October 19th was a milestone for Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party, but it was also a very important day for me. It was my first time witnessing and participating in the Canadian elections as an elector.
After living in Turkey for many, long years, elections have become a rather stressful occasion for me. After our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a re-election after our most recent one, they have become almost redundant. His former party not getting the majority vote and his “Will I appoint a prime minister or nah?” attitude has made citizens, both old and young, worry about the future of Turkey.
That is exactly why I found the Liberal campaign and the idea of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada inspiring. He was the person you would chat with at the dog park, on a cold Canadian day, starting conversation with the classic “The weather is really bad today, eh?” Carrying a last name as heavy as “Trudeau,” one also known back in Turkey, doesn’t exactly make “approachable” the first thing that comes to mind. Yet, seeing Trudeau taking selfies with Montrealers in a subway station seems ordinary.
As is tradition in all election campaigns, candidates make promises about health care, legal reforms and many other areas. Some promises only require committees to come together and hence are cheap. While the Trudeau government buys time coming up for solutions in these areas, they will have to focus on bigger – read expensive- problems such as health care and environmental issues.
The Trudeau Government will have plenty of issues to juggle in their term
Here are three areas to expect changes in the upcoming months:
1. Legalization of Marijuana
Legalization of marijuana in Canada is not a new topic. Justin Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau sought out to do the same thing. The 1972 Le Dain Commission, created by the Pierre Trudeau government, asserted that controlling the availability of marijuana is to protect the young from potential harm. Yet, not everybody feels the same and opponents have a lot to say. One main argument is that the legalization of marijuana is simply due to governments wanting to benefit from taxes that would be imposed on the legal sale of marijuana.
Trudeau’s plan for the next couple of months seems to establish a task force, which will expect to come up with a sales-and-distribution system with stronger penalties against illegal trafficking and driving under the influence. The groundwork for legalization is to be completed; however, whether it actually happens or not is another question.
2. Foreign Affairs
This is one of the areas where we can expect to see the Trudeau government’s stance relatively soon. With the G20 meeting approaching, Trudeau will have to defend Canada’s decision not to take part in air strikes against the “Islamic State” and his plan to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada.
Last but not least, the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Summit opens in Manila, Phillipines just days after the G20 meeting. Here, Trudeau will reveal whether he intends to sign the Trans Pacific Partnership deal as negotiated by the Conservatives.
3. Health Care
Trudeau’s promise is to convene a first-minister’s conference to discuss funding and priorities in health care. Canada has a long history of these meetings not going too well, or decisions simply not being abided by. Most provinces just took the funding and spent is as they wished. Fear is that the exact same thing might happen again. However, if the Trudeau government attaches conditions to the funding provinces will receive, backlash from provinces such as Quebec and Alberta are expected.
Sources:
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/ledain/ldc6a.htm
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/incoming/justin-trudeau-makes-his-first-moves/article26900764/
Images obtained from:
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/economy/trudeaus-gamble-on-deficit-spend…
http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/9-14-2015/TH4T92.gif
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/ZPWAoGxoeubRcGwOfI1P8H/Canadas-Justin-T…