Time to Fix Canada

"I am a Canadian. Canada is the inspiration of my life. I have had before me as a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day a policy of true Canadianism, of moderation, of conciliation." - Sir Wilfred Laurier.

Boy, those were the days.  Eloquent politicians with a message of hope, of direction and commitment to the betterment of Canada and Canadians.  Let's compare that to what we have today.

We have self-serving governments who see their fiefdoms as separate from the whole.  We have opposition parties who do not see any value in separating criticism from opposition.  We have a polarized media who are sanctimonious in their editorial.  We have an electorate who is apathetic and, at the same time, ignorant of about that which they are apathetic.  We have a financial system out of control, a healthcare system in decline, a justice system that looks like Swiss cheese and an educational system that has trouble with its raison d'etre.

There are so many problems in Canada that any single and simple fix is like putting a band-aid on a grenade wound.  We have complex problems that require complex solutions.  The first solution?  Our constitution.

The Constitution Act, as amended in 1982 but still reflecting the BNA from 1867, is so far out of keeping with the 21st century Canada that it is almost laughable.  Our country has changed since confederation.  Our population has grown and moved.  We have many cities more populous than some of our provinces.  More people live in cities than in rural environments.  Health care delivery grows more complex every day.  The disparity between rich and poor is a widening gap.  Our tax system has more loopholes than a Turkish rug.  We do not know why we need a military with all the toys... we just know we need one.  Lobbyists and special interests are running our policy making.  We have governments who couldn't care less about the electorate or democracy, just so long as their brand of policy prevails.  We have governments who pontificate their purity at the time of elections then break their promises once elected - all because they have not the guts to tell us the truth.  In truth our politicians are managers... not LEADERS.

You want to change Canada for the better?  Forget tinkering with healthcare or the justice system or transfer payment to provinces.  Bite the bullet.  Change the Constitution to reflect a modern Canada.  And do it soon.

The Current Economic Morass - Could it be avoided? - Part 4

OK.  This is the last entry on this subject.  There is a lot more to say but we shall change the channel following this - Part 4.

Let's talk about the amount of government that we suffer under in Canada.  Back in 2002 I wrote a thesis examining the roles of our three main levels of government - federal, provincial and municipal.  As I developed the thesis it became more and more clear to me that Canadians were over-governed.  My analysis led to the conclusion that we had one level of government too many.  I then turned the thesis into a book entitled,"The Provinces Must Go!"

The logic in the book was simple.  Provinces were created at the time of confederation to do the work of the people while the feds looked after the country.  One read of the BNA confirms this hypothesis.  However, in 1867 people did not live to any great extent in cities.  In 2002 a full 70% of Canada's population were urban dwellers with many of our cities more populous than most of our provinces.  Cities by and large became responsible for the welfare of the people.  But cities, since confederation, have been surfs to the provinces.  The result is we have city infrastructure falling apart, homelessness and many other social problems laid at the feet of cities without the political or economic clout to address them.  Is that the way it should be?

The book showed how easy it would be to eliminate the national and provincial debts, improve both urban and rural situations and a host of other problems without raising a single cent of new tax.  The book is available on Mysteriesofcanada.com.

By the way, the book has caused me a fair amount of grief since being published.  The ultimate insult came at the hands of the geniuses at the headquarters of the Liberal Party of Canada Ontario - LPCO (not to be confused with the Liberal Party of Ontario).  The political experts at LPCO disqualified me from contesting a nomination for the last election based on their belief that my thesis and book were not in keeping with the policies of the party.  When challenged to show me the policy that my ideas were contravening, the conversation just stopped on their part.  I guess that the 2011 federal election kinda showed the folks at LPCO that maybe their policies were not so much the policies of mainstream Canadians or Ontarians.

Political parties stagnate with time.  They get so beefed up with their self-importance that they refuse to grow.  They refuse to challenge themselves to reach higher plateaus and debate new issues.  But do not think that this is a problem only of the Liberals.  It affects them all, including the Grande Orange party of (the late) Jack Layton.

Until our political class loses their snootiness and begins to really listen to Canadians, this country will never be a place for progress.

'Nuff said.