Obama’s acceptance speech and McCain’s concession speech were remarkable for different reasons. Obama is always very much aware of the arc of history and he has an uncanny ability to map paths along that arc for both himself and his audience. I envied the crowd in Chicago as tears of joy rolled down their cheeks in concert with his words.  MLK had a dream and now (finally!) Obama is living it and inviting the world to go along.

As for McCain, while he is not a particularly eloquent speaker, tonight he was gracious, transcendent and real. In fact, this was McCain’s most presidential moment since the campaign began and it should be a harbinger of the attitude the Republicans must adopt if they hope to rebuild.

All in all, a truly remarkable evening.

And now, as a Canadian, I wonder how, and if, Stephen Harper can work with Obama. Tomorrow morning Harper may discover that he has gotten up on the wrong side of the ideological spectrum. We shall see. All I know I that I will soon have to change the PenOpticon banner. After all, Tony Blair is gone and Bush and Cheney are starting to pack up their stuff.  Can Harper be far behind?

It is amazing that Americans can shoehorn most of their political views into these two political parties, especially when much of the democratic world requires three, four, five or more parties. As Canada lurches forward with four national parties, it is obvious, that the change we need here is a proportional voting system that will enable these diverse voices to obtain seats in government and work together in a spirit of practical collaboration. Until that day comes, Canada will be cursed with a series of minority governments that will have a hard time getting the job done.

Congratulations President Obama! Now how can Canadians get the change we need?

Anyhow, the fact that support for the GPC has essentially doubled since last June is extremely encouraging.  If Canada is in line for another minority government, we need a handful of Greens at the table to negotiate a substantive climate change policy.

One aspect of the Greens that should (but probably won’t) work in their favour is their habit of releasing technical policy and strategic planning documents. Take the recent "Investing in Biodiversity", plan for example. which calls for the completion of Canada’s national parks system, the protection of sensitive marine and land habitats and for the reinstatement of Canadian wildlife researchers.   As far as I know terms such as "nutrient cycling" and "taxonomic research" simply don’t occur in your average Liberal or PC policy paper.

We need a party that understands and invests in the eco sciences, a party that will steer our economic system in a direction that is in sync with the carrying capacity of the land. Let’s hope we are Green enough after the next election.

This renewed focus on the Greens and green politics has the major party leaders falling all over each other to see who can jump highest on the environmental trampoline. With his greenest good intentions, Stephan Dion can at least say he actually sorta did something when the Liberals signed the Kyoto Accord while he was Chretien’s Environment Minister. Unfortunately, as we all know, the Libs never backed up that signature with meaningful action. A few days ago, Jack Layton graciously offered to work together with the other leaders to rewrite Harper’s failed Green Plan, although a mere 6 weeks ago, he was all set to force a confidence vote over the issue. Yesterday Harper told the Canadian Press that the environment issue is now his "top priority".  "We have to point out why the environment is a priority for the public", he arrogantly condescended.  I think we get it Mr. Harper, we’re just wondering how your wonky tax cuts and oils sands subsidies are going to help.

Wouldn’t it be grand if the major parties did sit down and formulate a comprehensive set of tax changes and regulations that would drastically reduce greenhouse gases and emissions?  I expect it would look something like the Green Party’s GP² Green Plan.  Elizabeth May has stated in the past that the Greens would be happy to support any political party that could enact such a plan. It would be a fine thing, but it is hard to be optimistic because for Harper, Dion and Layton, the environment is merely an issue, a portfolio, a file.  It is something that must simply be handled for political survival and electoral gain.

For the Greens, however, the environment is everything.  It’s fundamental and determines the kind of economy and the level of health that is actually possible.

That’s why I’m voting for Green in the next election.

The Hydro One accounting anomalies are reminiscent of the furor over Eleanor Clitheroe when she presided as CEO from 2000 to 2002. Those were heady days when the utility was poised to go public. As Canada’s highest paid civil servant, Clitheroe pulled down 2.3 million a year, made use of corporate limos for her children and nanny — and apparently even for her cat. Clitheroe argued that such perks were provided in lieu of her taking maternity leave. There were other allegations involving home renovations that were billed to the corporation and along with personal country club memberships, etc. But, the nuclear waste hit the fan when we learned of a golden handshake deal that would let Clitheroe walk away with a multi-million dollar pension and three years salary for her trouble. Since getting the corporate boot, Clitheroe went on to become an Anglican priest, though she is still suing the Ontario government over her severance package and pension.

There is little point in rehashing any of this, except that last month’s Canadian Business features this gem of an article by Thomas Watson: An Apology for Eleanor Clitheroe. According to Watson, "Reverend Ellie" was actually a victim in the whole affair. Seems she was double-crossed by Ernie Eves and his Conservatives when they sacrificed her in order to try to save themselves. Well, that sounds about right, doesn’t it? But a victim!!!!? After all, Clitheroe was a willing participant in the whole affair and stood to gain considerable personal wealth from the privatization of Hydro One.

