The State of our Union

I’m a sucker for drama. I love it; love the intrique, the storylines, the passion, the risks. Throw in some humor and you have the ideal screenplay for my Friday night! It’s no wonder then that drama is what has attracted me to the profession I’m in – So many personalities, priorities and problems to go around that drama really is bound to follow and everybody has an opinion and much to the chagrin of our democracy, we have to listen to them.  

Keeping this in mind, watching the State of the Union last night was my version of the Oscars. I don’t know all the actors, but I know the biggie’s, I enjoy hearing their responses and torts and the partisan interaction. I also kinda like seeing the outfits.

Over and over again, Obama blows me away with his speeches. I’m not even American and I get emotional! I like the priorities they’ve set out and the pragmatic manner in which they’re hoping to solve their obstacles (or so he says). Of course, reactions follow and debate errupts all over the networks, but its dialogue. I also like that the event has given the American people a chance to once again understand their leader, what their values are and where they see themselves in the future.

I know that I cannot say the same about Canada.

Is there consensus in Canada about what our challenges are? Do we have unified national values? Do we have a common vision for what the future of this country will look like? It annoys me that important issues arise in the public domain because the media covers them, not a top-down approach that sees executive leadership explain the state of our federation and attempts to move it forward. Instead, we have a protracted view of the political system that sees much power delegated to the provinces, where debate over central issues is not widely discussed or analysed, and as a result, ignorance results.

Politics is not an easy game and its riddled with tactics, timing and Oh the drama! but it has to be open and transparant to the electorate otherwise we compromise the system. Squashing funding for research and development in numerous sectors may balance the books, but it doesn’t make us stronger, it just makes us rich idiots. Neglecting to collect census data makes our programming based on nothing more than campaign contributions and who our leadership likes in government.  What are we doing and what are we striving for?! A Statement of Our Union would help. So would active debate. After all, Knowledge is power and the Canadian people deserve not to be left in the dark.

Importance of Relativity

Success! I’ve finally found employment!!! Wooooo0! I’m very excited and as a result, have rewarded myself with doing absolutely nothing! Well,  that’s not exactly true though either, because here I am blogging away – perhaps I’ll slow down later….anyways, what a great time to stop and let the heat of the sunshine drain out all your energy! Thankfully for me, 8 months in the tropics have adjusted my internal temperature so that this is wonderful Don’t get me wrong, I still feel how heavy the air is and yes, it’s hot, but I think I’m coping much better than others. I’ve always  loved the heat though. Remember a few years ago when Europe was suffering from heat waves and people died because of it? That was when I escaped the chill of Ireland to backpack around Spain – most Spaniards, however, had chosen the cool coasts of Barcelona, and there I was – the dumb tourist wandering around the deserted streets of  Madrid at 40 C degree heat at 7pm. Live and learn, or in my case, sweat! And at the end of my trip, back to my studies in Montreal, with arguably the coldest winters in Canada.

Point of the story? People adapt, everything is relative. The other day, we saw South Asians in full out cricket gear playing the under the afternoon sun. This heat must be nothing for South Asians, but for a place that is known for its snow fall, it is out of the ordinary. And so, hot topic of the day is, ironically the heat! And not just in Canada, but in the US as well.

The other day, the national news broadcasted a piece on the suffering of farmers who, with shortages of fresh water, were facing an ailing crop and having to sell cattle before their prime. While droughts are indeed awful, I reminded myself that 1) This is the US and 2) Farmers are not just farmers, but businessmen who control farms the size of small towns and who control the price of corn, much like the way that OPEC controls the price of oil. Silos are stocked to the brim full of supplies in order to control the price, instead of its former use to be dipped in to when supplies were low.  Knowing this, I was disgusted with the news piece to have neglected that point.

I’d like to think that people are good  people and  care about others when a crop dies or business is bad, especially in this economy. I suspect that’s why this news piece aired in the first place – to pull on the heart strings of the average Joe and to highlight the out of the ordinary heat waves.  But believing that Joe is inevitably good, he is not always educated to know that farming has joined the ranks with the rest of corporate America and so will pull up his socks, stop complaining and get back to work. What I find even more disheartening is that this made national news, but the droughts that the rest of the world experiences rarely makes the headlines.

