FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Feb 16

We Now Have a Generation of Survivors of School Mass Shootings

by bcurry

Since the Columbine High School attack of 1999, which left 12 students and one teacher dead and reshaped how Americans viewed mass shootings, we now have a generation of young people who have witnessed more than one school shooting.  Most recently, gunshots erupted on the vast Michigan State University campus, killing three students and injuring five others.  Unfortunately, many on campus felt a chilling sense of familiarity.  Today, several college students were just children when the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killed 26 students, teachers and staff members in 2012.  Nine years later, the Oxford High School shooting in a nearby township outside of Detroit left four teenagers dead.  These were just but a representative few of the recent school mass shootings in the U.S.

Following the recent shooting at Michigan State University, the New York Times interviewed several students only to find that a number had also experienced a school shooting when they were in elementary and high schools.  One student interviewed on campus, who was at Sandy Hook Elementary on the day of the shooting, was reported to have said that “it was incomprehensible to have lived through two mass shootings in her 21 years.”  University faculty interviewed also noted that a number of their students had experienced a school shooting while in primary or secondary school.  Can one imagine how this latest school shooting must psychologically affect these young people?  I couldn’t imagine their current state of mind!

Those of us who attended college understand that the idea of security on campus is a difficult concept because of the size of a campus, with many buildings and facilities being frequently used by students, teachers and administrators.  Since mass school shootings occurred more frequently, colleges have introduced new security or safety measures in order to protect students and to prevent casualties from such incidents.  These include requiring key cards or photo identification to enter most campus buildings, sports facilities and residences.  Common across the country, campus wide systems were introduced whereby security alerts are sent to cellphones when there is a possible or actual threat on campus.  However, in most cases students must opt into the service, rather than opting out.  Campus police departments as part of their continuous training learn to prepare for and how to respond to threats. In the U.S., they often work closely with Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) campus liaisons to track potential threats from outside the school.  Many colleges also have threat-assessment teams made up of public safety officers, counsellors and student affairs groups, who try to spot troubled students and staff members who might be considering violent acts.  In such cases, school and community support services are made available to students with any issues.  However, this does not help those situations, as in the case of Michigan State, where the perpetrator comes from off-campus and is not affiliated directly with the school.

The ideal is that campuses of colleges and universities are meant to be open in the spirit of higher learning and freedom.  Therefore, at the post-secondary level, the authorities have to undergo a balancing act between allowing freedom of movement and enforcing security on campuses.  In the U.S. in particular, this is not an easy thing to do.  Even in Canada, colleges and universities have introduced more security measures in light of what has happened south of the border.  Fortunately, Canadians have seen far fewer violent incidents on our campuses, especially incidents involving gun violence.  Remembering back to my days in college, it is a shame that young people today go off to campuses under such a cloud of insecurity.  One has to feel for the parents who can only assume that their children are learning and developing in a safe environment.

Students today are being forced to be ever vigilant, recognizing that even college campuses are but another reflection of our societal woes.  Gone it appears are the more carefree and anticipated opportunities for growth that come with college and university experiences.  Increasingly, students are being forced to deal with continuous security and safety issues.  However, perhaps these experiences are meant to prepare young people for what they will experience in later life.  Alas, reality has indeed embraced our campuses.

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Feb 6

Both the U.S. and Canada Have Raised Security Concerns About Chinese Businesses

by bcurry

Relations between the U.S. and Canada regarding China haven’t been this low for years.  The recent shooting down of a Chinese surveillance balloon has simply made matters worst.  We know that the balloon flew over parts of western Canada before moving over American air space.  While Chinese authorities argued that this was simply a weather balloon that had gone off course, officials at North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) claimed that it was a spy balloon.  In the end, President Biden ordered that the balloon be shot down over the ocean within American controlled waters, allowing the military to retrieve the balloon’s remnants for further study.  In protest, Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned high-stakes weekend diplomatic trip to China.  In addition, a number of American Congressional members once again turned their attention to Chinese businesses, such as TikTok and Huawei, which have been operating in the U.S. 

With respect to social media platform TikTok, U.S. lawmakers have expressed concerns about TikTok mining users’ private data and passing on the information to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  China’s Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng insisted that China would “resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”  There is little doubt that Chinese companies are operating under the auspices of the CCP.  Whether or not these companies represent a national security risk has yet to be fully determined, despite all kinds of allegations by some American and Canadian authorities.

