FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Aug 9

Political Polarizations Has Increased Mistrust in Many of Our Public Institutions

by bcurry

The New York Times in a very recent article (August 7th) notes that Republican (G.O.P.) contenders in the presidential primaries are bent on feeding voter distrust in public institutions such as the courts, schools and the military.  Obviously, most appear to be following the lead of Donald Trump who, for example whenever he has the chance, publicly attacks the U.S. Justice Department and the F.B.I.  During the pandemic Trump even disparaged the Surgeon General, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Resources.  Now, facing a barrage of indictments by the Justice Department, Trump has further accelerated his personal attacks on these major institutions.  Unfortunately, several other G.O.P. candidates have followed suit in an apparent attempt to appease Trump’s core followers.

All of the rhetoric, including that disseminated by social media and right-wing media, has created an environment where recent polls show that Americans’ trust in their institutions has apparently fallen to historical lows.  Feeding on voters’ already deeply embedded scepticism might have once been seen as politically risky, but social media and the right-wing media have helped change that.  The Republican governor of Florida and a candidate, Ron DeSantis, has led the charge against what he sees as a biased and liberal-influenced education system in his state.  Not to be outdone, another G.O.P. candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, has gone on record that he would shut down the F.B.I. and the I.R.S. as part of his fight against the so-called “deep state”.

My primary question is what would replace all these important institutions in a democracy that claims to need independent bodies to deal with issues like law and order, public health, the environment, new technologies and the role of the military?  In a modern society, freedoms are important, but there still has to be some oversight of those matters as they relate to the public good.  Campaign rhetoric perpetuating conspiratorial themes does not help to ensure a rational and knowledge-based debate on many of the challenges that, as a democracy, we face daily.  It’s easy to argue that things should be eliminated, but no one Republican has yet rationally put forward any ideas about how one would go about replacing these institutions — and with what.

The Republican Party, just as the Conservative Party in Canada, has long stood for “smaller government in size and role” going back to the days of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.   However, the current G.O.P. extreme rhetoric goes far beyond the past political stances of Republican presidents, from Richard Nixon to the Bushes.  As the Times article notes: “The proliferation of attacks has alarmed both Republicans and Democrats who worry about the long-term impact on American democracy.  Public confidence in core institutions — from the justice system to voting systems — is fundamental to a durable democracy, particularly at a time of sharp political division.”

Just as I am certain that there are a good number of moderate Republicans in the U.S. and conservatives in Canada who oppose such extreme rhetoric, I am hoping that cooler heads will prevail among our electorates in both countries.  Our democracies are closely watched by countries around the world, and defending our democratic institutions has never been more important in the face of the growth of autocratic regimes globally.  These institutions are essential to defending our democratic values and promoting the public good.  We need to strengthen them rather than knock them down as the result of excessive political polarization.  It’s one thing to push for smaller government influence in our lives, it’s another to suggest that one can simply eliminate or emasculate its influence in highly complex modern societies.  Doing so would just replace democracies with autocracies by centralizing political and economic powers under one regime.  We now have checks and balances, including the courts and justice system, to prevent this from happening.  Unfortunately, the Republicans appear more than willing to minimize such oversight.  Ultimately, the current split in their party, led by Donald Trump’s extremism, could greatly weaken their platform in the eyes of the American electorate, and particularly those of independents.

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Oct 14

When Compared to Americans, Canadians are still Naive about Extremist Groups

by bcurry

Finally, something very interesting is coming out of the House select committee investigating the January 6th 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol.  Ten days before the attack, a Secret Service field office relayed one tip sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warning that members of the far-right nationalist gang the Proud Boys planned to march, armed, into Washington DC.  For years, federal law enforcement agencies have sounded the alarm about rising threats of far-right violence in congressional testimony, in-depth reports and internal memos.  Months before 2020 presidential election, the FBI issued an intelligence report warning that far-right groups and white supremacists pose a “violent extremist threat” to the U.S. and the 2021 presidential inauguration, which could serve as a “potential flashpoint” for violence.  Even with all this available intelligence, largely because of Donald Trump’s continued provocation and resulting inaction, we know what tragically happened on that day.

Here in Canada, there is similar awareness among government agencies such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) who are at the forefront of Canada’s national security system.  For years, they have been aware of the activities of foreign and domestic extremist elements operating in Canada.  To be sure, there are linkages and interactions among several far-right groups and white supremacists between Canada and the U.S.  The Internet has simply made the constant communication among such groups all that easier.  This includes platforms and messaging apps like QAnon-hosting 8Kun, Parler, Gab and Telegram; and even such mainstream platforms like Facebook groups and on Instagram stories, Reddit, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.

