PEACEKEEPING? NOT ANYMORE

Regardless of ones political affiliations, the conclusion is:  Ours is the country it is today because of the Liberal Party's dominance over both the political landscape and Canada's agenda for nearly 70 years of the last century.

The policies, the legislation, the vision advanced and practiced by the 'natural governing party' of the 20th Century defined Canadians as peace loving, tolerant, multicultural, bilingual, charitable, socially responsible people within a prosperous nation.

So why is the current government of Prime Minister Harper turning us away from our present and our future in what appears to be a truly transformative shift in character and value - A root-and-branch supplanting of one kind of country for another - as someone recently described the apparent transformation?

In a comment this weekend in 'The Globe And Mail,' political activist Gerald Caplan warns to be afraid of the "new" Canada being invented by Mr. Harper and his associates. Perhaps it's worth noting that Mr. Caplan in 1985 was appointed by another Conservative Prime-Minister, Brian Mulroney, to co-chair (with Florian Sauvageau) a Federal Task Force on Canadian Broadcasting Policy which ultimately led to the Broadcasting Act of 1988. (I digress!) - Of the current Conservative leader, Caplan concludes: "It's in the nature of true believers and ideologues to believe that any means to their sacred ends are justified...It's also typical of such people that they're often motivated by unfathomable resentment and anger, a compulsion not just to better but to destroy their adversaries."

From the session of Parliament just ended there's at least anecdotal evidence on several fronts of the government's efforts to create a Conservative mythology as opposed to a Liberal mythology - Instead of peacekeepers, we're now warriors; the "royal" prefix has been restored to the military; Canada's embassies must now feature portraits of The Queen; the list is long and growing but it seems to suggest a very deliberate and calculated attempt to re-shape Canadian symbolism, nationalism and values back to those cherished by the mid-war generation of which John Diefenbaker was a prominent member. And, more importantly to ignore Canada's evolution as an independent country with an identity of its own.

Some critics see the government's crime and justice initiatives, the changes at the Wheat Board and to the Long-Gun registry, our planned massive military spending and other recent legislated initiatives as borrowed elements of the "Tea Party" revolution from the United-States, and the hard right Republican "destroy the enemy politics" now so prevalent as the American Presidential campaign gets under way.

In the 2010 best seller "Harperland," author Lawrence Martin portrays a leader firmly in control of his political agenda, and a man..."who goes to extraordinary lengths to see it implemented." - In a new book due out next spring -"Warrior Nation: Rebranding Canada in a Fearful Age" co-authors Ian McKay and Jamie Swift of Queen's University take the notion several steps further arguing that: "The Harper government is operating very much like a regime mounting and ideological crusade to rebrand the country."  A crusade that Mr. Swift has told the 'National Post' involves the "dismantling" of institutions which interfere with values such as the Puritan work ethic and respect for authority.

Maybe Gerald Caplan is right: "Be very afraid: Stephen Harper is inventing a new Canada" - I don't like it!

STAND ON GUARD FOR THEE

Actor Johnny Depp who stars in an autobiographical film about Hunter S. Thompson, "The Rum Diary" which opens this weekend, says the journalist/author committed suicide in 2005 because of his growing disillusionment over the collapse of the America dream. Depp says Thompson's faith in, and disappointment with, America resulted in a..."bubbling oozing rage especially during the Bush era."

Perhaps a lesson not too late to grasp for moderates growing rageful at the people who attempt to run our lives. - Oh, Canada! A country with a proud history of accommodation, peacekeeping and inclusion, in the grips of the new hawks of the western world who, in the name of their "War on Big Government" justify policies which make no sense, decisions that can't be justified and initiatives only understood by the few who may be privy to a hidden agenda.

Lest I digress: "War" is such a distasteful term that it should NEVER be utilized in the same sentence as government; and most certainly never to justify initiatives against the democratically constituted institutions of a peaceful society. I am disappointed at the orchestrated attacks against our cultural institutions primarily CBC/Radio-Canada, fronted by Sun Media and its parent company Quebecor and I fear, orchestrated within the deepest recesses of the corridors of elected power.

Canada has changed incrementally since the election of January 2006. So it is outrageous that on at least six separate occasions since the election last May of Mr. Harper's first majority Conservative government it's seen fit and appropriate to limit legitimate democratic debate in the House of Commons on important (some critical) matters such as the Omnibus Crime Bill and all of its ramifications, cutting subsidies to political parties, cutting the powers of the Wheat Board and the Gun Registry.

They claim, as the parliamentary weekly newspaper "The Hill Times" reports this week, to be simply cleaning-up the backlash from 5 years of minority stalemate in Parliament so that..."they have an opportunity to hit the reset button and some time in 2012 come with a new Throne Speech that sets (Mr. Harper's) longer-term agenda." May Heaven help us!

"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercise in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."

Canadian - American economist, John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006)

GREED BROKE THE SYSTEM.

Our modern economic system is broken and there's mounting anecdotal evidence to suggest efforts to effect repairs are slowly tearing apart the fabric of our political system. The Arab spring has morphed into a fall of economic turmoil. Just last week Egyptian activist Mohammed Ezzeldin told protesters in New York's "Washington Square" park that he sees a connection between the spreading Occupy Wall Street movement and the spring protests against (former) Egypt President Hosni Mubarak.

"It's time for democracy, not corporatocracy, we're doomed without it" - That's the rallying cry the Canadian based magazine "Adbusters" issued to its subscribers in July in an article asking readers to protest corporate greed by staging an "Occupy Wall Street" demonstration in New York on Saturday, September 17th. They are still there, and they've been (and continue to be) joined by like-minded supporters in hundreds of cities around the developed world.

Welcome to middle-class poverty! Since that mid-September weekend in Manhattan the protest has unleashed a global outcry against the notion that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. In the United-States (primarily) as elsewhere, there is anger and frustration over gargantuan bailouts that lined the pockets of international corporations and which have done little to help individuals and families squeezed between rising expenses, historic job losses, stagnating wages and thinning benefits. 

I wasn't around during the Great Depression but the images of  protesters in Zuccotti Park across from New York's Wall Street, at the dozens of other tent cities in town squares, or most probably later this week on Toronto's Bay Street are hauntingly similar to those of the "dirty thirties".   And, it's not just the issue of image: In the United-States inequality has reached just about the same level as at the end of the 1920's.  The 7,000 American millionaires who paid no income taxes in 2011 excepted; - Everyone has been affected. Just as with the case of the Arab Spring, it's the social media savvy young people faced with bleak economic futures, political grievances and the perils of climate change who are now effecting this demand for change.

Though some politicians have expressed sympathy with the anger towards the role the international banking and investment community has played in this endless financial crisis  paralyzing the world's economies, because there is no firm grasp on solutions; perceptions remain that governments indulge the financial elites. In the absence of tangible evidence of a dramatic shift in thinking, political institutions and economic assumptions; and in the face of (what seems to many) a "big black hole," the legion of protests grows unabated into a second month.

The onset of winter is not very far. Regardless of whether the movement has unleashed the politically creative and productive changes which are clearly needed, the "Occupy Wall Street" protests are a crystalline message that a significant number of people no longer feel they have meaningful representation from those they've elected to political office. Accordingly, they are increasingly prepared to do something about it.

