Dear Editor
In this country, everyone has the right to express an opinion but I found John Cairns' editorial rant ["Election has been much ado about nothing", Battlefords News-Optimist, April 27) to be cynical, inaccurate and ultimately unprofessional.
In labelling the campaign as "this pointless, stupid 2011 federal election," in demeaning Canadian parliamentarians as "party hacks" engaging in "partisan squabbles" and in perpetuating the fallacy that a plurality of seats in the House of Commons must negate the concept of a coalition forming a government with the confidence of the House, Cairns has uncritically adopted the misleading spin of the Conservative election campaign.
He characterizes coalition as "contempt for the electorate" when in fact such a coalition would represent the majority of seats in the House, thus respecting the choices of the majority of voters. Egregiously, Cairns claims, "We could end up with three losers of the election running the country," when in fact all the parliamentarians engaging in the coalition would have won their respective ridings. Furthermore, confusing us with Americans, Cairns seems to believe Canadians vote directly for a prime minister rather than for their individual Member of Parliament. As a reporter, he seems dangerously unfamiliar with the facts.
Unfortunately, Cairns' cynicism seems to reflect the views of the News-Optimist. When compared to previous election campaigns, the local newspaper coverage of this election has been abysmal: no candidate profiles, no in-depth presentation of candidates' viewpoints on key issues, no party platform comparisons or analyses. The job of local media must be accurate and objective reporting not detached cynicism. The interests of your readers have not been well served in this election.
Having taught in this province for 32 years, I worked hard to help students understand and respect Canada's parliamentary system. I strenuously object to the dissemination of blatant inaccuracies by self-serving Conservative spin doctors and poorly informed journalists undermining political education in Canada. A poorly informed population is assuredly not in the best interests of our country.
Elgin Wyatt
North Battleford,
