i Balance Of Power aac Counter Balance Held By New Democratic Party R. M. STRACHAN, M.L.A. LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION Victoria, B.C. The recent federal election has produced some interesting predic- tions of the political direction Canada will take in the immediate future. The results in British Columbia indicate a complete repudia- tion of Premier Bennett’s Social Credit policies. The fact that Social Credit strength is in Quebec largely as an inheritance from the Duplessis Union Nationale should cause grave concern to the people of B.C., es- pecially in view of Social Credit’s claim that they hold the balance of power and intend to use this power to force the Conservative Govern- ment to follow Social Credit wishes. Union Nationale I am sure the people of British Columbia do not wish to have the remnants of the Quebec Union Nationale, now Socred, determine the future of our province. What has so far escaped the notice of all commentators is the fact that, while the Social Credit members of the House of Commons may have the balance of power, the New Democratic Party has the counter- balance. In other words, the defeat of the Diefenbaker Government in the House of Commons can only take place if every opposition party votes against the government. If any opposition group votes with the government on any issue, then the Government will be sustained on that issue. NDP Support If the Diefenbaker Government proposes to retain the Columbia downstream benefits for the use and profit of British Columbia, then I am sure the New Democratic M.P.’s will support them in this—even if the Social Credit M.P.’s from Quebec vote against it. With a proper use of parliamen- tary procedures the Diefenbaker minority government may be more stable than it appears to be; and with a proper consideration of the needs of Canada, some worthwhile legislative progress can be made by the new parliament. | No One Wastes Vote Left-of-centre voters are being wooed with the argument that to vote NDP is to “lose” one’s vote or, worse, amounts to voting for the Tories by taking a vote from the Liberals. It is the nature of our sort of democracy that many people “lose” their vote: one can go through life without ever once backing a successful candidate. It’s also part of our system that we are free to see our own vote as positive or nega- tive. It can either be a vote for the man or party we favor or a vote against a government we particu- larly dislike. On the whole we are of Gertrude Stein's mind—that when people ask what other people are thinking it’s a sign that thinking has stopped. The doctrine of the “lost” vote teaches that one should estimate which party is most likely to win and then vote for it. It is the negation of indepen- dent thought. It reminds one of Kenneth Tynan’s observation about American first-nighters at the theatre: they don’t ask each other if they're enjoying the play — but merely whether they think it will akOl Yet there are circumstances where a negative vote can be best exercised by calculation of the voting strength of the various parties. Or so it seems to us. The main thing is to please oneself, and not be bullied by propaganda. Saturday Night ‘DUNCAN BUSINESS GUIDE LOUTET AGENCIES LTD. INSURANCE AND REAL ESTATE Duncan Lake Cowichan J. Lindsay Loutet Gordon R. Loutet 131 Jubilee St. S. Shore Road HANEY BUSINESS GUIDE ESQUIRE MEN’S WEAR (Graham Mowatt) Complete Stock of Work and Dress Clothing “THE STORE WITH THE POPULAR BRANDS” HANEY STORE HOURS OPEN 9 AM TO 5:30 PM CLOSED ALL DAY MONDAY OPEN FRI. 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