I have been a voting adult for over 20 years, and have always considered myself slightly left of centre. I value fiscal responsibility combined with conservative taxation. I want support systems in place for the people that need assistance and I also want to see people that work hard be rewarded. B.C. was not a great place to be in the 90’s when I graduated. I was lucky enough to be able to relocate to the U.S. during the Clinton years. Sadly, with the U.S. having a two-term limit for Presidents, the good times weren’t meant to last. With years of work and life experience under my belt, I moved back to Canada with my family and found myself leaning somewhat closer to the centre and finding myself more inline with the Federal Conservatives here in Canada, who seemed to be doing a remarkable job in a challenging economic time.

However, all that has changed…

1) Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have proven to be Tone Deaf
They promised to match donations dollar for dollar to the Terry Fox Foundation… IF they are re-elected. So when I heard this last caveat, I thought, why not NOW? Why not say, “Hey Fellas, how about instead of running the next 3 ‘fear mongering’ ads that cost us an arm and a leg… what about taking that money and donating it to this cause that means a great deal to all Canadians?”

2) Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are endorsed by extremists
Of all the Conservative Candidates running in this election, 25.4% of them have been endorsed for their opposition to women’s reproductive rights by the ‘Campaign Life Coalition’, a controversial group that is also known for offering counselling to people experiencing ‘unwanted same-sex attraction’. One of these candidates stated the he believes that there is never ANY circumstance where a woman should have access to an abortion. Another candidate compared abortion to the Holocaust and suggested that it was like a 9/11 every day.

While I’m on that topic, 9 of those anti- women’s rights candidates are running here in B.C. , the province that has the highest child poverty rates in Canada. If you don’t see the irony in that, we are likely not voting the same way.

3) Stephen Harper’s Conservatives Drink $16 O.J.
The Conservative party plead guilty to conducting a series of wire transfers to shuffle $1.3-million in advertising costs. They did this by having 67 local candidates claim expenses for regional radio and TV ad’s through their own personal expense limits. These charges were brought against them by Elections Canada. This blatant abuse of tax payer money was shown to run rampant throughout this Government, as it has also played out time and again with senate expense scandals that are far too many to list here. Just think, $16 for a glass of orange juice, $1000 per day limousine expense and a $32,000 helicopter ride to name a few.

4) Stephen Harper’s Conservatives Refuse Abortions For Child Brides and Victims of War Rape
Naturally, Canada strongly condemns forced marriages and child brides, but when it comes to providing funding for safe abortions to the 3rd world women and child victims of violent sexual assaults, the answer is a heartless and callous NO! Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have stated the government’s policy would follow the same logic as that behind Canada’s $3-billion G8 funding commitment for maternal and child health — no money should go toward abortion services. Even though all members of the G8 are aware that rape is consistently used as a weapon and a strategy of war.

5) Stephen Harper’s Conservatives Are Pillaging the Environment
This Conservative Government does not prioritize climate change and they have cut spending for environmental programs and referred to climate scientists as radical extremists. Canada is in a recession now due in large part to the drop in oil prices. Our dollar is sinking along with those oil prices and that is thanks to our extremely oil dependent economy crafted by the Conservatives. Those of us paying attention, know that advances in renewable energy technology are growing by leaps and bounds and the competition with oil puts the major oil producers like the Alberta tar sands in jeopardy. I’ve come to the conclusion that there isn’t much point in worrying about a balanced budget when the world that we are living in and that we are leaving to our children is being destroyed at an astonishing rate.

You know which other country leader was a big fan of oil? That’s right, George W. Bush. Now that I’ve seen Stephen Harper devolve into a George W. type leader, I’m going in another direction. I’ll be voting for Change!