CANADA 140 Years Young

source: www.agoravox.com

Canada has lived through 140 eventful years, but it is still far from being a truly united and successful country. Much remains to be done. Canada, in its current form, is now 140 years old. Like any birthday or anniversary, this gives rise to thoughts about the future, particularly at a time when things seem to be going terribly wrong in the second largest country in the world. The federal government in Ottawa is a conservative one, but has failed to govern in a conservative fashion - hence, no tax cuts for hardworking Canadians, who shoulder one of the biggest tax burdens in the industrialized world. The same is true of the supposedly conservative government in the province of Alberta, which is more concerned with social engineering these days than delivering actual results to Albertans.

Québec has decided to shut up about separation and independence for now; Quebeckers themselves have bigger problems to think about and are quite content with their current position in the confederation. At the same time, though, as a recent poll has found, the new hotbed of separatist sentiment is now found in Alberta and is gathering steam. Canadian soldiers, once known as the peacemakers of the world, are engaged in an ugly war in Afghanistan and losing their lives. Stephen Harper, the conservative prime minister, always trying hard to live up to his role model George Bush, is adamant about Canada’s new military and combat role and refuses to end the mission in Afghanistan. Global warming is making itself felt across Canada. The majority of Canadians are extremely concerned about their and future generations’ well-being, but the federal government does nothing except for a few perfunctory and cosmetic measures.

Canada’s society is becoming more and more splintered - rich versus poor, one ethnic group versus another and all ethnic groups versus Canada. Only 25% of current immigrants are net tax contributors, with the remaining 75% accounting for $18 billion in government spending every single year. Most of them would love to work and pay taxes, but they cannot because the labour market has shut them out by not recognizing foreign credentials and always demanding "Canadian job experience". Canada is also falling behind in education. Illiteracy and functional illiteracy rates are climbing, and the country’s productivity keeps sliding well below that of less developed countries.

Cut those taxes: One of the first things that the next government must do is give actual and effective tax relief to Canadians. Over the last twenty years or so, tens of billions of dollars have been given to corporations by way of tax cuts and credits, but the personal income tax payer cannot get a break. If Canada is to boost its productivity, workers must be given a real incentive to work more productively, which many refuse to do now because they are afraid of being pushed into a higher income tax bracket that would more than eat up their marginal gains. Ottawa recently posted an overall surplus of $29 billion, despite the biggest spending in Canada’s history. In other words, taxpayers have overpaid by at least $29 billion. That money must be returned to taxpayers, or the government has to start using it for much-needed programs, such as universal and open-access post-secondary education. As a country, Canada will always have a Big Government because Canadians believe in social justice and welfare, and such things cost money. But Canada is not a poor country, and with surpluses like the last one, there is no doubt that there can be substantial tax cuts and generous spending — one does not automatically exclude the other.

One country or many?: The last provincial election in Québec showed that Quebeckers are done with trying to achieve independence for now. They may call it "autonomy" now, which to some still sounds like independence, but in essence, Quebeckers are reasonably happy within Canada. But Western Canada, in particular Alberta, is getting restless. Alberta is what drives the Canadian economy. According to US economists, if Alberta were taken out of Canada, the rest of the country would gradually become a third-world country at this rate, especially now that Ontario is headed towards have-not status, according to economic forecasts. Albertans are an extremely proud nation, and they hate being taken advantage of by the rest of the country, whom they consider "eastern varmints", "freeloaders", etc. Clearly, the problem of Ottawa versus provinces must be addressed, and the sooner, the better. Ideally, Canada should give itself a confederal structure, that is, the provincial governments create the federal government, which then answers to the provinces. Such an approach would certainly deal with the eternal infighting that has shaped and dominated Canadian politics for generations.

Alternatively, provinces should be given more rights, while the federal government should be scaled back to the bare minimum. Applying the principle of subsidiarity, all important decisions would be taken at the lowest, grassroots, level — very much like in Switzerland, for example. It would also help if the antiquated and undemocratic “first-past-the-post system” were replaced by proportional representation. Under the current system, federal and provincial governments are elected that do not have the support of a majority of voters. No wonder, then, that this country has been such a mess throughout its entire existence. The third option would be to give the federal government even more powers, thus making it a truly central government for Canada. If Ottawa had such a strong and centralized voice, with provincial governments relegated to mere mouthpieces for Ottawa, there would be more control over the direction of the entire country. Whatever approach is taken, but something must be done and soon.