WHAT WOULD JESUS CUT?

It is increasingly apparent as the un-official campaigning for the 2012 run at the Presidency ramps-up in the United States that evangelical Protestantism and extreme fiscal conservatism have somehow become entangled. The front-runner in the current round of Republican Party candidates seeking the party's nomination, the Governor of Texas Rick Perry, has been focussing on politics, prayer and redemption from his one pulpit.

Pundits denounce this brand of  Christianity as focussed on fear, and in Governor Perry's case an abuse of power.  Harsh critics say this most fundamentalist of born-again credo seems so strict that if the alternative to raising taxes involves gutting services such as umemployment benefits in a time of severe joblessness, basic medical care, food stamps or shelter for the homeless - well, so be it!

Perhaps there were elements of truth; certainly an air of surrealism on Monday during the CNN/Tea Party Express debate in Tampa, Florida when the moderator, Wolf Blitzer, asked a hypothetical question about whether a man without health insurance should be provided medical care in the event of an accident - "Are you saying that society ahould just let him die?" Blitzer asked. - Before the candidate could reply several shouts of "yeah!" came from the audience.

Reporting on the Tea-Party sponsored Tampa debate, the Canadian Press  noted: "It was the second Republican debate in less than a week to feature such a show-stopper from the audience. Last week in California, Rick Perry got the most boisterous cheers of the night when he noted proudly that 234 people had been executed in Texas in the 11 years he's been governor."  Tongue set firmly in cheek, a liberal commentor Tweeted: "Given all the applause for death in the last two GOP debates, the Grim Reaper would be a very strong candidate.

The politics of the United States are clearly divided, poisoned and increasingly strident. A discord which doesn't bode well in dealing with the myriad of multiplying issues and problems the country is facing. Mobilizing a nation in prayer, quiet contemplation and reflection  to seek the legislative wisdom to make the right choices and decisions is one thing. - Throwing God into the middle of this poisoned debate is a whole other matter which (I am frankly not sure) even He in His infinite wisdom would approve.

Canada isn't immune to the creepism of extreme-right fundamentalism disguised as evangelical fervour. The divisions and debates south of the border in the name of, and which invoke Jesus and a singular interpretation of The Bible, can easily be imported into our own legislative process. For instance the "National House of Prayers" based in Ottawa claims that it has an on-going..."presence of praying people in the halls of our Federal Government." The group formed about 10 years ago now maintains an "Embassy of Prayer" in Ottawa from which it sends (it says) "intercessors" to attend Question Period, sit-in on sesssions of the Senate, position themselves in Committee meetings and make appointments with individual Parliamentarians.  It's founder, Rob Parker, claims to have received Divine direction to this mission after crying-out to God that Canada had become a "Godless Nation."

The precept of division of State and the worship and practice of religion is fundamental to the healthy process of democracy. Otherwise the danger is in getting the government you've been praying for.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY

A weekend 'Globe and Mail' account of the Government's decision to restore the "Royal" prefix to the Navy and the Air Force describes the move as just one part of Prime Minister Harper's (grand) legacy plan to "create a new frame" for Canada. Patrick Muttart now a Chicago businessman and a former Deputy Chief of Staff to Harper says it's..."the emergence of a new alternative to the established Liberal narrative about Canada."

Much of the 40 (or so) year-old narrative Mr. Muttart describes is in the post 1967 Centennial legacy beget by the Trudeau Government and embraced across both sides of the political spectrum by the Governments of Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney, Jean Chretien and Paul Martin.

Prime Minister Harper is just returned from a week-long mission to boost ties with Latin America. But the biggest failure of the government's efforts to reinforce Canada's place amongst the countries of  the lower Americas has been to imitate the failed United States approach in our relations with the island nation and the people of Cuba.

Since he took over from his brother Fidel, President Raul Castro has been deliberately nudging Cuba towards a freer market economy and slowly allowing more personal liberties. It's not perfect: Repressions, strict limits on speech, and human-right abuses still exist as they do in Columbia where Mr. Harper was last week to proclaim Canada's new Free Trade Accord with the government in Bogota. As they do in Honduras where, in addition to Costa Rica, Mr. Harper spent a couple of days promoting business and trade with Canadians.

This grand scheme in whichever manifestation by the Harper Government to re-frame Canadian history and derive an alternative to the last 40 years of Liberal narrative may risk jeopardizing our long-standing goodwill, economic, and tourism advantages with the people of Cuba. Canada earned Cuban respect and gratitude by being one of just two countries in the western world not to break diplomatic relations following the revolution in the 1960's. Fidel Castro acknowledged this historic bond by attending Pierre Trudeau's state funeral in Montreal on October 3, 2000.

One of a series of "secret" U.S. cables released by the infamous WikiLeaks last spring suggests that the Harper government's diplomatic posturing in central and south America is designed to gain influence and favour with the United-States. But, as the co-author of - "Canada-Cuba Relations: The Other Good Neighbour Policy" (Peter McKenna) points out: "The Canadian government's approach to Cuba is out of sync...all at a time when the Obama presidency is looking to change the tenor of U.S. - Cuba relations."

For example, President Obama in 2009 removed the restrictions on the travel of American Cuban exiles imposed by President George W. Bush that limited Cuban-Americans to one trip home every three years. Now they can go as often as they want to visit family members. An estimated 400,000 took U.S. charter flights to Cuba last year. To digress: (I've posted about this before) - Cuban authorities charge a 25% import duty on each gift brought into the country by the visiting Cuban-Americans. (See: "FELIZ NAVIDAD" Dec. 19, 2010)

It's almost too late to act before the Canadian government's regressive diplomatic policies towards the island nation of Cuba are outstripped by the Obama administration's desire and efforts to tap the enormous trade and economic potential which exists just off the North American coast. In spite of the roughly 900,000 Canadian tourists who visit Cuba each year, Mr. Harper's diplomatic holding pattern has Canada gambling our goodwill and storied relationship with the Cubans.

AGE AND ENLIGHTENMENT

The world's population is aging rapidly. In twenty years, one billion of the earth's inhabitants will be 65 years or older. In 40 years (by 2050), four-hundred million people will be over 80 years old. A new book, "Shock of Gray" by author Ted Fishman argues that we have been poorly prepared for the aging of the world's population, and how it will pit young against old; child against parent; worker against boss; companies against rivals, and nations against nations.

Fishman argues that as the ratio of the old to the young grows ever larger, global aging is reaching a critical stage. For the first time in known history the number of people of age 50 will be greater that those under age 18. He says no one has yet grasped the full massive effects this will have on economies, jobs and families.

I was reminded this week of the divergent effects in a couple of announcements from the Mayor of Ottawa Jim Watson, who incidentally turns 50 years old this week. The Mayor wore a helmet and a white tee-shirt on Sunday as he launched Ontario's first fully segregated bicycle lane along the length of Ottawa's Laurier Avenue. Cycling is an important form of recreation and Ottawa has close to 7000 kilometers of bike lanes, paved-shoulders and multi-use pathways. But only 2% of residents regularly rely on bicycles for commuting to work, which is the main mission of the Laurier Avenue initiative.