Oh well, I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised by the Canadian Business view of the world, but it is sad to see how the media can sometimes be co-opted to defend this kind of rot. It might make the job of cleaning it up (if that is even possible) all that much harder. Ya think?

Ah, well. Time will tell, won’t it? In the meantime, welcome back to Ottawa, Stéphane. Keep yer stick on the ice, watch out for Celine, and give Harper a whole lotta Hell. He’s been asking for it!

By staying away in droves, the election was handed to Glen Pearson with just 15% of the pool of possible votes. While the Greens are making hay out of the fact they garnered 25.9% of the tally, the reality is that only 9% of the riding actually cast a vote for Elizabeth May, despite the fact that the GPC mounted a good strong fight, with volunteers spread across the country phoning London North voters while an army of canvassers criss-crossed the riding.

I’m as cynical about our majoritarian electoral system as anyone, but this is all we’ve got right now. Since the people we put in power occasionally send us to die to “protect our way of life” and to “guarantee our freedom”, the least a person of voting age can do is to show up and mark an X when the time comes.

Clearly, it’s time we changed the election act to require our citizens to vote and to levy fines against those who don’t bother. Australia has such a system and averages a 95% turnout. It has been noted that mandatory voting results in a larger number of spoiled ballots and may actually skew the results in favour of liberal-leaning parties by bringing out larger numbers of “the poor and disenfranchised” [Slate].  So what! At least after voting, the poor will no longer be disenfranchised. Mandatory voting won’t necessarily give us better government, but everyone will share equally in blame for whatever government we elect.

Garth wants parliamentary reform. He talks in glowing terms about digital democracy and virtual parliaments. Essentially he wants to use technology to bring constituents closer to their representatives, to push more decision-making power into the hands of voters through referendums. These may be lofty ideals but there are lots of nasty details to work out. He’s starting with two practical ideas, however: fighting for the right of independent MPs to issue tax receipts for campaign contributions and pushing for a reform that would allow independent MPs to sit on parliamentary committees. Anything that can be done to put independent MPs on an equal footing with established parties is worth fighting for and Mr. Turner’s efforts are certainly getting noticed. We learned that his website is garnering some 1500 emails per day from all across this country. We also learned that the PMO has created a full-time position to monitor the political whereabouts of Garth Turner. Talk about your Fear and Trembling in Ottawa (by Harper S. Kierkegaard?).

The room wasn’t particularly crowded but a number of York professors monopolized the floor and peppered Mr. Turner with questions on the minutiae of digital democracy and referendums. When the Honourable member suggested it would be better to let voters decide issues such as stem cell research, abortion and gay marriage, one prof demanded to know why populist politicians only wanted to allow referendums on “divisive, right wing issues”. Why not ask the people to weigh in on economic issues as well, he demanded, and then asked the audience: “Who wants to raise the minimum wage to $10/hour?” As you might expect, the room erupted with applause and Garth was a little taken aback — but only a little. Why not hold a plebiscite to legalize astral flying, I muttered to myself. To me, the problem with radical populism is that it heightens the tension between the easy answers that we all want and the hard choices that have to be made. We saw this when Mr. Turner “went to the people” with a series of town hall meetings to see what he should do after being ousted from the Conservative Caucus. He could not get a clear and decisive answer from his constituency and he wavered for for days before deciding to sit as an independent.

Anyhow, I did manage to get one question in edgewise. I reminded Mr. Turner that although many in his riding wanted him to sit as an independent, a large number also wanted him to become a Green. Then I asked if he would consider accommodating both camps by joining the GPC while continuing to sit in the House as an independent. Sure, it would merely be a symbolic gesture, but one that just might help Elizabeth May win the London bi-election. He merely smiled and reminded us that his grandfather was a “Liberal Conservative” MP who traveled to Ottawa on horseback twice a year and that he’d like to see more crossover between party lines in Ottawa. Sure. Whatever. Even if Mr. Turner was unwilling to commit to the Greens as a card carrying member, he deserves full marks for spending quality time campaigning with Ms. May in London last week. I wish him well, but that’s enough Garth for a while.

The arbitrary fashion in which the the Conservatives denied Turner the right to run as a CPC member in the next election — despite being nominated by the local party twice in the past 18 months — is scandalous. Turner deserves credit for opening a debate on parliamentary reform. Why shouldn’t independent MPs have the right to issue tax receipts for campaign contributions just as full-fledged parties do? To that end, Turner announced he is taking the following actions:

1. I resign my membership in the Conservative name.
This is not easy to do after being a Conservative MP twice, a cabinet minister, a national leadership candidate and a Tory my whole life.

But my Conservative party believes in free speech, diversity of opinion, co-operation, equality of all people, progressive social values, true environmental protection and stands firm against intolerance, bigotry exclusion.

