Bob Rae, PWOPA’s & Other Words I Invented

The intertoobz have been awhirl with proclamations and castigations since it was discovered that the Liberal Party may change their rules and let Bob Rae run for leadership. This revelation was, coincidentally, on the same day that we became aware that Tory wonk Dean Del Mastro was being investigated by Elections Canada. So aligned were the gods of political opportunity for HarperCons on this fateful day that the Minister of Education may as well have announced that Bob Rae’s name would forthwith be spelled D.I.V.E.R.S.I.O.N.

Nonetheless we’ve all been there, done that and, dare I say, even got the t-shirt (which was promptly stripped off our backs). Nothing about these HarperCon tactics is new or even surprising. Harper drew a line in the sandbox a long time ago and he’s been hurling Tonka toys at anyone who disturbs it with such ho-hum regularity that I find myself stifling a yawn even describing it.

If you would indulge my whim, I’d rather talk about something that WAS surprising. It lies not within the folds of Liberal party mechanics which may reverse course on the Bob Rae ticket because this is, after all, politics. “It’s politics, duh!” – the new and improved iteration of “It’s the economy stupid!”. The surprise, for me at least, is in the vehemence with which non-Liberals are decrying the potential Rae run. Akin to someone yelling fire in a crowded theatre, I almost believed, but only for a fleeting moment, that the end of the world was going to chase me down the street, into Harper’s sandbox and hold me down until I cried uncle – though I’ve never understood why calling the word uncle was ever able to satisfy a bully’s need for dominance, but that’s just me. (Oh and I’d like to apologize to the old man I knocked down when I raced in abject terror from the theatre. Sorry dude. My bad.)

These “People With Other Party Affiliations”, or PWOPA’s™ as I affectionately call them, have dusted off and trotted out talking points that until now had been neatly stashed away in their petticoats. Someone please pass them the smelling salts quick before they faint again at the outrage of it all! Bob Rae running for Liberal leader! Harrumph!

These aforementioned petticoats remained perfectly unruffled when Bob Rae was doing a powerful job in opposition during the time of up-for-grabs leadership in the NDP. But like a wild-west gunman’s fingers twitching just above the holster, so did their talking points fidget to be freed.

Talking points: 1)“Bob Rae lied” … 2)“He used his position as interim Liberal leader to advance his agenda of becoming permanent leader” … 3)“He wasn’t able to change the needle on Liberal Party popularity during his tenure as interim leader”. In reality these are all non-issues. To adherents of talking point number one I say he did not lie, he said he would adhere to party regulations which he is doing. On the second point I counter that he was a strong voice on behalf of Canadians and progressivism – would they have found it more acceptable if he’d been a shrinking violet in an especially divisive House of Commons, I wonder? But more than that why does that mean he shouldn’t run for the top job? I don’t care if he used his position as a springboard for a leadership run (it would have been foolish to have done otherwise), I just want to choose the best possible leader. On the third talking point put forth by PWOPA’s™ I would argue that polls are not the political overlord that we are led to believe. In fact, don’t even get me started on polls or I may have to get out my sombrero and do the Hat Dance on a Nanos poll and, believe me, that would not be a pretty sight. Suffice it to say that three years are an eternity within the Canadian political aperture.

But here’s the nutshell: So what? So what if he didn’t move the poll numbers, it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have the right to have him included in the pool of candidates. So what if he had a higher profile due to his position as interim leader – in fact, more reason to have him in the pool. There’s no smoke without fire… unless you include dry ice, which I won’t since it would render my adage meaningless.

None of these detractors has shown even a spark of appreciation for the work Rae did in standing up not just for Liberal values but – hold your breath while I tiptoe onto a limb here for a moment – progressive Canadian values. So, fine we have party politics as usual – you demean my leader and I’ll demean yours and we’ll all feel good about ourselves after. What bothers me, intensely, about this twaddle is the implied limitation non-Liberals feel they need to impose on my choices for Liberal leader. The Harper arrgle-bargle and fog of politics is spreading to the progressives of this country and making them behave in a HarperCon kind of way (read cynical). It has permeated our mentality so much so that some are now able to pronounce on outcomes before the empirical data is in. In fact before these outcomes have even ‘outcomed’, so to speak! (Science! Huh-yeah! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Say it again!)

