Recent Canadian political events have been on the minds of many, including Patrick Gossage, Chairman of Media Profile and a member of our parent company’s Business Advisory Committee. What follows are some of this thoughts.
LEADERSHIP
By Patrick Gossage
The love affair with Canada of many who chose to come and live here must be sorely tested in these days of incomprehensible political turmoil in the nation’s capital. Mine is too. Our shared desire for strong, stable, and democratic leadership seems severely compromised by endless jockeying for power, with little in the way of substantial solutions to the severe economic crisis affecting us all.
I think we can nevertheless count on the inherent strength of this country and its people, and especially our ever more vocal dissatisfaction with its leadership to have an impact and to, in the end, bring out the best in those who would lead us. After all, the Harper government, which has been ideologically opposed to government activism, now must bring forward a very interventionist rescue plan for our economy or fail in increasing their support. The Opposition parties will be obliged to put forward their best plans to regain credibility. And the Liberals are already focusing on new robust leadership.
So our anger and anxiety is registering, and must continue to. Through every vehicle we have. We must insist on co-operation not confrontation, on real leadership not the pursuit of political advantage. In the end we have the power to punish or reward. Let’s make sure we let our politicians know this basic fact of our democracy.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, we are conducting a very brief online survey of people’s views on recent Canadian political events. If you have already completed the survey, thank you for your time and participation. If you haven’t, you can still access the survey here.
Frank Cristiano says:
December 9, 2008 at 11:42 amSpeak and be heard: what a concept.
After days of heated debates fueled by the mess in Ottawa I have decided to gather my thoughts and voice my opinion regarding the changing political landscape. I believe this is a great extension to Patrick’s contribution stressing the importance of our collective voice being heard.
The day I heard of the coalitions plan to overthrow/replace the Conservative government was the day that Canadian democracy almost died. To have a government take power through backroom negotiations rather then through an election would have been devastating to Canada’s political stability (although we aren’t out of the woods just yet).
That being said, the rallies that took place over the weekend has shown me that as a Canadian living in a democratic society, our combined voices will be heard – and more importantly WILL have an impact and continue to shape the foundation our country.
Whether you were apposed to the coalition or a supporter of this group is completely irrelevant to me – what’s more important is that you had an opinion – and you shared that opinion with your neighbour, your brother, your coworker, etc. It is truly up to us as Canadians to continue the dialogue. It is also our duty to actually go out and vote when the time arises (which will likely be sooner than later) to ensure that each and every person is represented when we send the next government to parliament.
Lets just hope they actually get to do some governing this time around…
Here is a link to an article from Monday’s edition of the Toronto Star where democracy reigned once again:
http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/550390
Remarkable what a collective voice can accomplish!