Strategic voting
I was shocked to read that Green Party leader Elizabeth May told the Peak during her Powell River visit [“Greens aim at growing vote in federal election,” August 5], “There is no chance of a Conservative winning in this riding. It’s either going to be a Green or an NDP member of parliament in this riding.” This is completely false and misleading information!
If this riding had existed in the last federal election it would have been a very close race between the Conservatives, who got 46 per cent, and the NDP, who got 43 per cent. (The Liberals and the Greens each got roughly five per cent.) The Greens have little hope of electing anyone besides May and possibly one or two other Greens with our current voting system.
Under the current first-past-the-post system, every vote for the Green Party makes it more likely that Stephen Harper will get another term. It means those of us who share many of the same values will split the vote and the Conservatives could get in again, despite a clear progressive majority who are vehemently opposed to them.
In 2011, the Green Party elected one MP, Elizabeth May, and finished second in only one riding in all of Canada! They got four per cent of the vote, down from nearly seven per cent in 2008. If Tom Mulcair is elected Prime Minister he has promised to bring in proportional representation, in which case the Greens could actually elect a number of MPs in four years.
If the Greens really care about the environment and the planet as much as they would have us believe, why are they willing to gamble with all of our futures and possibly help elect Stephen Harper? Even though I’ve worked on NDP campaigns for 24 years, when our riding was attached to West Vancouver I voted Liberal to try to defeat the Conservatives. We must vote strategically this time to change the government.
I hope Green supporters will give this some serious consideration. I love this country and I care deeply about the environment and the planet, too. I can’t imagine how distraught I would feel on October 20 if I inadvertently helped Harper get another term.
Wendy Twomey, Ortona Avenue
Bear dilemma
Bang! They shot a bear today [“Bear scare,” August 19]. While I was working on my computer today I was disturbed by that familiar sound. Moving on to my Michigan Avenue perch I could see across to Courtenay Street where I saw a disturbing scene: animal death.
The conservation officers were attending with pickup trucks and a moveable bear trap. Decision time: to trap or kill the bear. Conservation officers are human beings with wives and children, so it was a gut-wrenching decision with many circumstances.
This was a dry summer for berries, as well as dry streams for fish, so of course the bears head into town for garbage that has been left out and lots of fruit on the trees and ground.
I feel the major problem is us. We don’t pick fruit that is lying on the ground or on low-hanging branches. It is an invitation to the bears to come to the picnic.
I have always felt that the conservation officer’s job was an honourable one, as I am sure any decision to put an animal down is made with a heavy heart.
We must all do our share and try to work together with our four-legged friends.
Syd Riley, Michigan Avenue