More importantly, though, I have realized that party politics – not just this party – is the problem.

2. Second, in the House of Commons I will support the government only when its actions are consistent with what I have just stated. I may only have one vote, and I may not change a whole lot, but it matters to me. I will try to make that vote count, and you will know it.

3. Third, I will seek out expert legal opinion on how our big national political parties, can be forced to be more democratic – to actually listen to, and obey, members. Right now these parties operate as old boys’ clubs accountable only to themselves. Is it any wonder voter turnout is dropping and cynicism is rising?

4. Fourth, I will introduce a private member’s bill seeking equal treatment in the House of Commons and under the Canada Elections Act for Independents. They should be able to sit on committees and raise money by issuing tax receipts right along with every other MP.

5. And, fifth, I’m not going away. Over the coming months I will travel anywhere people want to talk about democratic renewal, parliamentary reform, the role of our MPs and how citizens can get involved to reclaim this system from the unrepentant, arrogant party bosses and the unelected backroom boys.

Turner’s chances at reform may be slimmer than the Leaf’s shot at a Stanley Cup, but stranger things have happened. And while I hope he succeeds, I’d still like to see him return to party politics as a Green in the next election (There may be hope here: Garth is campaigning with Elizabeth May this Wednesday afternoon (Nov 15th) to support her by-election bid in London North Centre) Sure, we need more independent voices in Parliament, but the times are also crying for coherent, Green voices with the will to ameliorate some of the damage our species has caused.

Go Leafs Go!

Go Garth Go!

As an organization Katimavik is one of the unsung heroes of Canada. Since 1977, Katimavik has brought thousands of young Canadians together and shipped them around the country to volunteer with countless community and non-profit groups. Volunteers receive a token $3 per diem and a $1000 honorarium (after completion of the 9-month program). Katimavik provides a unique and intense life experience and a chance for young people to figure a few things out before they make their next move. Maybe I’ll blog something about my own Katimavik experience one ‘o these days. I could tell you some stories, I could.

But after thirty years of service the program’s days may be numbered. The Harper government has not formally pulled the plug on it yet, but they have essentially put Katimavik on notice. The Treasury Board has approved funding only until August 2007 and have instructed management to “cease any recruitment activities until further notice”.

It may be that Katimavik needs a kick in the pants to help it better fulfill its mandate. In fact, it may be in Canada’s interest to provide additional funding for more participants, to raise the organization’s profile and help it work more effectively with non-profit organizations. Katimavik participants could and should have a role to play in whatever Green Plan Canada eventually adopts.

Given Canada’s daunting geography and the astounding diversity of the people who live here, Katimavik is important because it lets young people live and work with the many faces of Canada. It encourages compassion, cooperation, innovation, tolerance, hard work — and fun. Even if you have never heard of it, ask your co-workers, friends, fellow students, parents or teachers about it. You will very quickly find someone who knows someone who has been on the program — or you may be lucky enough to meet a former participant.

Canada has been described as a provisional construct — an entity that exists by continually questioning and refining its values and aspirations. Katimavik is a small but integral part of that process that builds Canada. We should not let it die.

If you would like to help save Katimavik, please visit their funding status page and make your voice heard by emailing Stephen Harper and your local MP. The Katimavik web folk have built a nice little web application to make this exceedingly easy.

For the record, I’m a Katimivik “veteran” from 1978. So… if you happen to recognize yourself in the picture above, I would be thrilled to hear from you! Salut tout le monde! Vous savez qui vous êtes.

“Canada’s Conservative government has just finished writing the most comprehensive and environment-friendly action plan of the last twenty years, aimed at addressing the serious problems of global warming, deteriorating air quality and threats to our fresh water.

We have made the wise choice not to pursue the path of the Kyoto Agreement which would have seen Canada send billions of dollars to other countries in order to purchase pollution credits. That complicated and flawed plan would have cost taxpayers a bundle, while actually doing nothing to address our own environmental issues.”

Maybe when he wrote the above he had taken a few sips of the Kool-Aid but had not downed the whole glass? I dunno. Hopefully he will at least become a Green-friendly independent while the Harper government hangs on, and in a few months, if things look right maybe he’ll become a Green for real.

What I find sad about this entire episode is that Garth Turner seems to have replaced the discipline and ideology of Harper’s NeoCons with his own ideological faith in “digital democracy” — a misplaced belief that through technology voters will tell him what to do — and that what they say will always be the right course of action. Ha! Don’t get me wrong, Turner should be commended for opening a communication channel with his constituents. But active “listening” should not be conflated with blind obedience to the wishes of the few who choose to bend a politician’s digital ear. Sometimes good old-fashioned leadership is required. Sometimes a leader must articulate both the spoken and unspoken issues of her constituents.

In any case, Green History has been knocking loudly at Garth’s door and so far he has not bothered to answer.