Summitry
How horribly disappointed the Liberals and the NDP must feel right about now. The Conservative-led government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is welcoming heads of state to the country to take part in the G8 and G20 summits. They would feel far more comfortable if Canada were represented by a more, well, liberal government. A government that was better suited and better placed to present as a true representative of Canada and the people of Canada.A government say, that was humble enough to apologize to the families of the victims of the Air Canada tragedy. A government that would be able to apologize to aboriginal Canadians for the cold paternalism of a previous administration that took children from their homes to grow them into Canadians through institutionalizing them. A government that grieved over the unfair and racist treatment of Chinese- and Japanese-Canadian citizens.
Funny thing, that. Although there was ample opportunity through prolonged years of Liberal rule, it took a Conservative government to do these things. And to meet the Dalai Lama. And to inform countries like China and Iran and North Korea that their repulsive, repressive, human-rights-denying administrations had no reason to anticipate respect from Canada. Canada, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, has consolidated support and friendship for those deserving of it.
Every tactic that a febrile and embittered antagonist could imagine has been attempted by these two opposition parties - aided and abetted by a federal party whose activities are paid by the taxpayer, yet is intent on destroying confederation - to destroy the reputation of a governing party that has proved itself adept at governing in the best interests of the country and its people. Denunciations and hysterics and juvenile finger-pointing have been the hallmark of this session of Parliament.
And now that the two summits are upon us, and foreign leaders are arriving in the country whose safety and security has been assured to the best of the abilities of a law-abiding, democratic country which has had to plan and to pay almost a billion dollars for that security, damned if the opposition hasn't been delivered of a painful message. None other than the bulldog of the federal budget has delivered his verdict of all-clear on the summit spending front.
Moreover, Kevin Page has honourably taken the initiative to compliment this government on its 'relative transparency' about the $1-billion security price tag. Taking pains to describe the reluctance of other G8-hosting countries of the free world, to delineate and describe similar costing details. So much for screaming about 'lack of transparency' on the summit security costs; this government has been open and above-board, and the cost is not out of whack with the needs.
"It is the PBO's (Parliamentary Budget Office) observation that the government of Canada has been relatively transparent with regards to the planned 'total' costs of the summits. PBO's research of publicly available information indicates that no other host country has provided 'total' security costs to this level of detail." Stick that in your craw, and chew, slowly, methodically and with attention to those black feathers, please do.
This is the cost of internationalism. This is the cost of the world stage. This is the cost of recommending a signal and desperately required initiative to be added to the agenda, and to add value to the responsibilities and capabilities of the countries whose wealth represents collectively 85% of the world's total. An additional commitment to the Canada-led maternal and child health program, topping up what already exists.
To reduce the death toll of a half-million women living in undeveloped countries, during childbirth; to reduce substantially the deaths of nine million children under five years of age, dying annually from starvation and the debilitating effects of malnutrition leaving them unable to fight off the ravages of avoidable disease. Roughly $30-billion of new money is what this will take. A lot of arm-wrestling and confidence-building will be required.
At a time when the wealthy industrialized countries of the world have good reason to fret about their still inconclusive financial recovery. At the very time when those countries are also involved in a costly war. And when their national debts have swelled impossibly huge, as a result of a collective agreement to battle the global economic downturn with massive stimulus programs that they must now be weaned off. Hoping that their domestic recovery will soon take over.
At the very time when it has been revealed that for many countries of the G20 consumer confidence has stagnated. These world-class summits of the wealthy countries of the world have their work cut out for them. Topics like the global environment, economy, conflict, nuclear safety, poverty, energy are certain to strain the best laid plans of mice and men.
Labels: Canada, Economy, Government of Canada, Political Realities
posted by Pieface @ Friday, June 25, 2010
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