ON THE FRINGE LOOKING IN

Under No Illusions They'll Be Elected

OTTAWA -- Relegated to the margins of the mainstream battle, a
smattering of small political parties is doggedly fighting to put pet
causes on the big election agenda.

From legalizing marijuana to wiping out intrusive laws, the
so-called "fringe" parties operate in the shadows of the major
leaders and campaigns.

According to Elections Canada, there are eight registered parties
looking for votes in addition to the Liberals, Conservatives, Bloc
Quebecois and NDP.

Blair Longley's Marijuana party is among them, but the federal leader
admits his team has little money and even less policy to actually
campaign with.

The only idea candidates across the country agree on is that pot
should be legal - beyond that it's a collective of independents, he
said. And because most mainstream parties have relaxed their stand on
weed, remaining Marijuana party members are diehard radicals.

"One of the differences of the Marijuana party is we're way more
militant in our attitude," Longley said. "Marijuana is good, the
government is evil, and that's why marijuana is illegal."

Longley said he can't communicate with most constituents in his
francophone Quebec riding of Hochelaga, but it doesn't matter, since
he has no cash to run a campaign.

The Communist party's 20 or so candidates are running on a platform
of peace, jobs, democracy and sovereignty. Leader Miguel Figueroa
wants to engage public dialogue on issues like the growth of poverty,
erosion of social programs and war.

"We are the only party who is formally calling for Canada to withdraw
its troops from Afghanistan," he said. "We think it's part and parcel
of the U.S. aggressive war against so-called terror that they've also
been waging in Iraq. We think Canada should have no part of it."

While his party faces some residue from the dark days of McCarthyism
and the Cold War, Figueroa said the bigger battle is convincing
Canadians that a new wave of "mature" socialism is growing around the world.

Libertarian party leader Jean-Serge Brisson is calling for smaller
government and less intrusion in people's lives. The pro-individual
party is fighting to abolish "stupid" laws that crack down on
victimless crimes, and to let private companies flourish in health care.

"You don't have to kick out state medicare, but why not allow the
private sector to go out and expand or grow if some people want to go
private?" he said. "Allow it to compete against the public sector."

Liz White, leader of the Animal Alliance Environment Voters party,
said her goal is to educate other politicians and stimulate debate on
animal and environmental protection.

"We're not under any illusion that we're going to be elected. The
initiative is to raise issues about the environment in a way that's
more meaningful in elections, and trying to affect the main parties
that are actually going to affect public policy in the House," she said.

White's party will officially become a registered party after she
enters the race as the lone candidate.

Other registered parties include the Christian Heritage party, the
Canadian Action party, Progressive Conservative party and the
Marxist-Leninist party.