So a new mandate

Tags

Canada., Government, Liberals, Ontario, Parliament, Quebec, Queen, Trudeau

Well the National Election is over and Justin Trudeau got a new mandate, despite all the  dirt the so called conservative party and its leader tried to throw at him. The CPC has a unit which works at unearthing anything that could hurt a candidate and then publicize it through right wing affiliated newspapers like The Sun, CTV network and PostMedia including the once reputable Globe & Mail. The negative stories are written for effect and are often inaccurate or right out lies simply repeated. A very disturbing trend but you have to know the background of it, the owners are long time supporters of alt-right conservative policies, some big business interests, some American oil companies, the Trump administration and the Republican party including the one surviving Koch brother. No it is not the Russians in our case but the US Republican party. The Chinese Communist party (Chinese Government) also played a very negative role, given our current dispute with China over the extradition to the USA of the Huawei executive. Two Canadian have been kidnapped by the People’s Police in China and held in secret jails, denied Canadian Embassy Consular services and put under psychological torture for months now. Unfortunately the Canadian Media has all but forgotten about them. The position of the CPC and its Chief Andrew Scheer has been to side with China with the false narrative that this will help resolve the crisis.

So this election confirmed one thing, Canadians are concerned about climate change now seen as a crisis, Canadian want action (84%) and will not vote for a candidate who denies the crisis or has no plans to fight it, as was the case for Andrew Scheer.
Canadians also do not like a candidate who imitates the American fashion of posing as a born again or evangelical Christian, like Andrew Scheer did. Canadians prefer their candidates and party leader to be neutral and quiet on this topic. There were too many stories about Conservative Candidates who came out as being anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ, pro-gun lobby and supporting the NRA, while we get weekly news from the USA of gun violence, something that horrifies most Canadians. Several also were not shy and made hate filled comments and rants against anyone who is not white or christian, thinking that it was ok to do so. Finally Andrew Scheer was the master of avoiding to answer any question on pretty much any topic. He also refused to denounce or remove a candidate who displayed hateful tendencies. Scheer also refused to attend any PRIDE event or parade during the Summer, all other party leaders did and participated. Trudeau was accused by the CPC of being a deviant and corrupt. What was suppose to be an easy victory for the Conservative turnout to be a defeat despite getting more votes and gaining more seats in the House of Commons, though not a majority. But they failed miserably in the two big provinces of Ontario and Quebec and in the Maritimes which holds the bulk of the population in Canada, some 26 million people out of the 38 million. It is well known that if you cannot secure the votes in Ontario especially around Toronto and in Quebec you cannot win an election in Canada.

So since the Liberal party victory on 21 October, Andrew Scheer has felt the heat of this party who is planning to replace him ASAP. No despite Trudeau having a minority government he has a workable minority and does not need to have a coalition with another party like the Green or NDP. The way our Westminster Parliamentary system works, there is a way to govern and you can always find support here and there in the House to pass your bills. No one wants another election for at least another 14 to 24 months for the simple reason there is no money and the Conservatives will be looking for a new leader soon.

The media also do not help the issue by spreading false concepts borrowed from the USA. Canada is NOT a Republic we are a Kingdom and our Parliamentary system is a copy of Westminster so it is quite different matter.

When the Prime Minister went to see the Governor General Julie Payette to ask she dissolve Parliament as is her role as Head of State, the Prime Minister and the Ministers all remain in Office for the duration of the election. The Prime Minister only  resigns his position after the election if he or she looses the election and IF he or she can no longer hold the Confidence of the House. That is very important to understand, we have had historically cases where the Prime Minister lost an election but stayed in power because he could hold the confidence of the House. Strange but true in Canada, that is our system.

