My fellow
Canadians:
It has been
a crazy, up and down back and forth spring. I have had a week where I worked 85
hours on seven jobs, weeks where I had just the one part time job, and a month
where I worked full time, only to find out (before I relaxed into that
“routine”) that my day job was going to end far sooner than I was hoping, so I
am back on the old needing-a-second –job because-I-am underpaid mentality.
And then in
May, an old client discovered they needed my services and I may be working for
them again!
Like I said, up and down, back and forth. Not the most stress-free existence, but lately
there is never a dull moment. And it goes to show you how quickly things can
change from good to bad (and sometimes back again).
My diet
plan has been fairly successful, as I have lost between 32 and 36 pounds, to
almost (but not quite) reach my ideal estimated weight., However, I still panic
when I do gain, which happens roughly one week a month, when it happens not
because I know I overate but when I believe I DID NOT. And that moment, getting
on the scale and worrying and wondering, can literally change my outlook on
life for the next few days or a week. (Thankfully, there have been far more
good days than bad ones over the last 7 months.)
My
Canadiens won their first two playoff games on the road and we were hugely
excited about the future. Barely a week later, they were out of the playoffs
and another season was gone, if no totally wasted. (Ditto the
This
happens throughout the world. World War I started with a shot and escalated
into four years of bloody conflict. The Berlin Wall, any number of Olympic
moments, and of course, 9/11, which may have changed the
But in
terms of quick actions, where does Prime Minister Harper get off banning the
NATIONAL press from interviewing him or his MPs? The press is the most
important aspect of our society that keeps dictatorial government in check
(which is why the fawning sycophants south of the order have allowed he seeds
of fascism to take root) and honest, or at least show some measure of transparency.
Indeed, the function of a free press, among others, is to seek out the truth
behind what government says it does, and what it actually does. This is a very
dangerous precedent, although perhaps he sees how effective the American
(P)Resident plays chicken with the press there and wants to try it for himself.
Fortunately, I don’t believe our media is quite that cowed, and quite frankly,
Canadians are generally more liberal and with less tolerance for rightwing
governments, when given a choice. (As you are aware, in the 90s and this
decade, we really haven’t had much of one.)
What makes
matters worse is how a minority government, instead of cooperating with the
other parties and holding onto power as long as possible, which is what the
late Liberal minority did (with somewhat impressive results), Harper seems bent
on daring the other leaders to call his bluff or bring him down and call an
election he knows very well Canadians do not want. (He learned a lesson, at
least, from the aforementioned Liberals.) And the most egregious step he has
taken has been to unilaterally extend
And
although the Harper honeymoon seems to be in full swing, I suspect that is more
a case of Liberal scandal fatigue than any particular love of rightwing Reform
policies, most of which are still couched in innuendo and half-truths (or even
outright denials) and will remain hidden until and unless Harper wins a
majority. Despite the alleged new transparency the Conservatives are toting, I
am more than a little concerned that it is what we don’t know that come back to
bite us if we, in turn, bite at the bait they are offering.
What’s
worse is that Harper is playing either a game of chess or chicken: one being
practically a dare (see above), the other a calculated strategy. Both are risky
and both could spell disaster for our country.
At least
the Canadian public has proven smarter and wiser than our elected “leaders”
(and at least OUR leaders ARE elected, with a wink and a hint to the former
democracy to the south). We did not ask for an election, and when one was
forced upon us, we wisely denied either party a majority, adopting a “wait and
see” attitude, since we know that in the past, minority governments have
managed to accomplish a helluva lot, given the forced
participation and cooperation that Harper has conveniently forgotten or
ignored. Jettisoning the child-care program that the Martin government
belatedly reached with all the provinces is a slap in the face to most working
Canadian families, as a tax cut will not come close to paying for proper
child-care services. Reopening the gay marriage, or worse, the abortion debate
(as has been rumoured
in some circles) would be destructive beyond belief.
And yet,
one cannot shake the feeling that the shoe is about to drop, if not this
session, then the next one (again, assuming a Harper majority). Since his
agenda so closely resembles that of the would-be dictator to the south (yes,
folks, he has said this himself), we must be ever-vigilant, whether our MP is a
Conservative or opposition member. We must not allow an erosion of our rights
and freedoms, but we must also not re-elect a corrupt government whose only
purpose, aside from wasting tax dollars, appeared to be appeasing French Quebec
and francophones in strategically-placed areas and
positions of influence. A minority government is the best we can hope for at
this time, and it is a fine line to walk: I the Liberals or NDP cross it
blindly, they could upset voters into re-electing the Reformatives
and their radical hidden agenda; if Harper oversteps his boundaries or plays
one too many cards, his party could be swept out of office. Will this
realization cause all parties to play nice? Perhaps that is too much to expect.
But it is still a wonderful dream, and now that it is spring, a young man’s
fantasies turn to politics. Well, at least certain young men who write for this
publication.
There is no
singular Lou Laurel this month. But I will issue one for the Canadian people in
general, who wisely gave the Conservatives enough rope to run but also enough
to hang themselves if they get too rambunctious; and to the Canadian troops in
Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, especially those who have given their lives,
in the mistaken belief that we are there to help and promote freedom and
democracy rather than support the illegal invasion of one country, occupation
of another and threat of a third, all in the name of oil (not CHEAP oil;
remember the “dollar days” are back in full force!) and lining the pockets of
certain greedheads, warmongering profiteers.
That said,
I do believe our future is brighter than our present internationally, and that
we will rise to the status of great peacemakers that we held in our glory days.
Oh, I
almost forgot…GO OILERS!!!!
Happy
Father’s Day, everyone!
Your fellow
Canadian,
Lou Israel