Let me give you an example: it has been suggested by these modern day prophesiers and PWOPA’s™ that the new mechanics by which the Liberals propose to choose their next leader have failed. Wait! What? It hasn’t even happened yet, has it? Has Stephen Hawking been throwing tachyons of providence into our political mix? Let’s calm the hyper-partisan spin down and stick to the facts, when we get them in the future after the Liberal leadership experiment has been tried and tested.

My puzzlement about the wrath of non-Liberals over a potential run by Rae centres on why they are so passionate about the Liberal choice for leader. Why are they, seemingly, intent on limiting our choices? Most of us prefer to squeeze the fruit and pick the most delectable before throwing our money in the till and so it should be with those who we choose to represent us in government. I say give me options, give me all the options, tell me your plans and values and let it percolate and only then will I throw my money in the till. Only when I have squeezed your fruit, so to speak. But don’t expect me to believe that an apple is rotten when I haven’t squeezed it for myself. I don’t know who my vote will go to in the Leadership convention for the simple reason that no one has even officially thrown their hat in the ring and no platforms have yet been heard. The assumption that Liberals will vote based on celebrity as opposed to policy is a miscalculation and is immediately revelatory of a shallow understanding of core Liberal values.

I don’t know if Bob Rae is the best choice for the Liberal party going forward. I don’t care about poll numbers, particularly since an election is three years away. I don’t care about age or celebrity because in the end excellence is the great unifier. I do care about core values and policy. I do care about preventing the slow and painful erosion of my country due to the ideologically driven HarperCon agenda. And I do know that Bob Rae has done a great job for all progressives as interim leader and for that I am grateful. Bring on the leadership race and allow us to choose from a pool of strong, varied and interesting candidates, a pool which would be all the poorer were Bob Rae to be excluded.

P.S. Guys I was only kidding about the ™ symbol on PWOPA – I just thought it would make it look all academic and thoughtful.

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The Liberals Are The Best Managers Of Our Economy

The Liberal Party is the only party that knows that a strong economy requires both a strong business sector and a strong workforce. Only the Liberal Party knows how, and has the experience, to put forward policy that ensures the health of both sectors.

The kind of policy that drives our economic health recognizes that fiscal and monetary approaches must ensure that people are educated with the necessary skills, that people are healthy, that there are necessary safety nets available should they lose their jobs, and that their children are provided the same opportunities afforded to their parents. At the same time, fiscal and monetary policy must be managed and balanced to support business confidence and growth.

The Liberal Party ensures that policies on the environment, trade, infrastructure growth, and health and safety, are implemented in a manner that is also supportive of economic growth. The Liberal Party makes sure that focus on short term profits do not impede the long-term basis for economic health, while also ensuring that conditions for the business sector promote sustained growth through sound fiscal management.

The Liberal Party is the only party that can manage economic policy to ensure that a healthy business sector is developed and encouraged by ensuring a fair and optimal balance of taxation and government spending to provide a healthy workforce that enjoys clean air and water, and by ensuring the infrastructure necessary for sustained economic growth is in place. Appropriate arrays of regulatory approaches are tailored to provide optimal conditions for sustained business growth, and for a healthy, strong, and well compensated workforce.

Over time, in this country, and in Western civilization generally, history has shown that only with this type of balanced policy approach, centering equally on both sectors of the economy, have our economies performed optimally over a sustained period, generating wealth that is shared justly. Experiments with neo-conservative or socialist policies have consistently proved detrimental to our economic health each and every time they are implemented.

Policies that promote both a strong business sector and a strong labor force working together are the essential wealth creation engines. Economic history has proven this time and time again. By these means, only the Liberal Party has the value system, knowledge base, and skill to manage our economies to the optimal benefit of every Canadian.

‘Twas The Night Before Question Period

‘Twas the night before QP when all through the House
Not an MP was stirring. Not even Head Lout!
The underlings were hung by their ankles with care,
In hopes the Greyhound soon would be there.

