GreenDude

I’ve been labeled a lot of things in my life, tree-hugger, know-it-all, imposing, but the one thing I’ve never been called is “Right wing”. In fact, I’ve often been VERY critical of so called “right-wing” thinking. However, I’ve only really been referred to as “left-wing” by one person, in a response to my previous post on Poppy Irony, (actually he called me an anti-intellectual leftard, to be more precise.) It got me to thinking… where do I actually fit on the traditional Left/Right political spectrum.

For this experiment I decided to list my thoughts on various issues and see whether they were Left or Right.

• Pro Social Safety Net: Left
• Think Social Safety Net should be the last option: Right
• Pro Gun Control: Left
• Think gun crimes should carry very stiff criminal sentences: Right
• Big Business can’t be trusted to do the right thing for Society as a whole: Left
• Government can’t be trusted to do the right thing for Society as a whole: Right (but at least I get a say in who the government is!)
• Believe in the Canadian Mosaic schema of multiculturalism: Left
• Think that schools still have the right to have Christmas Assemblies that actually mention Christ: Right
• The environment matters and should be a key factor in all public policy decisions: Left (apparently)
• The economy matters and should be a key factor in all public policy decisions: Right
• That Stephane Dion may not be well suited to be PM: Right
• That Stephen Harper is definitely NOT well suited to be PM: Left
• That Jack Layton should never be PM: Normal

Basically I find myself pretty much in the centre of the political spectrum, although I suspect that my “progressive” feelings on social issues would take me over to the Left in the eyes of today’s Republican/Conservatives. (Gay marriage, fine; Legalise marijuana, good idea; Promote bilingualism, bien sûr)

I think that this blending of perspectives within myself is what led me to the Green Party in the first place. A party that looks at all ideas objectively and promotes the ones that fit with its fundamental ideologies. Good ideas are good ideas, no matter who first proposed them. Quite a break from the political system we currently have I think.

For fun I took the Political Compass quiz to see where I fit on it’s spectrum. Apparently I am a bit to the left, but comfortably near Gandhi. I can live with that.

November 11 is almost upon us and the lapels of Canadians are a virtual bumper crop of poppies. Since the 1920′s Canadians (and citizens of various Commonwealth nations) have been wearing the poppy to symbolize remembrance of the soldiers lost in the 1st world war. Since then, there have been several more wars (conflicts, police actions, etc) and we now wear the poppy to remember all of the brave Canadian soldiers who have paid the ultimate price.

I was thinking about the current situation in Afghanistan and of the job we have sent our troops to do, to help make the country safe, (no debates here about the worth of the mission or whether and when it should end, just the reason we went in the first place.) And then the irony struck me.

Imagine a brand new Afghan immigrant to Canada living through their first Remembrance Day. What do they see Canadians wearing to support their troops? Poppies! Which to them would be symbols, not of remembrance, but of drugs, death, corruption and the Taliban!

It just goes to show that the very same thing, a simple flower in this case, can represent wildly different things to different people.

I wonder if the Canadian troops (or at least the officers) are wearing their poppies this week, and what kind of looks they must be getting from the Afghans they are there to protect.

This has bugged me for a long time and I think that it deserves a public airing.

Most Canadians will be familiar with the Honourable member from Missisauga-Streetsville for his much publicized “crossing of the floor” to the Conservatives on Jan 15, 2007. However; to those of us who live in the GTA Mr. Kahn is better known as the owner of a local Mazda dealership.

So what is it about Mr. Kahn that bugs me? That he is a successful businessman? No. That he crossed the floor? No. (for the record I have no problem with MPs crossing the floor when they feel that their party no longer reflects their views. It is permissible within the current rules of the House so it is fine by me.) So what then?

What really bugs me is that Mr. Kahn continues to do radio ads for his dealership, Dufferin Mazda, (you know you were going to look it up yourself anyway ) while he is a sitting MP!

At least once a month I can hear Mr. Kahn, along with local radio personality Gord Stellick shilling for Dufferin Mazda on Toronto sports station the Fan590. Truth to be told I have always enjoyed M. Kahn’s spots. He is charismatic and sincere. In fact he is somewhat of a celeberty on the Fan. Morning man Don Landry does a spot on impression of Mr. Kahn and every year they have a Wajid Khan impression contest. When Mr. Kahn was first elected, as a Liberal, they created many funny bits called “Wajid and Ken (Dryden) in the House … of Commons.”

Now when Mr. Kahn was sitting as a Liberal he stopped doing the radio ads, leaving the job to his eldest son who also works at the dealership. But since his switch to the Tories he has returned to his former glory entreating listeners to “Come on down and fill your boots” at Dufferin Mazda.

I had always understood that when one becomes an MP that his personal holdings are put into a blind trust so as to avoid any conflicts of interest while performing their duties in the House. And it should go without saying that advertising for ANY business while one is an MP should be completely out of the question.

I’ve brought this subject up with local Conservative candidate and National Council member Lois Brown on two occaisions and both times she agreed with me that it was not right that Mr. Kahn was advertising for his business while he was a sitting MP. When I pressed her to see if she could do something about it she said that it was a matter for the ethics commissioner and that there was nothing she could do personally.

So here is my solution. I encourage everyone to click on the following link which will bring up a ready made letter to the ethics commissioner asking her to look into the matter. Please remember to add your name to the bottom of the email.

To the Ethics Commissioner re: Mr. Wajid Kahn