Canada May Not Be Governable- But It may be Carbon Neutral In Two More Weeks

[Ken Gigliotti]

Has Canada become ungovernable? In the past it has been said, Canada works in practice but not in theory. With this large landmass and people separated by vast distances and languages it may very well be Canada is no longer working in practice.
The cracks in federalism are widening with the corrected gymnastics of political language that was created to cover these ever widening fissures. These cracks can no longer be covered. The thin mask of language is broken.The national media carries some blame. The national symbol of the railroad bound the Confederation,is being used to tear it apart, is instead a symbol of irony.The carbon based steel tracks and coal fired locomotives are iconic in our history. With elections over by the time they pass through Quebec and Ontario  coupled with the importance of the GTA is leaving the rest of Canada without a champion.
The next irony is the hereditary leadership of both first nations and the crown that lost power and now regains it. Prince Harry now living in Canada is a hereditary leader.
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 JUST WATCHED THE NEWS- Has Canada become ungovernable? In the past it has been said, Canada works in practice but not in theory. With this large landmass and people separated by vast distances and languages it may very well be Canada no longer working in practice either.
Is Canada Ungovernable? A wasteland of good intentions? Railways are shutting down across Canada over gas pipeline protests.This the ninth day.

The good news, Canadians will meet the Paris climate agreement and get an early look at being carbon neutral,way ahead of schedule. Within weeks.
 
Trains run on a right of way. Right of way is a legal term. During WW II fascists elected Mussolini so the trains would run on time in Italy. What happens when they are not running at all.
I have covered thousands of public protests,most seemed ineffectual. Most were outside empty legislative buildings, courthouses and city halls on weekends. I am guessing future protesters will simply find the nearest train track.
This leaves the door open for opposition of issues from cross walks to healthcare to block a rail line.
Pretend politics isn't working. People have been elected to show leadership in both the east and the west.
Has Canada become ungovernable? In the last the election the Red party was accused of being led around by some big company in the East, the Orange party beholding to some big unions and the Blue party to big companies in the West. The Green Party apparently takes it's orders from Mother Nature. The People's Party doesn't seem to have any people at all and the last (came in third) doesn't even want to be there in the first place. The usual election fare.
 The Green Party is actually governing in this fight.

There is has been a battle between those who know the price of everything but not the value, and those who know the value but not the price. There are also 30% that don't even vote.
 Micro analytics picks leaders, creates policy,tells elected leaders what to say, who really needs leadership. They don't even have to be around.The trains wait until the polling is in.
It is also part of the playbook to be out of the country when something bad happens, like the continuing Bombardier story. With so many things going wrong the leadership may never come back.
Is it a good thing that money laundering is something Canada is good at, maybe it should be legalized. The federal government has made the legal marijuana a money losing business, it could do the same for dirty money. House prices would go down for sure. Let us not forget about the roads.
 Governments give grants away in thousands of dollars, but municipal government cannot perform any task for less that $300,000, the provincial governments for millions and the federal government billions. Let's cut out the billions category.
Is Canada's federal government functioning. The elected party is in minority status and the leader is busy collecting Air Miles ,two other parties are leaderless, and the third place party is not even committed to federalism? If First Nations groups were asked, many chiefs would say they don't even recognize Canada as their government.
 
The answer may be to going back to basics. Dissolve the federal government. Suspend them without pay, just lay them off. Put a hold on their ability to collect taxes until the federal system gets a hold of itself. At least put them on probation,a time out. The provinces can run themselves. What happened to leadership in Canada, USA, England. Just Watched The News -Sarcasm Opinion/ Rant by Ken Gigliotti

[Warren Toda]

Has Canada become ungovernable? In the past it has been said, Canada works in practice but not in theory. With this large landmass and people separated by vast distances and languages it may very well be Canada is no longer working in practice either.

I think all large-by-geography countries are ungovernable. Local geography influences so much of our lives. I've often thought that, for starters, the US should split into at least five countries. Perhaps some US border states might join Canada. After this plays out over a couple decades, Canada might also split into a few countries.

Any groups of adjacent countries in Africa, Europe, the mid-East or Asia that are collectively the size of Canada or the US could never form a single country today. So what holds together Canada and the US?

Perhaps it's easier to stay to together rather than to join together. That's been the saving grace of North America - just two countries.

I have covered thousands of public protests, most seemed ineffectual. Most were outside empty legislative buildings, courthouses and city halls on weekends. I am guessing future protesters will simply find the nearest train track.

Over the years, I've spoken with various politicians from provincial to prime minister and I've been in interview rooms with world leaders at G7/G8/G20 summits. All said that they don't pay attention to those who yell and scream. But they do pay attention to the various reports they receive and also to well reasoned arguments often from the press.

So perhaps those weekend protests in front of empty buildings are actually a way to lure in the press.

Greta Thunberg did one-person protests for a year before becoming noticed by the large media outlets, especially those in North America. Maybe she should've blocked an airport road, a train track or highway.

Micro analytics picks leaders, creates policy, tells elected leaders what to say, who really needs leadership. They don't even have to be around.

Could we have an app for Prime Minister?

What if, whenever a decision needs to be made, a ballot appears on your smart phone asking for your opinion? Combine these votes with other available data and faster than you can say "algorithm," a decision is made. Instant democracy at 5G speeds. What could possibly go wrong?

The answer may be to going back to basics. Dissolve the federal government. Suspend them without pay, just lay them off. Put a hold on their ability to collect taxes until the federal system gets a hold of itself. At least put them on probation, a time out. The provinces can run themselves. What happened to leadership in Canada, USA, England.

I've often thought that politicians should be paid based on the average earnings of their jurisdiction. For example, federal politicians would be paid based on the average Canadian income and provincial politicians paid based on the average income in their province. The prime minister would get three times the average Canadian income, other federal MPs get two times. The only way a politician could get a raise is if they help raise the average for everyone else in their jurisdiction.

Like many other countries, Canada does not have an overall plan, no goal, no mission statement. The country is seemingly run on a week-to-week basis.

Maybe Canada needs its own moonshot moment to spur the country. Climate change could be this generation's moonshot.

But only after we get the trains to run on time.