Jason Unrau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Jan 20/06) - In the Northwest Territories, voters have five choices in the upcoming federal election on Jan. 23, but across the country there is a myriad of interesting political parties with platforms for all tastes.

Of course, there is the Marijuana Party, whose only real platform is to legalize that magical herb. After these stoners accomplish that, I guess we can all just kick back and listen to Bob Marley records!

Choices, choices. Candidates' campaign material adorns the public notices wall at the Cafe Gallery. - Jason Unrau/NNSL photo

However, by fielding 31 candidates nation-wide in the coming election, they are a force on par with obvious rivals the Christian Heritage Party, which has 42 candidates.

For those voters lacking a taste for either pot or a religious-inspired political agenda, not to worry; there's plenty more to choose from.

Feeling like the NDP is just not far enough left for you? Well, there's always the Communist Party, a.k.a the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada.

But don't run out and get your grey jumpsuits quite yet, as these guys have only 13 candidates slated mostly in southern Ontario, that hotbed of proletariat unrest.

Yes, the Berlin Wall may have come down more than 15 years ago but there are still, it appears, more than enough clowns out there who think that lining up for potatoes and toilet paper in the rain sounds like fun.

Believe it or not, but there is a defunct Communist Party and a Socialist Party. Go Mao, go!

Moving back to the other end of the political spectrum, there are 25 candidates running for the Progressive Conservative Party.

No, this isn't Stephen Harper's political machine, but a few hold-outs that just can't deal with the fact that Sir John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party died a slow and horrible death beginning with Prime Minister Kim Campbell's botched campaign of 1993 that reduced this country's founding political party to a mere two seats.

So if you are disappointed with the range of candidates on the ballot for the Western Arctic, hopefully this quick survey of political alternatives will, if not put you at ease, perhaps convince you that more choice is not necessarily indicative of an increase in one's ability to express oneself.

On the other hand, if you are tired of too much government and do want to express yourself, there's always the Libertarian Party, whose platform is entrenched soundly upon the notion that government gets in the way of being able to do just that.

"We support the amendment of the Canadian Constitution in order to make federal government fully responsible to its citizens for its operations and limit the role of government to protecting individual rights. We propose that all legislation be ruled unconstitutional by the courts and ruled inoperative," reads the party's constitution.

Wow. No more government? But there's a catch. One first has to vote for this government to get, erm, no government. Well, at least with empty government buildings following the dismantling of the public sector (re: utter anarchy) it would at least solve the housing shortage.

By the way, don't forget to vote Jan. 23.