By Sarah MacDonald
Mélanie Stewart and Kevin Tunney say they wish the infighting in the federal government would end so parties could start making things happen for Canadians.
“The sad thing is that another election is not going to mean a majority for any party,” Tunney says.
“But maybe after this, certain things will be put aside and…things will get done.”
According to the 2001 census the couple is like many young Ottawa Centre families – dual income, no kids, or “DINKs” as they’re called. So how will this election affect them?
Stewart, 28 and Tunney, 30, are a typical Ottawa Centre family. The federal government bureaucrats have been married for two years. They’ve lived abroad and are bilingual. They don’t have kids, but live with their cocker spaniel, Cooky.
“Watching a few debates on TV, maybe having someone stop by your door, and taking the hour off of work to go vote doesn’t really bother me too much,” Tunney says about the Christmas election.
But both admit the election will affect their jobs. Stewart says the timing of the election is “a financial nightmare from a government employee perspective.” She says that in her department, operational funding isn’t being processed and everything is at a standstill.
Tunney worries that political infighting prevents things from getting done.
He says he’s glad the Gomery commission was created, but now the parties need to focus on what’s important for Canada.
“It’s a shame [the sponsorship scandal] had to happen because it’s not good for the unity of the country, but I think it will keep the government more accountable,” Tunney says.
Stewart says she and Tunney have talked about Gomery with their friends, but that politics aren’t really a big deal to them because they’re so busy with their everyday lives.
“You talk about federal politics like you talk about bad weather,” she says.
But there are definitely issues that both wish the political parties would address, like health care, taxes and the environment. Stewart says she wishes health care was more accessible.
“We’re living in this striving economy, everyone’s got work, and I can’t get a family doctor,” she says. “I’d like to see things be more productive. I don’t think people should wait around for two hours to see a doctor.”
Stewart says that the current health care system just doesn’t work and needs to be changed, even if that means privatization.
“Either fund it properly or privatize it,” she says. “One or the other …it can’t stay as is.”
Stewart and Tunney both say that lower taxes would be nice too.
They say they contribute more to the social system than they get back and would like to see more bang for their buck.
“We want to put our money aside…to buy a house,” Stewart says. “At this point, if they’d give us back a little bit of our taxes back, we’d take it.”
Tunney explains, “It’s about what [candidates are] going to do with this riding, and you have to read their parties’ policies.”
Tunney and Stewart don’t know who they’ll vote for, but they agree that it will be for the Liberals or the Conservatives.
“There are things that I disagree with in both parties. I’m going to try to go for the least potential damage,” Stewart says.