Despite the evident surveillance of extremists by the RCMP and CSIS in Canada and constant communication with foreign security agencies, including the FBI and Secret Service, most Canadians continue to be unaware of their activities in the country.  The Trucker Convoy, which occupied Canada’s capital last winter for three weeks and set up blockades at U.S.-Canada borders, had several extremist elements behind its planning and illegal operations.  Taken somewhat by surprise, this forced the federal government to take the unprecedented action of invoking the Emergencies Act in order to help end the Trucker Convoy’s activities.  Authorities appeared to have been taken by surprise by the extent to which small groups could carry out such protests in a threatening way and even call for the overthrow and replacement of the current legitimate federal government.

Like in the U.S., Canada has seen a significant polarization of the political spectrum.  Right-wing extreme groups have latched onto Canada’s angry populism, especially during the COVID pandemic and the imposition of vaccine mandates and other restrictions by governments across the country.  In Canada, at the very least, consensus politics is becoming a thing of the past.  For some time, politicians have been blind to the new emerging reality while the liberal mainstream press remains arrogant and complacent.  Indeed, some politicians have even gone as far as to show their vocal support for so-called freedom movements, although they represent a tiny fraction of the overall population.  Governments have had to once again declare that the right to be heard does not include the breaking of laws and any promotion of violence.

For some time now, I have been highlighting the extent to which there have been radicalization movements in both countries.  For example, The Role of Conspiracy Theories in Radicalizing North American White Folk, Potential of Insurgency Grows Everyday in U.S. and Canada, Canada also has its own Right-wing Extremist Groups, Right-wing Extremism is a Growing Concern in North American Communities, and White Extremism in North America is very Worrisome and Dangerous.  As indicated in FBI and Secret Service documents and gathered intelligence prior to the January 6th Capitol assault, there are mounds of evidence regarding the continuing activities of extremist groups in the U.S.  One would hope that Canadian agencies and mainstream media are paying attention so that Canadians won’t be as naïve as they were prior to the Trucker Convoy last winter.

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Jul 5

Throughout History, People Have Explored the Meaning of Politics

by bcurry

Politics is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as “the activities associated with the governance of a country or area.”  In the 1800s, Otto von Bismarck, a German leader, was quoted as saying that: “Politics is the art of the possible.”  Other notables have commented on the art of politics, including the Chinese leader Moa Zedong who stipulated that “Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed.”  Abraham Lincoln suggested that “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”  Emma Goldman, a Russian anarchist in the early 1900s, was quoted as sarcastically saying that if politics could change anything, they would make it illegal.  For those who are new to the so-called discipline of political science, there are plenty of reference materials dealing with the question of politics.  For the grand total of $13.95 on Amazon, one can get a paperback entitled The Art of the Possible: An Everyday Guide to Politics by Edward Keenan and illustrated by Julie McLaughlin, that even 10 to 14 year olds can read and hopefully understand.  For aspiring politicians, there are most likely various versions of “politics for dummies.”

At various times in American and Canadian history, there have been periods where people questioned our system of governance.  Life may have been somewhat simpler when we had theocracies, trusting in the guidance of a higher power, as interpreted by the clergy.  However, with the separation of church and state, one now has to rely almost entirely on the collective wisdom of politicians and their political platforms.  The problem emerges when the people begin to loose faith in the political system and the trust in government is on the decline.  One can safely say that we are now in one such period.  We have to ask ourselves what brings us together and what divides us?  I would have thought that the pandemic would have brought us together in collectively battling this global disease.  Instead, especially in the U.S., the measures brought about by governments to minimize the associated deaths and illnesses, including vaccine mandates, appear to have polarized the population even more.  We remain seriously divided on several of the other major current issues, including climate change, abortion, gun control, capital punishment, to name but a few.

As a democracy, debate is essential to develop policies in order to effectively and efficiently tackle the issues of the day, often seeking middle ground on those issues.  However, for some reason, politics today has become so polarized as to hinder the normal and reasoned discussions that should take place.  Instead, there appears to be a growing wave of anger and dissatisfaction among a segment of the populace, leading to what has become known as “populism” in both the U.S. and Canada.  Donald Trump took advantage of this apparent rage and its accompanying attraction to extremism and reducing the role of government. 