China is making major inroads into a number of countries as a way to extend its influence around the world.  For example, the latest interest by Chinese companies is in Mexico due to the advantages for imports to the U.S. because of the North American trade deal involving the three North American countries.  Chinese firms are establishing factories in Mexico that allow them to label their goods “Made in Mexico,” then trucking their products into the U.S. and Canada duty-free.  They are currently setting up operations inside the North American trading bloc as a way to supply Americans and Canadians with goods, from electronics to clothing to furniture.  This also allows Chinese companies to greatly reduce skyrocketing shipping and transportation costs, while taking advantage of Mexico’s highly skilled workforce, given the presence of its universities that churn out engineering graduates.  The Mexican government is openly welcoming billions of dollars worth of Chinese investments as a means to further develop their industrial sites close to the U.S. border and the potential creation of thousands of new jobs.

As a matter of increasing its influence abroad, China has invested in numerous infrastructure investments around the world, notably in Africa, South America and Asia.  Such investments often target critical sectors such as those in transportation (high speed rail), energy (oil and gas extraction) and mining (nickel deposits).  Many countries and their political elites believe that China is now the relevant superpower and the U.S. is in relative decline, especially after the disastrous foreign policies administered by Donald Trump. 

There is little doubt that American and Canadian politicians, particularly those of the right-wing persuasion, will continue to raise security concerns wherever Chinese businesses are active.  What is ironic is that American and Canadian companies were quick to invest in manufacturing operations in China, hoping to take advantage of cheaper labour costs and weaker environmental and health and safety regulation.  China took full advantage of the resulting opportunities to expand their business and economic interests in North America.  At this time, based on speculating about possible security concerns, I question whether we can prevent these business ties?  This recent balloon episode may have raised such concerns, but it apparently is nothing new since it is reported that three similar balloons actually flew over the U.S. when President Trump was in office.  Strange that no one complained about those incursions at that time?

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Jan 29

Have Recent Cases of Police Brutality Changed the Way We View Police?

by bcurry

Whether one is pro-police or anti-police, the recent arrest of five former Memphis police officers in the case of the death of Tyre Nichols has once again brought the issue to light across the U.S. and Canada.  In another high profile case this month, two police officers, formerly of the Police Department in Hialeah just outside Miami Florida, face felony charges in connection with the beating of a homeless man whom they detained outside a shopping center and then drove several miles to a remote location.  After the killing of George Floyd in 2020 and the historic summer of protest that followed, police killings of American citizens haven’t decreased.  Instead they increased.  Recorded in 2022, the total number of deadly police shootings at 1,096 was the highest since the Washington Post’s database started.  The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, which touched off protests and unrest across the U.S., was often seen as a turning point. 

However, across the country, even as fatal police encounters have continued apace, many cities have been forced to revisit how they investigate and talk about such cases.  These now reflect the reality that cameras are everywhere and that episode after episode of police violence, often involving Black people, has led to distrust of official accounts.  As a result, city leaders are being forced to call out police misbehaviour when they see it.  Charging decisions that once took months or longer now sometimes happen within days or weeks.  

Body camera footage is also more routinely made public, whether it exonerates the officers or raises questions.  There are those who support the police use of body cameras and those who oppose the quick release of footage to the public, as was done in the case of Tyre Nichols.  Police services in numerous countries, including Canada, now routinely employ body cameras for their officers.  Without the availability of such cameras, incidents of obvious savage beatings or killings would most likely not have come to light given past experiences of cover-ups by police services and local politicians.  As well, in certain cases the availability of body camera footage can prove that the use of force by officers was warranted.  Nevertheless, there are those who believe that official messaging must balance demands for transparency with preserving the integrity of any investigation.  That includes ensuring a video release will not compromise the case or the personal security of anyone in the footage.

As Americans and Canadians shift to other priorities like politics and the economy, some experts believe that the broader public has unfortunately become somewhat desensitized to police killings or brutality.  They callously have started to see the police killings as regrettable but ultimately acceptable by-products of much-needed increased policing at a time of rising crime.  This despite the fact that statistics show violent crime has been on the decline in both the U.S. and Canada.  According to a 2021 report by the Statista Research Department, the number of violent crimes in the U.S. dramatically fell over the last two decades, although the number of reported violent crimes rose slightly in the past few years.  What really influences public opinion is the fact that mass shootings have become so prevalent in the U.S., with 39 mass shootings already in the last three weeks of 2023.  These shootings, especially school shootings, are very high profile, although the actual numbers of their victims represent a very small percentage of the total number of yearly homicide victims.

Unfortunately, cases such as that of Tyre Nichols and the one in Florida have once again tainted the image of the police and created increasing distrust of the public they serve.  The horrendous video images have even had an impact on Canadians’ views of police in general.  Police chiefs across both countries now are being forced to deal with the fallout.  As a result of confirmation bias, such incidents can only lend more support to those seeking the so-called defunding of police services in their communities.  Furthermore, one can only hope and pray that the police themselves don’t increasingly become targets of hateful and violent responses.  Recently, Canada unfortunately has seen a significant number of police officers being killed while in uniform.  Between 2010 and 2021, five relatively young officers were killed in the province of Ontario alone.  As Mark Baxter, president of the Police Association of Ontario, declared about this unprecedented number: “To have all of these deaths in such a short period of time is really quite alarming.” 