I typed in ‘Somalia Droughts Heat’ in to the google search bar and the first news source, behind research studies, weather reports and alarms was a piece posted by ABC 5 days ago title, “Somalia Drought ‘One of the Largest Humanitarian Crises in Decades.’  Further on down the page, I found the CBC had declared, ‘Somalia drought aid hindered by armed groups.’ This to me, was more a more news worthy subject than farmers in the US.

Admittedly, my knowledge of Somalia and its history is little and I’m very humbled by an Eritrean friend who attempted the topic in her PhD thesis because it’s incredibly complicated and starts dozens of years ago. What I do know is that Somalia hasn’t really had a formal government for 20-30 years and are divided by half that wants independence. More North Americans are more likely to recognize the ‘We are the World’ song in the 80′s that brought Bono, Boy George and many other artists together to raise money for the droughts Somalia was suffering from then. Oddly enough, a remake is in the works!

Mobilizing international food aid is not as easy as it looks – think the forms, red tape and bureaucracy that you have to suffer through when renewing your license and then multiply it by 1000 and throw in a few more countries and disgruntled farmers’ unions that don’t like to part with their stocks. Furthermore, with no formal government, getting food and supplies to people that need them becomes very dangerous and difficult. How to reach the most vulnerable? is likely what is on the minds of most international relief agencies.

As a result, people leave and leave en masse; traveling by (mostly) on foot to neighbouring Ethiopia or Kenya where refugee camps provide an alternative to the already cramped streets of Nairobi or Addis Ababa. Knowing how precarious living standards and conditions can be in a refugee camp, my sympathies are with them. During my grad studies, I was fascinated by environmental changes and what it meant for societies and had written a paper on Environmental Refugees, much like the ones escaping Somalia, only to discover that International Law had yet to include them; to be a refugee, according to the Refugee Convention, doesn’t include the escape of environmental degradation and therefore claimants cannot obtain asylum status or rights in their new country. As a Canadian, I’ll never have to experience this and few Canadians even think of it, but really, what do you do when there is no food or water in your homeland (and therefore no jobs) and  have to migrate to a land that won’t allow you to stay or give you any rights?

Knowing the reality of many Somalis and East Africans, makes me think how stupid we are to complain about the heat, when water is in abundance and air conditioners blazing. Agreed, the plight of farmers is an obstacle, but really it’s a small obstacle that will likely vanish in a couple weeks or when stocks are let out and the weather changes. Is it something that we really need to focus our energy on, complain about or generate sympathy? It’s all relative, I suppose.

 

Lessons Learned

Mornings have never been a easy for me. I always dreaded the inevitable sound my alarm would make and wake me out of a blissful sleep. Even worse were those early winter mornings when the alarm sounded before the sun rose and subsequently showers often ended 30 min longer than they should have simply because the heat of the shower and lack of sunlight led my ever-too-sleepy self to fall back in to dream world while leaning against the shower door.

This habit, however, was successfully put to rest while living in the Caribbean. In fact, mornings become my favorite part of the day! Just before the dogs start barking, before the gardeners come out, I  lay in bed and listen to my fan blow cool air over my bed and around my room and realize just how lazy a person can be.  I had once thought it impossible to be able to work in a hot climate because of the countless distractions there were from prohibiting work getting done. So now, I got to test it!

My first few weeks were hectic – finding the house, starting work, getting stuff for the house, meeting new friends – and the heat was truly unbearable, like trying to swallow a  brick wall, and incidentally made me lazier and more tired. From about April to September, the islands are less tropical and more a hot and dry desert which makes fruit trees barren and vegetable patches bare. Thankfully, there was ice cream

My favourite part about my job was being able to understand and contribute to each and every program and track its progress. Granted statistics have never really been my thing, so I had been a little nervous when numbers suddenly appeared on the job. Slowly, though, I realized just how significant they can be in judging how a program is going and whether or not results are to be achieved.  So I approached data and tables cautiously and, with the help of an amazing mentor,  even began to develop my own! I learned how to develop indicators that were meant to track progress. I learned how to develop charts and analyze results (I knew Excel was good for something!). Ironically, reading data and understanding it was never a problem – perhaps my fear was all in my head?

