Another Fine Mess You Have Gotten Us Into!

The charges against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman have been stayed. Norman was originally charged with leaking or disclosing sensitive information to one company during a bidding process for a substantial government contract. At the time, on the surface, it did appear as if he had given information that could have given one company an advantage over another. The RCMP investigated the allegations, searched his house and office, passed on what they found to the prosecutors; it was determined that there was sufficient information for charges to be laid.

For over a year Norman has been suspended from his job with the Canadian Navy, his reputation is in tatters and one has to assume that he has invested a considerable amount of money in his defence. All of a sudden, the Crown declares that there is not a reasonable chance of conviction and the case, appropriately was dropped. Obviously, at one point the crown thought there was a solid case and then they thought differently. What could have possibly happened?

It is possible that the RCMP were over-enthusiastic in their investigation. Perhaps the evidence appeared to be so clear that they just did not ask the right questions of the right people. It appears that the latter is what happened. It turns out that Norman, acting under instructions from the Harper Government, did disclose information to the one company. To be clear - the government told him to do so. At least three Ministers of the Crown knew this to be the case. Those three men decided not to tell the police or the Crown Attorney what they knew - but rather to tell the defence team. When they have been asked why didn't they come forward sooner - their answer was no one asked us!

In my narrow world of reasonable thought, it would seem to me that it is the duty of every citizen to come forward and tell the authorities what they know - especially if they know an innocent man has been falsely accused. We are not supposed to wait until someone asks us; even more, we are not supposed to sit on important information until such time that it can embarrass the sitting government. It is difficult to imagine any reason why the witnesses waited for so long to come forward other than to believe that it was an intentional act to make the government look bad. The allegations of government interference, in spite of both the defence and prosecuting attorneys saying that there was none, comes conveniently close after the SNC affair. One must wonder if the timing is accidental.

For people who have been national politicians, who have claimed to have the best interest of all Canadians at heart- to allow someone to spend months with a black cloud over their head is unconscionable. To allow the thousands and thousands of dollars to be spent in this trial - knowing that he was innocent and that the charges would be dropped is just wrong.

Vice-Admiral Norman will, I am sure, sue someone for his false accusations. For many people who have been falsely accused, they may remain free, but they are hopelessly in debt; they seldom have the opportunity to reclaim their reputation. Of course, many more cannot afford their own lawyer and are mass processed through our inadequate legal aid system. In a perfect world, Norman's desire for retribution would receive exactly the same level of support as do all people who are charged with a criminal offence and found not guilty. But he won't. He will be celebrated by a certain segment of the elite, he will win because the political pressure to vindicate him will be almost overwhelming.

It is a win-win situation for Norman, the Conservatives. In fact, the only people who lose are the people of Canada.

It's My Birthday

While almost all of my blogs are about how I feel - most of the blogs are about my feeling in terms of politics or the silliness or the selfishness of people. I seldom write about how I am feeling about my life and almost never about my family. But today I turned 70. In the previous few weeks, I have thought about that milestone and the world's reaction to it. I have, I think, uncovered a relatively new phenomenon that at the very least has surprised me.

First of all - I am rather pleased with myself that I have made it to 70. I quite frankly did not think I would last this long. If I thought about it at all, when I was in my mid-fifties I assumed that I would be dead by 65. As it is I have lived the better part of a decade longer than my father. So I feel pretty good about it all and when I get the chance I want to brag just a little bit. It turns out, however, that turning 70, at least amongst my peers is no big deal - it is certainly something not worth talking about.

I live in a mobile home park for those over the age of 55. Most of the people that I volunteer with are also seniors. A good proportion of the people that I work with, as well as my neighbours, are in their mid-to-late seventies or even older. To them, I am but a spring chicken who knows little about life. There is a subtle competition that goes on amongst some of the seniors that I know. They seem to want to brag about how well they are doing -which is fine - but there is an implied put-down of anyone younger than them who are not doing as well. There is little support for those who are physically not as healthy, who have conditions that mean that they can do less than their older peers. It is as if I should be as healthy as them. If I am not as active as them because of my health- then that is my fault. Furthermore, they certainly do not want to hear me complain about my body occasionally falling apart. Any time I mention my age, the response is either - "wait until you get to be my age" or "you are still young yet".