In business attire two days later, on Tuesday: Citing increasing mobility problems amongst the aged, Mayor Watson retired the last of Ottawa's "high-floor" buses. The city's one-thousand transit vehicles are now 100% so called "kneeling buses," capable of allowing people with mobility problems to roll-on and roll-off. Mayor Watson claims that is a first for any Canadian city. Therein the divergent problems of our modern urban environment. Cities were designed for the young, and we continue to develop and build infrastructure for that purpose. At the same time and all the while, it is the aging "boomers" who are putting the strain on our modern cities. - People are getting old fast, and we're doing it in communities designed for the sprightly.

The size of the aging boom is quite simply staggering. Every day for the next several decades, thousands of baby boomers will turn 65. That is in addition to the oldest-old, the 85-to-90 something, whose numbers have already grown by one-third in the last decade with no signs of slowing. The "New York Times" recently described the phenomenon as a..."silver tsunami (that) will challenge a youth oriented society." Since demographers have been warning about the phenomenon for years, it is shocking how far behind we are. And when any planning and forethought is given to the problem it's almost always viewed as a health issue - Preparing for the coming wave of Alzheimer's / Or as a political liability - When will the social safety nets collapse under the weight?

Cities and suburbs were designed for younger people, full of stairs, cars and now increasingly (it seems) bike lanes. The problem is that as these become more difficult to navigate older people retreat. As the population growth tilts to the majority of people over 50 years old or more, the challenge will be to keep them from retreating by adapting age friendly solutions to modern planning. It seems that we still have some distance to travel along the path...and not one of us is getting any younger.

H3!

Little by little, step by step, slowly the country is turned. Safely ensconced in a "majority" third mandate in the Canadian Parliament, The Conservatives of Mr. Harper some critics foretell, will lead the country along a corrosive path of divisive political polarization.

In Canada, just as with our neighbours south, what passes for national discourse and debate is a new emerging culture of gladiator politics where nothing less than the annihilation of the opposition by any means is an acceptable outcome. Techniques skillfully used by the minority H1 and H2 Governments to destroy two national party leaders (Dion & Ignatieff) and decimate the Liberal Party of Canada. Lest I digress pundits argue the very same methods honed and tested by Mr. Harper's western based Reform/Alliance supporters in eliminating the Progressive-Conservatives a decade ago.

With a comfortable 166 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons, the Conservatives' long simmering right of centre agenda which includes abolishing the long-gun registry; sweeping reforms to crime and punishment; harsher prosecutions and longer jail terms; and a muscular foreign policy supported by increased militarization will unfold by Parliament's return in the fall.

For the most part those measures formed the base of the Conservative Party platform leading into the May 2nd Federal Election, and they were reiterated by the Governor General in the "Speech From The Throne" a couple or three weeks back. But in a recent and subsequent national convention held here in Ottawa the Party also reaffirmed its position that marriage is "the union of one man and one woman," as well as its opposition to euthanasia. Fringe elements within the party's core of supporters have never been shy about also adding the return of Capital Punishment and ending abortions to that list.

Very recent developments including intervention into, and the threat of forcing striking employees of Canada Post and at Air Canada to go back to work, have set clear precedents for this Federal Government. Particularly alarming for the future of the country's labour relations is Mr. Harper's swift reaction to the walkout of 3,800 service staff employees at Air Canada, a private corporation in a competitive environment. At first glance the government action seems to send an unequivocal message about the nation's collective bargaining process, one which in fact could void, well at least emasculate, elements of the Canada Labour Code.

Alas; conspiracy theorists could be forgiven if they believe the threat of bringing the labour movement to its knees is just one element of a coordinated plan of post election strategies rolling-out as the Parliamentary Session breaks for the summer. The centre-moderate Liberal Party of Canada having now been obliterated, the way is sufficiently cleared to set sight on another bastion of a Parliamentary democracy: The pesky journalists of the Ottawa based national press gallery. Veterans of the country's press corps have been both targeted and alarmed by recent attacks akin to Richard Nixon's rants about the "nattering nabobs of negativism" circa 1972.

Just before the Conservative National Convention in Ottawa held starting on June 10, the Party President John Walsh sent-out a letter to the faithful soliciting funds to fight against what he called..."the hailstorm of negative attacks from the media elite." His letter was subsequently followed-up with an outburst from the podium at the said convention by former Reform/Alliance Leader and past Treasury Board Chair Stockwell Day who blasted the country's media for engaging in personal attacks. Even more recently the Conservative Leader in the Senate, Senator Marjorie LeBreton, blasted the national media for spending too much time criticizing Stephen Harper during the election campaign. Her opinions were published in a national daily newspaper.

Along with the obligatory respect for, and the trust in, those we elect to represent us; our confidence in the elements and institutions of a vibrant healthy democracy are eroding at a steady, methodical and alarming pace. Canada's political culture has been stressed and its discourse is increasingly ignorant,cheap and coarse. That's our fault. And, unless Canadians demand change, "real" political leadership will continue to elude us. Pity!

MY LITTLE TOWN

A report in the morning's newspaper suggests that Canada's multicultural identity may be suffering from the country's perceived "tougher" identity. As with the case of our "peacekeeping" reputation being damaged by involvement in wars in Afghanistan and Libya; it is perhaps an unconceived result of well intentioned government social policy gone awry.

On past occasions I have noted the impact and effects of the War of 1812 on our relationship with the United-States of America with whom we share the North American Continent. Most recently to chide the Federal Department of Heritage for its plan to spend millions of dollars next year to mark the war's 200th anniversary...an unconceived result of which may be to remind our American neighbour of a painful three year period in its own history in which it eventually lost this war. (See: "To The Victor...The Spoils" - May 14/11)

Until the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842, one of the unsettled issues of the War of 1812 was designation of the International Boundary between the northeastern United-States and eastern Canada. It's an area which was rich in navigable waterways; vastly unexplored timber resources of white pine; spruce and poplar; and rich farmland. - Given as I am to digression: The masts on Admiral Nelson's ship at the Battle of Trafalgar were of white pine from New Brunswick; the spars and struts on the famed "Battle of Britain" fighters (Hurricane and Spitfires) of New Brunswick spruce veneer; and the blockbuster Discovery Channel TV series "American Loggers" is shot in the Allegash region of Northern Maine at the head waters of the St. John River which since 1842 has designated the International Border.

Webster-Ashburton's designation of the St. John River (often described as the Rhine of America) split settler's and settlements between two nations. And it spawned a subsequent declaration of the short-lived "Republic of Madawaska;" an armed movement by locals to reunite their colony. - That's where I was born, where I grew-up more than six decades ago. A fiercely proud community of Americans and Canadians; Francophone and Anglophone - A multicultural, international, bilingual community of mutually respectful residents of The Republic.

In fact, New Brunswick is Canada's only officially bilingual (English / French) province. At my birth; my hometown; Edmundston, New Brunswick could boast of a population which was 98% fluently bilingual. Over the ensuing decades, for seemingly logical and expedient reasons, successive governments essentially split the school system into the two language groups and eventually brought-in specialized educators to replace retiring locals. Ultimately the "unconceived results" skewed the delicate balance which made the place special...Sadly at least to those of my generation and the ones who'd come before me.

