Apologies to you, loyal readers. I am a little late with my post this week, but there is good reason.
Almost a year ago, I started this blog with the intention of articulating thoughts about what it means to me to be Canadian, about how growing up Canadian shaped the way I see our country's place in the world, and how I envision a future for our country in an increasingly globalized, interconnected world. This blog was born out of a strong sense of pride, after being laughed at for wanting to be a more involved in Canadian political affairs.
Something similar happened again this weekend. In responding the question about where I was from, "I'm sorry about that" was the response from Richard, who tagged along with a friend to a wine tasting I was at this past Saturday. He may have been teasing, he may have been serious, but I still wanted to throw him the Trudeau salute. Being true to national character however, I cracked a joke, bit my tongue and kept my digits to myself.
Whether it is a testament to my perseverance, pure luck, or divine intervention, I will be moving on to a new position back home in Canada within 45 days -- I call it Phase II in the plan to restore Canada's reputation in the community of nations. I am mulling over what to do about blogging but, in the meantime, I have another four weeks to share feelings and thoughts about being a Canadian in the United Nations. I hope you'll join me as this journey winds down and help me as I plan another wild adventure in my home and native land.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Not hip to be uncool
Ah, the Winter Olympics! The eyes of the world are on Canada, land of ice and snow.
So is it just me who finds the warm weather and lack of snow at the mountain venues on the outskirts of Vancouver just a bit ironic? Or how about the fact that, despite all the hype about these games being the "greenest ever", organizers have been buying and trucking in snow. Juxtaposed against our less-than-genuine efforts in Copenhagen, I think we have the makings for a delicious 'sundae of irony'.
Would you like some sprinkles with that?
And by sprinkles, I mean latest word from an international survey by Globescan that shows that Canada's reputation has slipped amongst the community of nations. We just don't enjoy the same kind of respect we used to. It wasn't that long ago, in September 2003 to be exact, that The Economist dubbed Canada a 'rather cool place' to live. The ensuing years have been rough. We now have The Economist mocking our country and, in particular, our government, for having to prorogue parliament on the pretext that the Olympics would be a distraction to the act of governing.
How stupid have Canadians become? In a world increasingly used to multitasking, are you telling me that we can't handle sports and politics? What about war and politics? Or worse, sports, war and politics. When will the insanity in Ottawa stop?
The priorities -- at least to me -- are glaringly clear. Put our fiscal house in order, protesting loudly when money is squandered by the government on ideological rubbish; make strategic investments to help Canadians transition to more localized economies, including boosting spending for, and building more, public transit, repurposing urban sprawl, and encouraging localized agriculture; building high-speed rail links between every major urban centre from coast to coast to coast, creating a high-speed backbone supported by conventional rail links to smaller provincial centres; boost spending to increase access to education, specifically in the areas of nutrition, civics, international relations, and languages; and of course, focus Canadian ingenuity in energy, technology and medicine.
See, that wasn't so hard! I was typing this while sipping a cup of coffee and listening to the radio. I wonder if that would make me overqualified to work in Ottawa these days?
So is it just me who finds the warm weather and lack of snow at the mountain venues on the outskirts of Vancouver just a bit ironic? Or how about the fact that, despite all the hype about these games being the "greenest ever", organizers have been buying and trucking in snow. Juxtaposed against our less-than-genuine efforts in Copenhagen, I think we have the makings for a delicious 'sundae of irony'.
Would you like some sprinkles with that?
And by sprinkles, I mean latest word from an international survey by Globescan that shows that Canada's reputation has slipped amongst the community of nations. We just don't enjoy the same kind of respect we used to. It wasn't that long ago, in September 2003 to be exact, that The Economist dubbed Canada a 'rather cool place' to live. The ensuing years have been rough. We now have The Economist mocking our country and, in particular, our government, for having to prorogue parliament on the pretext that the Olympics would be a distraction to the act of governing.
How stupid have Canadians become? In a world increasingly used to multitasking, are you telling me that we can't handle sports and politics? What about war and politics? Or worse, sports, war and politics. When will the insanity in Ottawa stop?
The priorities -- at least to me -- are glaringly clear. Put our fiscal house in order, protesting loudly when money is squandered by the government on ideological rubbish; make strategic investments to help Canadians transition to more localized economies, including boosting spending for, and building more, public transit, repurposing urban sprawl, and encouraging localized agriculture; building high-speed rail links between every major urban centre from coast to coast to coast, creating a high-speed backbone supported by conventional rail links to smaller provincial centres; boost spending to increase access to education, specifically in the areas of nutrition, civics, international relations, and languages; and of course, focus Canadian ingenuity in energy, technology and medicine.
See, that wasn't so hard! I was typing this while sipping a cup of coffee and listening to the radio. I wonder if that would make me overqualified to work in Ottawa these days?
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Join in the celebration, and tales of the onion ring that could
Today marks the start of the 20th anniversary of International Development Week.
Between 7 and 13 February, a collection of meetings and lectures across Canada will publicize the work of the Canadian Government and other Canadian organizations regarding progress achieved and lessons learned in international development work. For more information about happenings in your area, check out the calendar of events and get involved.
Notwithstanding the current Government and the general meander away from a centred, solid politic in Ottawa over the last 7 years, Canada has a tradition of helping others. In fact, it's a rather short legacy in which we should all take pride -- it's only since the 1960s that as a nation, we began to understand the value of international development and helping others beyond our borders.
Pearson really built the foundation, which then blossomed into a reputation for non-politicized assistance to developing countries in the ensuing years.
'Non-politicized' is really the key. Today, that has changed dramatically with the unenlightened, rather provincial and downright Machiavellian conservative yahoos who have steamrolled Ottawa. So let me get this right -- prorogue parliament but take away a couple of week-long breaks for MPs? How utterly stupid. Change internationally agreed-upon language in foreign policy documents to a sanitized and incompatible lexicon? When did Ottawa become a national daycare centre?
So forget about Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament -- that train has left the station. How about a grease-soaked, translucent onion ring for Prime Minister... I can almost guarantee we'd have better politics and better foreign policy, too.
Between 7 and 13 February, a collection of meetings and lectures across Canada will publicize the work of the Canadian Government and other Canadian organizations regarding progress achieved and lessons learned in international development work. For more information about happenings in your area, check out the calendar of events and get involved.
Notwithstanding the current Government and the general meander away from a centred, solid politic in Ottawa over the last 7 years, Canada has a tradition of helping others. In fact, it's a rather short legacy in which we should all take pride -- it's only since the 1960s that as a nation, we began to understand the value of international development and helping others beyond our borders.
Pearson really built the foundation, which then blossomed into a reputation for non-politicized assistance to developing countries in the ensuing years.'Non-politicized' is really the key. Today, that has changed dramatically with the unenlightened, rather provincial and downright Machiavellian conservative yahoos who have steamrolled Ottawa. So let me get this right -- prorogue parliament but take away a couple of week-long breaks for MPs? How utterly stupid. Change internationally agreed-upon language in foreign policy documents to a sanitized and incompatible lexicon? When did Ottawa become a national daycare centre?
So forget about Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament -- that train has left the station. How about a grease-soaked, translucent onion ring for Prime Minister... I can almost guarantee we'd have better politics and better foreign policy, too.
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