FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Sep 8

Canada Should Build A Wall On The Border With U.S. And Make Americans Pay For It

by bcurry

Wow! Do you believe that American voters could actually vote for Donald Trump to be the next President of the most powerful nation on earth – next to China that is? According to recent polls, that could be a real possibility.  Not so good for Canada eh! Canada has often been described as the mouse sleeping next to an elephant. The U.S. sneezes and Canada catches a cold.

Furthermore, the American media has indicated that a substantive number of Americans would seriously contemplate moving to Canada should Trump get elected. The question then becomes whether Canadians really want these confused, disheartened political refugees as part of Canadian society?  The answer is probably “no way”.  We have plenty of confused and malcontent Canadians to go around as it is.

Just what is it that American refugees would have to offer Canadians? Guns, religion in politics, reality shows, more illegal drugs, the Zika virus, militarism, more gang warfare, etc., etc.  Hey Canadians, it may be time to close the border.  So what if 80 percent of Canada’s trade is with the U.S.! Cancelling NAFTA may challenge Canadians to develop their own smart phone and automotive technologies.  One could name our own car the “Loonie Car”.  Canada has plenty of natural resources, technical know-how and highly educated workforce to survive on our own.

Just think, building a wall would create a pile of construction jobs at a time when the Canadian economy could use a boost. It just has to be high enough so that the average American can’t hurdle it – five feet should do.  The wall doesn’t have to be bland and unattractive.  Indeed, there are plenty of Canadian graffiti artists available to decorate the Canadian side of the wall.  Again, employment creation.  Hey, with the Canadian dollar at 75 percent of the foreign exchange value of the American dollar, building a wall at this time would be a bargain for American taxpayers.  So Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, let’s put this idea on the table when you meet with President Trump.

Canada US US Politics

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Jul 10

Black Lives Matter In Canada Should Take A Step Back

by bcurry

Black Lives Matter is a diffuse movement that started in the U.S. with a hashtag on social media some three years ago. It is a loosely organized protest group that is also spreading across Canada, with protesters from Vancouver to Halifax chanting their slogans. The group recently protested at the Toronto Pride parade against the inclusion of police floats in the parade.  They believe that police participation represents the institution of policing, which in turn is seen to have practiced racist activities such as the carding of black Canadians and other minority groups.  The movement also believes that the media has been anti-black and pro-police in its practice and unfairly criticizes its activities.

Spokespersons for Black Lives Matter recognize that there are police who are individuals, and the majority are not the problem. They see the problems residing in the institution that houses them.  The Canadian movement is perceived as being different from the American movement, but with many of the same goals, highlighting specific types of racism that exist in Canada.

However, along came the tragic shooting of several Dallas police officers by 25-year-old gunman Micah Johnson. Rightly or wrongly, various critics accuse the rhetoric of Black Lives Matters for having encouraged the sniper’s actions.  The Dallas shootings have now overshadowed the recent police shootings of African Americans in Minnesota and Louisiana.  Despite speeches by spokespersons for Black Lives Matters in Dallas and elsewhere denying any responsibility, there is little doubt that Americans at large will perceive some form of connection between the organization’s anti-police slogans and targetted police shootings.

For this reason, Black Lives Matters needs to take a step back and rethink its tactics. The issues facing black Canadians are equally numerous and complex.  Yes, as a society we need to address the fact that there are a disproportionate number of blacks in our prisons compared to their share of the population.  Yes, there is a disproportionate number of black children in the foster care system and there is a high dropout rate amongst black youth. Canada needs to address these and other critical issues which marginalize individuals.  However, in light of the Dallas and other targetted shootings of police, there may be a need to find ways in which to work more with the police, other authorities and communities to tackle racism.  At this time, the simple blame-game by any group could very well backfire among the general public.