The Tories were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of strong mandates danced in their heads,
And Steve-O in his sweater vest with Rob Anders on his lap
Had just settled their brains for a long QP nap,

When out on the Hill there arose such a noise
Bev Oda spilled OJ all over the ^Savoy.
Away to the heliport McKay flew like a flash,
And off he was gone to a lobbyist’s bash

The cellphone in the hands of the now-fallen Sona
Gave rise to some bluster from Baird and pal Rona,
When, what to their wandering eyes should appear,
But a tweeter called Carroll, disrupting their cheer.

Over coals did they drag this lone tweeting Grit,
And in front of committee they forced him to sit.
But this bold Vikileaker was so lively and quick
They knew in a moment they were knee-deep in it.

With jowls all atremble Del Mastro did shout,
He jumped and he hollered and then did he pout,
When more rapid than eagles Carroll’s answers they came,
As he chuckled, and shouted, and called them by name!

“Now Dean! Now John! Now Peter and Tony!
Your smears are entirely made of baloney
Just hold up a mirror to see what I say
For B.S. on your side has always held sway”

And then in a twinkling they heard from below,
The prancing and pawing of a media show.
As they stared at each other, dumbfounded all round,
Down the chimney a new scandal came with a bound.

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with the Opposition, mount to the sky,
Up to the House-top the F-35’s they flew,
With a fistful of hidden costs and an extra zero or two.

And then, in an instant, they heard on the roof,
The banging and clanging of a political spoof.
As they stared at the pilot, making the motor go round,
The F-35 got stuck on the ground.

He was grumpy this pilot, a right sulky old guy,
And we shuddered when he turned on us his evil blue eye!
A hiss from his tongue and a twist of his head,
Soon gave us to know we had much to dread.

He spoke many words, that made little sense,
“Fight me on this, and I’ll abolish your dear Cent”.
And holding his middle finger up in front of his nose,
And giving a nod, to the clown car he goes!

He slunk to this car, to his team gave a shout,
And away they all clugged, like an old man with gout.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
“You guys are all Nazis!…Hmmm, think I’ll prorogue tonight!”

HUZZAH!!!!

Three Reasons Affirming Quebec Assent to the Canada Act

Thirty years later, we still hear from some parties the myth that Québec did not ratify the Constitution known as the Canada Act, 1982, and then use the myth to political advantage.  The record needs to be set straight once and for all.

First, during the publicly televised constitution debates before the nation, all of the Canadian Premiers and the Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, signed the agreement, including René Lévesque when he used an asterisk as his “mark” on the agreement.  A “mark” such as the René Lévesque asterisk on the Constitution would, in any court of law in the land, serve as legal tender as an instrument of ratification of the agreement.  The fact that the Québec premier chose to use a mark instead of his signature is immaterial in legal terms.  A mark is recognized as such in our laws, including the laws on the books at the time.  In a challenge before the courts in this matter, the challenge would likely fail, and the courts would recognize that Québec did sign the constitution.

The fact that a few months later, René Lévesque tried to say that he didn’t sign the constitution when he put his mark on it, is no different than someone signing a contract or any other legal writ in such a manner, and then trying to extricate himself from the contract or writ by saying his mark on the contract was not a form of legal assent.  In law, the witnessed mark would serve as legal assent and signature to the contract or writ.

Secondly, the courts of the land, including the Supreme Court of Canada and Québec courts which constitute the judicial branch of our government, have accepted the Canada Act, 1982, as the supreme law of the land as duly adopted and promulgated.  We stress that the Québec courts, the judicial branch of the Québec government, fully recognize the legal validity of the Canada Act, 1982, and by doing so, has given their assent to the Act.

Thirdly, as the framers of the Constitution have repeatedly insisted, the large representation of federal parliamentarians and senators from Québec at the time voted to affirm to Canada Act, 1982.

It’s time to stop playing political football with the myth that Québec did not sign the Constitution.  René Lévesque himself ratified the agreement with his mark.

