Yay! Its Election Time!

Wow.

Long time no post.

Well, to be honest, I've been pretty busy. Since my last post I've managed to publish a paper (yay!), and submit a bunch of grant applications. A couple smaller ones, but one 150k commercialization/development grant. If that one goes through, I'll be able to finish my research (and degree) without having to search for other funding, while getting paid for the first time in over eight months. A lot is riding on that grant, so we'll see what happens. Other than that, Portal 2 = Absolutely Awesome.

In any case, we have another Election coming up here in Canada. Hooray.

Yeah, I'm not too enthusiastic about it, because in reality, there may be slight shifts in power, but I cannot see a wholesale ideological change taking place. As per usual, you have the mudslinging and attack adds, misleading spinning of stories, and of course, the random commentary by significantly slanted random people on social media.

I understand people have opinions - they are entitled to them. However, I just can't but help to laugh/shake my head about people who push their specific ideology or political viewpoint without considering how it impacts others.

For example, the oilsands. Yes. That taboo topic again. I am not going to argue that the oilsands are a "good" thing, because quite realistically, anytime you have heavy industry, regardless of what industry (yes, even the sacred cow of solar panel production*) you have environmental damage.

[*The production of solar panels requires a variety of harmful chemicals, dangerous goods, and significant power requirements to produce. Having worked in a parallel field that uses many of the same technologies/materials, I'm wondering how many environmentalists would be happy to know what specifically goes into making those solar panels. It takes upwards of 2-3 years of operation to have a "net positive" power output (ie, replace the power that was used to produce them). I'd like to know how many "greeners" will admit to that... but I digress.. ]

Anyways, what cannot be argued, even amongst the people who are vehemently opposed to them (*cough* Greenpeace Eco-terrorists *cough*) is the significant economic impact they have on Alberta, and on Canada as a whole. I have multiple family members that are involved directly in the oilfield or in the supply, trades, or worker training (welding, etc). There is a major demand for skilled labor because of the oilfield, to the point that technical colleges are completely full and workers are coming from out of province to work here.

On a national level, the oilfield/commodity sector of our economy helped prevent our recession from being as bad as the one in the US. Additionally, the oilfield is most likely the only reason Alberta is the only "have" province in the "wonderful" equalization payment program that exists nationally. Billions of dollars produced through the oilfield's economic impact are redistributed to the rest of Canada to "equalize" the relative economies of the provinces. Yet, the Alberta oilfield is the "great Satan", while (in the wake of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico) Newfoundland's offshore oil drilling is quietly ignored.

Anyways, the point I'm getting at is that its easy to be against something that doesn't directly (or indirectly) benefit you, regardless of the human cost. Many people want to shut down the oilfields. I'm not sure how many people have considered the entire effect on Canada - both the positive and the negative.


My hope for this election is that people vote with their heads, not with their emotions. Its really easy to get caught up in the "Ignatieff is an American", "I don't like Harper's Lego Hair", or "Layton is a Commie" bullshit. If you're planning to vote simply based on the TV adds being spewed at us constantly on Canadian TV, Stay Home.

I'm serious. People who simply vote on "X said Y, and hates Z" attack adds should have their right to vote taken away. You're not helping the country, and you're definitely not helping yourself. There is nothing funnier than someone complaining bitterly about the government *THEY* voted for.

Get informed. Get off the couch, talk to people, do some research. If you're too lazy to get involved, the CBC has a fairly good website that asks some general questions about the important issues of the day:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/votecompass/

At the very least, this should make you think about the real issues that are going to be affecting our country, and where the parties stand (more or less). There has been some media outlets (Toronto Sun) calling the validity of this test into question, saying you'll be forced Liberal by default. Regardless, if this gets a potential voter thinking about the issues, rather than focusing on "he said/she said", its worthwhile.

If you plan to vote, and can't bring yourself to do some background work to figure out who to vote for, do the rest of us a favor and don't bother voting. People who vote blindly just harm the rest of us.