The day after the election the Prime Minister returned to visit the Governor General at Rideau Hall to inform her of what his intentions were for the new Legislative program and priorities. This is largely a courtesy call because the Speech from the Throne (in England it is called the Queen’s Speech) is read by the Head of State in the High Chamber our Senate by the Governor General or the Queen if she is in Ottawa, but it is all written by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The Press got it wrong by talking about Trudeau seeking permission to form a government. What nonsense, he is the PM and remains so, he has a new mandate NOT a term, we don’t have those in Canada. The only thing Trudeau needs is to get the confidence of the House through a formal vote in the House of Commons on the Speech from the Throne or on the Budget bill. Very unlikely that he would not be able to get it under present circumstances. In Canada the role of the Queen or Governor General is to warn on a course of action or counsel the PM, the power to govern rests entirely in the House in Parliament, this is why we have responsible government since 1867. It is quite amazing to see how many journalists and editors get this wrong, watching too much of The West Wing I suppose.

On November 20 the Prime Minister will announce his new Ministry or Cabinet, a shuffle of portfolio is the big challenge for Trudeau or any Prime Minister because they have to make sure they have all regions of Canada represented in Cabinet and this is tough at the moment with no Liberal Member of Parliament from Alberta or Saskatchewan, pop 5 million total, Trudeau will have to be creative but there are various workable solutions.

So the final result of this election Canadians want modern and progressive governments and NO we are not revisiting the Abortion debate it was settled decades ago, we have rights for all including the LGBTQ and same-sex marriage and Canadians don’t want to deny rights to segment of the population, we also want the right to die which was legislated and gun control including hand guns. It should also be a warning to any new conservative leader at the Federal level not to associate with Neo-Nazi elements and other white supremacist hate groups as Andrew Scheer did thinking that it was a winning card.

I do expect that with the beginning of this new mandate the conservatives and their friends in the right wing press will continue negative attacks against Trudeau but hey that’s life. At least we do not have a Conservative government and that is a blessing. No one wanted the sort of horror show we see in Ontario at the Provincial Level with Doug Ford who emulates Donald Trump his hero or the politics of civil war and hate in Alberta with Jason Kenney. Interestingly the Conservative Premier in Manitoba does not want to associate with Kenney or Ford and the Premier in New Brunswick who is himself in a minority situation is walking back on his own extreme positions which are mostly anti-French in a province considered to be  the heart of French Acadia.

 

 

Falling between the cracks

Tags

aca, business, capitalism, coal, Government, obama, obamacare, poverty, wealth, World

This weekend I was reading an article in the New York Times about a nurse practitioner in West Virginia in a county which has the lowest life expectancy rate in the USA.   The nurse practitioner works in NorthFork in McDowell County, West Virginia.

The article stated that the poor, the sick living in McDowell County voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. This county is in the heart of Coal Mining country, devastated by a fast changing economy. Unemployment is high and the county has a very large proportion of poor people, people who cannot afford a Plan B, or private insurance coverage. It is the fear that as many as 24 million Americans will loose their health coverage in the USA if the GOP rolls back ACA also known as Obamacare. The people of that one county in West Virginia would be severely impacted by changes to the ACA or its roll back and the implementation of a Republican Health care bill.

It was a very difficult article to read, it is difficult to understand how Republican politicians elected by the people can believe in the idea that a free market health care system run by insurance companies is better than one where more and more people are covered without risking a personal bankruptcy.

If the Republicans are successful their system, as far as I can understand it, would basically force people to choose between death or bankruptcy. In the story the nurse practitioner spoke of her brother who 30 years ago at the age of 25 fell ill, he did not have health insurance and could not afford it. He was turned away because of his inability to pay and died from a disease which should have been easily treated if only he had the financial means. In this story this nurse practitioner goes through a normal day at the clinic, she sees people, all are poor and many are not well educated, they do not understand the system or have a wrong perception. Many suffer from diabetes, heart disease, are over weight, smoke, their medication now covered is expensive. It was sad to think that all those Americans without affordable health care would simply die. Dental coverage is another issue, many cannot afford the dentist, so they are exposed to a host of other diseases because of poor oral hygiene. One man who voted for Trump is an unemployed 54 year old, former coal miner. He explained that he wants to work and Trump’s promise to re-open the coal mines, this is what he was looking for, he reasoned that with a job he would have benefits and health care, so he voted for Trump. I have the sinking feeling that he will find out the hard way that Trump was nothing more than a snake oil salesman.

Many of the same poor people blame Obama for their Health care, not understanding that without ACA they would be worse off, but since they are also poorly educated they can be easily deceived by their Republican Congressman Evan Jenkins (R) and Senators Machin (D) and Capito (R) in West Virginia.

