Joy rides and hot summer nights

(Aug 3, 2006) -- 'When I worked as a front-line street worker I occasionally met guys who would brag about going on joy rides - taking a car that is not their own out for a spin. These guys would claim there was no harm done as they left the car more or less in the condition they found it.'

Lately I feel like the entire country is being taken on a bit of joy ride by the Harper government. Joy rides sometimes end up OK – many times they don’t.

The Prime Minister and this government really don't have much of a mandate to act - presiding over one of the slimmest minority governments in Canadian history. It’s sort of like having the keys to a car that's not really yours.

Remember, this is after an election that told Canadians very little on where these Conservatives stood on most issues. Rather, we kept being reminded that the other folks were crooked and had lost our trust.

Under these circumstances you would think the government would take it slow and try to build some consensus among Canadians. No dramatic breaks with the policies of the past but decisions made based on listening and dialogue.

Racing down the highway

But Prime Minister Harper is behind the wheel and the car is racing down the highway. The first indication that the car was heading in the wrong direction was the appointment of former Liberal David Emerson to a cabinet post. So much for values and integrity.

The Kyoto Protocol was next. During the election campaign there were a couple rumblings from the Conservatives about plans for Kyoto. Not much was said about it at all - certainly no promise was made to gut it.

Once in office it became clear that Canada was not going to honour its Kyoto commitments. New Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, who apparently has little, if any, interest or knowledge of climate change issues, presided over an international meeting in such a manner as to be almost mocking the issue. Government funded programs on Climate Change were cut. Even mention of the Kyoto Protocol has been purged from government websites.

Afghanistan is next on the list. Although the previous government got us into Afghanistan the Prime Minister is determined to stay the course even as the situation degrades from a peacekeeping mission to an all out war. Meanwhile, at home he tries to prevent media coverage of military deaths in Afghanistan and, ignoring Canadians’ wishes, refuses to lower the flag to honour our soldiers.

There is now an ongoing crisis in Lebanon. Despite Canada’s historical commitment to multilateralism and supporting international governing bodies, the Harper government has decided to mirror the foreign policy of the current US government, much of which is discredited. The Prime Minister makes some quick, ill considered comments about Israel’s “measured response” in the face of a growing humanitarian crisis. Has he revisited his position or at least reconsidered Canada’s stance? No, the route has been chosen and there is no turning back.

Too busy for international meeting

This month in Toronto, Canada will be hosting an international meeting on HIV / AIDS. For Canada, it is an honour and a responsibility. The Prime Minister, however, is too busy to welcome delegates from around the globe for a conference on what is the single biggest pandemic facing the world community. This begs the question of whether Canada will honour the commitments it made at the 2005 G8 Summit.

To some, joy rides are exhilarating on a hot summer night but they can be fraught with dangers. This is a joy ride that is picking up speed. The need to slow down and engage in some discussion with the Canadian people is urgent.

Notwithstanding, mums the word on Parliament Hill these days. The government’s own Members of Parliament are required to clear any statements by the Prime Minister’s Office. Similarly, the press must now submit their questions in advance for consideration.

This makes it all the more important that all Canadians discuss these issues amongst themselves. Instead of going out for a joy ride on a hot summer night perhaps we should all invite our neighbours over for a cool beverage and a chat about what kind of country we want to live in. It will do all of us some good.