If I were Prime Minister...

If I were the PM of this wonderful country, this is what I would do:

1. I would revamp the education system and introduce a media and advertising course. I would have children learn about their role in the economy and the tactics used by those who wish to turn them into life-long consumers. I would have them study different advertising and marketing techniques and learn to critically evaluate the information they are bombarded with in the course of the day.

2. I would bring back physical education...and not just for young people. Grown ups could benefit from a daily 20 minute exercise recess too.

3. I would ban handguns. Those who use them for sports can either lock them up at an on location storage facility (if they are target shooters they have to go to the shooting range anyway, so why not store their guns there?) or move to America.

4. I would introduce creative sentencing and introduce tougher drinking and driving charges. First offense: license gone for a year. Second offense: gone for life. Third offense: charge them and send them to jail. I would provide good, effective addictions counseling in prisons. I would allow all prisoners to vote. They made mistakes, they are still citizens of this country.

5. I would provide financial incentives for those who choose public transportation. I would tax gas and I would invest in public transport and fuel alternatives.

6. I would remove the GST from feminine products...that's gander biased. We have to buy cotton rockets whether we like it or not. I would also remove it from books.

7. I would stop buying medical supplies from overseas. I would introduce a standardized medical supply production company and open factories in area of low employment. Said products (gloves, scissors, bedpans etc...) would be distributed across the country. Everyone would have access to the same supplies, the cost of healthcare would decrease dramatically (right now we pay $80 for each pair of American-made suture scissors...sheesh) and it would provide work where people need it most.

8. I would introduce a charge fee at the emergency room. Chronic illness and those suffering real emergencies would not have to pay the charge. Those with a runny nose would.

9. I would introduce a pay-work system in the government, similar to what already exists in the military. The government helps you pay for school provided you work in the civil service industry for a certain number of months/years.

10. I would provide more funding for low income housing and senior home care. Senior citizens would be paired up with low income families on a volunteer basis. Seniors feel like they have someone that cares about them, and single mothers get the help they need. The children end up with more involved adults and someone to come home to after school.

11. I would open more spots in medical school and work to make them less elitist. You shouldn't have to know at 21 what you want to be and have already taken all the pre-requisite courses. I would do away with American based standardized tests (LSAT,MCAT,GMAT,GRE etc.) and introduce similar tests, developed in Canada, and free to anyone who wishes to study and take them.

12. I would say "No, absolutely no, what the hell are you thinking" to the Americans with respect to the Missile defense program.

13. I would fund the CBC to the teeth. I would set up the written equivalent of the CBC and have a national newspaper, publicly funded and as unbiased as possible.

14. I would introduce exact proportional representation. Each vote would count for one vote in parliament. If in a riding the Liberal candidate received 5,000 votes but did not win the election, those 5,000 votes would be distributed to other liberal MP's. Each riding would still elect a representatives but the other votes would never be wasted. This means that parties like the Green Party that may only have one elected representative would still have the power of the 6% of Canadians who voted for them.

15. I would set up a free and voluntary exchange program for students across Canada. Students from all across the country would get the opportunity to live in another province for one semester. This would allow children to develop a national understanding and perspective. This would be especially helpful for the Quebec situation.

That's it for now, but I'm working on some more points. If this platform keeps developing at the rate it has been I'll be running in 2010..."Vote for me...I'm as sick of politics as you are!!"