Take one quick look at the campaign trail and you'll find a smorgasbord of promises designed to attract the largest variety of voters possible. Voter apathy is a problem at all levels of government in Canada and abroad, so politicians have responded by passing out one-liners. I don't doubt that they plan to keep these promises (as much as any politician intends to) but they only focus on one issue. I see it like a pick-up line at a bar or an attractive feature at a university: something to catch my attention, but nothing more.

In 1997, as vice-president of the Citizens' National Coalition, Stephen Harper delivered a speech belittling the divided and regionalistic Canadian political system and implicitly fawning over the two-party system of the United States. Harper's views have hardly changed since then ­­-- he spent the first week of the election laying out a choice between a Conservative parliament and a nonexistent coalition. This time, however, Harper was hardly the only culprit in propagating a "two-way race" theme.

As we all know by now, a federal election campaign is currently under way. So far this campaign has been dominated by talk of "coalitions," that scary sounding word and frightening political circumstance that, ever since 2008, has haunted the nightmares of every Canadian.

Having grown up in rural Alberta, I have been witness to numerous attempts by eccentric country-folk in starting up "zoos." This strange phenomenon was often unsettling and left me with uncomfortable emotions toward the unnecessary containment of non-livestock animals. However, the cages and pens of GuZoo Zoo-- located out on the prairies just a few kilometres north of Three Hills, or an hour and a half from the steel cages and concrete pens of downtown Calgary-- are an exception.

In politics, especially in Alberta, the term 'fiscal conservative' is often bandied about, almost always with positive connotations. To be fiscally conservative is, it seems, a good thing -- something one should want to be.

With a federal election likely occurring soon, now is a good time to reflect on the impact of the five years of Stephen Harper's leadership. There is no shortage of material for such an inquiry, but right now one thing in particular comes to mind: the negative impact his government has had on our democracy.

Canada is multicultural in law and practice. As long as your language, culture or religious beliefs do not harm another individual, they are welcome here. Yet the province that always appears to be the exception maintains its notoriety. Parti Quebecois spokeswoman Louise Beaudoin recently stated that "multiculturalism may be a Canadian value, but it is not a Quebec one." And she is right, in practice and law. Multiculturalism is entrenched in the Canadian Constitution which Quebec did not sign.

Campaigning has started for our next federal election and Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff is showing us his true colours. This spring, the opposition will probably send us to the polls by not supporting the budget being released in March by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. Currently, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has a seven point lead over Ignatieff in the latest EKOS poll. In an attempt to make up this deficit, Ignatieff has released a 12-page campaign report appealing to the non-partisan voting population.