What this all adds up to is that we are in a critical period where police agencies will have to clean shop, get rid of the bad apples so to speak, and become more transparent and accountable if they intend to enhance citizens’ trust in the police.  By improving the image of the police and quickly and openly responding to claims of police brutality and intimidation, especially among marginal groups within society, one can only hope that this trust can once again be gained and strengthened.

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Jan 26

Post-Secondary Education Institutes Depend Increasingly On Foreign Students in Canada

by bcurry

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada was already seeing a significant increase in the number of foreign students being admitted to post-secondary institutions.  In 2016, Statistics Canada reported that the international student population at Canadian universities almost doubled in the decade from 2004/2005 to 2013/2014, rising from 66,000 students to 124,000. In 2013/2014, international students represented 11% of all students on Canadian campuses, up from 7% in 2004/2005.  According to Project Atlas, Canada now gets five percent of all international students worldwide, making Canada the seventh most popular destination after the US, UK, China, France, Germany and Australia.  International students are fairly concentrated in two fields of study, with almost half of them studying business, management and public administration (27%) and architecture, engineering and related technologies (19%).  Foreign students pay substantially higher post-secondary tuition fees, as often as three times higher than domestic students. 

Back in 2007, Statistics Canada predicted that after 2012/2013, a major decline in the size of the youth cohorts would begin to affect enrollments, especially with current declines in domestic birth rates.  Full-time post-secondary enrolment is expected to reach a trough in 2025/2026, with a student population 9% below the peak 13 years earlier.  For this reason, one needs the influx of foreign students to financially support our higher institutions of learning, many of whom may also become permanent immigrants upon completion of their studies.  The federal government reportedly estimated that in 2018, international students spent $21.6 billion on tuition, accommodation and other expenses—an economic infusion supporting 170,000 domestic jobs and exceeding the impact of major exports like lumber, auto parts and aircraft.  Foreign students also contributed nearly 40 percent of tuition revenues at Canadian universities.  As noted, those numbers may well be higher now.  As of 2022, international student enrollments in Canada surpassed 600,000, far exceeding the government’s 2012 targets.

Since foreign students contribute billions to the Canadian economy and post-secondary coffers, it critical that international students are treated well and fairly in order to maintain our reputation in the field of higher education.  However, this reputation has recently been seriously damaged by the emergence of dozens of private, fly-by-night colleges catering specifically to foreign students.  For example, in Quebec alone there were 48 non-subsidized private colleges in 2022, up from 28 in 2015.  Overseas, there are countless local education agents whose job it is to advise prospective students on international schools, steer them to the appropriate programs and help them with the application process.  Unfortunately, for substantial commissions, many students have been directed to fly-by-night colleges in Canada.  Yet this industry remains essentially unregulated, as do recruiters’ relationships with the fast-growing private college sector.  According to Montreal immigration lawyer Ho Sung Kim, this is why so many business people are interested in the industry: “Money drives these schools, not education.”

Post-secondary education is under provincial jurisdiction, with each province responsible to oversee accredited bodies.  Since such private colleges are basically unregulated, the authorities primarily rely on the receipt of complaints before investigating allegations by foreign students.  Governments have received dozens of complaints from students about misleading promotions that guaranteed jobs after graduation, plus promises of high-quality facilities the school didn’t have and tuition refunds the college allegedly refused.  In addition, many teachers are technically not qualified to teach in their fields, and turnover is extremely high. 

Recruiting firms continue to travel to China, the Philippines, India and Mexico and have signed deals with private and public colleges in Quebec, Ontario, B.C. and New Brunswick.  Manitoba is currently the only province to regulate such recruiters.  In 2016, the province introduced legislation requiring schools to properly train recruiters and review the information they provide to students.  Much more needs to be done by the federal government who is responsible for issuing student visas, perhaps by performing background checks on such private colleges.  Such measures would go a long way to maintaining Canada’s otherwise excellent image that we’re doing a decent job welcoming and protecting international students compared to other countries.

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Jan 18

How Immigration Must Play More Significant Role When It Comes To Future Labour Force

by bcurry

Recently, reports are coming out of China that since the Communist Party took power, China’s population has started to level off.  Soon, India will surpass China in terms of population and population growth.  Much of the Chinese population decline was of course due to deliberate policies by governments, including the previous one-child policy, aimed at lowering its overall population growth.  However, such policies, while effective, have led to major concerns over future labour shortages due to low birth rates and an aging population.  It is reported that by 2035, 400 million people in China are expected to be over 60, accounting for nearly a third of its population.  Whether or not the government can provide widespread access to elder care, medical services and a stable stream of income later in life will also affect a long-held assumption that the Communist Party can provide a better life for its people.  In the case of China, few believe that its restrictive immigration policies will help out in the short-term.

