A second conversation with imaginary students

Within the last two to three weeks there has been a minor but important shift in the Canadian political landscape. This has occurred not because the politicians have passed a new law or rescinded an old one (in fact it would appear that most politicians have been enjoying their Christmas vacation which means that they have been as effective as ever) but because some ordinary Canadians have gotten angry enough to do something.

When I first responded to a student's question as to what they could do to protest Bill C-45 - my answer was not particularly helpful or perhaps even hopeful. I suggested that the process to create sustainable change in the way our government made decisions would be at best slow.  For this change to occur, I argued that there would need to be a fundamental shift in the voting patterns of students and their families. I further argued that it was our responsibility to be better informed as to what the government was doing before they did it.

I was wrong.

I still think that it will take time to create a population that believes that it has both the right and responsibility to ensure that it is educated and informed. I think that we, as a collective of citizens, are still some distance away from being active participants in our government but the "Idle No More" movement has, in the last few weeks, has created a level of public awareness that just did not exist a month or so ago.

It strikes me that we are at a bit of an interesting crossroad.  For centuries it has been said (erroneously)  that the Indigenous People of Canada needed direction as they were not capable of leading themselves. Now they are leading us. They are the ones who have the commitment and the energy to stand up to the government. They are the ones who are educating their communities as to what the issues are. It is a model that the rest of us should pay attention to. There is no way at this point to know if this new movement "has legs". That is if they has the capacity to maintain their energies and to keep their issues in the forefront. But anytime a bunch of Canadians are committed enough to demonstrate in Winnipeg, in Northern Ontario or Toronto in the middle of winter they have my respect. Maybe it is time that the rest of us joined them. Maybe it is time that we too get up off of our collective behinds and in a clear and peaceful way tell the government that some things are just not OK. At the very least perhaps it is time that we started to talk to each other about what is important to us.

While I am appalled and embarrassed at some of the racist comments one can read on the various internet news pages, it seems to me that most of the comments are at least somewhat supportive. Maybe, just maybe that dialogue about what is important has finally started.

Join in the conversation. Don't let anyone tell you that it is not important to all Canadians.

A Student's Question

I had an interesting e-mail at the end of last week. It was from a student in one of my classes and it was a refreshing break from grading papers. The student wanted to know what to do about Bill C-45. I didn’t know how to answer. I have always felt that teaching requires me to walk a very fine line when it comes to expressing political beliefs in the classroom.  I have been told that I should not express opinions but rather just state the facts and let the students make up their own minds. That of course is a somewhat absurd suggestion both for the fact that the very process of choosing which facts to present is a political act in itself; and it is impossible for me not to wear my political heart on my sleeve.

None-the-less I felt a bit uncomfortable writing to a student talking about collective action to prevent a government from damaging our country further. So I am responding to that student and any others outside of the colleges e-mail system.

It is difficult not to be alarmed over parts of Bill C-45. Like the previous omnibus budget bill it covers far too many issues, many of which are poorly define and certainly under-debated. It is, in fact, an outrageous piece of legislation that will have significant impact upon the future of Canada. As noted in the Toronto Star (http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/1274564--omnibus-budget-bill-c-45-is-an-affront-to-democracy) the bill is 443 pages long and affects 74 pieces of legislation. Specifically the bill dramatically changes the level of protection to our waterways, weakens the Canada Labour Act and creates changes to the Indian Act that have not been discussed (never mind negotiated) with our First Nation communities.

However there are no quick fixes. The bill has passed. The government has used its majority and rammed it through with a minimal amount of debate, no compromise and not a single shred of evidence that they have listen to the 1,000s of Canadian who have complained.  The only people that they have listened to are those who will benefit from deregulation.

To get rid of the bill under the present Parliament is impossible. In spite of the protest that are being held in various First Nations communities and elsewhere nothing will happen. This government has in the past shown no inclination to listen. There is no reason to expect them to do so this time. To reverse the direction of Canada there needs to be profound changes in Parliament. That could be very long process. It will take an extraordinary amount of political will and hard work on the part of millions of Canadians to cause a change. I believe that that is possible. I believe that it is something that we can and should do.

Here are some suggestions that we all can do. 

According to the CBC there were in 2007 1,066,000 students in Canada (http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2009/08/27/f-back-to-school-numbers.htm) There are 852,910 people between 20-24 in Ontario alone (http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CD&Code1=3515&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=peterborough&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1). Most of the people have at least one if not two parents.

(1)    It would seem to me that one of the first steps is to get all of those students and all of the young people from Ontario (and all of the other provinces) to start to vote on the issues that will affect their country for all of their lives. Can you imagine what an incredible force young people could be if the various political parties realized that they could not afford to alienate or ignore young people? Can you imagine what could happen if the young people became involved and talked to their parents and got their parents to think about the issues from a young person’s perspective? Canada could change in a handful of years. Not all of the students would vote the same way – but they would vote and therefore politicians would listen to them.

