"Strategery"

Anyone else confused, bemused, amused, abused, or just plain angry at the comments made by several union leaders across the country calling on Canadians to vote "strategically" (aka. Liberal) in the upcoming election?

Basically the thinking is this, if NDP supporters vote Liberal, then they can use the combined vote totals to defeat sitting Conservative MP's, and more importantly, in areas where a Liberal MP may be in trouble (see: Edmonton-Centre riding, McClellan, Anne) then the combined Liberal-NDP vote will allow the incumbant Liberal to get re-elected (see: election 2004 results).
In return, I presume the Liberals have offered to rule as a government from the left and support some NDP proposals.

According to Section 482 of the Canadian Elections Act: "Every person is guilty of an offence who
(a) by intimidation or duress, compels a person to vote or refrain from voting or to vote or refrain from voting for a particular candidate at an election;"

I used to be a member of a union when I worked a summer job to pay for my university education. I once requested the right to opt out of the union and was refused. I once asked to be removed from the union and was refused. Furthermore, I was told that when we voted on our new contract that we had to vote "no". I won't make accusations, but lets say it was probably the first time I ever voted where I was actually concerned about not doing what was expected of me. Am I glad I am not a member of a union right now? You bet I am. While there is no doubt that the union leaders who have called out for "strategic voting" will never be prosecuted under the Elections Act, it makes you wonder if any union members may feel as awkward as I once did come election time.