Articles/Commentary
In Search of Canada’s Soul – The Mark News – May 12, 2011
To recapture a coherent national vision, our political parties need to listen to Canadians, not pander to provincial interests
Losing the Soul of our Nation – The Mark News – January 25, 2011
If we don’t soon have a national debate about our connection with responsibility for other Canadians, the consequences will be dire.
Missing: Canada’s Federal Government – The Mark News – January 11, 2011
The national government no longer governs for all Canadians and refuses to address matters of national interest. With a 2011 election likely, we must demand more from our leaders.
The Un-funny business of Canadian Politics – The Mark News – October 7, 2010
Our nation’s politicians are truly failing when comedians become the only reliable voice of reason.
Towards a 21st-Century Canada – The Mark News – May 3, 2010
Canada won’t stay competitive if we remain primarily “hewers of wood and drawers of water.”
Trading Apathy for Action – The Mark News – April 21, 2010
What Canada really needs is bold leadership that will unite the country and an electorate that demands as much.
Absentee Federalism: Who’s looking after the national interest in Quebec-New Brunswick hydro deal? – The Mark News – January 30, 2010
The bilateral Quebec-New Brunswick deal works against Canada’s responsibility to promote interprovincial equity in the transmission of energy across Canada and to the U.S., and to ensure that Canadians work together cooperatively to expand clean energy options.
True North, not strong and sorely lacking in vision – Toronto Star – August 19, 2009
The federal government’s ability to act in the national interest is dangerously diminishing. National survival as a viable entity now appears to be in the hands of provincial politicians.
A more effective policy process for the Liberal Party of Canada – May 30, 2009
The Liberal Party of Canada should adopt a new approach to policy debate and development involving a national website modeled on www.whitehouse.gov. The national website would reach out beyond the memberships of the associations and commissions to the many Canadians who are currently disengaged from the political process.
Clean Energy and the Environment: Obama Impresses, Harper Regresses – Metro News – April 21, 2009
While Obama champions an effective cap-and-trade system that sets hard caps on carbon emissions, Harper silenced any intelligent discussion during the last election and produced an anemic plan for intensity targets.
Equalization for Uncertain Times – Metro News – February 18, 2009
There is urgent need to bring coherence, consistency and accountability to the jumble of federal contributions to provinces, especially with Ontario qualifying for equalization.
National Securities Regulator Long Overdue – February 2009
There are huge advantages to the establishment of a Canadian securities regulator. The cost of raising capital by businesses will be lowered by eliminating the current multiple filing requirements. Investors will have greater protection through a more effective enforcement process and a single independent adjudicative tribunal.
Budgeting Backwards – Metro News – February 4, 2009
Despite the fact that women constitute 47.4% – almost half – of the national workforce, the vast majority of the billions of stimulus dollars is targeted for job creation that favours men. And the margin is huge – whether in housing, construction, forestry, autos, or manufacturing.
Economic Crisis as Opportunity – Late Night Thoughts Listening to Late Night Pundits (with apologies to Lewis Thomas and Mahler’s Ninth Symphony) – January 22, 2009
The multi-partisan consensus emerging on the need for a massive economic stimulus package, increases in social security payments, and critical financial reforms to ensure adequate credit, can only go so far to address our distress in the short-term.
Canadians without Borders – November 2007
What does it mean to be Canadian when we come from everywhere?
How do we forge a shared national purpose among people who have never shared anything before and who come from every corner of the globe? How do we provide a sense of direction, a road map to our street in the global village – something that emotionally connects with Canadians?
Canada’s National Government Missing in Action – Toronto Star – November 18, 2008
Our national government has become dangerously weakened under leadership that seems more interested in pandering to parochialism and partisanship, than governing in the national interest.
Medicare for the twenty-first century: time overdue to put autism on the national agenda – April 2008
The time is long overdue to establish, at the national level, the services and medical treatments that should be available to all Canadians under Medicare.
From sea to sea, a model for the world – Toronto Star – December 24, 2007
Our destiny is to show that Canada can be a model for a troubled world, increasingly challenged by religious and sectarian friction, and environmental catastrophes. Our growing diversity as a people, our huge pool of human talent, is our greatest strength from which to forge a clear national purpose.
Bold and visionary national leadership in action – September 2007
Imagine a Canada with bold and visionary national leadership – leadership that inspires Canadians once again to believe that those in public life can translate rhetoric into action.
Public support for arts and culture – May 2007
Canadians are well ahead of our current leadership in recognizing that vibrant artistic sectors and cultural industries are essential elements of both a sustainable social economy and our Canadian identity.
Protection of the environment – the crucible issue of our time – March 2007
Why does our national government act so incoherently on the environment? Why do we not have a Minister of the Environment on a par with the Minister of Finance, so that ecological principles are integrated every step of the way into our budget, investment and planning processes?
Reinventing Canada for the Twenty-first Century – March 8, 2007
Today, all politics is global. The key to Canada’s future and the future of the planet involves Canada’s role in the world and the world in Canada….Yet Canada’s influence and effectiveness on the international stage depends on maintaining our internal coherence and stability, ensuring environmental preservation coincides with economic prosperity, and strengthening our commitment to greater equity and economic and social justice. We must have our act together at home, and implement domestic policies which attract world-wide respect, if we are to have credibility and a knowledge base from which to act internationally.
Canada’s Future: from Rights to Responsibilities – Centre for the Study of Democracy, Queen’s University – March 2005
Let the early 21st century be remembered as the period of wide public reflection followed by action, when global forces were harnessed to promote a more equitable world order, when we focused on discharging the human responsibilities which accompany our human rights and without which we would be unable to live together in peace and humanity.
Leadership Now – December 2001
We demand little of our leaders and they demand even less of us. Feel good? Don’t worry; be happy! This is the predominant message. No one is challenging us to imagine the future, to devise ways to strengthen our sense of social responsibility for each other, and to maintain and expand our contribution to world affairs and the stewardship of the planet.
Short briefing notes written post election 2006-2008 that reflect a broad spectrum of policy issues.