Now, I can’t understand why I was ever nervous in the first place and more than anything, I understand the need for Research – both qualitative (i.e interviews, focus groups, observations) and quantitative (ie. surveys, case studies, correlational study) and why research inquiry should be done BEFORE decisions are made, both at the project level and the policy level. For instance, why should we implement a project when the root causes aren’t being addressed?

A really interesting case stuck with me throughout my time at UNICEF and was so exemplary of the importance of research; An HIV/AIDS campaign directed at adolescents had been running for some time, trying to raise the awareness of the disease, how to protect yourself and where to get tested. Simple enough, right? Before the next round of funding could be applied, it was time to conduct an Evaluation / Impact study to examine just how effective the campaign was – were infection rates dropping? were more people being tested? The study revealed the success of the awareness campaign – there was ample knowledge about what the disease was, symptoms and how to protect yourself. The study also showed that despite this knowledge, specifically girls were refusing to ‘say no’ or protect themselves. My reaction = huh?!?!?!?! A giant stigma is attached to HIV/AIDS throughout the Caribbean and this study exemplified that.  The point, which became so clear to me, was that the direction of the project should then shift from an awareness campaign to one that promoted self empowerment and respect.  Without the research, the project would have been addressing something that was entirely unnecessary – think of all the effort and funding that would have been wasted!

Now that I’m back in Canada, I’m trying to apply my knowledge, both from working with women & children’s issues and working in Monitoring & Evaluation, to another initiative, just as meaningful and just as rewarding as the last. It’s going to be tough to top a Caribbean island, but I’m certain there are loads of places that could use help in their project implementation and an oversight mechanism to ensure that research was being used and getting out to the right people.

I was recently discussing this disconnect between research and project implementation and policy with my local MPP, who completely agreed with me and referenced a recent example where the Ontario Ministry of Education has just unveiled a program to help graduating high school students with their applications to university and for OSAP…. Full Stop…Taking a minute to let this concept sink in, my first thought was “Well, if they can’t fill out the forms, how well are they going to do at University?” Was research actually done suggested that this was the best use of taxpayer funds?

Universities are by far the best and well-known centres where knowledge is generated and where anyone can go and obtain information about a  given topic, and if it’s not there, at least they might be able to tell you where to go.  In my ignorance, I expected a team or division to be housed deep within the registrar’s office of every university, working to do just that – bring research and studies to the public; make sure results are shared and findings revealed to those that could benefit.  Sadly, I learned differently when I attended a Knowledge Mobilization Expo for York Region a few weeks ago and was shocked to hear that University’s were just now developing ways to get their research out to members of the community, city and nation.  How disappointed I was (and a little embarrassed) to have assumed that this process had been long in existance – not only that, but also that this phenomenon is still in its infant stages and only a couple of universities in Canada are doing it (!) Tell me again, what’s the point of doing research if it can’t be disseminated to those that can most benefit from it?

Despite having had lunches on the beach, soaked in thermal springs and learned to play the steel pan, there was ample opportunity for professional development and I learned a great deal from my posting. My views on social change and how it can be achieved has certainly been influenced and I hope that I’ll soon be able to apply knowledge to practice while in Canada.

A Movement in the Making

I kayaked with a beluga whale! I saw a beaver in the wild! I climbed a sand dune! I could not have said that until a few weeks ago and the exhilaration of it spilled over to my blog – see posted about a week ago. I was truly awestruck and still am marveling that this was indeed my country – really, came at me from out of the blue. If anything, it’s made me even more eco-conscious and a great advocate for eco-travel and conservation.

Ironically, just as the thrill for the natural world subsides, my mood falls in to an abyss as word of wildlife destruction in the Gulf Coast starts to permeate the headlines. Not just any wildlife, but the whales that I had so fondly become accustomed to. Shockingly, these massive animals that fear none have found their match in deadly oil that slowly is killing everything it touches.  What an awful thought! I’m not surprised then that the tourism industry would be affected, not only on the Gulf Coast, but also in Canada where oil exploration continues throughout northern Alberta.

Prospecting for oil is big business, which regardless of good intentions and taking the necessary precautions, is driven by consumerism and is done at the expense of another reliable industry. Opting for greater investment in green technology and alternative energies just might save tourism, or save just about every other business out there. Business are waking up to the realities that consumers do not want to support products that are damaging to the environment, cause wildlife extinction or cause air qualities to deteriorate and alas, the CSR executives, Green PR Consultants and Tech junkies are finding more and more areas for work.