Canada Racism Uncategorized

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Jun 27

Are You Going To Have Enough For A Comfortable Retirement?

by bcurry

Canada, like the U.S., has a federally-administered old age security program. In Canada, its main component is called the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). It kicks in at 67, although the current Liberal government has indicated that it will reverse that to its former 65 start.  There are also two other components — Old Age Security and the Income Supplement — the former for everyone based on income and the latter for those whose income in old age is very low. Now the federal government, with the agreement of the majority of provinces, wants to increase the contributions made by employers and their employees to the CPP.  This is the result of a number of factors including:

  •  Currently, the level of household debt to income in Canada is at its highest in recent history, combined with very low savings rates;
  • Individuals are not putting sufficient personal savings aside to ensure a comfortable retirement, including into Registered Retirement Savings Plans similar to 401Ks in the States;
  • Many seniors are compelled due to finances to continue working beyond 65, some well into their seventies and even eighties;
  • Only one-third of working Canadians have a private pension plan with their employers, especially defined-benefit plans; and
  • With an aging population there are already stressors on the public old age security reserves, with possible future increases in liabilities.

The proposed increase in CPP contributions has met with opposition from some interest groups, including those representing small businesses. The main argument is that the increase in employer contributions and associated costs will discourage additional hiring and result in job losses.  Employees may view additional contributions as a form of more payroll taxes, although they will benefit in the future when increased CPP payments are made to contributors.

What both sides really miss in their opposition is the fact that the costs associated with retirements, especially for those on fixed incomes, are increasing on a yearly basis. Anyone familiar with the costs related to providing housing, health care, personal support care, etc., etc., knows what I mean.  As a senior, try living in one’s home, in a senior’s residence or in a long-term care facility!  Indexing retirement payouts to annual inflation rates doesn’t even make a dent in meeting such costs.  If it weren’t for the involvement of families and volunteer groups in providing daily assistance and personal care to seniors, many elderly today would be suffering from poverty and isolation.  In two societies with so much wealth, can Canadians, Americans and their governments really ignore the future reality of trying to live in comfort as a retired senior?

Canada Seniors US

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Jun 8

Children as Young as 9 are Attempting Suicide in North America

by bcurry

In Southern Ontario, the small town of Woodstock, with roughly 38,000 residents, had five young people 19 and under commit suicide since the beginning of 2016. Local authorities noted that another 36 teens were known to have expressed suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide in neighbouring communities. How can this be?  Where are we as a society going wrong?

Well, the issue of youth suicide is nothing new in both Canada and the U.S.  Indeed, according to a 2011 U.S. study by the University of Washington, children as young as nine years old are attempting to kill themselves every year. Nearly 40 per cent of those who attempted suicide first tried to kill themselves in elementary or middle school.  Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Canadians between the ages of 10 and 24.  According to Statistics Canada, 25 people in Canada aged 10 to 14 committed suicide in 2008. Girls are more likely to commit suicide than boys, and the proportion of girls dying by their own hand is increasing.  Depression was detected in 40 per cent of suicides. Cyberbullying may play a bigger role in youth suicide today than it did a decade ago.  These are not simply statistics, each number represents someone’s child.

According to recent research, teens who had a schoolmate die by suicide are more likely to consider or attempt taking their own lives than those who haven’t lost a peer to suicide — and the fallout can be longer lasting than once thought. That effect, known as “suicide contagion,” can last two years or longer.  Some believe that this form of contagion may have happened in Woodstock.

Whatever the causes, societies have to seriously begin tackling this issue. Resources have to be allocated to deal with youth mental health issues, reducing the daily pressures and stressors affecting young people, better educating the general population and instituting a comprehensive national strategy to address the issue.  Suicide prevention programs need to focus on elementary and middle school populations as well as high school populations.  The number of youth suicides, especially among girls, has been increasing in recent years. We cannot afford to continue to needlessly loose our children and adolescents to suicide.  The time for talk is over.  The time for action is now.

Health Care Mental Health Uncategorized Youth Suicide

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May 9

To Blog or Not to Blog, That is the Question

by bcurry

For about four years now, I have been blogging on a variety of issues within the blog entitled https://froliticks.wordpress.com/.  Blogging offers one an opportunity to express certain views on issues of the day, often in a satirical manner.  Whether they are read or not is often of little relevance as to why one bothers to blog.  If the writing is good and the subjects are current and interesting, one can only hope that its readers will enjoy the blogs and hopefully become better informed and willing to think about certain issues.