Facing the harsh financial realities of our times, locals will welcome in 2014 the economic fallout from the World Acadian Congress in the area. As have so many others of us, Acadians have lived and prospered in the area (as elsewhere) since their Great Deportation of 1785. We will be respectful; but WE ARE NOT ACADIAN. I'm saddened if not mildly outraged that economic and politically expedient reasons are once more poised to trump authenticity and revise the history of my ancestors.

"It's not that the colours aren't there
It's just imagination they lack
Everything's the same back
in my little town."

(Paul Simon / 1975)

TO THE VICTOR...THE SPOILS

Though mid twentieth century movies tried to romanticize America's civil war - "Gone With The Wind" (1939) / "Shenandoah" (1965) to name a couple of the more prominent - It comes as little surprise that events this year marking the sesquicentennial of the war between the States have been somewhat muted. So far just a few solemn events in Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia have noted the passing of the 150 years since the United States was ripped apart. It seems Americans are somewhat reluctant to scratch open the scabs over scars which in many respects remain fresh.

Not so here in Canada where before the defeat of the Government in April, Heritage Canada had earmarked a $100-Million budget for next year's events and celebrations marking the bi-centennial of the War of 1812. Fresh from this month's majority re-election in Parliament the Conservatives have indicated they will re-introduce the budget before the end of May; which this time will pass likely unamended.

A recent survey of American citizens commissioned by the Association For Canadian Studies(ACS); a group based in Montreal; has been measuring cross-border attitudes ahead of the government's kick-start of the War of 1812 celebrations. A spokesman for the Association claims the bicentennial will provide a good opportunity to explore the important "interconnectedness" of our histories and how we've evolved together.

It's clear that the Federal Government through Heritage Canada and many various other historical and parks organizations it will fund, wants to attract as many American tourists as possible north of the border to join in this momentous event 200 years in the making. War remembrances tend to emphasize patriotic fervour. Our American cousins and business partners, still smarting from the "draw" of the Korean Conflict; the loss of Vietnam; and their interminable War on Terror in all of its manifestations (Iraq; Afghanistan; Libya; Yemen - take your pick) may be dazed, shocked and confused to learn they LOST the War of 1812.

That's not just a result of America's general decline in educational standards; but it is also because of the nature of the self-centered cultural influence of the mass media of the United States in all of its own manifestations from news organizations; its print and new media; and of course the film and television industry.

Ironically Heritage Canada's plan to shovel-out as much as $100-Million tax dollars to springboard a renewed dialogue with the United-States using the War of 1812 as catalyst arrives in the very breath that our own cultural industry is threatened with potentially massive funding cuts.

Under the pretext of reining-in it's $50-Billion annual deficit Mr. Harper's government indicated last fall that it intends to institute a strategic review of spending in all departments, including the CBC, Telefilm Canada and the Canada Council. And the Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, reiterated just this week that much of his deficit will be reduced by identifying departmental efficiencies. Before this month's Federal Election tensions between the industry's regulator; the CRTC; were already at a fever pitch all time high over "new media" regulations and funding, and the licensing of the right-wing "Sun News" channel to name just a couple of troubling issues.

Despite appearances singing Beatles' tunes during the most recent election campaign; Prime Minister Harper and for the most part the opposition politicians as well; steered clear of Canada's "cultural debate" in sharp contrast with Harper's infamous outburst of the 2008 campaign that ordinary people didn't care much about the rich artists who attend ritzy galas.

If in the upcoming "new" budget deliberations, it's a toss-up between spending $100-Million to promote the defeat of our American friends in the War of 1812 or saving Canada's beloved diverse culture and its supporting industry - I vote for the latter. The Federal Government can take solace in letting our iconic coffee giant "Tim Hortons" do the talking for us down south of the border. At no cost to the Canadian government our "Timmy's" has just recently re-branded itself in the United States as "Tim Hortons Cafe and Bake Shop(s)" and sales in the first 3 months of the year shot-up five percent. That is clearly a culture understood in America.

THE "PRE" POST-MORTEM

One thing seems abundantly obvious on the eve of this 2011 Federal Election. It is that the tactics and practices of "the architect" as he's been affectionately called by George W, Bush, have no place in Canadian politics.

As was observed in publication this weekend; Canadians are neither infantile nor incapable of clear-headed thought; especially when it comes to elections. In this instance (perhaps) we have been fortunate to be side-line observers of the bitter, divisive, bi-partisan, non-compromising political tactics which have hobbled the United-States of America, diminished both its influence and respect around the world, and brought it to the edge of financial collapse.

"The architect," Karl Rove may be credited with a series of successful political campaigns, including those of the former President George W. Bush, across the United States; but his name has also come-up in respect with some political scandals and controversies down in Washington. The aftermath of both successes and failures is plainly obvious to Canadians who, because of our proximity, are exposed every day to news, commentaries and observations from south of the border.

In this most recent of our 4th Federal Election campaign in six year the politics of cynicism borrowed from Mr. Rove's "playbook" appear to have worked sufficiently to wound the Liberal Party beyond short-term recovery. The turbulent 2011 election campaign has been dominated by vacuous talk about coalitions; bickering politicians; and "stable" government designed more to disengage voters than engage them in honest discussion about ideas and visions for our future and the policies to implement them.

But to the embarrassment of just about every pundit, commentator and observer a week ago; when a record shattering 2,056,001 allegedly "disengaged" voters cast ballots in advance polling; they re-energized the election and threw the carefully planned and scripted scenarios of the campaign "war rooms" right into the nearest garbage receptacles. Lest I digress; calling them War Rooms is a major part of the problem. Election campaigns are not "wars" : They are the highest calling of the democratic process.

It seems that tomorrow's voter turn-out and much anticipated election night results may signal an historic shift which, at the very least, is poised to affirm and solidify the supremacy of Parliament and the elected members of the House of Commons, its rules, traditions and the Constitution, over the imperial or presidential aspirations of our party leaders.

A QUESTION OF LEADERSHIP

A couple of provincial political parties have come to grips publicly this weekend with matters of leadership.

Out on the west coast, British Columbia's New Democrats are struggling with a decision whether to shift their traditionally left-wing party into the Centre to challenge head-on the Liberal Government of Premier Christy Clark in the next provincial election. - Or take the party to a more traditional hard(er) left; in a counter effort against the Right of Center burgeoning B.C. Progressive-Conservative party which is being championed by their own former NDP Premier, Bill Vander Zalm, and former Newfoundland P.C. Premier, Brian Peckford.

Whilst in Quebec, Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois picked-up 94% support in a confidence motion at the party's annual conclave. As with British-Columbia, Quebec is gearing-up for a widely anticipated Provincial Election pitting 3-term scandal plagued Liberal Premier Jean Charest (scraping the bottom of the polling barrel) against all comers. Despite her astounding "vote o' confidence;" in Quebec's political backrooms, Mme Marois is disliked and not the PQ's first leadership choice to confront the Charest Liberals. Federal Bloc-Quebecois Leader, the charismatic Gilles Duceppe, is much more likely to lead (and win) the provincial Separatist movement in any upcoming Quebec Election. Duceppe you will recall threw-in his hat against Marois in the PQ's last leadership go-round to replace former Premier Bernard Landry; but in a move never adequately explained, he stepped-out just as fast as he'd stepped-in.