Most of the world is waking up to this reality and Canadian industry is well poised to lead the way. Bombardier was just awarded to created energy savings high speed trains for Chinese expansion (think China’s version of the TGV), but Canada’s National VIA Rail hasn’t yet upgraded. Is it that our politicians and CEO’s are simply too old to adjust in their ways of thinking? It seems counter productive to support oil exploration in the name of business development when it destroys others, while at the same time destroying our quality of life through the air we breathe, the water we drink, the animals we enjoy…the list goes on.

The contradictions are astounding and in searching out solutions and sharing ideas, I’ve recently started to blog on another site : http://www.greeniters.com where I hope to continue to share my thoughts and also learn something new along the way about all things Green. Feel free to visit!

Memoires de la Belle Province

There are no words to describe the wonders that a good holiday can do to the psyche! I’ve just come back from a few days away and could not be more refreshed! Sunshine and salt water air did a world of good and I’m ready for anything the world throws  at me – well, maybe. I didn’t go far, I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, but was surrounded by good friends, good laughs and good food! I went to Montreal (so many memories!), then on to Quebec City, and then further on to the Saguenay region along the St. Lawrence river.

I can’t believe I’d never experienced this region before – absolutely breathtaking! Just outside of Quebec City, the roads turn hilly – maybe more than hilly, more  like moutain-esque – and our tank of a rental car made for interesting driving! Nature was beautiful, nothing but the green of the trees and the glare of the water to keep our attention on the way. Then as the highway nears the river, little towns dot the sea banks, tourists emerge from the hiking trails and stalls with fresh produce taunt the hungry driver.

The lure of the area is for the sea, the boats, the fresh fruits de mer and …. les baleines! This part of the river is unique for its buffet of underwater treats, attracting underwater creatures of all types, including whales! So beautiful and amazing to see from the coast and even more breathtaking to kayak with the whales! Our first attempt was delayed because of wind and cold, but the following morning at 5am (it takes something special to get me out of bed at that time!) off we went to suit up and get in the water and within 10 minutes, a beluga came our way and swam in between us and  under us and gave us a  little wink Unbelievable and so relaxing to sit in the boat, watch the sunrise on the water with whales  swimming below.

Our trip focused on the outdoors and all it has to offer. What an Adventure! Not for the weak at heart or bad shoe-ed as hiking, bike riding, rock jumping, sand/stair climbing and kayaking were major staples of the trip, and then was proceeded by scrapes, bruises, cuts, heavy breathing and a trip to the doctor :s  Despite the setbacks, it was worth it and my muscles are thankful in the long-run. The wildlife we saw – the belugas, the birds, the beaver – and the views from just about everywhere are unforgettable.

For the most part, traveling was easy. Driver’s and speed limits weren’t nearly as dangerous as in Montreal or Ontario, and finding a place to stay took just a few phone calls – during the summer, many houses turn in to Gites (B&B’s) where traveler’s get a good taste of local culture and cozy atmospheres that only Grandma’s know how to provide. French is widely spoken and my skills were sharpened to the Quebecois accent, though like most foreign places, hand signals and smatterings of English will always helpful.

On our way back, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad that our trip was coming to a close. I’m very nostalgic for the province which always has something new to offer and has captivated my heart for years and saying good bye to out-of-town friends is never easy. Every place I go that I’d like to return to, I always leave something behind that I haven’t done or seen for the next time, promising to return some day. Although I’ve been to Montreal and Quebec as a province more times than I can count, it never seems that I can get to the end of the list of new things to do and see. Can’t wait to starting planning the next one!

The Migrating Melting Pot

For many a New World-er, questions about heritage, history and origin are enormously important, perhaps more so in any other part of the world, because in a sea of multi-cultural and multi-nationals, knowing who you are and where you came from keeps you grounded. Some may even say that old-world mentalities and traditions hold true more strongly in North America than in the home country because it’s so easy to forget. In Canada, the melting pot is truly unique and one of the only places in the world where being an outsider is normal. True that communities with common heritage and backgrounds form, after all we all gravitate to what is familiar and comfortable, but in Canada such communities are never exclusive and learning from each other is part of the fun.

