Last week, I talked to Communist Party of
Canada candidate Drew Garvie, but there is another far-left candidate in this
campaign: Marxist-Leninist nominee Manuel Couto. Couto has run in the last four
Federal elections in Guelph, including the present race. And that’s just about all the info
I’ve been able to find for Mr. Couto. His contact information is notably absent
from the CBC and the Globe and Mail candidates’ pages and a request to the
MLPC’s media department for contact info went unanswered.
The party itself has a strongly worded
platform which follows three key tenants. First is the need to invest more
money in social programs and “Stop paying the rich,” which includes
nationalizing all banks and financial institutions amongst its plans. The
second point is to reform Canada’s
electoral system with an emphasis on equality, the hereditary rights of
Aboriginal periods and respecting Quebec’s right to
self-determination, up to and including the right of secession. Finally, the
MLPC intend to “modernize” our foreign policy, meaning a withdrawal from NAFTA
and other free trade agreements, a withdrawal from NATO and NORAD, and to
demand the democratization of the UN.
Kornelis Klevering meanwhile says that issues
surrounding the use of marijuana are on the minds of many of the people he
talks to, and being the Marijuana Party candidate he’s focused on bringing
those issues to the forefront. “Every time there’s a federal election, or a
by-election, someone has to come out and remind everyone that this is an
unacceptable situation in a free and democratic society,” says Klevering, who
also likes to be called Brother Kase, referring to the continued
criminalization of cannabis.
Klevering says that his party’s goal is the
complete end to “the prohibition against marijuana,” although past
proclamations of decriminalization from the Liberals and the NDP is a step in
the right direction, he adds. But Klevering says it’s more than simply the
right to smoke, but the stigmata against the plant extends to the potential
benefits of hemp-based products. “You mention marijuana and all of the sudden,
everything else is tainted,” Klevering explains. “So hemp for bio-mass, or hemp
seed oil as a health product, all that doesn’t stand a chance because there’s a
stigma against marijuana. People are talking about a Green Shift, well we want a
Green Shift too and that includes hemp.”
Rounding out the local roster is John
Turmel, an independent candidate running in his 67th election. It’s
been a slow year for Turmel as compared to 2007 where he ran in three races: a Provincial
by-election in Burlington, a Federal by-election in Outremont and the
Provincial election in Brant last October. His impressive number of elections
fought and lost has earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Turmel
has also adopted several epitaphs over the years; he’s referred to himself as
The Engineer, The Gambler, The Banking System Engineer, Bank Fighter Extraordinaire,
TajProfessor, and Great Canadian Gambler.
Turmel is an advocate for "Local
Employment Trading Systems" (LETS), which Wikipedia describes as
"interest-free barter arrangements." Under this system, money is
eliminated, and people can use the "Time Standard of Money" to work
off their loans or just about any other type of debt you can think of. Turmel
was a candidate in the by-election, but decided to stick with Guelph telling the
Brantford Expositor, "It's so undemocratic in Brantford […] I may
probably go where I have a chance to participate." This comment was in
reference to a debate sponsored by Rogers Television in Brant last fall, where
he was removed by police after demanding to be allowed to speak.
For more information on the election, up to
and including Election Night, visit my blog at http://guelphbyelectionbeat.blogspot.com/
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