Alec Saunders SquawkBox

Some of you have been following my decision process as I’ve wrestled with how to vote in the current Canadian election.  Well, I voted today because I’ll be out of the country on election day.  And, I voted Green, not Conservative.  As much as I would like to see the Liberals turfed out, for me it boils down to a question of conscience.  Although I’m philosophically onside with much of the Conservative platform, I’m also a strong supporter of equal rights for gay and lesbian people.  The Conservatives are not.  So, I chose Green.

Janice and I were discussing this afterward.  Her opinion is that the Green’s are just too immature to vote for at this point.  She considers them a wasted vote.  I look at it a little differently.  One of Chretien’s last acts as Prime Minister was to reform party finance.  The bulk of political party financing is now provided by the federal government, based on the percentage of the vote the party captured in the last election.  So, a vote for Green, even though Lori Gadzala (my local candidate) is unlikely to win, is a vote to continue financing the development of Green ideas. 

Whatever your opinion, make sure your voice is heard on January 23rd.  Vote!

I’ll be roadtripping over the next couple of weeks.  iotum’s dynamic duo (me and Howard) are going to be on the west coast this week, visiting potential customers, press and business partners, and then next week I’m heading to San Francisco for O’Reilly’s Emerging Telephony Conference.

I’m taking my Nokia N90 phone along, so look for some pictures.

And, by the time I get back, Canada will have a new government.