Being a history guru, I’m always fascinated about how people come together, govern together and form communities and nations of people that have shaped our world today. Globalization truly began when explorers began discovering each other and what each other had to offer – find a new trading route, find a new land, find a new culture and voila! we are no longer isolated!

We’ve been experiencing globalization for so long, so why should only a handful of nations boast about their mulit-national/cultural character? Why are small migrant communities still out of the ordinary? Today, I surprisingly read about Irish descendants  in Jamaica, Jewish migrants in Haiti, and  Lebanese migrants in West Africa – who knew? It shouldn’t be surprising, but it is. Economic prospects, family ties and historical circumstances are all push factors, but for some reason it was stronger for some than others. If that’s so, I’m curious how much of an impact the migrant communities made on their new societies, did they integrate well? Did they contribute to growth or stagnation? How did they contribute to their national makeup today? If migration trends had continued, could they have experienced the same sort of melting pot that is so characteristic of Canada today?

Looking to the past doesn’t hold all the answers. Much like our heritage, it can provide understanding and build tolerance which influences the way our future will unfold. Melting pots are tough to achieve, but with an open mind, it’s possible.

A Penny a Day…

As tax season comes to a close and accountants climb back in to their hiding places, the mood is either exuberant (“Yay, I can go on vacation! ) or dismal (“oh no, where do I cut back?). Unfortunately for the most of us, it is the latter. Nobody likes to do taxes – it’s not pleasant – but it’s one of life’s small things that are sometimes necessary, like a trip to the dentist, which will hopefully lead to a better quality of life – better health care, better roads, efficient civil service – all those nice things that make Canadian spaces some of the nicest ones  in the world. If it’s for those reasons, then my disdain for the taxman lessens a little bit as it disappears out of sight for another year. However, it’s when money – my hard earned money – that gets spent on ridiculous things that could have been spotted at Wal-Mart of half the cost or done more efficiently by my 12 yr old neighbour.  I’m not in the marketing business or know the most efficient plans for production, but I know how to balance my budget and I don’t think I can say the same for our government.

We’re all going through rough times and cutting back is necessary – finding money that otherwise wasn’t there. That’s why I’m wondering why exactly Ontario and Alberta’s GST & PST will be combined in to the new HST? It costs a lot to change something like that – money, man power and, well, more money. It claims to be the same percentage, in a different package, but it smells more like a marketing a markup. Last night’s CTV news delicately put it that haircuts, alcohol and construction supplies will be marked up after June 1st.

And so, we must look elsewhere – and yes, it’s come to this – to our own Members of Parliament. Ironic isn’t it, that the government yields the ability to look at everyone else finances, but we rarely get to look at theirs? And it’s looking like we won’t get that chance as the MP’s are refusing to let the Attorney General take a peek. Why would they do that other than to hide the elaborate escapades and bloated bank accounts? If you were really working for the people you represent and want to share in their burden, you’d at least allow the pro’s to take a peek and make suggestions about where to cut back, wouldn’t you?

Finding money is tough! Despite being reprimanded by the US, the UN and the EU, Canada is persevering and will find that money if it’s the last thing they do! Unfortunately it comes in the form of oil and in collaboration with China – I’m not so sure if this is the type of business that we want, from environmentally compromising to politically damaging, it doesn’t look good. Shouldn’t we learn from the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico?

In the meantime, it may be true that unemployment rates are slowly shrinking, but not in the way that most of us hope – favoring the low skilled and leaving the managers, executives and highly educated out in the cold. This is not wise, as they are the ones that might have been able to bring in more revenue and therefore more tax opportunities for the province and country. And attracting that type of business is daunting, though not as tough as you might think. Canada’s a great place to do business – close enough to the US border that trade with it is accessible; the dollar is nearly on par; the market has just as much spending power as what Americans do, if not more; and the quality of life and attractiveness of our cities would make any new exec be pleased. Of course, business varies from sector to sector, but in a nutshell – all we’d need to do is create tax incentives for development and support growth opportunities.

Canada is not the US and it never will  be, so finding money and cutting back will always be a challenge. Canadians aren’t dumb either, we know how great our country is and so we don’t let the cost our our taxes deter us from loving it. Our government, however, is a different story; unaccountable MP’s; investment to destroy the environment and lack of work for trained professionals. I love Canada, but the recent ways that we’ve been tackling our economic woes isn’t the way to make Canada better.

