Out with the old

With national champagne glasses empty, and “Happy New Year” streamers and noisemakers piled high in our garbage bins, I think it’s fair to say the sobering-up time -- or wake-up time -- starts now. Pick whatever action applies most appropriately in your mind.

The games being played in Parliament are games that we Canadians have sanctioned. We were only too happy to wear a blindfold in 2009 – better to ignore what was happening than deal with the ugliness of denying – and then embracing – the need for stimulus funding, growing unemployment, massive fraud and pork barrel spending with taxpayer money, removal of funding from the arts, a military mission in a far-off land doomed to failure, allegations of torture, undermining global efforts at a climate deal… and now, another proroguing of Parliament. Why?

Our Government has essentially become undemocratic and unscrupulous – substitute whatever other words you like: unprincipled; dishonest; deceitful; untrustworthy. It’s no wonder China laughs at us when we invoke the language of “democratic reform” – we can’t even practice what we preach!

This is not as simple as a partisan argument against the Conservatives... though admittedly, they have become rather skillful practitioners of cloak and dagger politics (more so than even the Liberals) in a very short time. But somehow, when Chretien prorogued Parliament or shrugged off a scandal, it didn’t bring the same kind of deep-seated, pit-of-the-stomach sickness as when Harper does it. Nor did Chretien’s actions instigate the same kind of scathing criticism from the international community – certainly not to the point where it undermined our reputation around the world and challenged our perception of ourselves. Somehow, Chretien (and before him Trudeau) had his finger on enough pulses around the country that a majority of Canadians were in tune and in agreement with his leadership and party.

Harper, on the other hand, is happily remaking Canada as a neo-conservative nation, installing the requisite ideological Senators, ambassadors and civil servants, and challenging conventions of open communication and of proper language and access to information. (Sadly, I’m not sure Iggy would be much different.) The question is, are we Canadians satisfied with this approach? Will Canadians look back in 10 years and say: “You know, Stephen Harper really knew what Canadians wanted. He really spoke for us and represented the best of Canada.”

I certainly hope not.

Canadians must not accept the lowest common denominator in Ottawa. We must remove our blindfolds and reengage with our systems of democracy. To paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi, Canadians must be the change we want to see in the world. That is our challenge in 2010 – demand better political leadership, demand better choices by our parliamentarians, demand honest and open interaction with our government, so we can hold them to account and help rebuild Canada’s international reputation as a fair and just nation.

It won’t be easy, I admit. But given the current state of affairs, each of us must feel a responsibility to get involved in local activities. This can be a local environmental group, a poverty rights group, or even a campaign for Member of Parliament… we all must work to promote change for the better. I, for one, have made that my resolution in 2010. Stay tuned, I hope to have some interesting information to pass along shortly.

Happy New Year, dear readers. May the year be filled with health, wealth and happiness for you and your loved ones.

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UPDATE -- 4 January 2010

I just saw this -- Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament, Canadians Against Suspending Parliament and Canadians for a Democratic Parliament -- in my morning email tour and felt it would be worth sharing with you. Here's a great way to easily reengage with the political system from the comfort of your armchair in 2010 -- out with the old, indeed!

Season's Greetings

Now that the gifts under the Christmas tree/Hanukkah bush have been unwrapped, and the boxes from the questionable quality, lead-tainted Chinese toys have been discarded, and the chocolates, cookies and marzipan coagulate on the bellies and thighs of our nations citizens, it still came as a shock, as I walked down my local block, to see just how many "recyclables" were piled on the sidewalks in the City.

And while I am not intending to put a damper on the festivities of readers out there (or compete with the Grinch), I guess that's why I continue to feel a sense of dread as the holiday season comes. Conversely, I cannot begin to explain the genuine sense of relief as the season moves on.

The consumerism around the holiday was never supposed to BE the holiday. The exchange of gifts was never intended to be a shop-till-you-drop affair, working credit limits and patience to the extreme. Instead, it was always supposed to be about family and friends. It was always about thoughtfulness -- perhaps a bespoke knitted scarf or handy tool, or something special acquired on travels to a far off land -- you know, like gold, frankincense and myrrh.