CETA and Toronto “Reasonableness”

Free trade agreements between countries are made with the intention of boosting trade by broadening markets which then, ostensibly, increase output and employment. Such a scenario would be a net economic benefit to trade partners, despite the fact that there might be initial growing pains and job losses which are a natural result of a shift toward economic specialization, a by-product of trade agreements.  On the other side of the debate, anti-free trade proponents argue the net economic result is one in which factories and jobs are exported to countries with lower minimum wages and production costs. The reality is much less stark  than either of these two views suggest.

The Council of the City of Toronto has asked for a permanent exemption from the Canadian European Trade Agreement (CETA) that the federal government is currently negotiating because it felt that too much autonomy over its economic and environmental decisions would be sacrificed. Since trade agreements are legally binding on signatories, municipal governments do not have jurisdiction for agreeing to or even complying with such treaties.  Municipalities operating outside any such agreement would be in violation of the treaty and probably result in countervailing trade sanctions or penalties.

The Canadian government has not included municipalities in the negotiations assuming them to be represented by provincial Premiers (whose agreement to the treaty is mandatory). Toronto clearly feels this not to be the case.  With the backdrop of a massive manufacturing decline when NAFTA was enacted, it has been argued the net economic outcome would leave Toronto in the red – a result of manufacturing job loss. The agreement would end the ‘Buy Canadian’ policy for public purchases – a policy which has bolstered local businesses – since it would require municipal governments to consider bids from European companies when contracting with the private sector.

Unions and environmental groups have joined their voices to the anti-CETA coalition arguing that the deal could lead to the privatization of Canadian waterways, increased drug costs and foreign limitations on environmental policies. Officials of the European Union have admitted that Europe will be able to export more than Canada.

It is clearly reasonable that Toronto has serious and legitimate reservations about CETA, particularly since it has not been involved in the negotiations and since elements of the agreement will have a negative impact not only on its autonomy but also its economy.  Toronto is the manufacturing heart of Canada. With a resultant balance of trade favouring Europeans on this playing field the fortunes of Toronto will take a hit. But is it reasonable for Toronto to ask for a permanent exemption from CETA?  While the answer to this may well be in the affirmative it must be admitted that it is also not realistic. Neither the government of Canada nor the EU will agree to a deal that excludes Canada’s manufacturing centre. Since CETA will be binding on the city, the request for a permanent exclusion must be viewed as an effort to have some influence on the negotiations, to have its voice heard. From this perspective CAW President, Ken Lewenza, is correct in describing the Toronto Council move as “reasonable”.

Seriously Canada, This Is Who We Are?

A quiet panic clawing my throat, barely held at bay by the frequent and deliberate redirection of my attention, grew to a fevered pitch this morning with the rash of mainstream media headlines proclaiming Harper storming to a majority. I guzzled some Bromo Seltzer, tuned into Judge Judy for half an hour and my world began to morph back into the craggy, slightly psychotic but comfortably familiar mien I have come to know. There are some stragglers still stuck in my craw though. I keep coming back to one pulsating question: Seriously Canada, this is who we are?

This man, Stephen Harper, is who we select time and time again to represent our values, aspirations and ideals? Are we no more than a mean-spirited, fear-guzzling, self-centered, xenophobic, reactionary, nation of apathetic tv watchers stuffed to the gills with sound bites and outright lies, whose favourite past time is the stalking and capture of the almighty dollar? Have we become such middle class gourmands that we can afford to carry the cellulite Harper world view around our midriffs in all its spare tire glory? Be damned the clogging of our arteries!

Yes, the economy is important but for very different reasons than the corporatists, who now hold sway, would have us believe. Their concern for the middle and lower class is fickle, superficial and ephemeral; were their need for labourers to disappear tomorrow, all but the very elite would find themselves soon kicked to the curb. A strong economy is important because it allows us to surpass the hard-scrabble battle of survival and to give of ourselves, to our families, our neighbours and strangers. This is why we join in the struggle to better the economy.