Choosing a Democracy

I’ve never been in Canada during an election, but for the last one I wanted to be sure that I was a part of it. So I stopped by the embassy, picked up a ballot and made sure that it was delivered on time. It felt good to be a part of the process. My electing party didn’t win, but it was satisfying nonetheless and it’s that sentiment that I think Canadians often forget or take for granted. It’s the best indicator we have of good governance and provides a little sneak peak into what’s to come. So when I read of the tension surrounding previous and upcoming elections, I’m thankful that the tension surrounding Canada’s last election was hushed to a disgruntled murmur post-election that complained of wasted money and time after the election did absolutely nothing in changing the makeup of our democracy.

Thailand today is declaring a state of emergency in Bangkok after protester’s stormed the parliament, angry of a corrupt government who obtained power illegally. “The Red Shirt movement — known formally as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship — contends Mr. Abhisit came to power illegitimately in the years after ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was removed in a 2006 coup on corruption allegations. The group is made up largely of Thaksin supporters and pro-democracy activists who opposed the putsch.”

Meanwhile, an election is especially significant and perhaps more so in Sudan where ethnic differences and memories of Darfur haunt the election campaign. The National Electoral Commission seems assured that the election will be held on time and as fair as possible. The ruling parties, though, disagree. The major rival to Sudanese President Bashir’s ruling (yep – that’s the one that was indited for crimes against humanity by the Hague) has pulled out of the race because “the poll in Darfur is being rigged in favour of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP). Supporters of other parties, he says, are being disenfranchised through difficulties in registering and having to walk long distances to reach a polling booth.” Yasser Arman, of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), goes on to “[accuse] the NCP of using the state’s resources in its campaign, of exploiting the state of emergency in Darfur to give the NCP and Mr Bashir an unfair electoral advantage. Mr Arman claims that his party and others contesting the elections are not allowed to venture out of the three major cities of Darfur, Neale, Geneina and al-Fasher.” If this is the case, perhaps it is better that he pull out of the elections – no sense in running them if they’re doomed to be fraudulent anyways – but if they don’t happen now, will they ever?

On Thursday, legislative elections in Sri Lanka could not only reinforce his coalition party, but also welcome the rest of his family in to the political sphere, which includes his 23-yr old son and 3 brothers. I’m not sure how I feel about this – it doesn’t sound right and highly doubtful that all members of The Rajapaksas would merit a spot in government. As the BBC wonders, I’d also like to know how the varying communities are represented and if the first family is legitimate.

I could  go on and on and on; elections in Afghanistan were suspected to have been ridden with holes, the Iraqi elections have given way to coalition building, Egyptian courts have just released opposition party members on bail. So many issues surrounding the conduct and results of elections and I’m not sure if this is what the founding fathers of democratic theory had in mind? It was all so cut and dry back then, wasn’t it? Didn’t exactly give us a guidebook to instruct us how to put dictator here and put corruption and violence there. Britain’s upcoming election, hopefully, will set a standard and show ‘em how it’s done! Otherwise, it’s back to the drawing board of leadership and hope that whatever we come up with will have a more lasting affect on the state of our democracies.

Baby Steps on the Road to the G8

The G8 is coming, the G8 is coming! Roll down the windows and roll out the policy debate! As early as January when the PM made an appearance at Davos, he un-characteristically unveiled a novel idea that suggested looking to the future and the challenges that lay before the G8 and not simply dwell on the issues of meetings past. And so he set the course to rally behind maternal and children’s health issues – and what a cause to support! One would have thought the PM was taking his leadership role seriously and setting in place an initiative that would reverberate throughout the most influential countries in the world. Little did we know of the plans that the PM was laying in store for the government’s policy, to be fretted over and debated until its unveiling closer to the G8 meetings, avoiding what may have been a backlash from Canadian constituents. And then along came Haiti, and then Chile and all the efforts that Canada laid out to help those in need and a policy in its infant stages rushed to its maturity only to be unveiled by a disorganized and disgruntled government that clearly had no idea of what the other was intending. Or so is what I’m reading this morning - it would appear that the Conservatives are finding it a little difficult to step outside of the box, try on a new policy and run with it. Instead, the ‘maternal and children’s health issues’ that Canada was hoping to address on a wider scale didn’t actually address one of the major issues of the 21st century – contraception – at least not until the PM was hounded by aid agencies, NGOs, journalists and even a UN official citing the importance of contraception for maternal health. The Foreign Minister and the Minister of Int’l Cooperation both were ignorant of the PM’s plans and instead issued statements stating the contrary. So now, the PM is supporting contraception, leaving his Minister’s in the dark, but also condemned strongly abortion.Meh, good enough for now I suppose.