Be that as it may: Beyond Mr. Duceppe's anticipated transfer to the Quebec Provincial scene; the current May 2Nd Federal General Election will define the future political career of all 5 major Canadian Party leaders: From Stephen Harper on down to the Greens' Elizabeth May:

STEPHEN HARPER: Pundits, observers and pollsters share the opinion that Mr. Harper's Conservatives will be re-elected On May 2 once more with a "Minority" of seats in the House of Commons. Though the Conservative Party of Canada is said to be a one-man effort (Harper's), waiting in the wings for the right moment to swing into a leadership challenge is New Brunswick's former Premier Bernard Lord. The charismatic fluently bilingual young politician has been purposely staying-out of the current Federal tilt so as not to taint his own image with the Harper Brand. A 2011 version of a Harper Minority Government; the Prime Minister's 4Th attempt at a majority will sound the death knell of his leadership either with another eventual defeat in Parliament...or more likely with the call of a party leadership convention and Stephen Harper's retirement from active politics.

MICHAEL IGNATIEFF: For the Federal Party dubbed the 20Th Century's "natural governing party," only a win will do. And, as an astute observer noted this week..."that win is squarely on the shoulders of 64 year-old Ignatieff." From Wilfred Laurier; on down through MacKenzie-King, Louis St. Laurent, Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien: Liberals are expected to perform, and the performance criteria is winning elections. And; as even Nobel Laureat Lester B. Pearson learned after being elected in two historic Minority Parliaments, if a House majority doesn't materialize, there is no room at the party helm for that person anymore. Although the (very) young Justin Trudeau has aspirations to, and is clearly being groomed for an eventual leadership bid, party insiders know that he's not yet sufficiently seasoned to take over from Ignatieff when, - barring a "Coalition" of minority Parliamentarians of sorts later this spring, - he does not end-up Prime-Minister, and walks away. At that point; the Liberals may be looking for another short-term leader and Ignatieff's old college roommate and former Ontario NDP Premier Bob Rae may be among the very few choices.

JACK LAYTON: Far less is at stake when you are the perennial third or fourth place finisher. His party aside, polls suggest Mr. Layton is best liked and integrates the leadership qualities Canadians demand. Someone observed in conversation just yesterday that had Layton stepped-on over to the Liberals (as did Bob Rae), he'd most likely be elected Prime Minister on May Second. Except for a limited number of strong New Democrat ridings, Mr. Layton "is" the NDP. One of those growing areas of support is in metropolitan urban Quebec. Based on decades of work by Phil Edmonston, picked-up much more recently by former provincial (Liberal) Cabinet Minister, and current NDP Deputy-Leader and Outremont MP Thomas Mulchair, the party may record significant gains in May taking votes away from both the Liberals and the Conservatives. In light of Mr. Layton's health issues, any significant breakthrough in the large urban ridings of the province of Quebec would bode well for a Mulchair leadership takeover and (perhaps like the NDP in British-Columbia) a significant makeover of the party philosophy.

GILLES DUCEPPE: The charismatic Mr. Duceppe is a consummate politicians and like many previous Quebec based fringe parties with national aspirations; Real Caouette and the "Socreds" for instance; I think he knows that the Quebec destiny (whatever it is) will be shaped at home. It's over for the "Separatist" movement as we've known it for 40 years. The new "Independantistes" are pragmatic and urbane and Mr. Duceppe is itching to be Premier of Quebec. A 21St Century Rene Levesque in white armour ready to tackle both domestic issues and "les anglais" of Canada. In the aftermath of the May 2Nd election (with a secure lifelong Federal Parliamentary pension in hand) he's about to be handed his chance. Despite her overwhelming "vote of confidence" this weekend, the machinations are already well greased in the Provincial Parti Quebecois to secure Duceppe's leadership so that he's poised to slay the pesky Jean Charest before year's end.

ELIZABETH MAY: A week in politics is an eternity. Never mind 3 years! Stephane Dion's cornerstone Liberal Party platform in 2008 was an omnibus "Green Plan." - Sadly, and despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary, in this second decade of the 21St Century, If at all, "The Environment" is an insignificant blip on the political radar screen. Though Mrs. May and the "Greens" polled about one-million votes in 2008, no one was elected. No positive results either at a handful of noteworthy Federal by-elections in the 3 years hence, including one or two attempts by Mrs. May herself. In eliminating Mrs. May from last week's debate, the "Leaders' Television Consortium" was anticipating realistically the Federal vote results. There's just nothing for Mrs. May to hang-on for.

As they say on Election Night: If the trends are maintained; though the standings in the House won't change much: 2011 may be a seminal election which leads to a wholesale shake-up in Canadian party politics. - In Monte Carlo they'd say: "Les jeux sont faits!"

REVENGE OF THE CRADLE

The theory really is not new. Back 80 years ago with the Catholic Church's total dominance over the French speaking province of Quebec, couples were encouraged to grow large families. Lest I digress...a concept not terribly difficult to apply in a province of near perpetual winter; before the advent of television. Six decades ago where I grew up, (near the Quebec border) it was not at all unusual for families of 10-12-15 children.

That emerging population boom eventually conceived Quebec's "Quiet Revolution" which led not only to the language's total domination of the province; but, an officially bilingual Canada, several French speaking Canadian Prime Ministers; and today Quebec's larger than life influence over Canada and Canadian politics.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United-States ensures that every person born in America is a U.S. citizen. In California a first and second generation of Hispanic American citizens, frequently born of illegal immigrant parents, now represent almost a quarter of voters in the state. Their impact became clearly obvious last November when California bucked the national trend in the United-States and elected a left-leaning "Democrat" Governor, Jerry Brown, in a stunning defeat of former eBay executive Meg Whitman that left the Republican party reeling.

As with Quebec's imposing role in Canada's politics; Americans know that their future happens first in California. Just last month the state hit a little noticed milestone that will have implications in politics for years to come. For the first time in California's history Hispanics account for more than half of the students in public schools.

It's widely believed there are at least 12-million illegal immigrants already living in the United States. Obviously the government has urgent and important immigration related issues for its lawmakers to address, including workforce needs, border security and its duty to step-up efforts to stem the inflow of illegal immigrants most particularly along the southern border with Mexico. But; in the now Republican controlled Congress (influenced many say by Tea Party advocates) efforts are well underway to dismantle those very policies which grant automatic citizenship to children who are born in the U.S. to illegal immigrant parents. And; Republican legislators from Pennsylvania, Arizona, Oklahoma, Florida and other states are introducing bills to restrict "state citizenship" - and the issuance of birth certificates - to children with at least one parent who is a permanent resident of the United States.

Canada may be on the verge of yet another Federal election, one where lingering tensions from Quebec's "revenge of the cradle" will again play a significant role; as they have for the past 60 years. The United States are less than two years away from the next Presidential tilt. There are perhaps lessons to be drawn from Canada's experience and the implications of last November's California gubernatorial election. As America grapples with its difficult debate over immigration the discourse should follow President Obama's admonition last month in the wake of the Tucson shootings to talk..."with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds."

The fervour over the liberties and the freedoms we North Americans already enjoy, which is sweeping across many of the Mideast's autocratic dynasties bears powerful testament to one overarching legacy: The two countries we share on this one continent should never abandon the spirit of inclusiveness that has made us the envy of the planet.

