加拿大选民最在意的10项议题
（星星生活记者王小檗编译报道）当自由党领袖狄安说“这是加拿大历史最重要的选举”的时候，请你不要感到惊讶。每个政党的领袖都对过去的选举用同样的字眼。但毫无疑问的是，这次选举的候选人肯定有着我们不常看到的不同心境。
以下是这次迫在眉睫的选举一些重大事件。
1）经济问题
你可能听说过一个不新鲜的说法：美国一打喷嚏，加拿大就感冒。不错，我们南边的邻居最近是有点流鼻涕，这使得安省的官员们不禁有点疼痛感。随着汽车工业的混乱和失业率提高，这将成为安省最大的也是唯一的问题。
自由党领袖狄安似乎从里根那里学习到了选举办法，就是问选民：“你现在的生活是否比两年前更好了？”这可能会左右你的最终决定。
2）税收
这成为保守党的一只利剑：向广大课税过重的选民减免了一部分联邦税。保守党的专家们不断的利用这件事进行宣传，并提醒你他们遵守承诺做到了大幅削减货劳税。同时，他们也会一直提醒你狄安是绿色转移计划的主要倡导者──这个计划几乎不被人理解，但却要支付大量你承受不起的税。
3)环境问题
这一直是个问题，但从来没有向现在这样重要过。狄安把它作为演说的重点，新民主党和绿党也常把这个问题拿来说事。所有人都会提醒你，保守党拒绝加拿大履行在《京都议定书》的义务，这是我们在1998年4月签署的，但是哈珀似乎不打算履行。
4)领导能力
这是许多问题中的一件大事。在最近的一次民意调查中发现，许多加拿大人都没有对哪个政党领袖有比较深刻的印象，新民主党的林顿位于哈珀之上，成为最佳的领袖。三个主要政党的领袖很容易在这个事件上遭到攻击，选民们很有可能给一个特殊的候选人更多的青睐。
5)汽油的价格
汽油价格处于历史上最高的阶段，它们是选举中的重要话题。许多司机公开质疑保守党为何拒绝在油价持续攀高时，至少暂时性的降低汽油税？为什么事情改善的如此缓慢?
保守党和一些经济学家一直声称，降低汽油税不可能根本的改变油格，但这却是许多选民不相信也不期待听到的。而开车上班一族以及运输业人士，把油价居高不下视为大事。但目前全球都遭受高油价的冲击，其他政党领袖也不知道解决这个问题的根本办法，这是他们共有的弱点。
6)医疗保险
这个问题比起其他问题来说其重要性有所下降，它不再像过去的选举中具有举足轻重的地位了。但是，它并没有脱离我们的视线，还有很多加拿大人没有家庭医生并且不知道上哪去找。他们还在医院的等候名单里，需要花费大量时间去排队和等待治疗。
7）阿富汗问题
我们已有97名加拿大士兵和官员在阿富汗牺牲，其他士兵还要在那里呆到2011年，这个问题的压力将越来越大。新民主党已经明确表示反对陷入这个泥潭。随着死亡数量的增加，围绕在我们周围的质问之声将越来越大。
8)犯罪问题
保守党的犯罪议案已经在议会通过，它允许警察和司法系统加大对罪犯的惩治力度。有些人认为它太严苛了，有些人认为还不够严厉。在大城市里，犯罪活动随时可能发生，所以这个问题将成为民众在竞选中考量所有政党的重要因素。
9）多伦多因素作为地方和省里的政客鼓动联邦政府支持的，曾经一度被称为是经济发动机的多伦多市，这里选民们很坦率的要求知道：它对于我们意味着什么？保守党向来有忽视多伦多的恶名，目前多伦多财政已经陷入赤字之中，很多市政服务无法得到保障。如果哈珀政府希望赢得多数政府，它必须证明他们在乎416地区的选票。
10）民族问题
这是首次，魁北克独立问题不成为最大的问题。这几年，我们让魁北克分离运动的声音渐渐的微弱，主要是因为到处都是经济低迷的状况。保守党已经在该省赢得了大量选票，但并非可以击垮魁人政团。
但是，一旦自由党在选举的最后时刻把它拿来说事，情况可能就不妙。尽管狄安比起其他省来说更了解魁北克，这不代表在能受到爱戴。
Top 10 Election Issues
Monday September 8, 2008
CityNews.ca Staff
It shouldn’t surprise you that Liberal leader Stephane Dion calls this ‘the most important vote in Canadian history.’ Every leader of every party has at some point in past elections used the same phrase. But there’s little doubt that there’s a definite difference between the candidates this time around that we don’t often get to see.
Here’s a look at some of the issues that may loom large this go-round.
1) The economy
You’ve heard that old canard that when the U.S. sneezes, Canada catches a cold. Well, our neighbour to the south is full of sniffles these days, and Ontario workers have that achy feeling. With the auto industry in turmoil and jobs disappearing from this province, this could be the biggest single issue in Ontario.
Liberal leader Stephane Dion has already taken a page from Ronald Reagan’s handbook, essentially asking ‘are you better off now than you were two years ago?’ The way you answer that question may well define who gets your check mark or your “X” on October 14th.
2) Taxes
It’s become the number one quiver in the Conservative arsenal: offer always over-taxed voters cuts in the amount of levies they have to pay to the federal government. Expect the Tories to hammer away at the issue and remind you they chopped the GST as they promised. And don’t be surprised to hear them tell you that Stephane Dion is primarily campaigning on the Green Shift plan – a program few really understand but which opponents will paint as a tax you can’t afford.
