The Third Part of Chapter 21: The Public Forum

Ronald Boe thankfully stopped the answers to the question, which had devolved into bickering. “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen,” he said. “The next question is from Lilianne, in Bathurst, New Brunswick.

“Bonjour,” said Lilianne on the video feed. “My question is about taxes, and is directed at all leaders. The latest efforts to balance the budget after the recession entailed tax hikes by Meach. What are you going to do to reduce the tax burden on the middle class?”

“Since the question was directed at all leaders, we shall give each leader thirty seconds in turn to answer, starting on the left––my left, that is––with Cameron Duff.”

“Thank you, Ronald. Citizens, as you know, the tax burden has fallen increasingly on the middle class. With our promised cuts to payroll taxes, we hope to relieve some of that burden; we anticipate that the additional jobs created, and additional economic growth will pay for these tax cuts, leaving a positive impact on government budgets, leaving more money spent on government programs that all Canadians like,”

“Next, we have Bruce Meach.”

“Thank you for your question. As you know, the recession had a hard impact on government finances, and last year’s tax hikes were a part of a necessary effort to get the government’s finances balanced; now that the budget is balanced, all Canadians can look forward to tax cuts at some point in the future under a Meach government. Such cuts will be responsible, prudent, and sensible, rather than splashy and grandiose.” Meach looked at Duff meaningfully as he said this.

“Mrs. Mazli,”

“Thank you, Nia. The Green Party has long been an advocate of shifting the tax burden onto carbon emissions, and this was promised but not delivered by successive Canadian governments. The Green Party, with members elected to parliament, will advocate on behalf of this policy,”

Margaret was again distracted from the television, and looked outside, which she was able to do, as the ground sloped away from the street, giving them and their neighbours walkout basements; the snow was lit orange by the street lights outside; this part of the winter was the hardest for her to endure; the weather was dry, the air was cold, and the temperature had not risen above freezing for over a week; there was also the sun, which had set shortly before five that evening. Such weather could not be good for the mood of the electorate, she thought; it was probable, and she hoped––for she had little love for Meach––that the public would be disaffected enough by a midwinter election campaign to vote him and his cabal out of office.

The debate continued, with the requisite bickering, policy pronouncements, and rhetoric, which while occasionally high-minded, was mostly occupied with partisan sniping, which impressed Margaret little and Hyram not at all. Meach said, in response to an insinuation by Duff and Wakefield that he didn’t care for Europe, that it was a tale told by an idiot, and anyways, wasn’t true. Actually, it was more accurate that he yelled it, being highly agitated at the time. By the time the debate was finished, Meach was looking much the worse for wear, the other leaders having finished relentlessly dissecting, criticising, and pointing out the weak points in his policy, his personality, and almost everything else about him. Margaret thought that Duff came out looking the best; Hyram thought Valence performed the best, but as the Bloc only fielded candidates in Québec, Hyram would be voting for Duff, although he had made up his mind on this before the election was called.

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The Second Part of Chapter 21: The Public Forum

The debate had turned to job creation; although the recession was over and the economy in what economists called the recovery phase, unemployment was still stubbornly high, due to employers being reticent about rehiring people and due to structural changes in the economy that usually accompany recessions.

Cameron Duff said, “What we need to do is make it easier and cheaper for employers to hire; right now, when an employer hires someone, there is a seven percent gap between the cost incurred by the employer and the wages earned by an employee, and I believe we ought to give the seven percent back,”

“Then where will the revenue for Employment Insurance and the Canada Pension Plan come from?”

“Mr. Wakefield, there are plenty of better things to tax than people’s wages,”

“That would still deprive us of twenty billion dollars every year,” said Meach.

“Well then, there are other government programs to cut, and I can promise that unlike the Prime Minister, any government that I run will be squeaky clean,”

“Any implication that my administration is rife with corruption is entirely untrue; the incidents that you do hear about are entirely isolated, and––”

“Then why don’t you tell us why only one of those people that you appointed to consulting positions retired, and it was Angus Ross for health reasons? You have so far failed to answer, and it’s only by sheer luck that this issue isn’t ruining your personal reputation,”

“Actually, Georges, I think his reputation is a write-off by now,” said Abethey Mazli.