However, one must realize that there are thousands of blogs written every day. Besides keeping up on current events via print or on-line news sources, one only has so much time in a day to read blogs via the Internet.  For me, the frequent absurdities of politics in Canada and the U.S. make good fodder for any satirical writer. The current American presidential primaries are a perfect example of offering up plenty of comedic material for the likes of Saturday Night Live and late-night talk shows.  The total lack of real informed debate about serious issues is only one of numerous flaws in our political systems.  Both countries are among the wealthiest and best educated in the world, but have created leadership races involving mud-slinging and name-calling episodes worthy of the worst virtual reality television shows.

Select any important topic of current interest — be it the economy, climate change, inequalities among the sexes and races, national security, immigration, foreign policy, etc., etc. — and perspective candidates will respond with one-minute nonsensical sound bits. What is even sadder is the fact that voters and supporters continue to endorse such behaviour.  One would think that citizens would want to see well thought out and viable policies to deal realistically with today’s problems.  It was Otto Von Bismarck who said that politics is the “art of the possible”.  Moreover, it’s not necessarily about what’s right or what’s best. It’s about what politicians and governments can actually get done.

Listening to many of our politicians, you’d think that politics is the art of the impossible. Too many promises are totally absurd and lacking any grounding in reality and serious study.  This outcome has unfortunately culminated in the likes of Donald Trump.  Hillary Clinton is not too far behind.  Canada’s current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tends to be more of a stuntman than a statesman, too often immersed in selfies with his admirers. This political evolution provides an immense amount of amusing material for bloggers like myself.  As long as the current output continues, there is plenty of incentive to keep on blogging.

Canada Conservative Political Groups Justin Trudeau US US Politics

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May 2

Why Canada Should Get the Hell Out of Iraq

by bcurry

It was March 2003 and the U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq. According to U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the coalition mission was to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people.  After 21 days of major combat operations, the loss of thousands of lives and the destruction of much of Iraq’s infrastructure, President Bush declared that the war was over.  At the time, I had many misgivings and was happy that Canada had refused to participate in this farce.  Remember, no weapons of mass of mass destruction were found and the war continued on for a decade.  Saddam Hussein was subsequently found and hung by the interim Iraqi government.  Iraq supposedly was supposedly on its way to discovering “democracy”— Western style.

Jump forward a dozen years, and where are we today? On April 30, 2016, thousands of protesters stormed the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad and took over Iraq’s parliament. A state of emergency was declared in Baghdad.  President Obama’s plan for fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) was predicated on having a credible and effective Iraqi ally on the ground in Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.  Instead, we have a corrupt and paralyzed government overseeing an Iraqi society fractured once again along ethnic and sectarian lines, with Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish elements fighting for power, oil and territory.

Meanwhile, Canada has increased its military advisors on the ground to help train Kurdish fighters in the north in their battle against ISIS. However, the problem is that the Kurds are really fighting to eventually establish an independent state, separate from the current Iraqi regime.  Since ISIS is nothing more than a bunch of thugs who rely on fear and threats to maintain their occupation in parts of Iraq and Syria, fighting ISIS has become a “good feel” campaign for the West.  Recent ISIS-inspired attacks in France and Belgium have given an added incentive to the campaign.  However, there is the much tougher task of helping Abadi repair Iraq’s corrupt and largely ineffective government before a ground war can be won against ISIS.

Canada is caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, if it pulls out its advisors from Iraq, its allies and the hard-liners will argue that Canada is soft on terrorism.  On the other hand, if it continues with military assistance to Kurdish forces, the Shiite and Sunni factions will accuse Canada of supporting the Kurdish independence movement.  Iraq is becoming increasingly ungovernable and eventually the U.S.-led coalition will be left with overseeing the breakup of Iraq into separate political entities.  For the moment, the common enemy in ISIS has forced some form of sectarian cooperation.  If and when ISIS is effectively removed from Iraq, what will come next — another civil war?  Most likely.  Canada had better begin thinking about an exit strategy, sooner than later.