(2)    Secondly individuals can get involved right now. All of the parties have youth wings that one can join. I am not too sure how much the political parties listen to their youth wings but it would allow one to become involved in the process. There are also groups such as The Council of Canadians (http://www.canadians.org/index.html) who are more active than other groups on some of these issues. There is a local chapter in Peterborough.

 (3)    Write letter to your MP. Get all of you friends to write letters. Tell them that you are concerned. Tell them that you want to, and will get involved. Invite him to a meeting to explain this and any other bill.

(4)    Check out the notice board of the local library. There are announcements posted there as to when there is a meeting about this or other topics.  

(5)    And finally to anyone who is reading this - you are doing the first step in becoming active. People need to educate themselves on the issues. They need to engage their peers in the conversation so that they can be educated on the issues. It is, quite frankly, too late to get upset when the deed is done. We as citizens of arguably the best country in the world need to stay on top of these issues so that when some government, be it federal, provincial or municipal, suggest that they are going to make a decision that appears to be harmful to our lives or our environment that we are informed enough to say why it is a bad idea and to provide alternatives.

As I look at my words, I am struck by an immense sense of futility. My words are an inadequate response to that student. I suspect that they want to do something right now. To do something that will have a profound and an immediate impact. But it does not work that way. BUT 1000s of students last spring in Quebec caused a government to change its mind and if we have learnt nothing else about the Arab Spring – it is that if enough people protest long enough – someone has to listen.

lost political affections

I have, for the past 50+ years had an affection for or at least a soft spot for Israel. I have never been too sure why but perhaps it is because I have always been attracted to the underdog. I can remember at a fairly early age reading about the Holocaust and then about the activities of the Irgun who, in their minds and mine, fought against a super power for a Jewish homeland (today they would be called terrorists) and won. I remember in 1967 meeting two young Israelis who had fought in the 1967 war and how in a strange way how envious I was that they had had the opportunity to fight for their country against overwhelming odds and win. But in the past few years that youthful perhaps overly romantic view of Israel has changed. But even more importantly my disappointment and perhaps even outrage at the Canadian government’s response to the problems in the Middle East has continued to grow.

I don’t know what the solution to the impasse in the Middle East is. I have on a couple of times had the opportunity at a Gathering to talk to both Palestinians and Israelis about their countries and they had no solutions either. I understand that Israel feels (with some just cause) vulnerable to some of its neighbours who have fairly consistently denied its right to exist. I also understand why people who have lost their citizenship, their land and the right to exist as a free and independent people are more than slightly pissed off.  

The creation of Israel was a long and complicated process. However the primary argument that people of the Jewish faith had the right to move to and create a new country solely because people of their faith use to live there (there had always been a small core of Jewish people living in Palestine) was and is absurd. If that argument was the standard for how the international community made decisions then the Indigenous peoples of Canada, United States, Australia and New Zealand amongst others would have long ago been able to reclaim their land. Israel was created at least in part as a response to the collective guilt after WWII when the western world’s culpability in the Holocaust became apparent. In hindsight it may not have been the brightest decision the world has made.

In my mind Israel lost the right to claim to be the underdog when it started acting like a colonist power. It has forced generations of people to live in refuggee camps. It has denied those people the basic rights that all democratic countries offer their citizens. It has continued to absorb land and to build new housing upon that land. Its concept of negotiations with specifically the Palistinians is quite similar to that of successive Canadian Government's attitude to negotiating with First Nation communities such as Grassy Narrows in Northern Ontario. We will take everything that is of value and then we will negotiate what you can have.

Canada in the past week or so was one of only nine countries that denied Palestinians some recognition or official status at the UN. They did so under the guise that unilateral decisions were not conducive to negotiations.  To make it worse there are some signs that Canada is not going to renew its commitment to providing aid to the Palestinian refugee camps in retaliation for them have the audacity to want some status at the UN.  A few days later, Israel announce the building of 3000 new homes on lands traditional perceived to belonging to Palestine. Canada only sighs and suggests that it may not be conducive to negotiations.

To do nothing to condemn a colonist power that deprives a whole nation of its rights is shameful. To deprive those people of humanitarian aid is an embarrassment that should cause us all to hang our heads in shame or to raise our fists in defiance

Bridges and Ferries

Something rather remarkable occurred on Friday. For most Canadian it had no effect on our life and we will never ever know about it.  But for a relatively small number of people who live in the Northwest Territories their lives have got immeasurably better. There is now a bridge across the Mackenzie. River. Up to Friday if one wanted to go from the south to Yellowknife one had to wait for the rather small ferry tocros the river. The Mackenzie Is a big river that has a fierce current that drives all the way to the article ocean.  The ferry is not very big and I would guess that one transport truck would take up most of the room.

