Category Archives: Caveat emptor

Caveat emptor, Federal

G8 Musings

Leave a comment

It may be showing my age but I can remember when a get together like the recent G8 summit was about accomplishing something.

These days a G8 summit is a ‘success’ if the nations attending can cobble together a closing statement that does not offend any head of state’s delicate sensibilities, allowing them to issue a closing statement (hopefully a statement that avoids the embarrassment of having any of the heads of state immediately disown the closing statement) that gives the appearance that something has been accomplished, thus seeming to justify the expense.

I use the term ‘heads of state’ because, as the G8 underscores, it is clear that what nations around the globe are lacking is leaders and leadership. The world is in tough shape, a state of affairs that continues to worsen. It is not that we cannot address the issues the world faces; it is that we choose not to. That situation cannot be solely laid at the feet of the heads of state. Mush of the responsibility of the failure to address the most dangerous or pressing issues belongs to citizens who just do not want to hear it and choose to embrace wilful denial.

It was not that long ago (pre 2006) that Canada was known and recognized as a positive influence among the G8 nations and around the world. These days, should you be the Prime Minister of Israel like Benjamin Netanya and you need a negative result or outcome, ‘who you gonna call’? Stephen Harper of course.

Stephen Harper hustling to Greece after the summit to give Prime Minister George Papandreou economic and financial management advice on how to deal with the disaster that is Greece’s economy is like the Captain of the Titanic offering the Captain of the Exxon Valdez advice on sailing his ship.

Unfortunately, Mr Harper’s recent throne speech makes abundantly clear the reality Canadians must face and deal with is that with Harper as the Captain the Canadian economy is the Titanic. After all, the opposition parties were forced into defeating the government on their Budget as a result of the numerous and obvious ‘icebergs’ contained in the Budget the Conservatives introduced. Mr Harper, his finance minister and the Conservative caucus have ignored these icebergs, mostly I fear because they do not exist or are of no importance in their ideology (which puts understanding of the economic, financial and social realities of Canada beyond their grasp), setting the ship of state speeding full steam ahead into waters heavily infested with icebergs.

I did find it very interesting (and somewhat amusing) that after hustling Mr Harper on his way to ‘advise’ Greece the remaining heads of state remained behind to talk to each other.

Caveat emptor, Federal, Issues, Municipal, Provincial

Society is Our choices.

Leave a comment

A recent e-mail sent me to the Chilliwack Today website to read a column inspired by a Chilliwack Progress story concerning the proposed establishment of the Chilliwack Contact Center * for helping those living on the streets by converting the Days Inn hotel currently operating on Young Road.

*[A facility designed to offer housing and health services and solutions to the homeless that, according to Chilliwack MLA John Les will make a difference in people’s lives and improve our community. Medical care, court advocacy, rental assistance as well as help for those facing mental health or addictions issues.]

The first thought was about how many projects like this and other affordable housing projects have been bypassing, or in the case of the Olympic legacy housing passing right through, Abbotsford on the way to Chilliwack.

While Abbotsford ‘s Mayor and council have been very good at saying the right things and paying lip service to the need for affordable housing, they have failed at providing action based leadership on this issue, as they have on so many other pressing city issues (secure water supply, facilities and road maintenance, etc). Seeming to bury their heads in the sand, as if these issues/problems will disappear on their own.

But I digress.

The column and story were about a major, perhaps the major, problem that has given birth to our current society and that prevents us from addressing the problems and issues Canada and Canadians face – IT IS ALL ABOUT ME!

Which reared its ugly head in opposition to the Chilliwack Contact Centre.

You can recognize the presence of IT IS ALL ABOUT ME syndrome by the use of buzzwords or buzz-statements such as those uttered by area resident Renée Woods: “It’s not that I’m against the project in any way, I think Chilliwack definitely needs it.”

‘Woods main concern is the location, asking why the health contact centre couldn’t be established downtown instead.’

I cannot say whether those suffering from IT IS ALL ABOUT ME are lying to themselves or to the public to excuse their actions and obscure the reality that they are opposing the project they claim not to be against.

A location has been chosen, plans specific to that location have been prepared, a deal to purchase the property has been agreed upon – all that remains is rezoning. If the rezoning is not approved the Centre does not come into existence.

Regardless of how you try to spin it or delude oneself, the reality is that if you oppose the rezoning you oppose the Chilliwack Centre.

A reality more clearly seen in Ms Woods words “I’m worried that they’re just moving the problem from downtown to here. I feel they are taking the lowest socioeconomic group and moving it a block from my house,” she said. “If it changes the dynamic of our neighbourhood, it’s unfair.”

I believe I will let her words speak for, or more accurately against, themselves.

The deep, dark humour/irony here is the existence of neighbourhoods were Ms. Wood is seen as a member of the lower socioeconomic classes whose mere presence would change the dynamic of the neighbourhood.

People speak as though society results for someone else’s actions, is someone else’s fault as though their behaviours have nothing to do with or no effect on society.

Our society has been built and continues to be built by the choices, actions and behaviours of all of us. Every choice we make, every action we take – or don’t take, how we behave creates the society we live in.

In September 2010 I wrote about a business man who, finding a homeless man and his dog camped out under the awning of his building did not have man and dog removed but purchased a garden shed and installed it at the side of the building to provide shelter from the elements for man and dog.

This week the homeless man came down with pneumonia, requiring hospitalization. Once again the businessman stepped up to the plate when nothing compelled him to do so, except his own code of behaviour, and took the homeless dog home with him to make sure he is cared for.

The Society so many deplore is created and shaped by us. Society is us, our choices, actions and behaviours.

Choose which society you want to bring into being – the one that is created by Ms. Woods words, actions and attitudes OR the one that is created by the actions, attitudes and behaviour of the businessman.

Your/Our choices bring into being the Society we choose. If you do not like the Society that we live in – change your behaviour and influence others to change their behaviours until the Society you/we want exists.