I had a great Christmas this year. In addition to spending time with my lovely wife, I wrote a message to James Howard Kunstler and got a response, and wrote him back, and heard from him again. Simple pleasures, I suppose.

Let me just take this opportunity to wish you all the very best of the season. A new year will soon be upon us and with it, new challenges and thoughts. I will have something to say about it, no doubt. I hope you will, too.

Brother, can you spare me a Swedish Fish?

I feel the need to apologize for the generous column-inches this blog devoted to the Copenhagen climate summit. As I suspected all along, there was never any REAL chance that the feeble-minded governments of the West could ever take the lead in moving its slothful populations -- raised on a steady diet of Swedish Fish, CNN sound bites, chrome-wheeled SUVs and the cheap abundance of Dollar Store shelves -- in the desperately-needed direction of quickly changing our behaviour and consumption patterns. Worse, my defeatist sentiment is hammered home with clear signals from our Conservative government that there was little or no interest in trying to use our middle-power status for positive change.

The most recent excrement to flow from Ottawa, that it won't rule out giving oil and gas companies an emissions break on the oil sands, is proof to me that the double-talk spin machine is lubricated and powered 100 per cent by fossil fuels, to the detriment of Canada's international reputation and respect. If I was ever more embarrassed to declare myself Canadian, I can't really remember.

Sure, there will be those out there who subscribe to the very basic understanding that it would be "bad" for our economic system. Like blackmail, this argument continues to hold sway because, well... I don't really know. Tell me what it is we produce in Canada that is so economically dependent on protecting massive carbon emissions (like the United States and China want to do)? There is mostly light manufacturing in Quebec and Ontario. There is mining in Northern Ontario and Quebec and various other locales, such as the Northwest Territories. There's logging and paper mills in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Frankly, all of these need an eco-overhaul as it is... but otherwise, our economy is built on entrepreneurs and commercial and retail operations. And if the stats are true, that 90 per cent of Canada's population lives within 300 kilometres of the US border and that our massive landmass and low population means a population density of about 3 people per square kilometre, why can't we progressively, quickly and urgently transition to wind farms and other energy alternatives (geothermal?) on land most Canadians will never see? I don't get it.

But, cleverly, while all the bickering goes on about tar sands and tax breaks for corporations, the Cons are pulling the wool over the eyes of Canadians on equally pressing issues of national character, international reputation and national security. Take the torture of Afghan detainees, for instance. This is not something Canadians should take lightly -- no matter how many schools or hospitals we say we are building in Afghanistan. Having lived in that part of the world before, family and tribal pride are far greater influences than any bricks and mortar buildings. This is not a criticism of the young Canadians in military uniforms dying needlessly in roadside bombs, but a scathing indictment of the stupidity of those running our government and their lack of understanding, specifically Peter MacKay who has presided over this fiasco. We torture ourselves when we torture others.

But Afghanistan aside, we have news of the sale of CANDU -- made-in-Canada nuclear energy technology developed by Canadians, for Canadians, with Canadian taxpayer money. Even if the 50-year-old technology is dated, it does not warrant a sale of what I call 'national innovation infrastructure'. Neglect of such infrastructure by our government is not an excuse for a fire sale to private interests. Regular readers of this blog know that I have a deep commitment to re-establishing centres of excellence across this country. Candu, the national space agency, our aerospace industry and our arts and sciences are examples of areas that need proper funding to put Canada back in a leadership position. Coincidentally, probably seeing the writing on the wall given what's happening in other critical Canadian industries, the aerospace industry is being proactive with a website and ad campaign -- "Our Aerospace Industry" -- to which I say, bravo! After all, success in Canada makes us all winners. In a very tangible way, it is "ours".