FALSE PROPHETS AND THE DECLINE OF DEMOCRACY

The Egyptian effect is reverberating across the Mideast and into the "Maghreb" along the north Mediterranean coast of Africa. Essentially one revolution ended over the past weekend; and another may soon begin in Egypt as elsewhere: Algeria, Jordan, Yemen, the Emirates, Iran...the circulating list seems just about endless.

With the case of Egypt: In our western world it's uncharted territory and a moment that may prove as decisive to the Middle-East as the Suez conflict in the mid-fifties; the 1967 Arab-Israeli war; or the war between Israel and Egypt in 1979. Little wonder then that the President of the United-States has dispatched the American Joint-Chief Chairman, America's senior military advisor Admiral Michael Mullen, to reassure crucial allies, Jordan and Israel. Mullen is scheduled to meet this week with Israeli President Simon Perez, and later with Jordan's new Prime-Minister Marouf Bakhit. Mr. Bakhit himself is being forced to implement political reforms demanded by protesters who forced King Abdullah to shuffle his ruling cabinet.

In addition to the democratic movement which seems to be sweeping the Middle-East, Admiral Mullen's mission is said to be prompted by a blistering private phone call from the Saudi King last week to President Obama accusing the American administration (in no uncertain terms) of literally abandoning its ally of 30 years, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak's ouster; like America's attitude towards the fall of the Shah of Iran (Reza Pahlavi) on February 11, 1979; is a bitter painful reminder in the "holy land" of the unforgotten and far reaching political, economic and social impacts of the "Great Crusades" of the middle-ages. Impacts which have lasted into contemporary times. As with Germany in the two World Wars, and Japan after 1945; It may be the clear nature of "our" western culture to decide; act; move-on; forget about it and forge new relationships. This is not always (perhaps never) the case in the deeply rooted historic relationships within the Middle-Eastern culture.

Of course there is some delicious irony in our North American rejoicing and hoopla on the triumph of democracy over the autocratic rule of the Egyptian President and whichever ones may follow over the coming weeks. As the thousands celebrate in Cairo one can't help but wonder about the state of our own North American democracies which pundits and critics (far better qualified than I) are wondering out loud are in real and serious danger of becoming democracies in name only.

In my home and native land; Canada's ruling Conservative government is accused of giving tax cuts to fat cat corporations and wasting billions on toys for the military and prisons that turn scared kids into hardened criminals. All the while keeping Parliament and the rest of Canadians in the dark about their true plans. South of the 49th parallel, millions of U.S. citizens struggle with unemployment and the declining North American standards of living, while the true levers of power have been but all completely commandeered by the financial and corporate elite. North Americans (we) may be celebrating the triumphs of democracy in Egypt and the Middle-East; but back here: The wealthy and well connected call the tune - And; the politicians dance.

The four great crusades of the "Middle Ages" from 1095 to 1204 may be ancient history. In the past century, as I was reminded a few days ago - From the Great War at Vimy Ridge, through the Suez Canal crisis in 1956 and frequently in between during some of the planet's darkest moments and perhaps a few times thereafter, Canada developed and nurtured a stellar respected engagement for the promotion of peace, and our willingness to engage constructively (including in the Mideast) with peoples who aspire to keep the planet a place without conflict.

Alas! Now relegated to watch from the very back row as the history of the modern world unfolds: My (our) country has been abandoned to play a marginal role without any say, or any more imminent prospects of influencing the events which shape the destiny of human kind.

ONE TIN SOLDIER...

At the eleventh hour; of the eleventh day; of the eleventh month...
WE "WILL REMEMBER" THEM:



In tribute of, and memory to, the millions who have served Canada in war:
The Boer wars - World War I - World War II - Korea - Afghanistan

And in the noblest of our professions, "Peacekeeper" to the world (1956-2010):
Suez - Congo - West New Guinea - Cyprus - Middle East - Syria - Lebanon - Sinai - Namibia - Western Sahara - Croatia - Somalia - Haiti - Rwanda - Bosnia & Herzegovina - Central African Republic - East Timor - Kosovo - Ethiopia & Eritrea - Sudan - Darfur.

May there soon be Peace on earth!

YIN AND YANG IN NEW FRANCE

As with all things in the natural world, contrary forces become frequently interconnected and interdependent. In the concept of yin-yang the complementary opposites often interact within the greater whole.

There is long, sometimes bitter, and much history between France and Canada dating as far back as the 16Th Century with the arrival of the first settlers to the colonies of the new world. More than 500 years later their impact remains in the vibrant North American French language culture firmly anchored in the province of Quebec, and preserved to a degree by the bilingual nature of Canada's national institutions.

Ironically, France's thirty year struggle to solve and come to terms with a terrorist attack on its homeland will reach all the way to Canada's federal capital over the next few days. On Friday, October 3, 1980 a motorcycle bomb blasted a Paris synagogue injuring and killing a total of about 45 people. French authorities believe a Canadian, Hassan Diab, is responsible. Born in Lebanon and educated in Syracuse, New York; Professor Diab taught Sociology at the University of Ottawa until his arrest in 2008. France's demands to extradite Hassan Diad will be adjudicated in a hearing which begins on Monday in an Ottawa court.

From the time of the great wars of the 20Th Century (perhaps before) and certainly through the frequently acerbic, bitter, gut wrenching and sadly occasionally violent struggles of the independence movement in Quebec; relations have sometimes strained between France and Canada. Yin and Yang are often described in the same way: Shadowy places trade with the brightly lit as the sun moves across the sky in the passage of time.

In 1763, the Treaty of Paris ceded all of New France to Britain except for a group of small islands, the Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon about 15 miles off Canada's far eastern coast. The islands are France's only remaining possessions in North America. Now the territory says it survival may depend on much closer cooperation with the Atlantic Provinces, especially with bilingual New Brunswick, in matters of health care, social services and economic development.

It seems as with many other matters about the relationship with France; the territory has often been a thorn in the side of Canadian authorities. In 1992, a maritime boundary dispute over fishing rights had to be settled by binding arbitration. In recent months, France has laid claims to an even larger swath of seabed to gain exploration rights to the energy resources at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Economically, Saint Pierre and Miquelon have suffered dramatically from the collapse of the Cod fishery. It's a far cry from the 13 year economic boom locals still talk about, which was fuelled by the period of "Prohibition" in the United States from 1920 to 1933. That's when the territory was the prominent base for alcohol smuggling through the American northeast from Washington, through New York, Boston and just about everywhere else in between. The issue led to a level of discomfort within the U.S. Administration particularly after Franklin D. Roosevelt became President in 1933. It deepened to lasting distrust in December 1941 when, without the consent of, nor consultation with Canada or the United-States, Free-French forces commanded by Charles de Gaulle took control of the islands and installed a sympathiser as Governor.

Lest I digress: President Roosevelt knew the area well having himself been raised on Campobello Island in the Bay of Fundy off the coast of New Brunswick. Ironically, FDR chose another rum-running haven for his own secret World War II confabs with Winston Churchill a month later in January 1942 at the then notorious "Cap's Place" a beached barge in Hillsboro Inlet, Lighthouse Point, Florida. General de Gaulle was never invited to any of those meetings.

The claim is that time heals most ailments. The centuries long turbulent relationships about the territories of "New France" in all their permutations over the last 500 years may be the exception to the rule.