The Harper mantra for this election is “economy”.  I can almost see him reclined in the lotus position, his tantra opens in his mind’s eye and he starts his chant, “E…connn… aummm…y…E…connn…aummm…y“. Well, you get the idea. Oh, a quick aside to any real right wing readers, just because I mentioned the lotus flower does not a Maoist of me make. In any case, it’s almost as if Harper’s relentless chanting of this basic mantra has swept the nation into a transcendental, robotic state of acquiescence. We all nod in rhythmic, automaton agreement, “Yes master, the economy is supreme”. But we should stop and consider why the economy is important to us on an individual and national level. It is not an end in and of itself, rather, it is a means to an end. A strong economy lets us fulfill our better instincts; to feed and educate our children, to ensure that every citizen has equal access to healthcare and education, to offer refuge to, both, citizens and foreigners in distress, to improve the world we leave to future generations,  to promote universal human rights, to facilitate and maintain peace amongst individuals and nations and to ensure that justice is applied in an even handed, non-discriminatory fashion. These are only a few of the jewels in the crown of a thriving economy but each one has far greater value and longevity than any accumulation of wealth could ever aspire to.

Despite this, the Harper Tories, given their druthers, would pry out the gems, melt down the gold and divide it all amongst corporations and the wealthiest few, while attempting to convince the rest of us, who have been left to wrestle over the slag, that this is all doable due to some previously untapped alchemical process. Jets, prisons, corporate tax cuts – no worries! We can haz it all! Just eat your slag and shut up. Huzzah!

Harper’s Tories want us to believe that we are on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, hunted by the Balrog and that they alone can fend off the monster. “Fly, you fools”, Harper shouts as he wrestles the great, unearthly economic undoing into the abyss.  I fervently believe that we are better than that. We still have it in us to be the nation we were building towards when we abolished the death penalty, introduced universal health care, led the way in peacekeeping and threw our doors open to refugees and immigrants. We have it in us to be that nation because that is the country we inherited from our forefathers whose footprints, albeit somewhat faint these days, are, nonetheless, indelible .  It is the spirit of Canada and though it may be dormant now, the time for hibernation always comes to an end.  When that slumbering beast awakes, rubs the sleep from its eyes and gathers its wits, it will find it has an insatiable hunger for the progressive, fair and kind Canada that once filled its belly. If only the progressive centre-left would take its hand off the self-destruct button, that beast might have a chance of finding much needed sustenance.

Looking at you Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton and Elizabeth May.

Does Polarization of Political Discourse Hamper Good Public Policy?

To what extent does the polarization of political parties and of the political culture of Canada hamper the ability of government to frame and develop public policy to best serve the needs of the entire community?

The general political culture of North American democracies has usually revolved around two polar opposites on most major policy issues.  These polar opposites are usually described as left-wing versus right-wing policies.  This polarization is not limited only to socioeconomic matters, but also such issues involving church versus state, sexual mores, business and labor, environmental matters versus economic growth, national security, etc.  The reality faced by policy makers and government officials, however, is that determination of policy conforming to an ideological slant often may not be practical or in the best interests of the community, although policy statements catering to core areas of support may win elections.  In fact, policy decisions crafted to cater to the interests of one polar segment of the political culture may result in destabilizing political conflicts within the whole community.

It is a general facet of all democracies that divisions in beliefs and values arise, sometimes permanently, in the nation’s political culture that result in severe political conflicts between political élites.  Public policy arising from this dynamic is framed to serve the specific interests of a sector of the political culture represented by the political élites currently holding power, and may often be detrimental to non-represented groups if not to the community as a whole.  The result is a political discourse that often engages the public through angry attack advertisements, “sound bite” sloganeering, and rigidity in government positions that may produce non-optimal policy decisions.  Lost in the rhetoric is the fact that these policy measures may favor a few special interest groups rather than the public at large.

The conceptualization of right-wing versus left-wing approaches to policy making should likely be rejected, treated instead, as an anachronism of early forms of liberal democracy. In its place a more effective approach for good government and public policy would be to frame issues of concern in such a way as to identify the societal issues at play and apply a problem solving technique.  This would include extensive consultation with constituents including greater reliance on government and academic research studies, enhanced consultative processes between government and its constituents, impact assessments, determination of regulatory burden, and benefit-cost assessments, to ensure an optimal policy framework for the affected community as a whole.  It could be stated that such an approach to policy making is mandated by the Canada Act respecting legal powers and mandate for “peace, order, and good government.”