So what's the way forward? Good question. I found the recent article in The Walrus -- The Stranger Within -- provided an excellent overview of how the Liberal Party got to where it is today. And despite the modestly optimistic note the author, Ron Graham, closes the article with, it is by and large clear that Iggy and the Liberals are unlikely to pose any threat to our current status quo. We have no clear direction forward but are too fearful of the possibility of change; we know we don't like where we are, but aren't happy with the alternative. I guess you might say that makes all of us strangers within. Pass the Swedish Fish, please!

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Copenhagen cartoon copyright Graham MacKay.

Copenhagen Schmopenhagen

It's no surprise what's happening in Copenhagen right now... dubbed by some, ironically, as "Hopenhagen." The forces of obfuscation, moral corruption and economic globalization are working overtime with their leaky email systems, scandalous memos and supposed "draft documents." You see it here at the United Nations all the time - the alliances, the politics, the backroom deals. I have to say I saw it coming a mile back.

The question is: how can we take the United Nations or the United States (or any other Western nation) seriously anymore? The West has lost the high road. It's obvious that our petro-party is slowly coming to a close and yet we continue to deny its impending demise, choosing instead to tighten the blindfold and pour more champagne. There are some real gems in James Howard Kunstler's blog post from last week, a snippet of which I share with you here:

Reality doesn't care if we are on-board with its mandates or not. The human race has to get with whatever program reality is serving up at a particular time. Are we shocked to learn that scientists fight among themselves and cheat as much as congressmen? Does that really change the relationships we understand about parts-per-million of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere and the weather?

What the people of the world can do or will do about a change in climate is something else. My guess is that the undertow of entropy is now too great to provoke any meaningful unified change in behavior... In the meantime, it is unlikely that any of the major players will burn less coal and oil, or not cheat on each other even if they pledge to burn less.

Absolutely. So where is Canada on all this? Right where you would expect, given the Prime Minister and his party: with the climate change deniers, debunkers and discreditors. Want to know just how bad it has gotten? Check out this headline beauty from the Guardian:

Canada's image lies in tatters. It is now to climate what Japan is to whaling; The tar barons have held the nation to ransom. This thuggish petro-state is today the greatest obstacle to a deal in Copenhagen

Granted, I suspect the Guardian reporter, Georges Monbiot, is being purposely scandalous to bring attention to our recent, deplorable record on the environmental disaster that is the Alberta tar sands. Still, if ever there was a crisis of image, of reputation, of confidence in Canada, now would be it.

It's clear we have lost the plot but perhaps what is more disappointing is the apathy of a majority of Canadians. We must all demand better from our elected officials rather than accept what can only be described as a pathetic effort at proper government.

Let's see what comes of Copenhagen. I, for one, think not much, even if there is some fanfare about a deal at the close of the conference. Hey, at least we can always take pride in the spitting accuracy of our diplomats, can't we?

Failure of Imagination

Forgive me for missing my self-imposed posting deadline this week. I have just returned from travel with a pile of work and other email to catch up on -- a consequence of opting not to touch my computer over the last 7 days. Not that I haven't been thinking about blogging but, choosing instead, a much-needed disconnect. Apologies to my loyal readers out there. My fingers are itching to share thoughts with you stemming from what I saw last week ... more to follow.

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It's clear this government is in a complete shambles.

Just two days ago, the tap-dancing, double-talking, unaccountable Prime Minister emerged from his fortified lair after weeks of galavanting around the world to tell the media that he would indeed be going to the Copenhagen Climate summit after all.

Perhaps he was hoping that we Canadians didn't notice the timing of his announcement -- just a day after US president Obama announced he would be attending (which was also a flip-flop. He had said he would not attend). Maybe he was hoping that we'd forget that Canada has not articulated a Canadian position on climate change. It's likely he was thinking that, after his long hiatus from the picture tubes, websites and radio waves of the Canadian media, people around our country would be mesmerized by his salt-and-pepper hair and blue eyes and not see past that to his complete and outright ineptitude.