GOOD; BAD AND HAND ME DOWNS

A story which made the circuit of domestic wire services last weekend caused me to reflect about Canada's shrinking contributions to innovation in technology. The story in question deals with National Defence's desire to buy Presidential helicopter cast-off from the United-States as spare parts for the 14 remaining Search and Rescue 'Cormorant' helicopters.

Our helicopters, bought in 1998 and in-service in 2004, aren't that old. The fleet has however faced a series of problems and currently has a shortage of spare parts. After investing more than $3-Billion on its own fleet of three such helicopters: "Marine One" to ferry the President, the U.S. Administration has cancelled their deal as a cost cutting initiative. That's where Canada wants in: Far too willing we are these days to seemingly accept cast-offs and hand me downs from our allies.

Sixty years ago, In the aftermath of World War II and for decades thereafter Canada was a primary leader in the fields of space technology and aviation development amongst the industrialized nations of the world. Our C-102 passenger jetliner flew in August of 1949, ten years before the Boeing 707. It was built by A.V. Roe Canada of Downsview, Ontario, and that success was followed by the astounding technological advancements of the AVRO Arrow jet fighter capable of sustained Mach 2 flight as early as 1958.

In 1972, Ottawa based Telesat Canada launched Anik A-1, the world's first domestic communications satellite capable of maintaining geostationary orbit. Though Telesat is still the fourth largest space communications company in the world; it is now 64% owned by Loral Space and Communications of Delaware.

Canada's contributions to the U.S. Space Shuttle program, and subsequently to the international orbiting "Space Station," by way of the robotic CanadArm are well known. But; with just two shuttle missions remaining, and no U.S. replacement planned, it seems that we'll be forced to hitchhike with pretty much any one who will have us if Canadians expect to continue contributing to the Space Station for its remaining lifespan until the scheduled phase-out in 2020.

Like his new "Marine One" choppers, President Obama has already killed "Project Constellation," his predecessor's return to the Moon program in advance of a U.S. manned Mars mission. Optimism it seems spring eternal: Late in June Canada's Space Agency called public bids to develop two "Lunar Exploration Light Rover" prototypes to be..."upgradeable for short distance crew transportation for one or potentially two astronauts." Okay! That tender call came just days after the agency gave a $10-Million contract to Space X of California. The company is owned by the founder of E-Bay, Elon Musk, and its cargo space crafts have a roughly $2-Billion contract to re-supply the "Space Station," once the last Shuttle Endeavour mission flies in February. Space X hopes some day to fly humans into space, apparently the Canadian Space Agency is already in the boarding lounge with a $10-Million ticket. I hope that it's "Business Class," the wait could be long.

If we are not already quite there yet; there are good signs and ample evidence that Canada's efforts in space and aviation technologies and development are becoming increasingly marginal. Maybe just as much as has our Military's once storied and iconic "Peace Keeping" role to the world has been marginalized. To say nothing of our status with the United Nations Organization.

NOT ALONE IN "HARPERLAND"?

Tuesday is when the 192 General Assembly members of the United-Nations, gathered in New York, decide whether Canada is worthy of a seventh decade of service by being elected to a term on the exalted 15-member "Security Council".

Leading into this important vote, several observers here and abroad have noted that being elected to the U.N.'s Security Council is..."a prize Canada would have once taken for granted but which is now in some doubt." As a matter of fact the internationally respected news agency Reuters noted this week that in a somewhat uncharacteristic sign of strain within the world organization, our Foreign Affairs Minister, Lawrence Cannon, took time out of a routine speech to foreign ambassadors to blast Liberal Leader, Michael Ignatieff. I guess there's nothing quite like a cheap shot or two about petty internal political matters to gain the votes and confidence of the United Nations.

As I write, Minister Cannon is hosting a reception for U.N. Ambassadors at New York's storied Park Avenue "Colony Club" in a last ditch effort to salvage the embarrassment that Canada's loss in tuesday's Security Council choice would be to our nation's international image and reputation.

Never mind our political squabbles. It seems the nabobs of the United Nations may be otherwise pre-occupied selecting the planet's first "Space Ambassador" charged with the daunting task of greeting Earth's first alien visitors.

Lest I digress: If after a few Molson "Canadian" and a hefty serving of poutines at Minister Cannon's reception extra-terrestrials take-on an uncanny resemblance to Prime-Minister Stephen Harper. - It's purely coincidental!



It seems that we have already been surreptitiously visited by creatures from another world. Now the United Nations Organization is putting measures into place for an "official" greeting should the "others" choose to show themselves.

At meetings last week in Washington six former American military pilots testified that "aliens" have on several occasions starting about 1948, and again in 1967 and 1976..."deactivated British and U.S. nuclear missiles". The airmen want to press governments in the United States and the United Kingdom to recognize that long-standing extra-terrestrial visits are facts.

One of the men, Captain Robert Salas says: "The U.S. Air Force is lying about the national security implications of unidentified aerial objects at nuclear bases and (he) can prove it."

Apparently that is why a Malaysian astrophysicist named Mazlan Othman is set to be tasked by the United Nations with coordinating the planet's response when these extra-terrestrials finally show themselves. Mrs. Othman heads the organization's secretive "Office for Outer-Space Affairs" - or in United Nation's lingo UNOOSA.

Noted British Theoretical Physicist and Cosmologist, Professor Stephen W. Hawking has warned already that alien interlopers should be treated with caution: "The outcome for us would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans".

Jeez and we fret about winning a Security Council seat. Kinda puts rants about Michael Ignatieff into perspective doesn't it?

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

You will know already that I have spent a four day weekend on the federated campus of my Alma mater(s), St. Thomas University and the University of New Brunswick where I studied law.

Noteworthy and to digress just a bit: This week, St. Thomas marks its 100th anniversary as a degree granting institution of higher learning; whilst the University of New Brunswick; Canada's oldest and North America's second oldest university, is in the midst of celebrating its 225th birthday.

Be that as it may, times and (more importantly) the young folk on campus sure have changed in the forty years since I was last there as a student. Besides that they are all very young...well, at least in my eyes. It's noticeably hard nowadays to spot anyone who isn't wearing headphones of some sort, plugged into a personal music player whilst at the same time terribly busy texting on a hand-held device at buzz-lightning speed to Lord knows whom.

Oh well if one pays enough attention, they are frequently texting a contemporary who may just be standing, walking or sitting a few feet away either within eye contact or moderate shouting distance. "Qu'elle famille!"

All of which has me pondering over and about a recent Associated Press story published in several affiliated American newspapers perhaps too appropriately entitled - Are We Raising A Generation Of Nincompoops? - A story which explores the question of whether North America has been raising a generation of dysfunctional young people as the result of kids growing-up with push-button technology in an era when mechanical devices are being replaced by electronics. To wit: Velcro blamed for Second-graders who cannot tie shoes or zip jackets; Five-year olds in strollers. Teens and pre-teens befuddled by can-openers and ice cube trays; college and university students who have never done laundry, taken a bus alone, or addressed an envelope. A generation where the fast-food take-out and drive-through snacks have replaced home cooked meals...



Susan Maushart who is the author of a book coming out this fall entitled: "The Winter of Our Disconnect" cites her own teen daughter's struggle with a can opener..."Most cans come with pull-tops these days. I see her reaching for a can that requires a can opener, and her shoulders slump and she goes for something else."

