Crazy Ideas: No. 2

Author: Tim Platnich

Date: October 3, 2025

Do you feel, from time to time, that political parties seeking election pull a bait and switch with their campaign? They make promises that, when elected, they make no effort to put into effect through legislation or otherwise. If elected, we will eliminate the GST? Hmm, GST. Too lucrative to give up. Elbows up! Where are the elbows? Or, they omit to mention a planned policy, say a carbon tax, in their campaign only to implement the policy when elected.

`

So, here is the crazy idea. In the run-up to an election, each party is required to file their platform, in a prescribed form, setting out their proposed policies and legislation. If, upon election, they deviate from their agenda they are subject to recall. That's the concept. As they say, the devil is in the details.

Conceptually, this idea would allow voters to vote for specific policy options not pie in the sky platitudes. Presumably, they wouldn't be fooled by nice hair and colourful socks. Or by motherhood and apple pie type promises. We are for law and order. What the heck does that mean? Or we are for tighter gun control; or more diversity and inclusion; or fairer immigration. Or fairer taxes; Or taxing the rich - excluding us and our supporters, of course.

The prescribed form would require, say, parties at both the federal and provincial levels, to commit to a defined fiscal and monetary policy: will they run deficits and in what amounts; will they reduce debt. Perhaps a mini-budget should be attached as a schedule. At the federal level, will they tighten or loosen money supply with details. Again at the federal level, what will the immigration number be with a breakdown. How will the federal government fund this immigration by monetary transfers to provinces that will need to build infrastructure to accommodate the influx of people.

Smarter people than me could work out the details of the prescribed form for political platforms. Hey, I'm just the idea guy!

The same with the mechanics of the recall. Perhaps a petition signed by such and such a number of people that states that specified platform items have either not been implemented or that policies contrary to or absent from the filed platform have been undertaken. Perhaps there would be an adjudicator that would review the petition for compliance on its face. Again, I am just the idea guy.

I suggest that something needs to be done. Unscrupulous politicians shouldn't by bait and switch tactics be rewarded with electoral wins which will take 5 years to undo. The strategy is, of course, that electors will forget the bait and switch. Sadly, this is often true more often than not. Hence the strategy.

The people should be given a clear picture of the platform they are voting for.