In politics, reasonable debate has to be encouraged.  By reasonable, I mean that opposite sides have to introduce indisputable facts, with clear rationale and no dogma attached.  This continues to be difficult in an era when “expertise” and “science” is increasingly under attack, as clearly shown during the pandemic.  In addition, arguments simply based on religious beliefs should not be used as the sole basis for a position, unless one believes we are living in a theocracy. 

Yes, politics can be the art of the possible when all parties work together in collaboration and with common goals to tackle some of the most important questions of our time.  Simply adhering to one’s party lines is not going to get us anywhere fast.  Simply relying on past political beliefs and jurisprudence is not going to help us achieve what we need to achieve in the Twenty-First Century.  Significant change is needed, but difficult to reach if one continues to arrive at political stalemates.  Yes, I believe that all voices have to be heard as part of any democratic society.  Our rights only extend to that place where they don’t infringe on the rights of others.  This is why we have statutory protections and the rule of law.  The fundamental principles of our political system rely on the people continuously defending our democracies to the fullest extent, not by violence but by the ballot.

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Jun 25

Far More Political And Societal Division Among Americans Than Among Canadians

by bcurry

In July in both the U.S. and Canada, people will be respectively celebrating the birth of their countries.  However, these past few years have demonstrated a concerning growth in divisive politics, much more so in the U.S. than in Canada.  Most recently, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade allowing states to ban abortion.  This is despite the fact that polls have shown that only one in ten Americans want an absolute ban on abortion.  In Canada, the right to abortion is supported by all major political parties and the vast majority of Canadians.  When it comes to restrictions on accessibility to guns, the majority of Americans support increasing restrictions to gun ownership, while the gun lobby holds sway in Congress and many states.  Supported by the majority in Canada, there are restrictions on guns, especially handguns and military-style weapons — a number of the latter are outright banned.  Although numerous American organizations and groups have lobbied to eliminate the death penalty in half of the states where it exists, Canada did away with the death penalty decades ago.  It is now believed that the recent Supreme Court’s decision could also lead to a reconsideration of Americans’ right to same sex marriage, something which has been legalized in Canada for sometime now.

A new poll of Canadians by the U.K.’s well known pollster Lord Michael Ashcroft showed that Canada, rather than the polarized society on display in America, is described as a nation that is proud and hopeful.  He concluded that most Canadians are a lot more confident, empathetic, proud and trusting of their own democracy and national identity, frequently seeking a middle ground on controversial issues.  Fully seven in ten Canadians think Canada is one of the best places to live and multiculturalism is a healthy and important element of Canadian society and thus encourages immigration to the country.  Yes, there are some small vocal dissident groups who surface from time to time in Canada, but nowhere near the numbers of American right-wing and social conservative groups who even emerged to contest the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.  Thankfully, there is no equivalent to Donald Trump in Canada.

The current infringement on the rights of American women with the overturning of Roe vs. Wade will further increase the division among Americans across the country.  This will become a highly contentious issue in the upcoming November elections, with pro-life and pro-choice candidates slugging it out on the hastings.  When a draft copy of the decision was leaked in May, even Donald Trump began telling friends and advisers that it would anger suburban women, a group who helped tilt the 2020 race to President Joe Biden.  He felt that would lead to a backlash against Republicans in the November midterm elections.  However, as per the New York Times, with the decision Trump put out a statement taking a victory lap, including applauding himself for sticking by his choice of nominees.  On top of which, the court’s decision is unfortunately expected to disproportionately affect minority women who already face limited access to health care.  In addition, for those women who can afford to come to Canada, Canadian abortion services are currently examining the potential impact in welcoming these Americans.

With respect to another grouping, our indigenous people of North America, both the U.S. and Canada in the past had used residential schools in an attempt to assimilate indigenous populations by eliminating their culture and languages.  However, unlike in the U.S., Canadians began a national reconciliation process reflecting honestly on the darkest parts of history and attempting to move forward to correct past abuses.  Canadians of all backgrounds have come forward to fully support the truth and reconciliation initiatives at all levels of society.  The same issue has barely been recognized in the States.

All in all, one cannot but conclude that there is far more political and societal division among Americans than among Canadians.  The next decade could prove to be one of the most explosive in American history, with the current polarization of American society almost as great as that preceding the American Civil War between the North and South over the abolition of slavery.  Only time will tell.  Not a great time to be living in the States!