“Lady and gentlemen, that is enough, and with that we will move on to the next question, which is from Myron who lives in Sudbury,”

The question was a poorly phrased one about government accountability, and it was directed at all of the leaders. Duff answered first.

“Thank you Myron, for your very pertinent question. I promise that if I become Prime Minister, I will strengthen the role and the powers of the auditor-general, whose already ample powers played an integral role in throwing this government’s shady practices into the light of day. I also promise to resign if any of my cabinet becomes as corrupt as Meach’s is now. In fact, if any minister or other appointee is anything other than squeaky clean, with the best of puritan work ethics, I will ask him to resign.”

“You will ask him to resign?”

“In my opinion, a lot of women in politics are more trustworthy and open than men, in addition to being more competent, so it’s unlikely that I should ask any female cabinet member to resign, Abethey,”

Margaret turned to her husband. “What do you think of that promise?”

“It’s government; there’s bound to be waste somewhere in the system.”

“All the while other parts of government remain under-funded,”

“Hey, I read in the paper this morning that the President of France called the Prime Minister a pig,”

“The President of France? He reminds me of that drawing of Rumpelstilzkin in that kids’ book,” The President of France, in Hyram’s opinion, resembled the Lorax.

At this point Meach became whiny and apologetic, and in Hyram’s view, inexcusably so.

“It can only be said that trying to balance the demands of every sort of private interest group left right and centre, demanding this that and the other thing against the interest of the body public is a trying job, and I’d like to see you try it,”

“That’s why the Prime Minister has to be a particularly competent individual, and not be distracted by patronage appointments for his friends,”

“It can hardly be a winning rhetorical strategy to admit incompetence, Mr. Prime Minister,” said Wakefield.

“I would like to thank you, Mr. Duff, for implying that a woman would not make appointments on the basis of cronyism; as a woman, it is most edifying to hear that,”

Meach tried to come back to the fore: “As your Prime Minister––” Margaret plainly heard the capitals “––I promise to set up a bureau within the PMO for the purpose of accountability,”

“For the purpose of obfuscation,”

“I shall thank you not to interrupt me, M. Valence. As Prime Minister, I view it as essential that every dollar spent be spent justly and fairly. To this end, the Accountability Bureau shall be tasked with the duty, with the Auditor General, of performing surprise audits––”

“Do you plan to audit yourself?”

“Why are you going to set up a new office? Surely the Auditor-General’s Office would be able to handle this?”

Meach raised his voice above the volume of the snide comments by Duff and Wakefield. “––To ensure accountability in spending by government agencies, departments and Crown Corporations. Stop interrupting me!”

“You don’t look too prime ministerial right now; you look more like a whiny schoolchild,” Observed Mazli.

“I can see the Prime Minister’s getting testy,” said Margaret. “He’s sweating, look,” The high-quality digital video unmercifully picked up every detail of the leaders’ faces during the debate, and the Prime Minister was plainly uncomfortable. Hyram thought the Prime Minister was becoming puerile; Valence had a malicious grin on his face, Patrick Wakefield was drumming his fingers on the side of the lectern, while Duff and Abethey Mazli were calm and composed, even though Duff was sneering at Meach.

“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. The next question comes from Fred, in Victoria, about the environment, and it is directed first at Ms. Mazli,”

The video feed showed a middle-aged man. “I would like to be environmentally responsible, but I find that I am over-dependent on my car. What do you plan to do to make the use of a car a choice rather than a necessity?”

“Thank you for your question, Fred. It is a truth that for many Canadians, the car is inextricably woven into modern life, and has become far more than a mode of transportation; it has become a place, a room, and a part of life. It is also true that the car is expensive, automobile transport is unsafe, very dirty in terms of emissions, oil leaks and such, and is inefficient in terms of land use. The Green Party promises to pass legislation to make communities more pedestrian-friendly and more cyclist-friendly, by placing work closer to home, by increasing funding for public transportation, particularly through our Crown Corporation, Via Rail, and through public transportation spending across the country.”

“It would all come down to people’s choices, though; if some people choose to drive a car, so be it.”

