By PATRICK HUNTER
And so, another year begins. One thing for sure is that, at the end of the year, we will have celebrated another birthday – we will have been one year older.
We of the post-war generation, the boomers, will continue to complain about the aches and pains but secretly welcome the fact that we are still alive.
Our world is undergoing significant changes. The frequency and devastating weather conditions are among some of the more obvious indicators.
This past year has seen many countries witnessing flooding, fires and multiple hurricanes that have left them, to say the least, in complete disarray.
Developing nations held out for better assistance from the rich countries at the recent COP meeting (Conference of Parties – a UN sponsored climate change convention) in dealing with sea level increases and other devastating effects they are now facing. Whether they get it or not is another question. There are some of the rich countries and their governments which have not bought into their role in trying to slow climate change.
There were a number of elections towards the latter part of last year, and there will be more to come. There is a distinct momentum shift in many of these countries towards the political right. Many European countries have started down that road, and so has the United States, as we have seen with the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency and the Congress going all Republican.
We, here in Canada, are facing our own upheaval with the resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Should we call it a crisis?
The tipping point came when Trudeau decided that he was going to relieve Chrystia Freeland of her position as finance minister and, I guess, deputy prime minister. Freeland was having none of it. In a very public way, she decided to quit the post on the very day she was supposed to present an update on the state of the economy. If nothing else, that act alone declared in a forceful way that confidence in the Prime Minister had waned.
Many of us will remember that his father, Pierre, when he faced challenges from his caucus and the electorate, decided to “take a walk in the snow” one February morning and made the decision to resign.
I have to throw this in. Trudeau decided to make a trip to Mar-a-Lago, the home of President-elect Donald Trump. He was trying, I guess, to dissuade the president-elect from following up on his promise to impose tariffs on Canadian imports to the U.S. It is unclear whether he achieved anything with the possible exception of Trump’s mockery. Following that meeting, Trump teased that Trudeau was down to see him in about 15 seconds, or words to that effect. I thought that this was an undignified undertaking by the prime minister of Canada. It is no wonder that Trump can insultingly suggest that Canada should become the 51st state.
Who will succeed Trudeau as Liberal leader? So far, two names seemed to be surfacing. Mark Carney, the former Bank of Canada governor and former governor of the Bank of England, is one that has been talked about. It is said that he was the one being proposed to take over from Freeland. The other name is Chrystia Freeland. It will be an interesting contest when the time comes.
Standing in the wings, waiting for an opportunity to take this country down a right-wing path, is Pierre Poilievre. Just about the only thing that Poilievre has indicated, if he wins, is that he will cut the “carbon tax”.
At the beginning of any new year, we look forward to a change in our fortunes. That may not necessarily mean financially, although that may be a significant part of it. I think we hope that at the end of the new year, we can look back and say “that was a very good year”. That is probably a rarity. Nevertheless, there is a sense of hope that the incoming year will go smoothly, that our lives would not be too upended through unforeseen circumstances, and our families would be, if not happy, content.
Thank you, readers, for your continued support of Share. Here’s hoping that this year will be fruitful.
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