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Mar 12

Why Limited Social Movements Such As The Truckers’ Convoy Fizzle Out

by bcurry

The “People’s Convoy”, which recently numbered about 1,000 vehicles, arrived in Maryland on March 5th.  The convoy had signs and messages referencing far-right political views, pro-Trump  and conspiracy theories, including calls to “arrest Fauci,” referring to White House medical adviser Anthony S. Fauci, and ridiculously equating the mandates to slavery.  Convoy organizers intended to drive the minimum legal speed and increase the number of loops around the Beltway each day to pressure lawmakers and public officials, but not to actually enter the core district of Washington, D.C.  Given what happened during the so-called “Freedom Convoy” illegal occupation in Ottawa, Canada, which lasted over three weeks, police agencies from D.C., Maryland and Virginia are closely monitoring the group.  In addition, hundreds of National Guard members are on stand-by should they be needed to control the protest.

The truckers’ protest is a spin-off of the Canadian version, which has so far fizzled out following the removal and arrests of several protest leaders.  Like the Canadian situation, there are many different complaints and factions among the protesters, some of whom are more radical than others and often represent far right fringe groups.  While the primary protest in Canada appeared to be against vaccine mandates related to the pandemic and other public health measures, there also appeared to be a segment that simply wanted the current federal government to step down and be replaced by some form of alternative governing body.  There was a good deal of American influence on the Canadian convoy as evidenced by pro-Trump and Confederate flags.  In addition, a good deal of funding in support of the protest came from the U.S.  As observers note, what’s already clear is that that success begets imitators.  The Ottawa occupiers’ ability to attract massive financial support and international media attention — while suffering few serious consequences — inspired copycats across Canada, the U.S. and around the world.

While there is little debate over the fact that both the Canadian and American populations have seen even more political division during the pandemic, one has to ask how these intense expressions of anger, sometimes legitimate, will be reflected in the future?  Most enduring social movements tend to focus on single issue causes.  Take for example, the “right-to-life” and “pro-life” movements which have been around for years in both countries.  Then there is the women’s movement for “equal pay and equal opportunities”.  However, there have been those movements which portrayed a scattered issue protest, such as the early 2000’s Occupy movement in the U.S., Canada and other countries.  Started with the Occupy Wall Street in 2011, it primarily focussed on what it referred to as income and wealth inequality between the wealthiest 1 percent and the rest of the population which became the 99 per centers.  The Occupy movement’s goals came to include a vast number of issues including: a reduction in the influence of corporations on politics, more balanced distribution of income, more and better jobs, bank reform, forgiveness of student loan debt, more affordable housing or other relief for indebted students.  Without organized formal leadership, which the Occupy movements deliberately shied away from, the movement soon fizzled away into the history books.

The same outcome could be expected with the recent convoy protests, especially as governments remove more and more public health restrictions and vaccine mandates as a result of declining cases related to the pandemic.  However, this does not mean that the anger of a significant portion of the population will simply disappear.  Some have suggested that the current mistrust of government and the authorities will continue into the future, hopefully to be reflected through the ballot boxes in both countries.  The economy will be the next big issue, notably the impact of hyperinflation, including high gas prices, on the average American and Canadian.  Employment issues surrounding the economic recovery from the pandemic and a possible recession will stand out as major issues for governments and businesses.  Lower income and blue collar workers have been particularly affected and wages have not kept up with the current cost of living increases.  Whether a new protest movement results from the new socioeconomic and political circumstances, only time will tell?  Given past history, I would see future protest movements as being entirely inevitable, in one form or another.

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Mar 6

Truckers’ Convoy in U.S. Aspires to be More Calm Than Canadian “Freedom Convoy”

by bcurry

On February 23rd, taking its cue from demonstrations that paralyzed the downtown of Canada’s capital city of Ottawa for over three weeks, U.S. truckers embarked on a 2,500-mile (4,000-km) cross-country drive towards Washington, D.C., to protest coronavirus-related mandates and restrictions.  Having arrived in Maryland, organizers of the so-called “People’s Convoy” say they are planning to circle their armada of trucks, cars and SUVs around the Beltway on the morning of March 6th and into the following workweek at the minimum speed limit to slow traffic and get their message out to lawmakers.  The convoy, which recently numbered about 1,000 vehicles, intends to repeat that ritual each day this week until the group’s demands are met.  Organizers have proclaimed that they are law-abiding citizens who are simply exercising their rights to protest.  Unlike in Ottawa, they don’t want to shut anything down and they’re not planning to come into downtown Washington.

