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LETTER: Local party exec says Liberal/NDP pact welcome news

'The notion of compromise or co-operation between political parties is often portrayed and perceived as weakness in Canada, when in fact it should be a strength,' writer says
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Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh

MidlandToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). This letter is response to a March 22 story titled 'Liberals, NDP reach tentative deal to keep government in power until 2025.'

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With so much division in Ottawa and across our country of late, it’s good to see co-operation is still possible.

The prime minister’s announcement of an agreement between the federal Liberal Party and the NDP to co-operate on key issues and guarantee a stable parliament until the next scheduled election in 2025 is a positive sign for our democracy.

Having chaired and managed two local federal election campaigns in the past couple of years, I’ve come to the conclusion from talking to local voters that what people really want is for parties to work together and actually govern, not just bicker and campaign.

Unfortunately, that is easier said than done.

Unlike in other democracies in the world, the notion of compromise or co-operation between political parties is often portrayed and perceived as weakness in Canada, when in fact it should be a strength.

Part of this comes from our proximity to the United States, where hyper-partisan rhetoric and outlandish antics by politicians and partisans in their system are imitated and parodied by some in our own country.

More than any other nation, we consume American media content, but when it comes to politics it’s time we change the channel.

There are more issues that unite Canadians in the grand scheme of things than divide us, and it’s time we focus on those rather than the handful of things we can’t agree on.

Thanks to the agreement struck between the Liberals and NDP, we, as a nation, are going to have a meaningful discussion on expanding dental care as a public health service, tackling climate change, phasing out subsidies to large oil companies, taxing banks and financial institutions that have made massive profits during the pandemic and democratic reforms to improve voter turnout and make voting easier in the future.

In Canada, better is always possible, and I’m looking forward to several years of stable government focused on implementing good policy and positive public discourse rather than non-stop electioneering, division and uncertainty.

Ryan Barber
Chair, Simcoe North Federal Liberals

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