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Muddling through: a curious approach to nationhood

JEFFREY SIMPSON

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 9:33 AM EST 02/07/08

Canada has a record that, all things considered, is worth celebrating 141 years on ...Read the full article

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  1. Bryan Bertie from Toronto, Canada writes: Well Jeffrey, you summed up very neatly the absurdity of our Canadian democratic system as it is presently practiced. It is nice to see though that someone - you Jeffrey- still believes that the country is worth celebrating - despite the fact that we, the people, seem to be collectively incapable of insisting that are politicians start dealing with the real business of Canada in a direct and substantive manner. Rather than celebrate though, I think a lament is in order (George Grant redux) but; for now at least, I am personally appreciative of the fact that Canada is still liberal-democratic in nature despite the best efforts of our various human rights commissions to take us in a diametrically different direction!
  2. Antonio San from Canada writes: Funny how suddenly those who ensure debate is not happening are now pretending to be surprised by its absence... Talking about insecurity, it is hilarious that the anglocanadians from TO are obviously those who need reassurances while the Quebeckers and the Westerners have indeed a very clear idea of who they are -Quebec culturally, the West economically- and on which side of the confederation they are positioned: receiving for Quebec, providing for the West. Mr Simpson's hypocrisy fits the Liberal bill while Mr Harper -the so called westerner who backstabbed Income Trusts investors and entrepreneurs- indeed follows the Liberal policies of taking from the West to buy votes in the East! Perhaps he wants it accelerated hence his calls for "debate" i.e. confiscation of Alberta's assets either by bureaucrats or by taxes, carbon taxes of course.
    Mr Simpson that's your Canada and we do not want to abide by its moral superiority. Western secession, NOW.
  3. Antonio San from Canada writes: Independent countries are not colonial remants... Mr Simpson.
  4. fergus macduff from United Kingdom writes: antonio get over the income trusts thing - it does not define nor spell the end of the country or the world. just pay your taxes and enjoy your riches.

    simpson hits the nail on the head re/ the issues in the country that get shuffled under the carpet. but, the better people realise they don't go away, the better they will be. especially immigration and western alienation.

    funny how so many people refer to canada as a 'young country' when it has such a long history as a successful nation. from one who spent their formative years on the canadian prairies amongst the best salt of the earth people you used to find anywhere on the planet, Happy Birthday Canada.
  5. David McPhee from Vancouver, Canada writes: Your comment that ‘existentialism is for poets and the insecure’ caused me to consider whether either of those applied to Pierre Trudeau. Who was one Canadian, love him or hate him, who made a contribution to defining who we as a nation think we are.

    Yet while I can appreciate applying the poet analogy to him I find it less easy to apply the notion of him being insecure. The ‘just watch me’ prime minister, who challenged all eight premiers to a national referendum on the question of patriation and the Charter of Rights does not epitomize the idea of insecurity. Stood up to the nationalism of Quebec. He was one of the first Canadians to come to declare the constitutional negations approach a failure when he moved to ask Britain to repatriate to constitution and not subject the country to another failed round of federal provincial negotiation.

    Enjoyed your column.
  6. Puk Natcha from Canada writes: Canada is a risk-averse country, not a drop of boldness in its blood and terrified of decision. Remnants of a colonial past and the Loyalists? Perhaps.
    Safety is the paramount value, a hope that the nasties of the world will somehow stay away from our door if we remain quiet and keep our heads down.
    Note Mr. Simpson's verbs in his concluding graph:

    "survived... muddling through... avoiding... contributing somewhat... getting along...most of the time... and sometimes even doing extraordinary things..."

    Not much in the way of leadership or vision or imagination. Complacency aplenty, though, and a surfeit of telling the world who we are not. We congratulate ourselves on our mediocrity.

    My point is simply, with all our magnificent endowments we could be so much better and so much more.

    Happy safe Canada Day.
  7. T. Rees from Switzerland writes: Canada remains what it has always been:

    A country that works in practice but not in theory!
  8. Antonio San from Canada writes: Fergus shove your Queen would you?
  9. Randy McClure from Canada writes: Antonio would you please stop it with the bogus idea of Western Alienation. "The West" is a political fiction that loonies on the extreme right wing seem to like to drag out whenever the country advances beyond the law of the jungle, and they don't like it. I was born and raised in Saskatchewan, studied in Calgary and live in Winnipeg. I've also lived in Toronto, Germany and Minneapolis. I see myself as a Canadian first and shake my head at the igorance of the peddlers of Western Separation. You need to see more of the world, and more of Canada. "Western Values" are the same as those of other Canadians -- pragmatic, polite, look out for each other, the government is the embodiment of citizens co-operating on projects for the common good, becasue we'd do a worse job trying to survive on our own. The West is a hard place to live. The weather is awful, the distance to markets and everything else are vast, the economy is not very diverse. We survive by pulling together, not separating and living as rugged individualists. Most of the money that built Western Canada's economy came from central Canada. The people who live there moved from somewhere else, Alberta and Saskatchwan are barely 100 years old -- convenient political inventions, again established by senior politicians in "The East". Get over you delusions of Grandeur, Antonio. You can suceede to your armed compound in Idaho and leave us Canadians alone.
  10. fergus macduff from United Kingdom writes: antonio - right up yours
  11. Ed Long from white Rock, Canada writes: Randy writes "Most of the money that built Western Canada's economy came from central Canada."

    Wrong. I am not advocating seperatism but central Canadian banks foreclosed on prairie farmers being wiped out by the Great Drought and Depression of the 1930's causing an exodus to other provinces, mainly B.C.

    The resentment was obvious in the first Social Credit government in Alberta, when Bible Bill Aberhardt and Ernest Manning attempted to have a provincially controlled banking system. It was squashed by the federal/central government.

    Sask. CCF under Tommy Douglas took the route of provincial utilities, insurance company,credit unions and industries owned or controlled by the province to lead the recovery of what was then a rural society.

    Both provinces wanted the money flow to remain within.

    The transfer payments, with Ontario as the main contributor, benefacted mostly Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

    Resource rights had stayed with the federal government for the three prairie province and after a lengthy fight, that control was handed over to Alberta, Sask. and Manitoba in 1930.

    Alberta oil development was made possible by the provincial government welcoming foreign, mostly American, investment. Until recently, Sask. restricted resource development but has now thrown it open and there is American oil investment to join prior French uranium.

    The historical paternalism of Central Canada is becoming an irritant as the West gains economic strength and historical resentments, i.e. NEP, are magnified by new confidence and aggression.

    The future may see a fragmented Canada in a continental association or an assertive, non-colonial, Canada finally stand on its own.

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