Justin Trudeau's new government represents
hopeful change and improvement

» Election decision should be one of optimism

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

QO: October 19, Canadians
elected a majority Liberal
federal government, making
Justin Trudeau prime minister.
This gives Trudeau and the
party freedom to pass bills
without blockage from opposing
parties. While this leads to
progress within the Liberal
agenda, it causes concern for
those who do not agree with this
platform or Trudeau’s leadership.
I’m not one of those people.
The election’s outcome was
one of the best we could have
hoped for. However, concerns
over a majority government’s
power are certainly valid:
equal opposition happened
under Harper’s majority,
several of Trudeau’s policies are
controversial, and his experience
and qualifications have been
questioned. These concerns
will continue to be debated
thoroughly throughout the
Trudeau administration’s reign.
However, such concerns
sidestep the main issue: Trudeau
was simply the best leader to
win this election. The NDP had
strong ideals, but divided left-

: leaning voters into questioning
: their policies and effectiveness.
In addition, the NDP and

: Liberals frequently agree

: on policies, which contrasts

: them with the Conservatives.

: Bills that oppose and reverse

: Conservative platforms would

: have gone through under an

: NDP government, and should

: go through with a Liberal.

: This would also be the case

: with a Liberal minority and

: NDP opposition. However, that
: scenario was and is unlikely to
: be the case in a country that

: currently votes between 30-40
: per cent Conservative. A Liberal
minority with a Conservative

: opposition would cause a lot

: of deadlock in Parliament,

: ultimately hindering progress.
: This is a scenario that was

: quite likely to happen in the

: current election with left-wing
: vote splitting, but the resulting
: Liberal majority aids progress.

As with any politician,

: particularly a new and powerful
: one, Trudeau should be

: carefully observed and held to

: his promises. One major issue

: is his promise to introduce an

: alternative voting system to

: the current first-past-the-post

: system. Cynics argue that this

: will derail seats in the Liberal
government, and is therefore

: unlikely to be introduced. I

: believe Trudeau is not a power-
: hungry dictator, nor is he foolish :
: enough to make mistakes :
: that will lower his popularity
: and make people question

: his abilities—particularly

: at such an early stage.

An effective government

: works with the people to

: ensure change, and the Liberal
: platform has been consistent

: in that regard. In a political

: climate that has been filled

: largely with disappointment

: and distrust over the last nine
: years, I’m looking forward to

: feeling optimistic about my

: country’s future. Trudeau may
: not turn out to be the greatest
: leader Canada has ever had,

: and his success will largely

: depend on the effectiveness

: of his newfound majority, but

: until both the Conservatives

: and NDP rediscover themselves
: and elect trustworthy, popular
: leaders, he’s the best we’ve got.
: It’s almost a guarantee that

: the Liberal government will

: undo ineffective policies set

: by Harper, and introduce new

 

ones that will benefit Canada.

Trudeau's lack of experience

: is made up for by the guidance

: and platform of the party he

: leads, both at a Cabinet and MP
: level. His majority makes positive :
: (or “real”} change across Canada
: much easier to implement.

: It stops the nitpicking and

: endless debate in the House

: of Commons. It gives him the

: tools to create a successful

* and popular administration.

Image via ca.news.yahoo.com

Until the NDP and

: Conservatives can come up with
: a way to provide policies that

: work for us all, the Trudeau

: government is the way to

ensure a better Canada. He

: will learn on the job, make

: mistakes, and experience high

: and low career moments. That’s
: true of all politicians, but right
: now, he’s the person I trust

: most to make those mistakes.

 

No glory for gory

» Horrifying decorations is what Halloween is all about

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
‘we, S opinions@theotherpress.ca

f you think jack-o’-lanterns,

skeleton cutouts, and fake
cobwebs are scary, then youre
probably not known around the
neighbourhood as being brave.
While it’s understood that we
all celebrate Halloween in our
own unique way, we can all
agree that fright should be the
theme of the day—not dressing
slutty and eating candy.

A community in Parma,
Ohio, was left feeling disturbed
and disappointed earlier this
month when a local resident
decorated their yard with
scenes of gruesome torture
and murder. Human-like and
horrifying, the decorations
caused neighbours to complain.

like being scared, unsettled,
and disgusted, but hell, this
is what Halloween is about.
The argument can be that
children should not be exposed
to such horrific sight. They
might become traumatized by
the decoration. It might cause

: them to grow up and become

: psychotic killers. Yes, while

: all that may be true—after all,
: kids don’t know better—it’s

: your job as an adult to explain
: to your children that those

: are decorations, and they are

: meant to look real, just like

: how special effects in a movie
: are meant to look real. Listen,
: mom and dad, you cannot shield :
: your children’s eyes forever.

: You cannot protect them from
: every scary sight in the world.

I get it; only bad parents

: would let their children be
: frightened by some decorations. :
: And it wouldn'’t be fair for them
: to have to deal with a crying

: child. If they could stop it, they
: should do anything to stop

: it. You know what else scares

: children? Literally anything

: , : they want to be afraid of: dogs,
Generally speaking, people don’t : weather, insects, nightmares,
: strangers, anything. If you

: can teach them rational from

: irrational fear, you'd be a better
: parent than one who protects

: them from every scary thing.

: You'll also teach them to be

: brave, which is useful should

: they ever need to go down to

: the basement and fix the burnt-
: out lightbulb, or respond to an
; emergency involving blood.

Life is full of scary

: incidents. A near car accident

: is scary. Choking on your

: food while you are alone is

: scary. Losing your job is scary.
: Being scared is good. It’s a

: natural human reaction. Like

all things in normal life, the

: more accustomed you are to

: that feeling, the better you can
: cope with it. Halloween should
: be atime for you to test your

: limits and face your fears.

It sucks that we live ina

: world where people who want to
: share their enthusiasm of fright

: are shunned and pressured into

: dismantling their well-made

: decorations. It’s a shame that

: people cannot see the beauty

: in horror, and instead choose

: the blandness of comfort.

: Christmas is a great time for

: comfort. Thanksgiving is a great
: time for comfort. Halloween

: should be about disturbance.

: After all, if loud-ass firecrackers
: and rambunctious trespassing

: children are allowed then

: why not some fake blood?

  

Image via foxl3now.com