One of the funniest things, I think, about writing for a newspaper, especially during campaign season, is asking direct questions of politicians and expecting concrete answers. I am reasonably sure that we all know how much they love to talk, and I daresay they do it with aplomb, but has anyone noticed that not many of them actually say anything?
I find the whole ordeal both fustrating and hilarious at the same time.
Why does it have to be like pulling teeth?
Last week the world watched in horror as global stock markets opened and quickly suffered a stroke, or two…or three. I do not know if there were behind-the-scenes manipulations going on with certain stocks like Apple – they seemed to fluctuate in seconds – but all in all, every single market except possibly the TSX, suffered terrible losses and reversals. It is just as probable that Toronto shared the same fate as the rest of the world, but the TSX was not mentioned in any of the hundreds of news article headlines I personally read that day.
The point, I suppose, is that while I was working on my own material, I posed several questions to the Conservatives, the Liberals, and the NDP, hoping to get some quotes and an idea of the positions that our prospective leaders were taking with regards to this financial crisis.
The NDP never even bothered to return my emails or calls, and that kind of makes me think that maybe, in spite of the fact that they are so popular around here in Alberta, Mulcair and his ilk do not think the issues of recession or global crisis are important to Canada.
As usual, the Liberals chose to blame Stephen Harper for everything and issued a press release to that effect on August 24, but nowhere amongst the quotes from John McCallum, the Liberal candidate for Markham-Thornhill in Ontario, were there any answers to my questions.
The Conservatives merely stated that since there was a campaign on, they could not comment on the issue.
At this point, I would like to tell you I put my face in my hands.
I understand that everyone is focused on campaigning and winning votes, but how am I supposed to pick a side when I pose a question and none of my options gives me an answer?
In a way, it reminded me of the misconceptions and debates regarding the pool issue that is coming to a head on October 7.
I will not even address the fact that in recent debates on issues like Women’s Rights, that Mulcair and Harper decided not to take part, nor will I point the finger at members of the media that reported Liberal party propaganda as proof that we are in recession, but I will keep looking for the answers to the questions that need to be asked even if I have to get dirty.
