Canadian Polemic

Right, so first of all, apologies for not having written anything in a while - something like this is easy to lose in the shuffle when you have so much else going on. Essay writing, discussions to organize, people to talk to, etc. At any rate, it's time to get back cracking at this blog thing.

Apparently there was a Speech from the Throne here in B.C. today. And I thought I was pretty well informed. I guess not. Anyway, I read a bit about it and I like the tone. Especially the bits on health care - the Campbell government is prepared to contradict the Canada Health Act, it seems, in an effort to make medicare more sustainable. "Why are we so quick to condemn any consideration of other systems as a slippery slope to an American-style system that none of us wants?" the speech asks. "Does it really matter to patients where or how they obtain their surgical treatment if it is paid for with public funds?" These are good questions to be asking, and good on Gordon Campbell and his team for being willing to put them forward. The speech proposes a province-wide conversation on health care, and a desire to investigate other, more sustainable models. It also reaffirms the need for public health care, but opens doors to different ways of providing it - this is exactly what's needed. The Canada Health Act has turned into a political tool in Canada, and by whipping it out and promising to defend it tooth and nail, you can paint yourself as the savior of the social programmes that make this country (to a degree) what it is. Paul Martin and Jack Layton, ahem. But it's time to get rid of the dogma surrounding 'defending health care' - yes, it should be accessible to all Canadians, but the B.C. government has hit the nail on the head when they say that it should also be sustainable. We need to be flexible with health care, because I think it's obvious that our current philosophy isn't workable in the long-term. I'll be interested to see what happens in B.C., and kudos again to the B.C. Liberals for taking a risk and posing some good, needed questions. Hopefully we can have a great debate about how best to build a sustainable, accessible health care system.

The One World Scholarship programme, designed to help post-secondary students study in other Pacific Rim nations, is also a great idea - investments in education are wonderful, and I think that facilitating B.C.'s role in the region is also a good idea. Other interesting ideas include community and aboriginal courts to take pressure off of the court system and a more flexible housing strategy for dealing with homelessness. Not sure what those will entail, but they sound like good ideas. Sounds like there's the potential for some neat new ideas in British Columbia - we'll see if Premier Campbell can deliver.

QUEBEC-DATE: Quebec Premier Jean Charest has come out today with a statement along the same lines as the B.C. Throne Speech on Tuesday, promising to look at new ways of guaranteeing accessible, quality health care. Good to hear another province starting to ask some good questions. As we start finding innovations for our public health care system, though, we've got to be careful that we strike a balance and ensure that all Canadians can get the same quality of care. That will be the challenge, to avoid any disparity between public and private elements.

Things have not progressed well in the cartoon debacle concerning sketches of Mohammed, the Muslim prophet. If anything, that's an understatement. After European newspapers republished a series of caricatures of Mohammed last week, anger has erupted across the Muslim world, culminating most recently in mass protests and torchings of European embassies in the Middle East. According to Islamic law, it's forbidden to make any kind of representation of the prophet, as it's considered idolatry. I guess that things have escalated this week because the European countries involved failed to apologize for the publication of the sketches.

It's pretty sad that things have progressed to where they are now, with burning embassies and calls for the destruction of the European nations. To be clear, the drawings are absolutely offensive - aside from contravening Islamic law, they directly impugn and demean the highest religious figure of the faith. I think that we need to make that clear. That being said, I'm not at all convinced that demanding apologies from European governments and burning their embassies is the best reponse. If anything, it just contributes to whatever stereotypes may already exist. 'Those folks in the Middle East,' some may incorrectly conclude from this event. 'You just can't reason with them. Their response to everything is to take to the streets and call for the death of the West.' And that's very unfortunate.

Like it or not, there is freedom of expression and freedom of the press in most Western countries. But it's to a point. It does depend on the country as to what verges on hate crimes, what is appropriate and what is not. I think that all countries that have those freedoms also have various restrictions on them. I don't know what the case is in Denmark, France and Germany. But I think that an apology from the newspapers would be most appropriate - you've got the right to speak freely, but directly insulting and demeaning the faith of another is just not acceptable. And printing more of the cartoons (as happened in France and Germany) just to prove a point about press freedoms? Childish.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has got it absolutely right: "We all agree that words and deeds that insult or ridicule other religions or cultures do not contribute to mutual understanding. Both freedom of the press ... and freedom of religion are great liberties — those who use them must use them with care." There have been inappropriate actions on both sides - the thoughtless publication of the cartoons in Europe and the burning of embassies and threats of violence in the Middle East - I hope that we can remove the blinders of anger, look at things more rationally and use this as a vehicle to greater understanding of where the line lies between press freedoms and restrictions.

CABINET-DATE: Former Liberal MP and Industry Minister David Emerson has apparently shown up at Rideau Hall this morning to be sworn into the new Cabinet, having defected to the Conservatives! I'm sorry, but having just run as a Liberal, if this isn't a power-grab, I'm not sure what is. Very disappointing, and lowers my impression of Mr Emerson greatly.