Changes in the North
Changes in the North
“There is a Canadian
culture that is in some ways unique to Canada, but I don't think Canadian
culture coincides neatly with borders.”
Stephen Harper
“Luck, that's when
preparation and opportunity meet.”
Pierre Trudeau
By: Erreh Svaia
We all
could learn a bit from former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau's words:
"Reason before passion", considering the world we live today, using
the brain is quite important rather than reacting thoughtlessly, as some populist
leaders wish we all do, Shall we infer that Trudeau was foreseeing the world we
live today?
Pierre Trudeau
foresaw many things, he knew that some of the most advanced countries in the
world, at one point or another would face a demographic slow down which will
alter the equilibrium and the course of the economy of the country, Trudeau
helped Canada become the modern country it is today, he knew that a countries own
demographics are not enough and that sustained flow of immigrants could help
keep a young and motivated work force, Europeans, get a clue of how Harper´s current policies would affect the future of Canada, in immigration lies the clue for the cosntant vitality of a mature economy.
So Canada, our far neighbor to the far north, decided a couple of days ago that it was time for change, after 9 years of highly criticized Conservative rule, Liberal candidate Justin Trudeau, son of ex-prime minister Pierre Trudeau, surprisingly defeated current Prime Minister Stephen Harper (who ironically declared to participate in the elections: “To beat a Trudeau”, poor guy this Harper…) and reactivated Liberal rule that characterized the nation during the 70s and that fell so much if favor in the 90s and early 00s.
I remember as a young man thinking of Canada as a kind of paradise, "the most European country in America", a friendly and peacefully place with abundant natural resources and a generous welfare state, North Americans ran towards Canada in order to escape being drafted by the army and sent to Vietnam, and as Michael Moore's documental Sicko depicted it was also a social care paradise still a decade ago, a place when one could get health attention for free without questions asked.
I had a friend deported from Canada who told me about not so gentle treatment towards immigrants, Harper made it difficult for Mexicans to move legally to Canada, analyzing previous years, it seemed as if Canadian had in Harper a U.S. President (closer to Israel, highly critical of Russia) and the U.S. still have a Canadian president in Obama (Open towards immigration and social care), in a way the Canadian missed after 9 years the liberal element that characterized their country for a long time, Harper was a more hermetic character, he rode the wave of high oil prices and it seems that he paid the "price" after they went down along with commodities prices also, Harper's closing Canada's doors to immigrants, was a big issue, as its previous open door policies were key to Canadian quick development, Trudeau future work on this matter is a priority, given the fact that a proper immigration policy is basic to keep a healthy and vital welfare state in the middle of today’s stagnating economy.
Canadian felt that under Harper, the country was losing its essence and felt more American, more in fear of the outside world and more unconfident about immigrants, so in a way, the results are an important because they show that Canadian people were eager to have a change and to get back to previous more liberal times.
Trudeau is a very young man, 43, former actor and high school teacher, radically different from his father, has a very complicate scenario ahead with a weak Canadian dollar and an economy that is not moving fast enough, but Trudeau has a very well defined direction signaled by people: Create union and develop multiculturalism through the embrace of immigration, consider climate change policies, which in the past were important to Canada but were put aside by Harper, and drug legalization, a matter that as part of the North American region affect not only the U.S., but Mexico also.
So Canada, our far neighbor to the far north, decided a couple of days ago that it was time for change, after 9 years of highly criticized Conservative rule, Liberal candidate Justin Trudeau, son of ex-prime minister Pierre Trudeau, surprisingly defeated current Prime Minister Stephen Harper (who ironically declared to participate in the elections: “To beat a Trudeau”, poor guy this Harper…) and reactivated Liberal rule that characterized the nation during the 70s and that fell so much if favor in the 90s and early 00s.
I remember as a young man thinking of Canada as a kind of paradise, "the most European country in America", a friendly and peacefully place with abundant natural resources and a generous welfare state, North Americans ran towards Canada in order to escape being drafted by the army and sent to Vietnam, and as Michael Moore's documental Sicko depicted it was also a social care paradise still a decade ago, a place when one could get health attention for free without questions asked.
I had a friend deported from Canada who told me about not so gentle treatment towards immigrants, Harper made it difficult for Mexicans to move legally to Canada, analyzing previous years, it seemed as if Canadian had in Harper a U.S. President (closer to Israel, highly critical of Russia) and the U.S. still have a Canadian president in Obama (Open towards immigration and social care), in a way the Canadian missed after 9 years the liberal element that characterized their country for a long time, Harper was a more hermetic character, he rode the wave of high oil prices and it seems that he paid the "price" after they went down along with commodities prices also, Harper's closing Canada's doors to immigrants, was a big issue, as its previous open door policies were key to Canadian quick development, Trudeau future work on this matter is a priority, given the fact that a proper immigration policy is basic to keep a healthy and vital welfare state in the middle of today’s stagnating economy.
Canadian felt that under Harper, the country was losing its essence and felt more American, more in fear of the outside world and more unconfident about immigrants, so in a way, the results are an important because they show that Canadian people were eager to have a change and to get back to previous more liberal times.
Trudeau is a very young man, 43, former actor and high school teacher, radically different from his father, has a very complicate scenario ahead with a weak Canadian dollar and an economy that is not moving fast enough, but Trudeau has a very well defined direction signaled by people: Create union and develop multiculturalism through the embrace of immigration, consider climate change policies, which in the past were important to Canada but were put aside by Harper, and drug legalization, a matter that as part of the North American region affect not only the U.S., but Mexico also.
It seems as
if Canada is too far from Mexico to be affected by what´s happening there, but
that is a wrong statement given the fact that the world as Thomas L. Friedman
says: “Is becoming flat”, what affects the region would definitely have an
impact on the other countries part of it, and in the case of Mexico, we are big
partners of Canada in the NAFTA and in the upcoming TPP so we better start
thinking how this will affect the dynamics of the region and how we must
prepare for good or bad things to come.
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