THE WAY I SEE IT -- All we want are a few honest men and women willing to suffer the slings and arrows of political correctness and do the right thing for a change

Political parties exist to acquire and maintain political power through governance. They have no interest in serving the electorate. They have an interest in maintaining relations with people who have or have access to money. Raising funds is critical to success. Donations buy the advertising and strategic advice they need, pay for polling, pay for media advertising, cover payroll and operating expenses, and fuel more donation campaigns. Every political party has a circle of insiders who donate $1,000 or more to the party annually. They receive special treatment from the party and access to party officials. Those party officials are a gateway to parliament and MPs – either the government or opposition side. This happens behind the scenes and rarely makes the news. Ineptness brought two examples to the forefront this spring – the SNC-Lavalin affair and the Vice-Admiral Mark Norman affair. The SNC-Lavalin taught us about the strong interconnections between the Liberal Party and a web of corporations they regularly deal with and who influence government policy. In the Mark Norman affair, a competent naval officer had his career destroyed in a battle between competing shipyards wanting war ship contracts. Someone blabbed about government meddling in military procurement contracts. The government needed a distraction and Mark Norman was tagged. Influence peddling is scary. Those $250 a plate dinner parties are not intended to attract the average party members. The objective is to give party operatives a chance to encourage participants to join the ‘inner circle’ and enjoy the inherent advantages. In a couple of weeks, the current low-level mud slinging will kick into high gear. Every party will be telling us of the horrors we can expect if we elect an opponent. Based on those advertisements, we would have to vote none of the incompetent shysters. No political party will promise to do the right thing. They will promise policies that sound good, but lack substance. They will pretend to care about the middle class and poor but will take advice from those who have paid to be heard. We have listened to decades of promises to solve our indigenous affairs crisis but have no plan. We get promises to fix problems with military procurement but stumble from one debacle to another. We need to end corporate welfare, but political parties are actively selling influence that undermines democracy. The cheating, lying and hypocrisy are palpable. All we want are a few honest men and women willing to suffer the slings and arrows of political correctness and do the right thing for a change. A modicum of honesty in a political campaign would be refreshing. Who will step up to the plate? John Feldsted Political Commentator, Consultant & Strategist Winnipeg, Manitoba