How we can make a mark on the world
Over nearly a decade of Conservative government, our country has achieved next to nothing of which Canadians can say, “This has been our special, unique contribution to the world,” as was the case when we collaborated closely with the United Nations or had a more welcoming policy for immigrants in what used to be the country of the second chance.
A sound banking system? Perhaps. A reinvigorated military? Sure, but unbiased scrutiny says our participation in various campaigns, from Afghanistan to ISIL, has been, from the point of view of numbers, unremarkable. (I am not talking about individual sacrifice here.) And, besides, there’s not much distinctive in following, rather than heeding (or standing up to) the call. Our advancing of gay rights, a position to which the “Harper government” was dragged kicking and screaming? That, certainly.
But the truth of it is that in a world in which more or less every Western nation is now multicultural, there is little of the positive that distinguishes us, though about the negative there is plenty — a trashing of the environment; a faltering before First Nations issues; our demonization of prospective immigrants (and also, through Bill C-51, of ourselves); and the Conservatives’ trammeling of parliamentary democracy, have all contributed to the serious degrading of our standing before the world.
But this is our national holiday, I love my country, and I don’t want to leave the job of being Canada to Norway. So let me share with you five ways in which I believe it is possible for Canadians to dis- tinguish themselves — to inspire and to make a mark. 1. Make the most of the environment Respect biodiversity, animal habitat, water. Exploit fossil fuels, but do so with a view to their real cost and eventual exhaustion. Rather than charlatan G7 promises for100 years down the road, say it’s fine to work the oilsands but that we’re going to do so while recognizing the approximately 40-year window such resource exploitation allows. Demand of fossil fuel companies operating here that they create their own alternative energy arms without the middleman of government. As far as the seas are concerned, lead the way in making of our oceans sustainable farms of the wild. 2. Make society fairer (and more secure) by paying labour We are finding all sorts of ways not to pay people — the Temporary Foreign Worker program, internships, but also volunteerism and part-time jobs.
The money that should be paid to interns, the portion of a living wage that is not paid to TFWs, and the gain made on the backs of exploited part-time workers not accorded proper rights does not leave the country as subsidies and tax breaks to multinationals and the top percentiles do. The money stays home, creates jobs — and social security. 3. Address and involve not just our own First Nations Make Canada the world’s leading place for First Nations’ study and the permanent seat of a congress of indigenous peoples. (The first such conference was held last year, under the auspices of the UN, in New York of all places). Let us reach out to indigenous peoples the world over, founding creative labs, if not a university proper, with campuses throughout the land, supplying means for indigenous peoples but also the non-indigenous and interested. Introduce, as I have argued before, mandatory high school courses in aboriginal studies and languages, but also commons laws that integrate reserves, trails, nomadic rights and sacred spaces. Learn from the whole. 4. Work, and lead, multilaterally We should resume, vigorously, our work with multilateral institutions such as the United Nations. This need not happen at the expense of the “warrior: work that has been so pushed on us, even if arguably our most significant diplomatic contribution of the last several years has been hosting some of the meetings that led to the United States’ and Cuba’s rapprochement. Indeed it is telling that the Conservative government made a point about not talking about these meetings or remarking upon the natural place that “soft power” and “honest brokering” have in our foreign policy. Let’s mediate, and let’s not be embarrassed about deciding to do so. 5. Introduce, if only for discussion, the idea of a term of national service that may be pursued at home, in the community, in uniform (whatever its colour), or in NGOs abroad. Build a patriotic spirit that is derived, in this way, not just from military values.