However, as in the case of the so-called “Freedom Convoy” in Canada, it’s not exactly clear just what are the ultimate goals of the American protesters.  As in the Canadian case, the convoy also involves a number or representatives of fringe groups, often with far-right links and other unrelated causes.  It seems apparent that there are a number of Trump supporters still asserting that the presidential election was stolen, as well as those from the anti-vaccine movement.  As in the Canadian case, many of the signs and messages can be seen referencing far-right political views and conspiracy theories.  A list of organizations supporting the convoy include those led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leader in the anti-vaccine movement, Gen. Michael Flynn, the former Trump administration national security adviser, and Rob McCoy, a Republican politician and Southern California evangelical pastor.  In general, the convoy participants do push for an end to government health rules requiring masks and vaccinations, a move that has already begun by governments as new COVID-19 cases have ebbed.  However, as in the case of Canada where provincial governments were responsible for implementing most public health restrictions during the pandemic, many of the mandates were implemented by individual states in varying degrees.

Given what happened in Canada, the Defence Department authorized deployment of about 700 unarmed National Guard personnel from the District of Columbia and neighbouring states to help manage the expected traffic.  Capitol Police said that plans were being drawn up to reinstall the temporary fence that was erected around the Capitol after last year’s January 6th riots in the Capitol.  Like the Canadian protesters, the organizers claim that they just have a message that they want heard and they’re not going anywhere until it’s heard.  Unlike the Canadian truckers’ convoy, they have not also stated clearly any specific protest against the American and Canadian vaccination mandate requirements for truckers crossing the U.S.-Canada border.  The Canadian protest included blockages by vehicles of the Windsor-Detroit and Coutts, Alberta, border crossings that occurred in late January and mid-February.  The negative economic impact of the blockades on trade contributed to the Canadian federal government invoking the Emergencies Act in order to pressure the protesters to remove their vehicles and reframe from further illegal activities.

In Canada, many arrests of leaders and protesters were made both in Ottawa and at the affected border crossings.  In the case of Coutts, Alberta, several guns, body armour and ammunition were seized by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).  The seizure is attributed to militia-style right-wing fringe elements.  In the case of the American truckers’ protest, it is hoped that the organizers will maintain a more peaceful stance.  In light of the decline in new COVID-19 cases and related hospitalization rates, the irony is that both protests against government public health mandates are occurring at a time when many of the restrictions are in the process of being removed.  If the American protest resembles its Canadian counterpart, one will probably see no clear plan and a hodgepodge of multiple and diverse grievances.  Many grievances will once again reflect the general malaise within a large segment of the population, often compounded by a growing mistrust of government and the authorities.  Unfortunately, as illustrated in the Canadian truckers’ protest, these grievances can lead to illegal and sometimes violent actions.

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Feb 27

Invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin Puts American Right-Wing Supporters in Tough Spot

by bcurry

The current military invasion by Russian troops has placed many of Vladimir Putin’s American admirers, including Donald Trump, in an awkward situation.  In the past, Trump and other Republicans praised Vladimir Putin as a strong and savvy leader.  This was in spite of the fact that Putin runs a Russian oligarchy made up of billionaires, with Putin’s personal fortune and that of his oligarch friends estimated to be in the billions.  Russia’s ultra-rich are among the biggest owners of private jets, fancy mansions and superyachts, some of which are found in the U.S.  Although the U.S. and other Western countries have imposed severe sanctions on Russia and members of Putin’s administration, the challenge is their fortunes and assets could be held through shell companies, complicating the ownership chain.  While imposing sanctions on Russian’s ultra-rich is important, getting at the money itself is complex.  So far, even as the U.S., the U.K. and other Western countries have ramped up sanctions on more than 100 Russian individuals and entities, these assets of the country’s elite — which can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars each — have avoided any direct hit.

As in Europe, many ultra-right American groups looked up to Putin as a some sort of model leader for the ‘populism’ movement.  Fox News host Tucker Carlson urged Americans to ask themselves what they had against Putin, echoing the Kremlin as he denigrated Ukraine as not a democracy but a puppet of the West and the United States.  Former President Donald Trump defended his praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, causing a number of top Republicans to distance themselves from his position.  What makes matters worst is that Putin’s regime has already imprisoned thousands of Russian protesters against the invasion.  So much for populism!  If the Russian military aggression continues longer than expected, there will be even greater unrest back in Russia, particularly as Russian military and Ukrainian civilian casualties rise.  Most observers believe that an inability of the Russian military to overthrown the current Ukrainian government in under two weeks will cause further enormous stress on Putin’s rule.

