I’m back from a week in Ontario, happy to see the mountains again. While it’s always fantastic to swim in non-glacier fed lakes, the appreciation of the peaks is heightened in absence. And after driving past the Mount St. Louis Moonstone ski hill in Barrie, with its ‘whopping’ 550 feet vertical drop (Marmot has 3,000 feet of vertical drop, in case you’re wondering), I’m looking forward to enjoying the winter out west.

And the laid back pace these mountain towns pride themselves on. 

On top of visiting family and friends, I also got a reminder of the political climate I left. While it’s nice to see a system where the provincial party in power switches more than every 60 years, the frenetic level of political coverage was still jarring.

Being caught in Ontario meant being caught in federal election fervour, with every major newspaper and TV channel debating ad nauseum who had won and who had lost the latest round of pre-election postering. Pundits bemoaned the possibility of another election, poking at politicians behaving badly, none of whom appear to be rising above the rhetoric – or even talking about actual issues for that matter.

I enjoy elections. I enjoy covering them, I enjoy getting a chance to participate in the democratic process. It’s about citizen engagement. Yet I am weary of the postering, false policy stances and cheap political points that pass as debate. Much of the debate was supposed to centre around employment insurance reform, however scant coverage was dedicated to who had the best plan, and more was dedicated to who would not co-operate with whom. In the midst of a recession, where jobs are being shed at a high rate, access to employment insurance is something all parties should be working to fix.

And yes, while we are a tad isolated in Jasper from these cuts, let me assure you other parts of the province are not faring nearly as well.

Instead, we are given shots about whose siding with socialists and separatists, which is strange. Isn’t that how minority governments are supposed to work? Consensus building and non-partisan co-operation. I can’t imagine how this even sways voters who pay event scant attention to Ottawa. 

How palatable would it be if Jasper municipal council behaved in such a manner. Of course the local council has come under criticism for so many unanimous votes, which has raised eyebrows, however there’s something to be said for getting a group of individuals to agree on what have been several contentious projects of late.

Regardless, if the parties were to work together, and elections were based on issues, rather than polling data, I believe there would be less opposition to election calls. Perhaps this is simply wariness after a long run of majority governments, but elections should be seen as a chance to exercise democratic right, not another chore. I’m aware I may be in the minority here, but if you have another idea, I’m willing to listen.