The focus of political discourse on public policy should be shifted to promote problem solving and issue resolution strategies for effective policy approaches.  Issue resolution should rely less on the atmospherics of political rhetoric, personal attacks, and “sound bites” that misrepresent or distort public perception of the issues.

Harper Harps on the Bandwagon at Last!

Canadians can rest easy now! Woot! Our leader, Mr. Harper, is leading again. Er…that is…he is leading by following, which he excels at and is want to do on most international issues. Climate change, global warming, the end of the world as we know it – whatever your taxonomical preference – has once again niggled its way into Stephen Harper’s agenda by dint of Barack Obama’s attendance at the Copenhagen summit. Phew! I think???

Poor old Stevie must be mightily pissed with the Big “O” south of the border now… Scene: Stevie stomping his shiny shoes in a pique, screeching to get more of those Ignatieff hate ads on the air, scraping his fingers through his starched hair barely able to find a path of any surmountable resistance…

What a nice, comfy niche he had eked out for himself, our fearless un-leader, hiding behind the Ozified, wizard’s curtain of U.S. and Chinese inaction. After all, if the big players don’t play then is there really a ball game? Sheesh, you’d think after having caved to Obama on the Buy American issue, vacillating on what the future role of Canada in Afghanistan will be after 2011 and, with teeth grinding reluctance, contributing proportionate stimulus dollars to the car industry in Canada as the new U.S. administration had done in their country, Obama would have given Harpie some breathing room. But nooo! Mr Barack stick-to-your-word Obama stuck it to the Canadian un-leader by agreeing to attend the climate change conference in Copenhagen. If I played poker I’d probably have a word for a move that brilliant other than “Woot! Obama!”

Harper’s reasoning for not attending in the first place; if the biggest emitters, namely China and the United States, aren’t doing anything then what is the point in the small players taking any action? A reasoning which has stuck in my craw since its early platitudinous naissance. But having had much time to munch on it, run it through the digestive system, I now see an upside to it.

The next time Revenue Canada comes after me for a few dollars in late filing charges I will retort; “What difference can my few dollars make to the overall grinding of the big cogs and humming of the omniscient engine?” I will back up my assertion by relying on Harpie’s logic; there’s no point in me contributing because it really won’t make any difference. How can they dispute me? He is their boss. As the adage goes; a group’s culture always stems from the top. Trickle down crap etc.

When the Red Cross wants my blood or Feed the Children wants my dollar I will use the exact same remonstrance. Surely my piddly little contribution will not make a gnat’s piss worth of difference? I will instruct my children to adopt this new shibboleth. We will all become ego-centric, self-serving, inward-looking moles and the world will implode around us. But we’ll be safe in our silent, dark holes in the ground. Until the very ground disappears beneath us.

A Plea to the Canadian Centre-Left

Dear Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton, Gilles Duceppe and Elizabeth May,

Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of the country and form a strong opposition party.  Canada cannot afford to have Mr. Harper form a majority government. The world cannot afford  a majority Harper government. Tories are desecrating our international good will and reputation as a leader in the fight for human rights and the eradication of poverty. They are attempting to sweep climate change science under the rug while lauding ownership of the Arctic. We have abandoned Africa, we have abandoned peacekeeping and we have abandoned a fair and balanced approach to Middle East politics most especially with respect to Israel and the Palestinians.

On a domestic level we are experiencing the most secretive approach to governing ever in the history of Canada.  The Harper approach is at once hypocritical and opportunistic. I will not begin to list the issues here which raise my hackles, suffice it to say their domestic agenda has never wavered from their Reformist roots and this, most certainly, is not representative of the majority of Canadians.