“That’s not the point, Mr. Duff; this man plainly wants to cut down on the use of his car, but finds he cannot, due, most likely, to his neighbourhood being built the wrong way: being built to serve the interests of the car, rather than the person,”

“How would you implement your policies, though? As you know, Ms. Mazli, land use planning is under provincial and municipal jurisdiction.”

“I am aware of that, M. Valence,”

“Another part of the issue is that the playing field has been tilted so far in favour of cars,” said Patrick Wakefield. “Every year, provincial governments devote enormous sums of money to highway infrastructure––I don’t have the figures on hand––and all the spending on highways in effect constitute a subsidy; we are providing a service for which we do not require upfront payment,”

“Yes, Patrick and I have discussed that issue many times, and we agree on the matter,”

“I think that the idea of not funding the highways is, frankly, scary. How would you get around?”

“We’re not talking about all highways, by any means, but simply the four-lane highways; they’re either clogged, empty, and in all cases, rail transport, both for freight and people is far better, economically, socially, and environmentally.”

“The highways, as was mentioned, are provincial jurisdiction, but what would you on the loony left propose to hypothetically do to them? Turn them into parks?”

At Duff’s snide remark, Margaret turned to Hyram and said, “What do you think of that? You’re in the Ministry,”

“Well, to some extent, Mazli’s right; there are certain highways that should not have been built, and I have said that tolls on highways would be a good money-generator,”

“But then there is another question: How would we visit Mary and Clarissa?”

“There’s the train,” said Hyram.

“The train’s stuffy and crowded; remember the last trip we took?” Margaret and Hyram had taken a second honeymoon one summer in a cross-country rail trip, and Margaret thought the crowds on the coaches were unbearable, and had spent the trip complaining about not enough elbowroom.

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The First Part of Chapter 21: The Public Forum

On the last Monday before the election, the networks hosted the English-language debate, which Margaret and Hyram, among many others across the nation, were watching. The French-language debate, which was much ballyhooed in the run-up to the actual event, occurred the night before, but resulted, as was the consensus among pundits, in a tie. Margaret walked out of the kitchen, into the dining room, and paused briefly to look at the pictures arranged on the buffet; on the left were photos of Jacob and Alice with Sean as a baby and then slowly growing larger, in the middle were pictures of Mary, with and without her husband Andrew, and on the right were pictures of James and Clarissa. Margaret thought that James was handsome, in a way, and she regretted that she had thought of James differently when he was alive. She had spent a larger portion of her spare time studying closely the details of the photographs of James, which were now the only reminders in the elder Varettes’ house of their youngest daughter’s marriage. She noted almost everything about him in the photos: his black hair, which in the photos was unkempt in the same moppish style, his slightly tubby stomach, and his charming smile; through study she could see the side of James that had attracted her daughter, and these pictures remained her only connection to an alternate reality where James was alive, Clarissa happy, and Margaret on reasonably good terms with both of them.

Hyram had turned the television on, and had cleared the coffee table of technical drawings of highway bridges, upon which now stood a bowl of apple crisps. Their attention shifted to the television, which focussed on the faces of Nia Aitt and Ronald Boe, whom Margaret called Ron Boe; she thought the television personality was quite handsome. Hyram thought he was aloof and detached, as if he were observing the world from a different plane.

“Good evening, and welcome to the Election Debate in English on CTV. I am your co-host, Nia Aitt,”

“And I am Ronald Boe, your other co-host.”

“Tonight, CTV, CBC, and Global have collaborated to bring you the Election Debate. With us tonight are the leaders of the federal parties: Prime Minister Bruce Thomas Meach, the leader of the opposition, Cameron Duff, Patrick Wakefield, Georges Valence and Abethey Mazli. The debate will last two hours, with questions fielded by Canadian citizens. We will start with an introductory statement by each of the leaders, who drew lots to see who would go first. The question will be posed, and each leader will have a one-minute long opportunity to answer, followed up by a discussion of the issue among the leaders. With that, I will ask Ms. Mazli to make her introductory statement.”