Living in Canada I cannot imagine any politician at any level talking of opening up our Canadian Health Care System which is a Provincial jurisdiction to free market insurance schemes, it would be suicide. I am also grateful to have been born in an era when our system was being implemented. Now retired I do not have to worry, I am fully covered and so is my spouse. I do have supplemental insurance but the monthly premium is so small as not to be a concern.

The article also mentioned that Medicaid and Medicare where in peril, seniors may find their benefits greatly reduced, mental health is not covered. At the end of this article I thought the Republican Congress is preparing a recipe for a terrible disaster.

A country cannot function if inequalities are stark, it only increases social tension to the cracking point.

Speaking of the cracking point, this afternoon on  CBC radio, I was listening to Ideas in the Afternoon with host Paul Kennedy. His guest was Wolfgang Streeck talking about Capitalism today. Here is the synopsis of this podcast.

The signs are troubling: the ever-widening chasm between the ultra-rich and everyone else. Mass protests. Political upheaval and social division. It looks as though the rocky marriage between capitalism and democracy is doomed, at least according to Wolfgang Streeck, who directs the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne, Germany, where he is also a professor of sociology. In conversation with Paul Kennedy about his book How Will Capitalism End?, he makes the unnerving case that capitalism is now at a point where it cannot survive itself.

According to Streeck, capitalist societies are entering an interregnum — a pause or suspension of normal governance — as the system of capitalism collapses in on itself. In the absence of countervailing forces to keep it afloat, capitalism has essentially devoured itself. One consequence is a loss of state solidarity citizens in western countries have become used to. Streeck points to Italy, Greece and Spain, countries where young people can’t get find jobs; where fewer people can live on their own; and where marriage and birth rates are declining. People everywhere are now trying to protect what little they have left.

Wolfgang Streeck sees day-to-day life in the interregnum in stark terms: coping, hoping, doping, and shopping. He says that when it comes to the harsh realities of the interregnum, those who cope well will wear their stress as a kind of badge of honour. Those who cope poorly will mask their inability with drugs and mindless consumerism. We are having an opioid crisis in Canada and the USA right now. Here the Federal and Provincial governments have intervene, in the USA it is largely ignored.

Streeck then went on to speak about: “Democracy was always a problem in a capitalist society. There’s an enormous inherent tension between the two. Democracy is inherently egalitarian because every citizen has one vote. And the rich also have one vote but the rich are only five percent. Whereas in the market, every dollar has a vote. And the capitalist economy in particular functions according to — I think it’s [the Gospel of] Matthew — where it says he who has will be given [more]. And he who has [little] will have even what he has taken away…

And where you have capitalism and democracy at the same time, you have a contest between these two principles of distribution: egalitarian versus inegalitarian. This is why democratic politics have always tried to intervene in the markets and tried to contain the “Matthew effect”. You can also call it cumulative advantage if you want a more elevated term. So, where you have democracy in the form of trade unions, centre left political parties, sometimes centre right political parties, Catholic parties, and so on — they look at the market and what comes out of the market and then they become concerned both about their capacity to get re-elected and about principles of justice which, in a democracy, are principles of social justice, not market justice.”

This podcast on the CBC which last 53 minutes got me thinking of all those poor people in West Virginia who voted for Trump thinking they would be so much better off. I also think of people here in Canada who believe we in Canada would be better off with someone like Trump. They are usually members of the right wing neo-cons movement, business people etc, blue collar. Luckily they are a minority around 25% of the electorate. But in Canada we have to be careful, a fragile balance exist and desperate politicians will propose just about anything if they sense there is a vote in it.

Each decade is different, the 70’s were different from the 1960’s, today is vastly different from the era before 2000. It just feels sometimes as if the world is spinning out of control.

