According to one source, our first Prime Minister climbed onto a manure pile while on the hustings and started his speech with, “Unaccustomed as I am to speaking from my opponent’s platform …”
Not much has changed since Sir John A. Macdonald plied his trade a century and half ago. Election platforms by their very nature contain a substantial quantity of bovine biomass. After five weeks, a broad range of policy offerings have turned up in this municipal campaign. They include a grab bag of daring pledges, fed-up with muni hall decrees, pet project declarations, and hopey-changey refrains.
Candidates have vowed to help make this town “even greater than it already is,” ensure it becomes “a place where business flourishes,” move the agenda “from polarized positions into productive collaboration.” If elected they will “bring forth good governance practices,” work on developing “solutions that are inclusive rather than divisive,” and “take actions leading to planetary survival.” What’s not to like about these inspirational proclamations? They are all reachable goals. But they are also just a hair’s breadth removed from Neverland, the fictional idyll where Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, mermaids, fairies and pirates cavorted in a perpetual state of youthful abandon. Let’s bear in mind, it was Peter Pan who declared, “all you need is faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust.” Why shouldn’t the voting public just accept bold campaign pronouncements more or less on faith? That is, instead of providing proof related to how the above mentioned mission statements will be enacted, it appears council aspirants have asked voters to simply assume platform sales pitches are self-explanatory. Or, as Jean Chrétien, our 20th Prime Minister, once so succinctly put it: “A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It’s a proof. A proof is a proof. And when you have a good proof, it’s because it’s proven.”
Most academic discussions are based on the idea that opening statements presented by participants will be supported with evidence. The same rule should apply to election platforms. And never before have more channels for expanded exploration of campaign propositions been available. So, here is the challenge for the 23 candidates seeking office: For every fuzzy, feel-good statement you submit, include a more detailed how-to guide and publish it in various media, including print, Facebook and on personal websites. At the moment, the best option for the District of Squamish is to supply all residents with cutting-edge BS filters to sift through the growing mound of unsupported grandiose campaign promises.