This Government is a government of failure. And on so many fronts: leadership; principle; fairness; intelligence; originality; strategy... (I can go on). Little, if anything, substantive has comes out of Ottawa. As a Canadian in the UN, working just two hours flight from several major Canadian cities and our capital, there is nothing that I can point to to say: "We're doing it a bit differently" or "We've got a different take on it in my country" or even "We're pioneering new ___________ (technology, policy, approaches) to __________ (fossil fuels, rising sea levels, poverty alleviation, illiteracy)." Nothing.

Instead, as we wind our way to the end of 2009, we continue to have gaping holes in income distribution across Canada and in levels of poverty and child poverty from coast to coast. We continue to lose fine, intelligent young men and women in a battle half-way across the world that our leaders know is doomed to fail -- not a comment I say with glibness or disrespect for the efforts of our soldiers, but a comment informed by history. And yet, no opposition seems to be able to raise a strong enough voice to bring attention to the incompetence of the Harper Government.

What other smouldering fires can we add to the list? How about $50 billion of debt (and growing)? How about Arctic sovereignty? How about a strong Canadian dollar; not in itself a bad thing, but when combined with the fact that our economy is almost inextricably linked to selling our commodities and wares to Americans, it's a problem. Either we diversify, or we start to die.

Canada has never faced a more crucial time in its history -- so many national infernos ready to break out with so imprudent and incompetent a party at its helm. And for the foreseeable future, it would appear that its position is secure, with the opposition essentially unorganized and ineffective, and Canadians caught in a paralysis of sticking with a known devil. Who can blame them.

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On a different note, I just saw a rather dark, BBC movie/comedy called "In the Loop". If you want to get a humourous and expletive-filled sense of the cutthroat nature of politics and international diplomacy, I recommend a watch (though not with the kids!). Here's the trailer... Enjoy.

Literacy from illiteracy

Back in September, I came across an interesting article that led me to the website of the Canadian Council on Learning.

The organization created a survey of 'prose literacy' in Canada, which is used to measure basic literacy -- the knowledge and skills needed to understand and use information from news stories, editorials, brochures and instruction manuals. It is, therefore, an instrumental building block for developing more sophisticated literacy skills and is critical to understanding a rapidly changing world.

Two things stuck out for me.

The Canadian Council on Learning created its survey using a geographic information system (GIS), which presents data linked to location, allowing for the information to then be analyzed, managed, compared and presented multiple ways so as to provide deep insight into what's happening, where it's happening, and with some analysis, why. Modern technology has given GIS new abilities to layer data as well as dramatically increase interactivity and linkages -- when designed with accurate information, modern GIS systems are the equivalent of striking data gold.

The interactive literacy map created by the Council looked at 52,000 cities, towns and communities across Canada, revealing that we Canadians are not as literate as we thought. Using data from Statistics Canada and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and combining these with 2006 federal census data, showed that some 48 per cent of adults in Canada have low literacy levels.

Adult literacy is often measured on a prose literacy scale of 1 to 5. Level 3 is widely considered to be the minimum threshold for coping with the demands of the global knowledge-based economy, while a Level 2 denotes someone who is able to deal with simple, straightforward material, but “their poor literacy makes it hard to conquer challenges such as learning new job skills.” With nearly half of adults in Canada having low prose literacy levels, there is major cause for concern; it explains why the current government has been able to pull the wool over the eyes of Canadians for so long.

The other important lesson that stuck out for me is the utility of GIS mapping. This should be the foundation for policy formulation in Canada -- providing insights on how best to ensure the most good for the most number of people, be it in education, health care or employment creation. With baseline data established, such as we now have with literacy, it becomes another layer in the GIS onion for when the next census takes place in 2011. It also becomes a way for Canadians to compare 2006 data with 2011 data, understand areas of progress or decline, and hold our politicians to account. In the case of literacy, knowing what we know now, there should be commensurate investment in bolstering primary and secondary education so as to improve literacy.