I can understand the difficulties in stepping outside of the box and erring on the side of liberalism (and the better they are for it!) but what I don’t understand is how a policy’s direction could so clearly have been misunderstood by the Minister’s most affected by the policy itself. Is the PM just playing with fire, baby steps here, see what happens, baby steps back? No one likes a PM with no backbone, especially is Cabinet. Recognizing the challenges of a minority government and holding on to the fragile balance of power, political uncertainly is bound to follow, yet the PM’s been at this for quite a while. At this point in his tenure, it would be worthwhile to grow a backbone, show the G8 that it’s PM knows what it wants to achieve and how it’s going to get there. If it doesn’t work out, then it was never going to anyway and if it does that at least you have something to show history you’ve achieved.

What do Polls Really Say?

I went for a job interview once at a polling company that constructed polls and analysed the data. I thought it could be interesting, especially when the content was dealing with something interesting. Turned out, it wasn’t. But it did highlight the significance of polls in today’s world; be it for the leading marketer of canned soups, the political party in the lead or or the quality of living of global cities – this one was interesting to read in the 2009 Mercer’s Report, released last April and it really made me wonder what the criteria is to be ranked on the list because apparently Vienna came 1st in quality of living! After living there for about 3 years, I can certainly see why it should be on the report, but first? I’m not so sure. Looking closer, in the Americas I see the top 5 being all Canadian cities?!  Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary – Wow! Again, wondering what the criteria is and how each were judged?

It is entirely different to be an insider, living in a city than those looking in, juding it by the statistics and polls. Vienna is beautiful and clean and safe, with efficient transportation systems, bountious leisure activities, close proximity to travel destinations, good social security – tough to find a fault, really. But looking closer, you’ll find a history that continues to affect every-day life, stereotypes bordering on racial behaviour and hidden truths that never seem to surface. I enjoyed my time there, but it was very difficult to get to know locals (language barrier aside)  and even if I did, they were the ones who either were foreigners themselves or had an international character – one in a million. I would definately go back to see my friends or for vacation, but only to visit.

On the other hand, my own country. Wow – still amazed that 5 Canadian cities topped the North American listings! Seems like all we do is criticize one or another government without really taking stock of our situation in comparison to other nations…Clean cities – (sometimes) check! Good social security – (meh) ok, check! Health Care – (ok) check! Multi-culturalism – (depends where you go) check! If all that adds up to excellent quality of life, then the better we are for it! I guess I just have problems seeing it that way also.

In the last months, we have a Parliament that is closed for the season, we’ve earned a negligible human rights record abroad, we’ve degraded the environment for an oil source and we’ve a government that is out of control, all at a time when the biggest sporting event in the world is taking place in Vacouver. It’s a wonder why the PM was replaced by the Governor General at the Opening Ceremonies?

I am a proud Canadian, especially when Canadians are on that podium, but I haven’t been lately in regards to our own government and conduct abroad. I’m also very much a liberal, which perhaps is where my views with the present government’s view collide. I’m wondering though if Canadian cities were amongst the top cities last year, where they’ll stand this year? A lot has happened. But if we’re at the top of the list for ‘quality of life,’ what does that say about people around the world and how they treat each other and how well we’re taking care of our environment?

It’s sad. We have summit after summit, all highlighting a global issue; environment, security, health, economies, all claiming to be working together to reach a common goal. But really, is this what we’re doing or are leaders just using these meetings to critisize and place blame on each other for not adhering to given rules. It seems childish and one that is further complicated by political struggles or troubled economies. But if each of our countries can’t face facts and promote openly their global initiatives, it’s a fat chance that any other country would follow suit. This is what is going through my mind as the G8 approaches.