Canadian Election Aftermath: Do the Trudeau Liberals represent “Real Change”?
Global Research News Hour Episode 118
“Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly, and for the same reason.” -José Maria Eça de Queiroz (translated from Portuguese.) [1]
LISTEN TO THE SHOW
Length (59:42)
Click to download the audio (MP3 format)
On October 19, 2015, Canadian citizens delivered their verdict on ten years of Harper governance.
With 73,451 of 73,568 polls reporting, Elections Canada, the body charged with overseeing Canada’s federal elections recorded a voter turnout of just under 68.5%, the highest turnout of electors in a federal election in over two decades! [2]
In some jurisdictions, such as the riding of Winnipeg Centre, voter turn-out exploded from 48.2 per cent in the 2011 election, to 61.4 per cent. [3]
There was clearly a desire to remove the established Conservative regime from power which may have overwhelmed any fraudulent activity that may have been taking place (listen to last week’s podcast.)
The opposition Liberal Party became the beneficiary of the “throw the bums out” sentiment that overtook the electorate.
So who is Liberal leader Justin Trudeau? Does the second youngest Prime Minister in Canadian history represent a fundamental departure from his predecessor? Or is he the Canadian equivalent of Barrack Obama, another neo-liberal political leader masquerading as a reformer on the environment, social policy and foreign policy?
This week’s Global Research News Hour attempts to examine exactly why Canadian voters cast their ballots the way they did, how the issues were explored during the campaign, and what to watch for as our new Prime Minister takes power. We speak with five political observers.
Barrie Zwicker is a veteran journalist, commentator, and media critic, and a long-time champion of progressive political causes. He speaks to the fate of the NDP, and about how the mainstream media mostly ‘got it right’ in its campaign coverage, except when it came to so-called Deep Political events, such as 9/11 or the Ottawa Shootings of a year ago.
Mellissa Newitt is the National Coordinator and spokesperson for the Canadian Health Coalition, a public advocacy group raising concerns about threats to the integrity of Canada’s public health care system.
Yves Engler is a Montreal-based activist and writer and author of several books on Canada’s foreign policy including his most recent: Canada and Africa: 300 years of Aid and Exploitation.
Roger Annis is a socialist and retired aerospace worker, and a long-time champion for peace and social justice causes. He is one of the editors of Newcoldwar.org, and an outspoken critic of NATO’s involvement in Ukraine and elsewhere.
Michael Keefer is Emeritus Professor of Literary Studies at the University of Guelph, and author of an upcoming book on electoral interference in the 2011 election.
LISTEN TO THE SHOW
Length (59:42)
Click to download the audio (MP3 format)
The Global Research News Hour airs every Friday at 1pm CT on CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg. The programme is also podcast at globalresearch.ca .
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Notes:
1) http://www.quotery.com/quotes/politicians-and-diapers-have-one-thing-in-common-they-should/
2) http://enr.elections.ca/National.aspx
3) http://enr.elections.ca/ElectoralDistricts.aspx?lang=e
4) http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/indigenous-rock-the-vote-claims-victory-as-winnipeg-centre-turnout-soars-1.3280783