North Americans have been blessed with so many comforts that kids have it all laid-out for them. In our modern world the absence of technology confuses young people faced with simple mechanical tasks. Raised in a generation where refrigerators have push-button ice-makers they don't know how to get cubes out of a tray, in the same way that growing up with pull-tab cans means you don't understand can openers. Their passivity is all-the-more encouraged by Velcro-sneakers and Pull-Ups underpants. Don't fret kid: You can pee in your pants and we'll take care of you.

Another author, Mark Bauerlein who wrote the book: "The Dumbest Generation" says growing-up with cell phones; I-Pods; and Google means kids don't have to figure things out or solve problems anymore..."They can look-up what they need online or call mom or dad for step-by-step instructions."

Of course some skills are probably no longer very useful such as adding Roman numerals, studying ancient Latin; and looking things-up in a printed encyclopedia and/or thesaurus. Seems to me we are all at least partly to blame for the current generation's incompetence. We've been convinced by modern marketers that without access to the latest gimmicks, gizmos, gadgetry and technologies the kids really will turn-out to be nincompoops. Maybe we have only ourselves to blame.

NOTES FROM AWAY

Lest regulars despair; some brief notes from "a way" as they say here in Canada's Atlantic coast provinces of those born here who've subsequently left for other parts of the world...

THE GREAT ROADS: Into my 7th decade after being born in New Brunswick I marvel at the state of the provincial highway system. A northwest-to-southeast crossing of the province which took frequently more than one day in the 1960's is now done in about 5 hours, on modern high-speed autoroutes. Locals have dubbed it the "drive-through province" as hardly anyone stops anymore to take-in the majestic St. John River Valley and the forests green beyond what the eye can completely take in.

CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP: The President of my Alma mater, St. Thomas University's Dr. Dennis Cochrane, has been seconded to the "transition team" forming the Progressive-Conservative government of Premier David Alward which was elected on Monday. In an earlier post this summer I wrote about Dr. Cochrane after being introduced to him at a social function. A life long Progressive-Conservative, he was the party's leader in New Brunswick in the tumultuous period which followed the departure of the iconic Richard Hatfield. Of Dr. Cochrane at the time it was said - He was just "too nice" to ever be elected Premier. He wasn't. Though I am absolutely sure he'll make a terrific transition chief for New Brunwick's newest Premier.

THE FUN IN FLYING: Once upon a time in the "Golden Age" of aviation, one flew to and from New Brunswick on the country's sole flagship carrier: Trans-Canada Airlines (now Air Canada). I remember flying in and out of Fredericton on Vickers 'Viscount" and "Vanguard" aircraft, the latest innovation in turbo-prop aviation. On thing that has occurred in the ensuing half-century (or more) is that competition grew...flying got worse. Though it flies only to Moncton; this time I chose Canada's upstart short-haul carrier "Porter Airlines" - Dubbed "Flying refined". Somehow, so far, they've managed to recapture some of those earlier expectations and pleasures, including in-terminal passenger lounges, modern aircraft, and smiling on-board personnel. I wish them well as the older carriers deal with the new "little guy" in the sky.

I AM HERE: You may be tempted to ask: You are there, because? Oh aw right! One of my life's single most defining experiences was walking into the studios of Radio UNB, the Fredericton campus radio station as a St. Thomas freshman in September of 1965. Just barely four years old, the very small radio station (the studio was a converted broom closet) was a buzzing enthusiastic entertainment centre as the music of The Beatles, Motown and others erupted on the world's stage in a city that then had just one private radio station, CFNB. It had dominated the "airwaves" since signing-on in 1922. CFNB is gone - But Radio UNB (now CHSR-FM) lives on. This weekend, we mark it's 50th birthday...I just had to be here!

Native Maritimers who are now "from away", never really leave. We just borrow time elsewhere for a while. Canada's east coast is just that way. Amen!

ONE GREAT DISCONNECT

Despite the usual escalating tensions of a fall session in the House of Commons; and almost at the threshold of a fifth year of Minority Government, history is about to mark Prime Minister Stephen Harper's lasting legacy on our centuries' old democratic Parliamentary traditions.

Mr. Harper's first handpicked Governor-General, David Johnston, a Canadian most people have never heard of, will move into Rideau Hall at the end of the week. And, experts expect that early in December, the P.M.'s Conservative Party will claim a majority in Canada's Upper House, The Senate, for only the second time in three-quarters of a century. That's when the Prime-Minister will handpick two representatives to replace Liberal Senators Peter Stollery and Jean Lapointe who are reaching the mandatory age of retirement(75). Never mind that Mr. Harper as leader of the western based Alliance Party campaigned to abolish the institution...and later as Conservative leader, to at least reform the practice of the appointed sinecure: I digress.

All this at the same good time that evidence comes to light in the United-Kingdom that despite The Queen's reputation for frugality; she's been having a rough time making ends meet. Buckingham Palace has even explored using a government program there to subsidize heating costs for low-income Britons to help pay for heating the Royal residences.

The Queen's finances; somewhat like our Senate's as well as The Governor-General's (Her representative in Canada); have been controversial. But, as someone else put rather succinctly late last week - Once you're in the habit of spending the public's money as if it were your own; it's all too easy to forget whose money it really is.

Pending the next two Senate appointments in December; Mr. Harper has so far appointed 33 Senators since being elected in January 2006. Every one well politically connected and most appointed after Mr. Harper's Senate Reform plans appeared stalled after the fall 2008 general election and the Prorogation fiasco which followed. Though unrelated and to digress once more: It's nevertheless worth noting that the Governor-General has to consent to proroguing the House of Commons, and has the option instead of calling on an Opposition / Coalition to form the Government. Is it any wonder that living in the nation's capital city causes such political cynicism?

It now appears this new found Harper legacy consciousness may even extend to the world stage. The Prime-Minister who eschewed attendance at the opening of the United-Nations' General Assembly a year ago, favouring a photo-op at a Tim Horton's instead, has now turned-on the charm offensive to offset the international embarrassment which would be Canada's defeat by Portugal for a seat on the Security Council when that vote takes place October 12th.

Mandarins and officials at External Affairs have been warming the PMO for years that Mr. Harper's lackadaisical attitude towards the U.N. could cost the country one of two seats on the Security Council despite there being only 3 candidates in the running: Germany and Portugal being the other two - Well now, Germany is a shoe-in and Portugal may have the inner track. Canada is a founding member of the United-Nations and has held a two-year appointment to the Security-Council in each ensuing decade since the world organization was founded half-way through the last century...Losing-out to Portugal would be a massive psychological set-back for Canada's diplomatic relations as well as an international embarrassment. If resurrection were possible: Enough perhaps to raise former Prime-Minister Lester B. Pearson from the grave! Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for resolving the Suez Canal imbroglio. He's in company with Mother Teresa ('79); Lech Walesa ('83); Desmond Tutu ('84); The Dalai Lama ('89); Nelson Mandela ('93) and most recently: Barack Obama (2009) - Get the picture??

Selecting a Governor-General; creating a Conservative majority of partisans in our un-elected Senate; losing a rightful place as a founding member of the United-Nations: All worthy at least of an asterisk next to Mr. Harper's name in the history books.