 

 

 

 

 

Public Policy and Populist Politics

Tags

Canada., Government, marijuana, Parliament, Politics, reality, social, Trudeau

Politics today is no different than 2700 years ago at the time of the founding of Rome or when Athens was a great City State. Pericles convinced the Citizens of the City of Athens, then a mere village if compared to the megapolis of today, that they should gladly pay high taxes to build the most glorious shrine on the Acropolis to Athena and Diana. Pericles told the Athenians that as Citizens it was their Sacred duty to voluntarily give or pay for this urban project. The first duty of a Citizen is to pay taxes for Polis and thus ensuring the common good. Pericles was a brillant orator and he got his way ensuring his fame for all times by appealing to people’s vanity in a very populist speech.

Rome was no different, Marius the creator of the Roman Legion convinced the Citizens of Rome that all boys and men should serve in the army to defend and protect Rome, they were participating in protecting the homeland. At the age of 12 boys where sent by their parents to learn martial arts daily on the Field of Mars just outside the Pomerium (city limits). This is how you modelled the mind of a good citizen peppering the physical exercise with lessons about the Gods who protect and ensure the greater prosperity and dominance of Rome over the other villages around. Later Julius Caesar would ensure the loyalty of the Legions for his political program by giving all retiring legionnaires a plot of land, tools, slaves and a house. Quite the retirement bonus for soldiers who had protected Rome, he got their undying loyalty which explains the civil war after his assassination by wealthy Senators. The hero of the army and people was brought down by the 1%.

His nephew Octavian Augustus, the first and probably the greatest Emperor of Rome followed the same idea of public policy and populist politics. He had a political program based on glorifying his family by claiming descent from the Gods and a family link to Aeneas the hero of Troy whose mother was Venus (Aphrodite). Augustus wrote the Res Gestae (achievements) which can still be read today on the wall of the monument to Augustus the Ara Pacis, to me the most beautiful monument in the world. One of his achievements to have come to us is Family Law. Augustus in his speeches would always take the common sense approach which resonated with lots of people.

The political idea was to give something the public wants but give it in small doses and keep them wanting more. Promote the idea that you as political leader are progressive and a protector of the interest of the people. Absolute monarchy like France and Russia worked on that idea, the Sovereign was the protector, guardian, defender of the people, he provided good guidance to ensure the well being of his subjects. People were convinced that if anything should happen to the King, their lives would be miserable and uncertain, so that even in harsh times of famine or war, you could not blame the Sovereign, outside forces created your misery.

Recently I read a very good blog entry by sporeflections.wordpress.com who gave a clear and concise medical point of view on what many physicians think of legalizing Marijuana.

Reading it made me think that in Canada our politicians love to pander to the whims of the people if there is a possible vote and money in it. In the case of legalizing marijuana there is also the added political bonus of huge tax revenues without creating a new unpopular tax. Yes there will be a sales tax on the sale of marijuana but given that the public wants the weed, they will gladly pay to ensure gratification. Same way cigarette smokers keep on smoking despite the very high price on a pack of cigarette. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau likes to portray himself has a hip guy, as he says to his critics, he is doing this because we are in 2016 after all, thus portraying the opposition as retrograde and boring. The danger with this approach is the public’s perception that what they want is good and this belief is confirmed in the Chief Magistrate’s approach to Law making. We have the same dilemma with bill C-14 The assisted dying bill, where doctors would be able to help end the suffering of a patient who is facing unbearable suffering at the end of life.

Many people are in favour of this bill, who wants to see a love one suffer when there is no possibility of improvement or saving a life. However the way the bill is written right now offers all manner of restrictions and is not what the Supreme Court allowed in its judgement 6 months ago. Trudeau is pandering to public sentiment, he knows that public opinion might be in favour of medically assisting someone in a terminal phase of life but the public has voiced strong opinions that this help should not be granted to someone under 18 yrs of age or someone who is mentally handicapped. The Supreme Court did not impose any such restrictions in its ruling. The bill is now in committee in the Senate and amendments are coming which the House will have to consider and it appears that PM Trudeau will accept them or so he says. He could then simply state that he is following the advice of the Senate, the amendments may very well go further than what the public is willing to accept. The paradox is that at the moment because there is no Law on assisted dying, it is permissible for a doctor to help out a dying patient without any legal consequences if the request is made, the old Law was struck down as un-Constitutional by the Supreme Court.