I am not sure if it is some sort of ageism, or perhaps some sort of protective mechanism that allows them not to worry about their own health. I am not sure if this "I-am-better-than-you-because-I-am-older" type of thinking is because we live in this part of Canada where we are supposed to be all healthy and to discuss any failures is a betrayal of the land or if it just the naturally competitive nature of humans. Most of us have few arenas left to compete in other than how long we have managed to survive.

I am not convinced that this focus on how long we have lived is a healthy one. It separates out those who are not doing as well, isolates them, perhaps makes them feel less than others. As we age - we need the support of our peers, being told that some of us may be less equal than others because our bodies are falling apart is not much of a support.

It is never useful when we are told that we only have value when we are like everyone else, and when some people set the standard of perfection.

Colorado Shooting - Boring News

Yesterday at least two young people went to their high school in Colorado, pulled out their guns and started shooting. Eight of their fellow students were injured and one student (who was trying to stop the shooters) was killed. In Canada, this story was not front page news for very long. And it should have been, it would have been not that long ago. But we hear about so many shooting-at-school reports, so many stories of children hurting other children with guns that both those who report the news and those of us who read it, no longer pay attention to the stories.

Last week, the UN published a report stating that the world's environment was in far worst condition than we thought, that there are far more animals at risk of becoming extinct and that Canada is not doing any better than any other country and in fact may be doing worst. Again, while there was some discussion of the report and some minor hand wringing, it quickly became, for most people, a topic not worthy of much interest.

Finally, there were reports last week that in Canada's far north, the permafrost is melting at an alarming rate. Communities that are built on what I was always told is land that would be frozen forever are shifting and the entire infrastructure is at risk. No one is talking about how to slow down the thawing - it is accepted that it is happening and will continue to happen. There was some minor interest in the story, but certainly, in southern Canada, no one is raising flags of any colour to suggest that this may either be or at least lead to a significant crisis in the north.

All three of the above stories were important, all three of the stories should have been front page news for days. Certainly two of the stories should have led to calls for emergency discussions in the House of Commons and in most of the Provincial Legislatures. Nothing will happen in part because no one knows what to do about each of the problems, we tire of the countless discussion similar stories have generated in the past and we are exhausted by the myriad of problems that we are forced to confront on a weekly basis.

Never before in human history have citizens been so bombarded with so many issues, all labelled a crisis, all defined as something that needs to be resolved before our species disappears from the planet. Humans are not hardwired to live in crises mod all of the time. We lack the emotional or intellectual stamina to constantly be on high alert for the next problem. It would appear that the best that we can do is think about one or two problems and ignore the rest. This coping strategy means that some topics of critical concern receive some attention but others get totally ignored. It also leads to people wasting energy arguing about what issues are more important.

It is also true, however, that most of us -even if we agreed that climate change is the most important issue, (or for that matter social inequity was) - we could not agree on where to start. And so we waste time protesting this or that, imagining small victories while the corporations negotiate the big wins elsewhere. How depressing!

It is not surprising that some days, some of us just ignore the news entirely. We just cannot cope with the seemingly relentless bombardment of pleads/demands to care about and to solve the problem(s).

Green Party - Relax, Take a Deep Breath and Don't Start to Celebrate

There are now two Green Party members sitting in the House of Commons. Oh goody!!

Yesterday in a federal by-election in the riding of Nanaimo/Ladysmith the Green candidate was elected. I cannot imagine that anyone was greatly surprised although I assume that a number of people are disappointed and perhaps even alarmed. They too should relax. The Greens are not on the path to become the next ruling party of Canada; the world as those who are disappointed know it, has not come to an end.

It was almost predictable that at least some of the people of southern Vancouver Island would vote green, they did so in the most recent provincial election. The real test for the Greens is not collecting the votes of the pleasant, relaxed, hyper environmentally vigilant residents of the frequently balmy southern portions of the island, but rather how the residents of the northern parts of the island whose economy is focused on resource extraction will vote. The singular focus on saving the environment with little attention paid to any sort of transition period for those who depend on oil either for income or heat is not an attractive selling point. Trying to imagine the voters of Alberta voting Green simple boggles the imagination.

