at the polling station in order to vote. I could be wrong on that, of course. :wink:

 

[Jherek]

! "Would-be voters can also choose to have a second person vouch for their identity, as long as their designate has proper identification, Paquin added."

Awesome, you're right. I had no idea about this. I wish they had mentioned it on the registration cards they sent out..............

Edit- gah, I'm frustrated now. You don't even NEED photo ID, or someone to vouch for you. If you can provide two pieces of non-photo ID (for example one of the old health cards, Social Insurance card, birth certificate, etc.) they will allow that as well.

It's really too bad that the information cards they send out don't mention this, and specifically say that photo ID is required. It's even reported everywhere in the media that photo ID is required. Most people have no idea about this and didn't vote because they thought they had to have photo ID... :lol:

http://www.elections.ca/content.asp?sec ... =false#two

 

[jorats]

Prior to my elections card, I received a pamphlet that explained it all about the IDs and such.

 

[KMG365]

This is off-topic, but what really bothers me about Canadian elections is that we don't all have the opportunity to vote directly for the Prime Minister. I don't think that candidates running for the office of Prime Minister should have home ridings. Instead, like the American system, they should have to campaign across the country for support from all of us because, unlike most other MP's, the Prime Minister represents all of us.

I'm tired of hearing stories about the Prime Minister using his/her nearly absolute power and access to the public purse to effectively buy votes from the constituents in their riding. Jean Chretien, like Prime Ministers before him, even moved government agencies into his riding, in part, to reward his friends and secure his job as a member of Parliament.

I know it would take a massive overhaul of our political system to achieve this and that it would present other significant challenges as well, but I think our system should be reformed.

 

[KMG365]

[marquee:b9ho43bj]Meh![/marquee:b9ho43bj]

From CTV.ca

Canadian election was 'so meh,' dictionary says

LONDON -- Are Canadian elections boring?

Well, according to the folks in Britain who put out the Collins English Dictionary, it seems our elections practically define the term.

Publisher HarperCollins used Canada as an example in explaining a new word it's including in the dictionary's 30th anniversary edition.

The word is "meh," a term that grew in popularity after being used in a 2001 episode of "The Simpsons" in which Homer suggests a day trip to his children Bart and Lisa.

Both kids reply `meh' and keep on watching television.

The dictionary defines "meh" as an expression of indifference or boredom, or an adjective meaning mediocre or boring.

Examples given by the dictionary include: "The Canadian election was so meh."

"Meh" was selected by Collins after it asked people to submit words they use in conversation that are not in the dictionary.

Other suggestions included jargonaut, a fan of jargon and frenemy, an enemy disguised as a friend.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

I think the sad part is that it's true Canadian elections are meh