We have Statistics Canada. But it's clear that Canada now needs to step up its game to connect the dots between the gathering and analysis of statistics, and allowing that information to have realtime impact. Right now, we have fairly high levels of illiteracy. But, if we learn the lesson correctly from the Canadian Council on Learning, there is in fact, literacy from illiteracy -- we just have to be willing to read between the lines.

Preparing for Copenhagen and encouraging transparency

The Minister of the Environment, Jim Prentice, hasn't yet articulated the Canadian position on climate change and emissions reduction, as was promised, before Canada sits at the table in Copenhagen for the December 2009 climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. And Prime Minister Stephen Harper was quite frank at the APEC meeting this weekend: nothing tangible will be coming out of Copenhagen. He may not even show up if other Heads of State don't show up.

In what is becoming a template approach to governing our country, and unfortunately an acceptable form of governance to Canadians, a docile Federal Government patiently waits in the wings for an American position. With the American position established, Ottawa can then decide on a Canadian position. Fellow Canadians, is this not sovereignty squandered? Is this not a waste of nationhood and a blatant underestimation of the power and ingenuity of Canadians and the Canadian economy?

While I agree that, since signing the North American Free Trade Agreement, the economies of Canada, the US and Mexico have become closely intertwined, I am also of the opinion -- whether climate change is purely an act of nature or heavily influenced by man -- that we have a moral imperative to choose newer cleaner technologies over old polluters. Consider it an insurance policy. Consider it a way to transition from an economy built on dying consumerism, to something fresh, with new job and technology opportunities. Whatever stance you take on climate change, it's hard to argue that the oil economy is in a fight for its life, and dare I say it, will be our energy 'Waterloo' if we do not have the courage to move boldly and quickly.

The demand for a major shift in our approach must be driven by mainstream Canadians. We are sleepwalking by allowing our current Government to align itself with the old world approach and not asking it to make difficult, informed decisions. Perhaps we are mesmerized by the double-speak coming out of Peter MacKay's mouth on the should-we-stay-or-should-we-go Afghanistan approach. Perhaps Canadians can't see past the idiocy of the Minister of Natural Resources and her sexy isotopes. But one thing is for certain, all this stupidity has compromised the integrity of Canada.

We are now the obstructionist, laggard sidekick to America. We support too-big-to-fail auto companies, just like the Americans. We have lost all credibility on the international stage, undermining the very international processes we worked so hard to create. We have changed the language used by our diplomats and bureaucrats to give it an unhealthy ideological bent, in line with our neighbours to the South. I have blogged about all of this before -- the world has taken note, and the world thinks a lot less of Canada.

I wouldn't have said this a year ago, but given the very rapid shift in context and perspective, I think the failed Liberal leader, Stephane Dion, may have been prescient with his Green Plan. (I suspect my friend MD would agree.) I also think that Canadians, and our environment, are poorer have having missed an opportunity for much-needed reform, which is clearly not going to come from this Government.

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Interested in following Canada in inter-governmental processes? Or other countries for that matter?

Last Friday, the United Nations Department of Public Information launched: United Nations Member States: On the Record. Here is the launch press release, reproduced from the United Nations intranet, which also includes a publicly accessible link. I thought readers might find this tool useful. Enjoy!

Their work in the principal organs determines the work of the Organization throughout the world, and yet finding out exactly who said what has until now required an in-depth understanding of the Organization.

A new project, United Nations Member States: On the Record, makes information easily accessible that was once complicated and difficult to find.

This website is an easy-to-use research tool that provides access to information from a variety of existing United Nations databases and websites. Just click a link to get to the most up-to-date, accurate, and historically comprehensive information on a Member State’s participation in the United Nations.

Based on the experience of the librarians at the reference desk of the Dag Hammarskjöld Library in New York, this tool responds to frequently asked questions about United Nations members.

On the site, each Member State has a page with links to dynamic searches in various United Nations databases. Over 4000 links provide current information -- without the user needing to know how to use each database.

Information available for each Member State includes: the key documents related to its membership in the United Nations, statements made before the principal organs, draft resolutions sponsored, periodic reports submitted on Human Rights conventions, and more.

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