Nothing's going on - except a lot's going on.

I haven't been posting a lot lately because work has been kind of insane. Between that and trying to soak up the end of the summer sun after work, it hasn't left a lot of time for blogging. Nothing too exciting has happened anyway... sometimes that's a good thing.

I'll be heading to Ottawa next month for another Federal-Provincial-Territorial meeting. Seeing entirely too much of Ottawa lately. Ah well, it's boring, but at least it's pretty in the summer.

We're having a provincial election on September 27. This is the first time for a "fixed election" for New Brunswick. (Under the parliamentary system in Canada, elections must be held - federally and provincially - at least every four years, but can be triggered by any number of things any time before that. New Brunswick passed legislation last year that mandates that we will hold them on fixed, pre-known dates every four years.). The upside of fixed election dates is that it eliminates a lot of the drama about whether someone will trigger an election for partisan reasons any old time. The downside - as Americans know - is that when you know one is coming, the campaigning starts far, far in advance of the actual writ being dropped and it is well high silly season as various parties position themselves and throw mud at each other in anticipation.

We have somewhere around 40 days to go until election day, and it is already high silly season here. Parties are messing about with insulting photoshopped posters and claims that new health legislation will see the end of the locally beloved tradition of Church suppers. Voters are concerned about our debt and deficit and education and health care, and nobody is giving us any clear answers on that.

It's the first time that I am positively disgusted with all three of the mainstream parties and cannot in good conscience vote for any of them. This is probably the election where I finally vote Green. They, at least, have policies I am in tune with and have not engaged in the petty sniping the Liberals, Progressive Conservatives and New Democratic Party are indulging in.

I'm not alone. The whole electorate is royally pissed off at all three mainstream parties as well; I expect the NDP (the outrider of the 3 mainstreams) will collect a significant amount of new votes, as will the Green Party. There's an upstart party - the People's Alliance of New Brunswick - that is largely a one-issue party born out of the proposed NB Power sale fiasco, which seems to be comprised of cranky people that won't garner much support.

It will be sheerly fascinating to see how it plays out. C. has already told her staff not to expect her in early on the 28th. I think I shall similarly forewarn my team.

Yrs.
ronnie