Canada Iraq Iraq and ISIS Iraq Today US

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Apr 25

Hi To Getting Legally High On Pot

by bcurry

Well, Canada’s recently elected Liberal national government just announced that it plans to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in 2017. Canada already allows for the growing, distribution and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.  Now, our governing members of Parliament will be able smoke their pot on the steps of our hallowed institution.  Indeed, last week an estimated 5,000 people toked up on Parliament Hill as an annual part of 4/20 across the country.

More and more jurisdictions are allowing their citizens to toke up across the Americas. Today, people are free to smoke marijuana in four U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and medical marijuana is allowed in almost half the U.S. Uruguay has fully legalized weed for sale. A large chunk of South and Central America, including Brazil, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica, have made marijuana more available in varying ways, whether it is for medicinal or recreational use.  Even Mexico has recently gotten into the act by loosening its laws on the possession of marijuana for personal use.

The real question in Canada is why it’s going to take a whole year to legalize the recreational use of pot. There are plenty of distribution systems in place already to replicate.  The provinces would only be too happy to reap in extra revenues from the sale of pot.  Smoke it, toke it, vape it, eat it — marijuana is going mainstream. In past surveys, the vast majority of Canadians supported either complete legalization or decriminalization for possession of small amounts.  Hell, pot was around and readily available when I was in college in the early seventies.  Like a lot of our more celebrated citizens, a good number of us experimented with pot in our youth.  Most of us boomers really don’t see what the fuss is all about.

With all the other more important issues — climate change, recessions, terrorism, gun violence — you’d think that we’d have more pressing concerns to worry about. Indeed, maybe toking up might help some of us to cope with many of these serious societal concerns.  Like alcohol and tobacco, societies have established reasonable means to controlling their access and use, particularly by our youth.  The debate about the merits of legalizing marijuana use is finished.  Governments now need to get on with implementing timely measures necessary to control its use just like it does for other legal substances.

Canada Uncategorized War on Drugs

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Apr 14

The Great North — Strong, Free and Mostly Poor for Native Populations

by bcurry

Attawapiskat is a remote community of roughly 2000 people, mostly comprised of first nation folks, and led by the reserve’s band council. It is located in the Kenora District in northern Ontario, Canada, at the mouth of the Attawapiskat River on James Bay. Like other remote northern communities, it is connected to other towns along the shore of James Bay by the seasonal ice road/winter road constructed each December. Otherwise, people and supplies have to be flown into and out of the region.

We have just learned that Attawapiskat has suffered from an epidemic of suicide attempts, including eleven young residents last April 9th involving what is believed to have been the result of a suicide pact.  Subsequently, the community’s dire situation was exposed by national media.  The province of Ontario and the Federal Government admitted that they haven’t done enough in the past to help such communities. Housing is inadequate, the local elementary school is falling apart, substance abuse is high, young people have little to do on the reserve, mental health and other social services are totally lacking, and poverty and high unemployment is rampant.  In this environment of hopelessness, it is understandable why the suicide rate for such communities is roughly eight times the national rate.

In Canada, Aboriginal kids drop out of school at a rate three times the national average. A larger number of Aboriginal children die in infancy than among the rest of our population’s newborns.  Aboriginal children and Aboriginal women continue to be sexually assaulted and violently victimized at higher rates.  Aboriginals are murdered at a rate almost seven times higher than the national average.  In 2013, the Correctional Investigator reported that Canada’s prison population has grown by 2,100 inmates — a 16.5-per-cent increase — in the last 10 years. In that time, the overall Aboriginal population in the prisons grew by 46 percent, while the number of Aboriginal women increased by 80 percent and now accounts for one in three women under federal sentence.  Something terrible has gone wrong.