Canadians do not fight wars: On the international front, Canadians have to make a decision with respect to the role their country should play. Do we want to be a country of peace or one that sends its soldiers to die in foreign theatres of war? In fact, that decision has already been made: most Canadians want to return to a peacekeeping role. Military combat is not what Canada is all about. Canadian troops have no business in Afghanistan — in a peacekeeping or humanitarian function, yes, but not for combat. So far, only NDP leader Jack Layton has seen the light, while the leaders of the other parties want to continue the current mission in Afghanistan at least until 2009. Canada is not a military superpower and never will be. Therefore, it makes sense to focus on what we are good at. Pretending to be someone that we are not (i.e., America) is extremely silly and immature and comes at the cost of precious young lives.

The times, they are a-changing: Not only the times, but the climate too, not to mention the constant damage that is being inflicted on our environment. The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated and agreed on for a good reason. Unfortunately, the previous Liberal government failed to do anything about it, which is why Stephen Harper probably thought it did not matter if he continued the Liberal do-nothing policy. But, boy, was he ever wrong. Canadians have very strong opinions about climate change, and they want their country to finally comply with Kyoto. They understand that implementation will come with some degree of economic hardship, but they are willing to accept that - even in Alberta, Canada’s "Texas", there is overwhelming support for a carbon tax and other measures necessary to contain the effects of global warming and the production of greenhouse gases. However, neither Alberta’s provincial government nor Ottawa is listening to what voters want. The next federal election will be interesting, if for no other reason than to see how the various parties will try to compete with each other on the environment portfolio. Given public opinion today, it is safe to assume that the next election will be won or lost on the issues related to Kyoto and the environment.

Integrate first before adding more: Immigration in Canada has become a real mess - for immigrants and for long-time Canadians. Most immigrants are left to collect government support, even though some of them are highly qualified. But various professions and their associations have made it next to impossible for immigrants to have their foreign credentials recognized in Canada. So, they end up in minimum-wage jobs or on the dole. Allowing wave after wave of immigrants to enter the country is not healthy either. Every year, Canada accepts 250,000 newcomers, and Stephen Harper has said he would like to raise the number to 300,000. Think of it as a computer system: first, the machine and operating system are installed. Then, everything is checked and double-checked again to see that everything is working as it should. It is only then that software and additional programs are installed. When it comes to immigration, though, Canada uploads 250,000 programs every year on top of the previous year’s uploads, without having achieved any system stability yet, which is why the whole system has crashed. It would therefore be better if the number of newcomers were at least halved for the next year or two in order to give those already here a chance to catch up and integrate. Canada’s population at over 30 million is quite sufficient right now. Some areas, especially Alberta, may complain of a labour shortage, but the fact is that Canada has all the human resources it needs. What it lacks is the willingness to put them all to work (e.g., by recognizing foreign credentials). If done properly, and if immigration is reduced for a few years, Canadian taxpayers could save up to $18 billion a year. Norway, for example, which is quite similar to Alberta, has reduced its immigration to zero and is a true success story as a result (Norway also offers free and open post-secondary education).

Education, at all levels, is a human right: Education is a human right, and no one should be expected to pay for it, and that includes all types of vocational training and post-secondary education. Canada has the resources necessary to provide a universal, free and open-access post-secondary education, but elitist thinking, unfortunately, still prevails. Primary and secondary schools must also be improved because Canadians are becoming increasingly illiterate according to international studies (one factor here also includes immigrants who refuse to learn English and integrate). Just as the environment will be the next big election issue, education cannot be ignored either. Canada could become a real superpower and powerhouse of highly educated people if we opened up schools, colleges and universities to everyone. Other, less fortunate countries have done so. If there is one area that does require government spending, it is education. If everyone could learn or study whatever he or she wanted, if every possible career option were opened up to all people, there would be no need for welfare. Give everyone the means to help themselves — pay for their education to the highest level, and you will never have to worry about them again. This could actually become the real Canadian dream: be whatever you want. With labour market requirements shifting all the time, such an open and universal system would also allow Canadians to upgrade their education and learn new things so as to facilitate the transition from one career to the next. Immigrants, too, could benefit from it by returning to school, free of charge, to obtain a Canadian credential.

The last 140 years have seen Canada emerge, grow and muddle through as best as possible under the circumstances. Maybe, with the right political leaders, and the necessary popular will, Canada can finally be turned into a functional and truly wonderful country.