With the Green Party now the official opposition in Prince Edward Island and this most recent win, there may be some who will predict a significant gain in federal Green seats in the upcoming election. There may be some who, remembering the orange wave led by Jack Layton that came close to forming an NDP government as an example, will argue that the Green Party are now poised to do the same thing. As much as I like Elizabeth May, she is no Jack Layton. Even more importantly, for many Canadians, the Green Party's only track record is being a single person preaching to a generally disinterested public. I personally do not think that is enough to convince me that the Green Party has the capacity to do the work that is required to run the country.

However, there will be lots of Canadians who see this recent Green win as a sign that their time has come. They will pat themselves on the back and ride the coattails of Green euphoria. The will do so in spite of the fact three or four provinces are refusing to agree to any plan to reduce our collective carbon output, that there is little sign that the average Canadian is prepared to reduce their consumption of the planet's natural resources or that we are prepared to depose of any politician who does not make the environment a priority.

It is exciting that the Green Party got another seat. But do not celebrate. Nothing has changed. People will need to work even harder, in the areas of Canada that do not naturally gravitate to a Green perspective if the Green Party has a hope of winning a significant number of seats. It might take another two or three election cycles before the party can have an effect on government policies.

I do not think we have 10 or 12 years left to change the world.

The real winners in the federal election in Nanaimo/Ladysmith may be the Conservatives. They did not lose any of their core supporters and the centre/near left voter group was fragmented. If that happened consistently across the country, the Conservatives could pick up a few seats.

Running a Race - Who Would Have Thought It Was So Complicated?

Caster Semenya, a two time Olympic champion from South Africa has just "lost" her battle with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the highest court in international sports. Semenya, who has won two gold medals in the 800 metres event was born with a higher than normal level of testosterone in her system. This higher level has meant that she has slightly stronger bones and more muscle mass than her fellow competitors. She, therefore, is more likely to win in races against other women. Her higher hormone levels do not mean that she wins easily or without hours and hours of daily workouts. She has never tested positive for any synthetic drugs.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled that if she wants to compete at an international level, she must take medication that will reduce her levels of testosterone. Ignoring for a moment the somewhat paradoxical notion that a ruling body of international sports, a group who have consistently chastised athletes who take drugs to change their hormone levels - have suggested that someone take a drug to change their hormone levels, one needs to consider if Semenya's and perhaps other similar athletes' human rights have been violated.

Within the Western World, there is a general movement to recognize people who are different in terms of gender or sexually from what has been perceived as the norm. It is a difficult conversation but there is ample proof that we, as a whole, are getting better at accepting people for what they are. Suggesting that Semenya needs to take a drug to make her more like "us" just feels wrong.

On the other hand - if I was an 18-year-old female athlete who had won every 800-metre event at the provincial and perhaps national level and was considering whether or not I would pursue a life as an international athlete, I would have to wonder if it was worth it. No matter how hard I worked, no matter what sacrifices I would make, I would know that if at the major international events Semenya was competing, I might never win a gold medal. It would not be a matter of who trained harder or who had better coaches, Semenya would win because of increased testosterone levels in her system. And that would feel unfair.

I would understand that young woman's frustration. In fact, I might even want to argue that I should be allowed to increase my testosterone levels so that the playing field is level. If I was that young woman's dad, I might ask her if it all of the hard work would be worth it if the dream that fuelled that dream was a gold medal.
I am not sure if there is a solution to this discussion. I certainly do not have one. I know that we should not force people to change who and what they are. I also know that while I have no interest in international sports, and I have never had a desire to compete at anything close to that level - for some people it is important that they do. As much as I am uncomfortable with people conforming to the norm, I am equally uncomfortable taking dreams away from people.

What to do About The Flooding

Either through sheer luck, good fortune or the grace of some spiritual being - I have never been involved in a life-threatening natural disaster. My heart always goes out to those people, especially those in developing countries who have so little and lose it all in floods, typhoons or tsunamis. While Canadians may have more protections and supports available than do people living in the developing world, their loss of the irreplaceable items in their lives and the disruptions that will last for months after the rest of us have forgotten about the event are just as significant. I cannot imagine the stress, frustration and exhaustion that some Canadians are now experiencing in Eastern Canada. Long after the flood waters recede, they will be picking up the bits and pieces of their lives.

