Thread by @Norlaine

You know what really annoys me? The ridiculous amount of time and energy so many people are having to divert from the things they would really much rather do with their lives, in order to fight conservative provincial governments who seem to care not at all about the people. 1/22

And then there is the stress and effort to fight a conservative opposition in Ottawa that seems hell-bent on toppling the Liberal government which has been acting with a duty of care for the people. 2/22

Between a crazy, unsuitable curriculum, attacking doctors and other healthcare workers, selling off our mountains, closing harm reduction sites, and bungling the whole pandemic response (here in AB, I know ON, MB, and SK have similar problems)... 3/22

And trying to fact-check every ridiculous bit of misinformation the federal and provincial conservatives come up with, we are having our time and energy stolen from us. We shouldn't be having to fight our government or the official opposition so hard. 4/22

What is the purpose of government in a democracy like Canada? It is to act on behalf of the people. It's very complex, but it is also that simple. So, when there is a global pandemic and people are struggling financially because businesses have to close their doors, 5/22

A responsible government acts to help the people get through this. And our federal government responded with quite a number of programs. Some of which provincial governments rejected. Conservative provincial governments... 6/22

And federal conservatives didn't want to help Canadians out because they feared it would make workers "lazy". 7/22
thestar.com/opinion/contri…

If you see someone who has fallen off their bike and their leg is broken, do you help them? Or do you tell them to get up and get going, and any pain they might feel builds character? This seems to be the contrast between the Liberals and Conservatives at the moment. 8/22

The conservatives want us all to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps or some such twaddle. Pay for our healthcare, pay for our children's education (which we already do, but not in a way that gives conservatives' friends any satisfactory profit margins). 9/22

How do you pull yourself up by your bootstraps if you have no boots? A government is supposed to care for and represent all, regardless of income, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender... But conservative policies clearly don't do that. 10/22

Today the House of Commons debated about a Conservative Private Members Bill, C-233, which would make it a crime for an abortion to be performed because of a fetus' genetic sex. 11/22

This is a very controversial issue. The conservatives have people with Jedi skills in poking people's outrage buttons. The hope here is to sway the feminist vote by saying such abortions are anti-female. And they are. Some people don't want a daughter, for whatever reason. 12/22

And some other people don't want a baby, for whatever reason. And some people want a baby but wind up with an ectopic pregnancy that could kill the mother, or some other life-threatening circumstance. 13/22

The point is, this is a wedge issue. The conservatives and their right-to-life power brokers want to get one tiny bit of legislation through that creates a chink in the abortion issue. 14/22

Something that can change anything that has to do with abortion from being a medical matter to being a legal matter. Because, if they can get one thing outlawed, the door is open a crack, and bills like we see in the US will come pouring in. 15/22

If Conservatives were really worried about all the reasons women choose to have abortions, they would be demanding comprehensive sex-ed, affordable and accessible birth control, funds to research male contraceptive medications, 16/22

affordable and accessible daycare, a UBI, much stricter domestic abuse laws and more support for women and children fleeing abuse, more supports for families dealing with children with handicaps, a better and more fully-funded education system, 17/22

better prenatal care and health care in general, especially in isolated communities. They would be doing their utmost to ensure that unwanted pregnancies could be avoided and people who became pregnant would know they would be able to care for the child once it is born. 18/22

Are they in favour of any of this? No. Therefore, it is clear that they are primarily just interested in imposing their will on somewhat more than half the population. That is not acting on behalf of the people. 19/22

That is acting to please a small powerful group, to follow an ideology, to exert control over the lives of the people. That is not what a democratic government is supposed to do. 20/22

It's just so tiresome, and old, and exhausting, to have to keep fighting these people and these fights over and over again. It is so draining and keeps us from using our time to do fulfilling and satisfying things with our lives. 21/22

Could we not all just agree to not vote conservative, ever, in the interest of stopping this ideological takeover attempt of our country & getting our lives and time back? Reduce them to third party, or non-party status? That would be great. 22/22 #NeverVoteConservative #cdnpoli