Malibook said:
Coalitions are fine if they are formed BEFORE the election so people know what they are voting for.
That is not how our system works. You are describing some alternative, fantasy system that is not the one that is in place in Canada.
Our system is better than this alternative fantasy system that you describe because our system is much more flexible.
You are misunderstanding your role as a voter: Your job is to pick someone you trust to make ANY decision on your behalf, recognizing that circumstances change, and what seems like a sensible policy on election day might be senseless later on.
The solution is not to vote for someone based on their current policies alone, but on your judgement of their ability to craft sensible policies in response to ANY situation.
So on election day it might be sensible to say "I don't think we should have any coalitions" but some time later, as circumstances change, it might well become very sensible to have a coalition.
You should be voting someone you trust to make that judgement call on your behalf. It's often very sensible to make that determination based on party lines--in that case you are voting for the party you believe will best make that decision on your behalf.
In any case you are NOT voting for the platform as it is presented on election day--that should be viewed merely as an example of the types of things the candidate might do. In reality circumstances will change.
I could see the GG approving a coalition between 2 parties that are at least in the same vicinity on the political scale, like the PC and Reform or even Liberals and Conservatives, but this NDP, BLOC, and Liberal group is a mish mash of extremes.
It's not really up to the GG to get involved at that level. If the parties come along and say they have hammered out a deal why should the GG question that? She will give them a chance to prove it on the floor of Parliament, and if it isn't working out, she'll call an election.