So the first paper talked about what had happened with the Parliamentary crisis that was precipitated by the Tories' Economic and Fiscal Update (1) on November 27th. It included some controversial proposals to cut Government spending, as well as no economic stimulus plan, which was something being called for by all the opposition parties. It resulted in the proposed defeat of the Harper Gov't by way of a no confidence motion that was to be tabled on December 1st (and then the 8th), as well as a Coalition Government between the Liberals and the NDP - but that was avoided when Mr. Harper sought, and received, a prorogument of Parliament from the Governer General until January 2009.
The second controversy that was just announced this morning was Harper's plan to fill the 18 vacancies that are currently in the Senate, something that he had promised never to do because of his call for democratic Senate reform. He now plans to do this before Christmas time, while Parliament is prorogued. You can read more about that in my post prior to this one; Bi-Bi Cameral.
This particular paper will deal with my vision of Canada after we emerge from this ordeal in January, as well as what I believe should happen to put Canada back on the right track, both politically and economically.
[ECONOMIC OUTLOOK]
Right now we are in a Parliamentary hiatus. Parliament, both the Senate and the Commons, have been adjourned and will not sit until January 27th 2009 when Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty bring down their budget, presumably containing some sort of stimulus packaging for our ailing Canadian Industries. If the Conservatives come through with a feasible and acceptable plan, then the newly appointed interim leader of the Grits, Michael Ignatieff, has said that the Liberals will consider supporting the Government's budget, if it is in the interest of Canadians - giving off the impression that forming a Coalition Government is an unfavourable choice, only to happen if the Governer General asks him to do so (2). NDP Leader Jack Layton, however, has said outright that the New Democratic Party of Canada has fully lost confidence in the Prime Minister and will consider some of the ideas brought forth by the Tory budget and incorporate them into the plans of the Coalition Government.
My own opinion on this matter is that Stephen Harper has put forward a regressive agenda for Canada and for the Canadian people. He is trying to force a square block into a round hole. Canadians, by and large, are not considered conservatives, and even more so they are not Reform supporters. That can be seen in the popular vote of the last election, with only 37% of Canadians voting for a Conservative way forward for the economy. We did not vote overwhelmingly for a laissez-faire economic programme, we as a collective body support some sort of environmental, social, involved Government during the recessionary period that we are facing at the moment.
Our Government has failed to act quickly and effectively for working Canadians, with a job-loss of around 71 000 just in November 2008 alone. Pulp mills in the maritime provinces are closing their factories. Auto plants in southern Ontario are eliminatin shifts resulting in hundreds of workers being laid off. Logging industries in the West and in Quèbec are flailing because of reduced demand for pulp because of the pulp mill closures, as well as the lack of demand for wood related materials. Our manufacturing industry is reeling because the United States has slowed its buying because of their economy. This means that jobs will be lost in all these economic sectors, furthering the pressure of our mortgage and consumer markets.
Bottom line: We need to inject the economy with funds so as to protect the jobs of Canadians, and to soften the fallout from our slowing and receeding economy. The free-market and 'invisible hand' theory of economics does not work, that much is proven by this entire crisis we are going through. If you let things be, with no sort of planning except the divine hand of the markets, the destructive nature of man comes into play. Greed does not generate a sustainable base for the economy, and it will eventually result in the downfall of any nation.
We see progress and prosperity in a very linear way. Capitalism sees it as a constant climb to the top of the hill, the summit of which doesnt really exist because there never is 'enough' in Capitalistic theory. Sustainability does not compute with the current way we view success and progress. We still have oil in the ground, everyone needs oil, so we will use up all the oil that we have available and then move onto the next fuel. What is not taken into account is the damage that the oil does to the natural environs of our planet. This is not smart, long term, thinking.
[OUR POLITICAL FUTURE]
We are, at this very moment, in a very exciting time in history. All over the world we are progressing to great heights in human knowledge and human ability. We have started to re-examine everything, to borrow a phrase from David Suzuki (who I just saw on CBC Newsworld). There is one thing in particular that I have been contemplating about our future in Canada.
I have for as long as I can remember been interested in politics and in the social connection between people and our planet. My father is an American, or probably more accurately a Texan, and as you can probably imagine is a diehard Republican Conservative. I grew up with my Canadian mother though, born and raised and lived all her life in Vancouver, BC - as well as I - and so I have my fair share of Canadian socialism in me. Probably more than my fair share. My 'political' upbringing was a very interesting one. I followed my father in his stubborn support for anything and everything Republican - including George Dubya. Although I always said that I supported Bush, and although I chanted '4 more years! 4 more years!' on the phone with my Pops on Bush's re-election in 2004 - I never really felt the same way in my heart. I always identified with the more social aspects of politics, and the more romantic and idealistic properties of Government. This pushed me deep into the arms of Communism as a youth, which always envoked a quote from my folks and others:
'If your not a Communist when you're young, you have no heart. If you're still a Communist when you're old, you have no brain.'
-Winston Churchill (1874-1965) [Unknown source]
Its a great quote, really.
And, in some respects, I have renounced my card-carrying status as a Communist. In others, I am still very persistant in my utopian dreams of a socially responsible society. That is my ultimate vision for Canada. We are a nation of caring and involved people, and in some regards we are a nation of Socialists. The Canadian gut does not agree well with steady doses of Americanised Conservativism, the type that Stephen Harper has been injecting into Canada for coming up on 3 years now. That is blatently obvious if you even take a fleeting glance at the front page of the newspaper. Conflict and destructive partisanism has plagued our Government and our Parliament since the Harperites took the reigns.
We have seen our Parliament split right down the middle between the Tories and the rest of the House of Commons. The presence of even a minority Conservative Government has been quite destructive for Canadian politics.
And so the natural response to the lackluster, and generally non-Canadian, teeny-tiny Government approach to not only this current economic crisis, but also to the basic functions of our society, was to band together and take back the Canada that we know and want back. This need manifested itself in the form of the Liberal-NDP Coalition Government. A Progressive, socially responsible Government made up of 2 parties that together received a strong 44% of the popular vote of Canada. They resolved to put aside their political differences in the name of standing strong and united during turbulent economic times, and put together a package that would help everyday ordinary Canadians before our economy falls to pieces because of inadequate Conservative stewardship.
That is what I believe Canada needs right now. We need to remove ourselves from under the thumb of Conservatism, and get back the values that our system has taken from us.
One of the most important steps that I hope will come out of this discussion on a Liberal-NDP Coalition, as well as the controversy on the undeserved power of the Bloc in Canadian Federal politics, is that it will re-open serious debate on Proportional Representation. It is REQUIRED at this time to truly get Canadians thinking that their vote really counts in Parliament again. This is the catalyst for those talks.
The other thing that I would hope will spark a little bit of intrigue is the idea of finally divorcing ourselves from the English Monarchy and bringing Canada out of the 12th century and thrusting us into an efficient and functioning new era.
But that, as I said before, is fodder for my next theoretical essay.
References:
(1) The 2008 Economic and Fiscal Update @ Gov't Finance Site
(2) CBC.ca news article regarding Michael Ignatieff's new Leadership position
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