The Reform Party and the Progressive Conservatives were able to overcome differences in their effort to unify and it has paid off for them. At this point in history there are four parties in Canada who are centre and left of it while there is only one party that sits firmly to the right of centre. The writing is on the wall. Unless the centre-left parties unite the Tories will continue to dominate the political scene while in actuality representing a minority. Therefore, I am pleading with you, nay begging you, please look to the future, please consider uniting under one party banner in order to give the majority of Canadians the voice they deserve in parliament. Only you can stop the fractured left from living in the fringe. Even you, Mr. Duceppe, would serve your province more beneficially by combining with parties whose platforms and ideologies are more akin to your own than to remain in a relatively minor role with a party in power whose very essence contradicts so much of what you stand for.

It is with great expectations that I anticipate your thoughtful consideration of this proposal and I look forward to recapturing the country that used to make me proud under a unified centre-left government.

Michelle Matthews

Harper’s Housekeeping Tips: Sweep Climate Change Under The Rug

Move over Santa Claus and Superman, Prime Minster Harper is coming to reclaim the land you have been squatting on all these decades, nay centuries. It is, after all part of the Great White North and it plays well to the domestic audience – reassertion of dominance over the land of ice and snow, home of the Inuit, last great frontier. In actuality it should be called land of the melting ice, land of the last  hidden riches and treasures.

Canada is busy sending armed forces and patrol ships up to the Arctic to make our presence felt. We are working hand in hand with Americans to map the seabed in order to bolster our claims of ownership. Inuit symbols are almost synonymous with the coming Winter Olympics. In short, we are celebrating and claiming all that is Arctic. It is ironic that at the precise moment when  Prime Minister Harper is hell bent on flexing his clearly non-steroid assisted muscles in some chest-thumping display of Neanderthal ownership over this largely uninhabited land, it is precisely when the very survival of this land is most threatened by Mr. Harper’s policies. Is it ironic or intentional?  Does Mr. Harper dismiss the science of climate change outwardly because inwardly he covets that very change and the contingent benefits he perceives, ie. energy? For me visions of Uriah Heep’s grasping fingers intertwine with Harper’s great patriotic press conferences on the subject of Arctic sovereignty.

The more dismal side of this coin lies not in the embarrassment that we should be feeling as Canadians when so many other countries walked out of the recent climate change conference in disgust due to Canada’s stated policy that Kyoto is fit for no more than the trash can, but rather in the fact that Harper’s popularity coincidentally seems to be soaring here at home. Is the word Canadian becoming synonymous with ostrich? Does our Prime Minister flap his gums and subsequently we stick our heads further in the sands of ignorance? When the polar bears, walruses and seals have almost died out will Canadians event lament their passing or will they be blinded by the dollar signs our current government dangles in their eyes emanating from future pay-off of potential oil discovery in the north and current earnings of the dirty tar sands?

It used to be that Mr Harper’s resistance to taking climate change science seriously came off as a puerile tit for tat policy. His resistance to respecting the obligations Canada had accepted in signing the Kyoto Accord was couched in the language of the school yard; if the United States and China aren’t doing anything then why should we? But the United States and China are doing things, big things and it is putting Canada to shame. David Suzuki echoes my sentiments exactly when he says that Harper’s failure to acknowledge that climate change is a serious issue, ” is so humiliating to me as a Canadian, because I have always been very proud of Canada as a country that took international obligations seriously.” China and America are leaving Canada in the dust- and that will be more than figurative if we don’t reverse the trend of the melting polar cap.

It’s easy enough to pass the buck, to blame the Harper government but I blame the people of this country who more and more are losing sight of what we are all about. The people keep electing this government and yet, unfortunately, it will be the world and, more specifically, the Great White North that will have to live – or die – with its CO² emitting consequences, not just the Canadian electorate. A friend of mine once told my grandmother, when she was visiting from England and complained about ice cubes in her gin and tonic, that “ice is what made this country great”. We all laughed at the time but in retrospect no truer words could be spoken. It’s time we recognized it and if we are unable to force Harper to the same conclusion then it is incumbent on us to replace his government with one that does demonstrate that appreciation. It has to be done immediately before polar bears and igloos are a distant memory. As Stephen Colbert said, “Due to global warming Iceland will soon be changing its name to Landland”.