The danger of course is that the public is fickle and will go for anything perceived at making life easier not necessarily good. The politicians know that a drunk driver or a driver under the influence of drugs is dangerous, but the responsibility is passed on to another level of government in this case municipal to deal with it. The plus side for the Federal Government is tax money and lots of it.  No one can foresee the social problems this will engender and by the time reality strikes, current politicians will be gone from Office.  Not exactly a responsible way to govern but then again politics is the Art of the possible and perception is everything.

 

 

 

Yes we can be smug about this one.

Tags

Canada., Canadians, Government

JUST CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW IN RED (Canadian Ministry). The list of the New Cabinet has made headlines around the world all week. I do not know of too many countries with such a diversified governing Cabinet. Only in Canada you say? Pity! In so many ways this Cabinet reflects the national character of our bilingual (French-English) and multicultural mosaic and how Canadians see themselves. I can honestly say that I feel blessed to have such a government. Nothing is perfect and there will be disappointments in this new government but nonetheless there is much promise here.

CANADIAN MINISTRY

Royal Maces of the Senate and House of Commons of Canadian Parliament

On this Wednesday 4 November in Ottawa.

Tags

Canada., Federal, Government, Ottawa, Parliament, Rideau Hall, Swearing in

So this morning at 10:30 like all Wednesday’s I was hosting the Art Lectures I organize at the National Gallery of Canada. However this morning at the same time a big event was taking place, I had competition. The turn-out to the lecture was half of what it usually is on this warm sunny November morning. Just down Sussex Drive from the Museum at the Residence of the Governor General, Rideau Hall, the 23rd Prime Minister of Canada who is Head of the Federal Government was being sworn into Office   with his new Cabinet. For the first time ever the public was invited to attend and the vast Park around the Rideau Hall was full of people, the crowds surprised the Press, it was a carnaval atmosphere. The new Cabinet arrived by bus, yes bus no limo here folks. Got off at the Gate of Rideau Hall and walked up the drive to the Residence, large television screens where placed outside for all to watch live.

Here is Justin Trudeau holding in his arms his youngest son and his wife Sophie holding their daughter and the oldest boy walking with his parents, the other members of Cabinet are behind them walking up the drive at Rideau Hall, Press and the public all around them cheering.

Justin Trudeau was there with his wife Sophie Grégoire and his 3 kids, his mother Margaret the wife of the late Pierre Elliott Trudeau our 15th Prime Minister was also present to see her son become Prime Minister.

The 29th Canadian Ministry (Cabinet) of the 23rd Prime Minister of Canada, has 30 Ministers around the Cabinet table. All the regions of the country are represented.

Note: This is in Order of Precedence, which is established by the chronological order of appointment to the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, then in order of election or appointment to parliament for ministers who joined the Privy Council on the same day.

Minister Portfolio
Justin Trudeau Prime Minister, and also Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Youth November 4, 2015–
Ralph Goodale Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Carolyn Bennett Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs
Lawrence MacAulay Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Jody Wilson-Raybould Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Stéphane Dion Minister of Foreign Affairs
Judy Foote Minister of Public Services and Procurement
John McCallum Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Chrystia Freeland Minister of International Trade
Scott Brison President of the Treasury Board
Jane Philpott Minister of Health
Dominic LeBlanc Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Marie-Claude Bibeau Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for La Francophonie
Navdeep Bains Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development
Mélanie Joly Minister of Canadian Heritage
Bill Morneau Minister of Finance
Diane Lebouthillier Minister of National Revenue
Jean-Yves Duclos Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
Catherine McKenna Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Marc Garneau Minister of Transport
MaryAnn Mihychuk Minister of Employment, Workforce and Labour
Jim Carr Minister of Natural Resources
Maryam Monsef Minister of Democratic Institutions
Kent Hehr Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
Carla Qualtrough Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities
Harjit Sajjan Minister of National Defence
Kirsty Duncan Minister of Science
Amarjeet Sohi Minister of Infrastructure and Communities
Patty Hajdu Minister of Status of Women
Hunter Tootoo Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
Bardish Chagger Minister of Small Business and Tourism

The New Cabinet posing in the Ballroom of Rideau Hall with H.E. the Governor General David Johnston under the picture of Queen Elizabeth II

The Right Honourable the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (43) shaking hands with H.E. the Governor General David Johnston.

Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire 

Grandmother Margaret Trudeau with grand children

Theatre of Life

Tags

bureaucracy, Canada., Canadian, Cuts, downsizing, Federal Government, Government, H.R., Human Ressources, Ottawa, Public servant, Public Service, teachers

Theatre that great Greek invention of many milleniums ago is something humans love because we love being told a story and if it is a good one it enters into our psyche. The original theatre building can be seen today in Athens at the foot of the Acropolis, aptly named the theatre of Dionysos.

Theatre of Dionysos as it was in Antiquity

The theatre today, a glorious ruin but still beautiful to behold, here seen from the top of the walls on the Acropolis.

We have Season tickets to the National Arts Centre theatre subscription and to the Great Canadian Theatre Company on Wellington Street West. We do enjoy the plays they present and to me a good theatre experience is when you come out at the end of the play in a different mood, one where you reflect on what you have seen. It is not just a big laugh or being entertained, theatre has to go beyond that. I much prefer more modern plays than Shakespeare who leaves me cold and indifferent or plays by Oscar Wilde which are very clever and well written but now, to me anyway, belong to a distant past, a world that has vanished. Plays by Bertolt Brecht, Samuel Beckett, George Bernard Shaw or Michel Tremblay the great Canadian playwright resonate more with me because it is more contemporary.

Last night we saw the last play of the current Season of GCTC entitled The Public Servant by Jennifer Brewin with help from Haley McGee, Sarah McVie and Amy Rutherford. This is a collective effort, a modern play, it speaks directly to its audience, this being Ottawa the National Capital and seat of the Federal Government. In the last 9 years the face of Official Ottawa has been transformed through massive cuts and downsizing of tens of thousands of jobs within the Federal bureaucracy, including demolition of government Office complex. Programs have not been slashed they still exist, though budgets remain dormant, unspent and programs are on life support, in other words the public pay but get very little in return, leading to complaints and demonstrations and the politicians play the blame game for the cuts they implemented by blaming the lazy, incompetent Public Service.

The play also spoke of how the Federal Public Service has been transformed since 1980, one character Cynthia who is a senior manager and someone we are told was back then a Mandarin or advisor to the Prime Minister decides to retire after 38 years of service in disgust. She says we no longer advise nor write policy, we push paper now. The big guy (the Prime Minister) points to the problem and tells you what the solution will be. His political staff (the twenty-something) also known as the short pants crowd control everything. The audience could relate to that statement, many are former or current Public Servants.

Another character in the play Madge is the young and new employee, who is full of optimism, highly educated with stars in her eyes. She loves her job and she loves serving Canadians. The play takes place over a period of 10 years, at the end Cynthia the Senior Manager has retired, and Madge because of the cuts is offered 2 or 3 options, H.R. is not clear about that, she is told you can go back to school, why should I, says Madge I have a Master’s degree, H.R. responds, well if you resign it would be so much easier for us. She is also offered to compete for her own job with two other people but even if she is successful, her pay and benefits will be significantly cut.

The third character is the middle-manager Lois, who does Weight Watchers like so many women in the Government, eating carrot sticks at lunch, but cheating on the weekend with all kinds of indulgences. She is divorced, has 2 teenage kids, and is going out with a Soldier named Roger, stationed at Petawawa, the big military base outside of Ottawa.

What happens to her is not clear, she simply disappears from the play at some point. Though not uncommon, I saw people leave one day or disappear from the Office and no one knew what had happened to them.

I found this play very upsetting and not funny at all, though it was billed as a Comedy. Maybe the lesson was that Life is a Comedy, certainly is when you work in the Government. The characters in the play were true to life and the office situations quite real. The play was written from testimony and interviews given by present and past Public Servants and the writers got it bang on.

At the end of the play Madge who has decide to simply leave government service instead of being humiliated with a silly package of worthless options, another true situation, reads out what the audience have written in answer to a question put to us before the play. The question was ”What is the job you value the most” strangely enough many in the audience wrote Teacher. Given the current crisis in Education in Canada where teachers have been turned into babysitters for absentee parents, one wonders.