No matter how slow or inconvenient the ferry was, the main problem was that for two months of the year the ferry was not available.  In the spring the current is so strong that it is not safe to cross. For those two months folks who live across the river are unable to travel south unless they fly. It means that no fresh foods are available and I suspect that what little is available cost more. I have to assume that the bars and restaurants need to order and stock enough food and drink to last them the two or so months.

Now that there is a bridge, fresh food will be available 12 months of the year and they will able the drive out whenever they wish. For the folks of Yellowknife I am sure they are celebrating. But a little bit of the romance of the north is gone. I will always remember my excitement at seeing the bison as I waited for the ferry or how I felt as I crossed the Mackenzie for the first time, feeling the currant pull at the bow.

I am glad that there is a ferry - it just makes sense. But I am very glad that I got cross the Mackenzie the old way.

My New Best Friend

I made a new friend last week….. I have spent a lot of time with Harvey in the past week or so. It has been interesting and at times he has presented me with some challenges. Of course the sad thing about my new friend Harvey is that within a week he will be scattered on the ground.

Harvey, you see, is a paper mache head.

I have for a number of years either helped or in the past few years made on my own some sort of piñata for my granddaughter’s birthday in June. For the past 3 years it has been a soccer ball (which is harder than one might think). Last year the ball was hard enough that 5-6 girls and a few boys could kick it around the back yard for 10 minutes before it finally broke apart. But I have never made a piñata for my grandson as his birthday is in December. It never made sense to have them flailing away at some object while there was snow on the ground ( they live in Sudbury and snow is always a possibility at that time of year). This year he asked for one and I could not say no. When I asked what he wanted me to make, he said he wanted me to make a head. So I did.

The final result looks like the result from a weird coupling between Mr. Burns from the Simpsons and Mrs. PacMan.  I hope they have fun in the snow bashing it with a baseball bat.

Driving through Fog

No this is not a bit about how cloudy my mind can be on some days but instead it is a minor rant....

For the past two days driving to work has been a bit more dangerous than usual. It has, to say the least, been rather foggy. There have been sections of the road where it was so foggy that seeing 20 feet in front of me was difficult.Seeing a car 25 feet away ahead of me was impossible until they applied their breaks.

Which raises the question. Why don't people turn on their headlights when it is that foggy? Is it because they assume that if their driving lights are on, it means that their back lights are on too? Or do they just not think?

I am afraid that my natural cynicism would suggest that people are both not bright enough to realize that their back lights are not on  - they must be aware that they can't see cars in front of them - and they are not concerned enough about the well being of others on the road.

While I suppose the obvious solution is to suggest to and then force all auto manufacturers to make all new cars have both front and back lights running light, it seems to me that it should be far simpler to teach people some basic manners and common sense.

Please note that I said "should be".

Television

Like many people of my age, generation and political bent, I tell the world that I do not watch much TV. And that is true. In fact I since June have watched virtually no TV except when I have been visiting someone. However, like many people I am very aware of the seductive power of television. I know that I could very easily be seduced into watching programs about cooking, fixing-up-my-house, science and nature and even on occasion Coronation Street. I have in the past controlled my tendency towards addiction by not having either cable or satellite services wired into my house. In fact with the exception of one year when my landlady paid for it, I have never had access to any channels other than ones my antenna brought it to the house. It is easy to be virtuous when one cannot be tempted.

I now however, have a satellite dish attached to my outside wall (or actually my lady lady’s outside wall). And it did not cost me a dime. When I no longer could receive two of the three stations I use to get due to the switch from analogue to digital broadcasting, I lost both TVO and Global. I was irritated. I was disturbed not only by the fact that there was now only a local broadcaster available who seem to show a lot of sitcom repeats, game shows and paid commercial broadcasts, but also because someone, somewhere in the government decided that I needed to pay for watching television. I have always thought that having to sit through countless commercials repeated endlessly was more than enough payment. Now I was suppose to pay a company for the privilege of watching those commercials. That just did not feel right to me.

However there is a program available through one of the local satellite suppliers to provide free satellite service for four years for those people who previously have not had cable or satellite coverage. It is only a basic level of coverage but I get the main networks. In fact I seem to get two or three stations from each network. So I can now watch news from Winnipeg or Sudbury or Toronto. Nice. Interestingly, I cannot get the local television station via my satellite. I am sure at one point I will get inundated with calls from the satellite company trying to get me to upgrade my coverage. I don’t think so.

If what I can now get is representative of what is available on all of the channels, I was better off without the dish. Last night after watching one program on TVO, I looked at three other programs. After uncontrollably groaning through five minute bits of bad dialogue for each program I turned the television off, turned on the CD player and listened to a book as I played with some wool. A much more civilized and entertaining process. 

 I am grateful that the free coverage is available. I think I am even more grateful that there is nothing available (except for perhaps Coronation Street) that will even come close to tempting me to become addicted.