Dear editor,The Harper regime keeps saying that Canadians don鈥檛 want an election.Well, this Canadian does. I want the opportunity to vote for an ethical government that respects its citizens.I鈥檇 like to help elect a government that doesn鈥檛 show contempt for Parliament. A government that isn鈥檛 secretive and reckless with democracy, that doesn鈥檛 stoop to attacking those who dare disagree with them.I want to vote for a government that doesn鈥檛 sweep legitimate concerns under the rug, one that doesn鈥檛 silence whistle-blowers. A government in Ottawa that will appoint an effective watchdog instead of a lapdog.I鈥檓 looking forward to voting for a government that won鈥檛 pander to war profiteers, a government that isn鈥檛 set on spending $30 billion for untendered and unneeded stealth jets. A government that鈥檚 not beholden to a counter-productive law-and-order ideology, not obsessed with spending billions on new prisons during a time of dropping crime rates.Instead, I want a government committed to building the public infrastructure that鈥檚 essential to our communities.It鈥檚 time for a government not bent on dismantling long-established rights and privileges, replacing them with libertarian pseudo-freedoms. I want to see a government that recognizes that, in a country that has doubled its GDP in 20 years, the reliance on food banks has also doubled 鈥� a national disgrace directly linked to ever-widening income disparity.I want to vote against a government that seems to listen only to its corporate funders, a government that has been busy promoting private advantage to the detriment of the public good. Canada can do a lot better than what we鈥檝e been getting. A federal election? Bring it on! Tom Pater,Courtenay
