A Winner

Having watched the English language leader’s debate in it’s near entirety (I was unfortunately not able to

Jack Layton, NDP Leader, Winner of the Debate

 watch nearly as much of the French language debate), I feel confident that I can come to an opinion on who won. Although most of the leaders gave compitent arguments (I dare say that Stephen Harper never did anything other than proffer vague assurances and downright lies), I think that Jack Layton came out on top.

I am not an NDP supporter. I have briefly flirted with them, but my first party was Liberal, and now I am vocal Green voter. But Jack came out of the gate swinging, didn’t hold any punches, and drilled Dion and Harper on the flaws in the records of their respectives parties while working together with Elizabeth May and Gilles Duceppe to present a better vision for Canada (I would in fact prefer an NDP government to a Liberal one on the whole, I prefer their economic and social policies, though I do support the Liberal Green Shift plan above the environmental policies of any of the other parties excepting the Greens).

I would hand the second place position to my aquaintance and school-mate Elizabeth May (she and I are in fact both studying theology at Saint Paul University, though she is in the Anglican Studies specialization, and I, though Anglican, am in the general civil BTh). She proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Green Party can debate on every issue, not just the environment, and that she belonged at that table from the get-go.

Dion and Duceppe both did fairly well. Stephane spent too much time pushing his policies and not enough actually debating the issues in my humble opinion, which seems odd coming from a University professor. Duceppe, who spent the evening advertising Quebec’s achievements and his own party’s policies that were good for Canada as a whole, rather than demanding special treatment for his province, is actually a very convincing speaker when he’s not being assinine (though his accent is occasionally rather funny).

Harper, well he spent the evening blurting out vageries and lies (that’s not an exageration, he really did lie a couple of times). Also, his makeup was preposterously femminine, my girlfriend doesn’t wear lip gloss that shiny. But then I just don’t like him, so many i’m not the best person to comment.

History

Blair Wilson, Green MP

History was made today. The Green Party of Canada has its very first Member of Parliament. Blair Wilson, previously sitting as a Liberal and then Independent MP, has joined the Greens. I look forward to this bringing in a new era of increased awareness of the Green Party, Green leaders taking part in Leader’s Debates, and Canadians electing Green MPs.