3) The environment
It’s always an issue, but rarely has it ever been as prominent as it is this time. Stephane Dion has made it the centerpiece of his platform and both the NDP and Green Party will be harping on it, too. Except them all to remind you that the Conservatives failed to live up to Canada’s commitments to the Kyoto Protocol, which we signed under the Grits in April 1998 but Stephen Harper deemed impossible to carry out.
4) Leadership
A big issue with many. One recent poll seemed to suggest that most Canadians asked didn’t really seem very impressed with any of the party leaders, with the NDP’s Jack Layton coming out on top of Stephen Harper over who would be the best leader. All three of the major party bosses may be vulnerable on this issue and voters could well be casting a ballot more against than in favour of a specific candidate.
5) Gas prices
They’re the highest they’ve ever been and they could play a role in the vote. Many drivers are already openly wondering why the Conservatives refused to at least temporarily lower taxes on gas as the prices climbed ever higher. While things have improved slightly, they’re far from cheap and with hurricanes, tensions in the Middle East and OPEC countries threatening to cut supply, they could go back up again at any time.
The Conservatives and some financial experts have long claimed that cutting gas taxes wouldn’t significantly alter the price, but that may not be something many constituents will either believe or want to hear. And those who make their living on the road may make this a major issue.
But with world markets having most of the say, the other parties don’t really have an answer for this problem either, a vulnerability for all of them.
6) Health care
This one seems to have taken a back seat to the others, and it’s not the high priority it has been in past elections. But it’s not out of sight or out of mind – there are still thousands and thousands of Canadians who don’t have a family doctor in this country and don’t know where to find one. And the waiting list at hospitals and for tests is still too long.
7) Afghanistan
With the death of the 97th Canadian overseas and our soldiers scheduled to remain there until 2011, there could be growing pressure brought to bear over this issue. The NDP is already on record as opposing our involvement. And with each death, some of the questions surrounding our presence get a little louder.
8) Crime
The Conservative crime bill passed in the House of Commons, and is supposed to allow police and the legal system to crack down harder on law breakers. Some argue it’s too tough, others that it’s not harsh enough. Those in the big cities, where violent crimes are more likely to take place on a regular basis, may see this as an issue to grill all the parties on as the campaign wears on.
9) The Toronto Factor
As local and provincial politicians agitate for more support from the federal government for Canada’s once proud economic engine, voters here may bluntly demand to know: what’s in it for us? The Conservatives have a reputation for ignoring Toronto and the city has fallen into the red, having a tough time maintaining vital services like infrastructure.
If the Harper government hopes to have even a shot at a majority, it will have to convince those in the 416 that they matter – and this time, they may have to prove it before the big vote.
10) Nationalism
For the first time in a long time, the spectre of Quebec separation isn’t a huge issue. The ‘we’re leaving’ noises that often emanate from La Belle Province have been ramped down in recent years, as the downturn in the economy takes its toll everywhere. The Conservatives are gaining in that province, although not enough to beat the Bloc.
But it’s the status of the once impregnable Liberals there that may well tell the final tale of this election. And while Stephane Dion is better known in Quebec than in the rest of Canada, that doesn’t mean he’s well liked.
Just like the Ontario and Toronto factors, the outcome may well rest with how many Tories and how many Liberals find a seat in this game of political musical chairs in our neighbour to the east.
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_26602.aspx
What Are The Main Issues For The GTA In The Election?
Monday September 8, 2008
CityNews.ca Staff
When it comes to the Greater Toronto Area, the Conservatives have been persona non grata. The Tories failed to get a single seat in Toronto proper in the last election and only gained a few seats in the GTA itself. (See the results from 2006 here.)
That means if Stephen Harper and company hope to rule the roost with a majority in Ottawa come October 14th, they’ll have to prove to you they deserve your vote. And that has everyone from the Mayor to the average man and woman on the street looking out for their own pet cause.
Including seniors. “Decent housing. Decent housing, absolutely,” reiterates Kathryn Wallace, now past the age of 65. “And more senior recognition.”
At the other end of the age cycle, a student knows what’s on her wish list. “Cut down on student tuition. Basically have more housing and help for students, better ‘how to find a job,’ better job.”
Others have more far reaching wants. “I’ve got a little five-year-old, and without an environment in the future, he’s got nothing,” one voter outlines. “And we always seem to get caught up in money before we get caught up in the real world.”
Another man is more concerned with safety than school. “The crime part of the community, too, because also you want your children to feel free to roam around the community where you live, not knowing that a gunshot might pass or police might harass them.” His comment comes on the same day that a man was gunned down in cold blood at a local bus stop.
Mayor David Miller, seconds the emotion and pledges to make handguns and violence a huge issue. “Public safety has to be at the top of the agenda,” he maintains. “And I think it’s very important for the parties to articulate where they stand.”
But Miller has been lobbying the feds to invest more money in infrastructure in cities, including transit and public housing.
“Big city mayors have called for a national transit strategy. Will we see that investment? Are they going to invest in our aging infrastructure in a permanent way? Are they going to invest in housing? Will they support the creative economy by investing in culture and the arts, not making cuts? Will they invest in green jobs through environmental promise? Those are the questions I have.”
So will the powers-that-want-to-be actually hear you for a change? “They’re starting to listen,” feels mom Tracy Izzard.
But not everyone agrees. “I don’t think Harper is,” one man counters. “That’s one of the problems with the Conservatives, they ignore this city.”
For Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Jim Watson, it’s a case of being fair but firm. “When candidates knock on your door, answer the door respectfully – and press hard on the issue of affordable housing.”
But whether they’ll keep listening after the middle of next month is another question. With so few battle ground ridings that seem open to the Conservatives here, it’s still not clear how many chances you’ll get to actually ask them.
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_26642.aspx