These appalling statistics and numbers represent real people. Every once and awhile, tragic stories like those in Attawapiskat make the headlines. Governments are forced to react in the short-term until the headlines fade from our memories.  Recognizing the complexities, cultural issues and history behind the problems, what we really need are long-term solutions in consultation with these communities.  Just throwing more money at the problem may not be the answer.  What is needed are on-going comprehensive and holistic approaches involving access to better education, social and health services, as well as innovative socioeconomic initiatives.  We have to stop simply reacting from one crisis to another.

Canada Native Issues Uncategorized Youth Suicide

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Dec 16

Sure, Let’s Put American Troops on the Canadian Border?

by bcurry

Well, listen up you weak-kneed socialist-loving Canadians. Republican candidate for President, Ben Carson, now says he wants soldiers and the national guard stationed not only along the Mexican border — but also at certain unspecified spots along the Canadian border.  Remember that last fall, former presidential candidate Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker had expressed interest in building a wall along the U.S.-Canada border. The Republicans appear to be implying that Canada is some sort of terrorist haven — with certain Americans expressing concern about Islamic State radicals crossing into the U.S. through Canada.

However, history has shown that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and most recent Boston Marathon bombings and San Bernardino shootings were carried out by home grown American terrorists. So far, there has been little evidence of any large or small scale threat from Canada in terms of potential Islamic State radicals. If anything, Americans have more concerns about their own citizens who have travelled to the Middle East to join ISIS. Just as Canada is concerned about the few Canadian nationals who have done the same thing.

Let’s face it, both the U.S. Homeland Security and Canada’s Canadian Security Intelligence Service share their terrorist-watch lists. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Royal Canadian Mounted Police are keeping an eye on potentially radicalized individuals in their respective countries.  Never-the-less, the most recent polls indicate that national security is now the No. 1 concern of American voters. I’m confident that this concern is right up there among key issues for Canadians.  However, additional security measures adopted more than a decade ago after the 9-11 attacks continue to impact trade and cross-border traffic.  Both countries have been looking at ways to ease the border backlog, partly by screening people at checkpoints away from the actual frontier.  After all, the U.S. is still Canada’s largest trade partner, and there is a lot at stake for the economies of both countries.

If dispatching American troops to the border with Canada makes Americans feel safer, so be it.  I doubt it very much if Canada would react in kind, particularly given that our armed forces have better things to do with their limited resources. Indeed, American troops may help to keep some gun smugglers from entering into Canada, given that the vast majority of illegal weapons have their origin in the States. Stopping access to guns by Canadian criminal elements is by far a much bigger issue for Canada.

Terrorism U.S. Canada Border US Politics

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Nov 16

Will the Paris Attacks Create a Backlash in Canada?

by bcurry

Already a fire was deliberately set at a mosque in Peterborough, Ontario.  Police believe that this may represent a hate crime.  Some prominent Canadians are increasingly questioning the Canadian Government’s stated intention to try to bring in 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year.  Critics are concerned that radicals may be allowed to enter under the program, despite the Government’s assurance that all potential refugees will be adequately screened. For the most part, they will be selected from refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.  Many will be families with women and children.  Remember that the horrible war in Syria has left more than 250,000 people dead and has displaced half of that country’s population.  Despite the hard work of numerous agencies, many refugees have been living in difficult conditions for several years.

Given the recent tragic events in France and elsewhere, including ISIS-related attacks in Lebanon and Turkey, this is not the time for “fear mongering” when it comes to providing humanitarian aid to these refugees.  It is also not the time for attacking Muslim communities in Canada, even if they are isolated events.  If this occurs, we are giving the radicals exactly what they want.  Such actions by Western countries will be used in ISIS propaganda as examples of why their so-called causes should be supported.  This in turn could very likely lead to a further radicalization of certain individuals who are already susceptible to such propaganda.

We need to work within our communities to ensure that inclusive policies and programs are in place to combat radicalization.  We need to be better informed about the complexity of the issues creating the Syrian situation and the general unrest in the Middle East.  We need to combat ignorance, extreme forms of backlash and xenophobic policies.  The best way that Canadians can combat extremism at home and abroad is by continuing to promote our finest traits as a caring, inclusive and diverse populace.

Canada Foreign Policy Iraq and ISIS Refugee Policies

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