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NOVEMBER 5, 2003

| OPINION 10

Unite the Right

Dan's head on the verge of explosion

By Dan Turner

After spending a good week hearing over
and over again about the uniting of the
right, I think my brain is about to explode: It
is by far the most absurd sentences I think I
have ever heard. “5

“Unite the Right,” to the rookies of the
Canadian political system that would mean
the unification of two or more right-wing
political parties; however in reality what is
happening is the possible uniting of the cen-
tre and the right. The’ Progressive
Conservative Party of Canada is not a right
wing party. There maybe some right-wing
elements in the PC party, but the majority of
the membership is centrists. In fact the Tory
slogan is Socially Progressive, Fiscally
Conservative, the epitome of a central phi-
losophy. As for the Alliance it is the one and
only right-wing party in Canada. While
there are a few centre-right partisans, most
Canadian Alliance members are neo-conser-
vatives, populists, right-wing extremists, or
part of the religious right.

In Canada “Unite the Right” makes about
as much sense as “Unite the Left,” when the
Liberals merge with the NDP. The difference
between the Grits and the New Democrats is
just the same as the Tories and the Alliance,

because both the PC’s and the Liberals are
parties in the centre of the political spec-
trum, where the Alliance and NDP are on
the right and left respectively. .

The PC’s and the Liberals. have utilized
the left.and the right in fiscal and social mat-
ters, the Tories “taxed and spent” with the
GST and the Grits slashed services and taxes
during the Chrétien years. The ‘supposedly
right-wing’ Tories brought in pro-gay legis-
lation dealing with benefits and equality
rights and both parties have been on either
side of the free trade debate. The reason that
the PC’s and Grits have been the only ones
to form governments is that their central
policies allow them to appeal to the majority
of the electorate. It is more realistic to have
the Liberals and PC’s merge together then a
Tories and Alliance.

Most people have been lead to believe that
the Reform party was the west breaking
away from the Tories. In actuality Reform
was created because of the perceived west-
ern alienation from the Federal Government
and picked up support from neo-cons and
Common Sense Revolutionaries (in Ontario)
opposed to the centrist platform of the
Mulroney Government.

The first Reformers were the anti-estab-

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lishment. They appealed to people cynical of
the established parties in wake of the unend-
ing patronage and pork-barreling of the past
three decades. The Reform’s call for deficit
reduction and less government was in stark
contrast to the way the Tories ran their gov-
ernment. The differences between the two
parties run right down to'their membership.
Even the most right-wing member of the
Progressive Conservative Party (a blue Tory)
will disagree with Reform/ Alliance policy.
New Brunswick MP Elsie Wayne, one of the
bluest of blue Tories, has been outspoken in
her disdain for the far right platform and
sometimes extremist view of the Canadian
Alliance.

If the merger was truly a uniting of the
right, then adding together the support for
both parties would produce the true level. of
support. But the casual observer fails to see
that since the two parties are so different not
all the support is there - in fact there is even
contempt. Many old reformers would rather
sit at home then a vote for a conservative
party reminiscent of the coalition Mulroney
put together for his majority win in 1984. On
the other side is the fact that red Tories
(more socially progressive then blue Tories)
would swallow their pride and vote for the

everyone
enjoy.”

By Tammy Waller

Most of us are
night shift work-
ers, and we do
our utmost
provide a Safe,
clean campus for

Liberals rather then vote for a neo-conserva-
tive controlled Tory party. The end result
will bea marriage of convenience to create a
party with weakened support and no plat-
form heading into a General Election against
a popular new Prime Minister. Out of that
election will most likely be a similar opposi-
tion to today, whether it be a few seats larg-
er or smaller, and the fragmenting of the
Conservative Party will begin. By the end of
the decade we could be right back to where
we are today.

A Retort from the
Janitorial Staff

Re: last issue’s Three
Lines Free column

employees - therefore we do not
make the kind of wages that are
competitive with publicly run
janitorial staff at other schools. In
fact, we barely clear minimum
wage. Second of all, if there is a
complaint regarding our services,
they are to be directed either to
Facilities or to Unicco’s Area
Manager. Taking an anonymous
cheap shot at us in the campus
newspaper is not the way to voice
your concerns. Most of us are
night shift workers, arid we do
our utmost to provide a safe,
clean campus for everyone to

to

to

check out our cigar lounge

WADDLING DUCK_

OLD ENGLISH PUB STYLE RESTAURANT

‘lit’s like a pub, 6nly fioré interesting)

My name is Tammy Waller, and

I am an employee of Unicco.

Facility Services, the janitorial
contractor company which is
responsible for cleaning duties at
UNBC. In the last issue of OTE,
the “Three Lines Free” column
had a blurb in it stating “to the
overpaid janitors, do. your
@#$%ing job right.” First of all, I

“reject the‘cldint-that we are over-

paid. We are NOT public service

enjoy. We do not receive any ben-
efits aside from a seniority clause
stating that workers may apply
for job posting in the order that
they were hired by Unicco. I
would like to think that most of
you on campus appreciate our
services. To those of you who
don’t, however, I have only one
thing to say: smarten up.

ra