In the upcoming days and weeks, people will complain about the lack of government planning, the lack of foresight - someone should have known this would happen and stopped it. Perhaps someone will even attempt to sue someone of something. But the flooding around Ottawa, Montreal or St. John is not much of a surprise for many people. Or at least it should not have been. If humans continually pave over our creeks, our streams, our meadows - where do they expect the melting snow and rainwater to go? If we continue to build dams, dredge swamps, cut down small forests and redefine/reshape the shores of rivers and lakes - how can we be surprised that the water flows onto our streets and into our basements? While people may be right, governments can and should do more to prepare urban areas for such widespread flooding, those same people need to be prepared to start paying for those preventative measures.

Winnipeg, the only Canadian city that has had to invest money in creating alternative routes for the flood water, has spent millions and millions of dollars over half a century to ensure that its core does not get flooded again. Clearly, other cities will need to do the same thing and do so in a much shorter period of time. Other places in Canada not only done little planning but have continued to allow people to build in areas that could be at risk of flooding (our definition of a "flood plain" may need to be broadened). Town and city councils that are desperate to find funding to operate municipal services have been far too willing to allow developers to reshape the landscape in areas that are now at risk of flooding. If we do not want our grand-children, in 40 years time to be hearing about the loss of property and life because of flooding - then we need to make a commitment to do something now.

However, all of the floodways in the world are not going to stop the problem of too much water coming through the system at one time. Everyone, including politicians, need to accept that our climate is/has changed. There will be more frequent, stronger storms - not as the exception but as the norm. Our coasts will be inundated with hurricanes, while other coasts will experience drought years in succession with the resultant forest fires. Some of those changes are, in all likelihood permanent others are perhaps reversible over the long term, but until we accept the reality that change is occurring and that human activity is causing at least some of it - we are screwed.

We probably can't stop the flooding next year or the year after - but we can quit being so damn silly about partisan politics and get on with the job of saving our grandchildren.

Who Are the Métis?

I thought I understood who the Métis were. I was never sure if I agreed with their official status that is virtually identical to the First Nations, but I thought I knew what their self-described label meant. Quite simply - to be allowed to call oneself a Métis and to benefit from whatever (no matter how small) recognition of that fact, one must have one ancestor who at some time during the 1600 or early 1700s to have been of First Nation Heritage. Generally, these relations occurred between Indigenous women and male Europeans involved in the fur trade. Their status has been confirmed by the constitution and by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Métis argue that they have a distinctive culture including a unique language (which logically must just be a combination of Indigenous, French and English), dance, music and food. There is a history that includes a revolt against the Canadian Government and a treaty with that same government. While I had never thought about it - it seems logical that the Métis were more likely to live in the Prairies than in the Maritimes.

However, none of that should award them special status. I appreciate the fact that there is a specific group of people who have some cultural ties and who have lived in the same general area for a couple of centuries - but there are people whose families have lived in Quebec or the Maritimes for longer. We accept that Acadians have a culture, a language and a history of repression, but we do not give them special status. Although to be fair, there are those in Quebec with their own language, food etc who because of that and the fact that their roots in Quebec go back to the 1600s do demand, and get special status.

There is no doubt that the Indigenous peoples of Canada deserve special status and recognition. They were here first - for at least 10,000 years. We, as Canadians, live on land that frequently was either fraudulently obtained or just taken. The very least we owe those First Nations is the recognition of their special status as separate nations. But that is not true of the Métis. They, as a collective, were not here first, they "married" into a culture, had some kids and combined parts of that lifestyle with their European roots. That does not make them a separate nation. If some members of that group wish to declare themselves Indigenous - fair enough. But as they present themselves - they as a group are no more special than are Acadians or for that matter Ukrainians.

What makes the discussion particularly relevant in 2019 is that there are some people in the Maritimes who are using the word métis to define their cultural roots. The Métis of the Prairies and some Indigenous people are not happy. They appear to want that term to be restricted only to them. The Métis want to restrict others, who claim perhaps some specific cultural activities and certainly some genetic right to claim the term, to not do so.

It strikes me that the Métis are similar to those who build a cottage on a small lake and then want to have rules created so that it is harder for anyone else to build a cottage on that lake or a university group who have their rights to exist enshrined, but then want a say in who else can form a group.

The problem with identity politics is that while they may strengthen the capacity of that group to defend their rights - it prevents others from doing so. When we isolate ourselves by saying we are special - the rest of the statement logically is - and you are not. We will not solve the world's problem's by isolating people.