“Niqab” has become the newest word in Canadian political vocabulary.
The garment is worn by very few Canadians, but just as it completely covers up the wearer, its political advantage is to cover over the multitude of real issues facing us this election tide.
A badly sagging economy, a transformation of Canada’s military from peacekeeping to being the puppy of the Americans, the disregard of the environment, contempt for indigenous people, Bill C-51 and all the other failures of the present government can be covered up by the artificially created issue of the niqab.
Hopefully, voters will not be distracted.
Rather, it is to be hoped that voters are studying how to most effectively cause change. In some ridings, this may mean voting Liberal.
In our freshly gerrymandered new riding of South Okanagan West Kootenay, it means voting for the NDP, as an analysis of our voting patterns show only the NDP or Conservatives have a realistic chance of winning here.
Until we get electoral reform, this is the only way to achieve a result which reflects what the majority of voters want, which is the end of the Harper government.
Win Mott
Trail