Letter: Our democracy is broken
By Letters to the editor
To The Editor:
The report came out last week that in 2019 Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions went up. Again. Canada has failed in all its commitments to reduce emissions. As long as emissions are going up we haven’t even started. These are the crucial last years to back away from global disaster, and Canada is still going the wrong way.
It really is an emergency. We need to start acting like it.
To do that we need better government.
Conservative AND Liberal governments have failed us. They have not reduced fossil fuel use. They listen to corporate lobbyists more than voters.
Our democracy is broken.
It doesn’t deliver the representation and the climate and security Canadians need. In 2019, the NDP and the Greens received 22.5% of the vote but only 8.0% of the seats. It’s no surprise so many people don’t bother to vote and say all politicians lie.
To help fix this, a national movement is promoting a strategy for the coming federal election to elect more NDP and Green Party MPs. The OneTimeAlliance.ca is organizing in local ridings for Greens and the NDP to “swap ridings” to avoid vote splitting, so we can get real climate and electoral reform action. The push is supported by climate activists like 350.org‘s ClimateAlliance.ca.
I am seeking the nomination for the Greens in the Kootenay-Columbia riding to promote this strategy. In our riding the NDP has the best chance of beating a business-as-usual Conservative. Only electing more NDP and Green MPs will give us a chance for real action on climate and democracy.
This alliance movement can give our votes more power and help us elect the representatives we deserve.
We desperately need change. Our governments must do better. The same old, same old is clearly not getting us there. It’s time for something new. Let’s try it.
Keith Wiley, Nelson, BC