“Thank you, Ronald and Nia. Citizens, I stand before you today as a representative of the Global Green Movement. The environment has gained prominence in the minds of the public, and for good reason; we have come to recognise that the environment is a key determinant of our livelihoods, and it is nearly universally recognised that without a robust and healthy environment, one cannot have a functional economy, and thus, the stakeholders include every person on the planet. That environmental degradation is an increasing problem is no idle statement without base; it is a fact, and we can see the most prominent example of the environmental impact that our species has had on the planet in global warming. We are changing the climate in an unsustainable fashion, and it is up to us to stop it. As a politician, I remain a fundamental optimist, and this problem, while serious, may be ameliorated and is eventually reversible. I am running in this election for more than personal ambition; I am running to make a statement, and to support the environmentalist cause. Thank you,”

“Next, we have Mr. Meach.”

“Thank you, Ron. Citizens, I stand before you today not as Prime Minister, but as a citizen advocate for the causes I believe in. These causes are: Canada, and its advancement and a drive for its increased prominence in world affairs, justice on an equal basis for all, and I, like all members of my party, strive to ensure that all Canadians ensure equal opportunity for everyone so that they can succeed when they want to, and I strive to foster the most competitive business environment in the world. It must also be said that you may judge me by my record, and in this, I recognise that I am not perfect, merely human, and would wish to own my errors and say unequivocally, that these mistakes in making appointments and various gaffes will never happen again. Like Mrs. Mazli, I also believe that respect for the environment is an important cause, which is essential for Canada to support, for if we do not respect our environment, we do not respect ourselves. That is why I have proposed to protect the Atlantic waters from fishing to preserve fish stocks for future generations. Thank you,”

“Next, Mr. Duff will make his statement.”

“Thank you, Nia. Fellow Canadians, I stand tonight as a real Canadian, a true struggler for better government, more efficient management, preserving and enhancing Canadian culture, and augmenting our image abroad as a world leader. I come to you as a representative and firm believer of the cause of better government, which has been decidedly lacking these past four years that Bruce Meach has been Prime Minister. As the alternative candidate, my role as prime minister shall be to renew: I shall renew the belief of the Canadian people in the efficacy of our government, I shall institute practices of best management to ensure clean government, and I will ensure that the government is run efficiently and without graft, patronage, or any of the other diseases that pollute the body politic of the nation and undermine our democratic values. Citizens, I stand before you to serve you, not my friends––although I consider all of you my friends––and not my family, just you. Thank you,”

Hyram turned away from the television and toward Margaret; either Patrick Wakefield or Georges Valence would be making his statement next, and he was not interested in what the left-wing leaders had to say; he was not impressed by Valence’s vacillation on a number of issues, and had not considered voting for the New Democrats since his days at Omega Faucets.

“So far, so good. No major gaffes on the Prime Minister’s part. Do you remember the one about him and the dodo?”

“That was funny,” replied Margaret. “I really liked the parody of that by Rea Li.” She was sitting on the armchair in the downstairs rec room, but her attention drifted from the television at that moment. She was thinking of the state of her pension plan; it had lost about a third of its value over two years ago, and it was thanks to an astute decision on Hyram’s part to sell her stocks and buy bonds that stopped them losing even more money. Now that the recession was over, the focus was more on layoffs. She knew relatively little about economics, but she was able to recognise a pattern through her life that after the economy was bad, employers tended to lay people off in an effort to “become more competitive”. Thinking about that oft-abused euphemism made her shudder, and it also brought up James’s death. He was laid off just an hour before the heart attack, and the more she dwelled on this, the more her opinion of Maurice deteriorated. It was a curious that although the chain of events leading up to his death was entirely accidental and by chance, she could not help feeling that Maurice deserved almost all of the blame, and her opinion of James had changed after his death. It was very interesting to recall that she did not take a particular liking to James when she met him, but now her attitude toward him had changed. Had he only lived! Now she thought of him highly; from what Clarissa said, he seemed very emotionally stable, hardly ever raising his voice in argument, unlike Hyram, who constantly bickers about me putting too much pepper on the roast beef. Perhaps I should admit I was wrong to Clarissa; on the other hand, perhaps I should hold my tongue; admitting one's mistakes would seem clumsy in a parent, no matter what the age.

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