The negative toll on Russia’s economy as a result of Western sanctions and other economic penalties has already resulted in a massive slump in Russian stocks, considered to be the third-worst in the history of stock markets.  The Russian ruble has taken a major hit which will increase the costs of imported goods in Russia and contribute to the already post-pandemic economic downturn.  Any resulting reduction in the export of Russian oil and gas will have an impact on American and European energy markets, again contributing to the current hyperinflation world-wide.  Moreover, the war in Ukraine threatens the world’s economic recovery.

For many of his long-time admirers — from those in the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, and Brazil — it is something of an awkward spot.  The longer Putin’s aggression continues, the more populist movements around the world will be forced to be on the defensive over their past and present support for Vladimir Putin.  With every day, it is clearly becoming ever more uncomfortable to try to defend Putin’s actions, despite what Donald Trump might say.

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Feb 9

Truckers’ Protest Convoys Could Be Harbinger Of Societal Problems To Come

by bcurry

At the beginning of the global pandemic, I warned that the war against COVID-19 could prove to be a real test for societies, particularly those classified as being democratic.  After over two years of combating the disease, we are now seeing the brunt of pandemic fatigue on the general population due to its obvious economic impacts.  This has led to several anti-government protests, including the current truckers’ protests in Canada, Australia and the U.S.  However, people’s general frustration and lack of trust in governments are just the tip of the iceberg.  Even if countries may be slowly going from a pandemic to an endemic with respect to COVID, the fact of the matter is that some underlying socio-economic trends had been already set in motion.  In Western societies, the growing disparities between the haves and have-nots will no doubt lead to even more rank and file populist protests.

What is contributing to people’s disenchantment with the free market-based economies and political institutions that supposedly protect them?  Recent economic data and polls have shown us several outcomes.  The pandemic and the resulting restrictive economic measures imposed by governments have further exacerbated the gaps in incomes and increased the average person’s lack of trust in their governments.  In recent years, fewer families have been able to become full members of the middleclass.  Educational, employment and other opportunities to obtain or retain middleclass status have become fewer and fewer, especially given the increasing costs associated with a post-secondary education.  Many of the blue and white collar jobs that offered good wages in the past, whether in manufacturing or other sectors, have slowly disappeared due to new technologies, automation and informatics.

Take these factors and evident increases in the cost of living, including the lack of affordable housing and rising costs in everyday essentials, you have the basis for a lot of disengagement.  The majority of economists agree that hyperinflation is here for some time to come.  This is especially difficult for low-wage workers and small businesses.  On top of this, government subsidies which assisted businesses and workers during pandemic-related restrictions are or have disappeared.  As interest rates rise to deal with hyperinflation, there will be increasing debt loads for both individuals and governments.  The lack of affordable housing in most North American cities has now reached crisis proportions.

We have whole segments of populations facing extreme stress levels.  Everyone is talking about mental health issues, something considered taboo not that many years ago.  The growing use of marijuana, prescription and illegal drugs and alcohol has unfortunately led to growth industries which are indicative of our times.  Suicide rates are at an all time high, especially among our youth.  A study released by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in December 2014 concluded more than 230,000 Ontario adults, amounting to 2.3 percent of the province’s adult population, “seriously contemplated suicide” in 2013.  Since then, things on the mental health front have simply gotten worst.  Spurred on by the pandemic and substance abuse, the use of violence, most notably gun violence, in our communities and domestic lives has grown in the last two years.  Needless-to-say, these are grave societal issues that cannot be resolved overnight.  Are governments and communities up to the challenge?

Populist movements have grown within the U.S. and Canada in recent years, with Donald Trump leading the way.  America today has two major political parties, but the presidential election of 2016 managed to reshape the platforms and agendas of both.  In Canada, one has the People’s Party of Canada (PPC), led by Maxime Bernier, which claims to bring together “common sense, populism, classical conservatism, and libertarianism to create solutions adapted for the challenges of the 21st century.”  Bernier was the only political leader to officially address the protesting truckers and others at their demonstration in front of Parliament Hill.  In the 2021 Canadian federal election, the PPC did not win any seats, despite winning nearly 5% of the popular vote.  Time will tell whether the current truckers’ protests are a sign of things to come in both Canada and the U.S., or just one more anomaly?

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