What do these predictions have to do with the North American scene?  The fact of the matter is that both Canada and the U.S. are also facing issues surrounding aging populations, lower fertility rates and their subsequent impact on the labour market and social safety nets.  Simply put, in order to maintain a population via the annual birth rate, one needs to have at least two children born to each couple.  This is referred to as the replacement rate.  In 2020, Canada’s total fertility rate hit a record low.  In addition, in Canada more than nine million baby boomers are set to retire over the next decade, creating a potential labour shortage that, if unchecked, could raise health-care costs, upend pension payments and halt the country’s economic growth.  The current population of Canada is estimated at less than 40 million.  As the population ages, the median age had climbed steadily from 26.2 in 1971 to 41.1 in 2021, a trend observed in many advanced economies including the U.S.

This is why both Canada and the U.S. will continue to rely on immigrants to augment future labour forces.  Restricting immigration for political reasons, such as occurred under President Trump’s administration, will backfire when it comes to the rate of population growth.  Until recently, natural change — births minus deaths — had always been the primary driver of growth in Canada and the U.S.  However, even before the pandemic hit, these aging nations were already experiencing a decline in fertility and increase in deaths.  This is partly why Canada welcomed over 405,000 newcomers in 2021 – the most ever welcomed in a single year. The Federal Government is continuing its ambitious immigration policy by setting targets in the new levels plan of 465,000 permanent residents in 2023, 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025. 

However, there is one exception in Canada when it comes to increasing immigration.  According to recent data, the province of Quebec is taking a dwindling share of immigrants to Canada.  Under an agreement between the federal government and Quebec, Quebec controls the number of economic immigrants it takes each year.  In 2022, Quebec brought in roughly 15.7 percent of permanent immigrants to Canada, despite the province representing nearly 23 percent of Canada’s population.  Quebec’s current immigration policy is primarily based on its desire to have immigrants who are capable of living and working in French, Quebec’s official language.  The province’s Immigration Minister, Christine Fréchette, has stated that Quebec has to limit immigration to French speakers to protect the French language.  The minister further made it clear that the province won’t be boosting levels anytime soon.  However, strong opposition to this policy has surfaced within certain key sectors within Quebec, notably within business sectors which already are dealing with labour shortages.  For example, the Quebec Manufacturers and Exporters association said the province desperately needs these newcomers because there are labour shortages everywhere.  The association estimates that some $7 billion (Canadian) in manufacturing output that could have taken place last year was sidelined due to current labour shortages.

As in the case of China, the Quebec provincial government has implemented several schemes to encourage Quebecers to have more children, however with little notable success.  In both cases, government handouts like cash for babies and tax cuts, have failed to change the underlying fact that many young people simply do not want children.  Fertility rates continue to fall as incomes rise and education levels increase, and more women are participating in the labour force.  Other factors have contributed to the reluctance to have more children; including the burden that many younger adults face in taking care of aging parents and grandparents, the high costs of raising and educating children, and the increase in the number of working couples in order to make ends meet.  For these reasons, countries have fewer options other than increasing immigration to offset their aging populations and maintain their standards of living.

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Jan 14

Is Banning Books in American Schools Discrimination Under Civil Rights Legislation?

by bcurry

Back in March of last year I posted a blog on https://froliticks.ca entitled: book-banning-in-american-schools-continues-to-grow-what-next-burning-books/.  In that blog, I outlined the continuing issue of American schools nationwide quietly removing books from their libraries, particularly books dealing with discussions of race, gender, sex, the Holocaust and LGBTQ identities.  Now, the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has opened an investigation into a Texas school district over its alleged removal of books featuring LGBTQ characters — marking the first test of a new legal argument that failing to represent students in school books can constitute discrimination.  The federal government agency is investigating the Granbury Independent School District as the result of a complaint of discrimination lodged last summer by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas.  Experts suggest that if the federal government finds in the ACLU’s favour, the determination could have implications for schools nationwide, forcing libraries to stock more books about LGBTQ individuals and requiring administrators, amid a rising tide of book challenges and bans, to develop procedures ensuring student access to books that some Americans, especially right-leaning parents, deem unacceptable.

President Biden’s administration recently interpreted Title IX, the federal law that prohibits discrimination in public schools on the basis of sex, as forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity – a finding that is key to the ACLU chapter’s argument.  It is predicted that the proposed federal probe is likely to proceed slowly, taking one to two years, and, if successful, could generate penalties for the school district ranging from nothing to a reduction in federal funding to government-mandated training on inclusivity.  In addition, it has been reported that library and free speech advocates are taking notice.  John Chrastka, who heads the national political action committee EveryLibrary, said he was thrilled when he realized the scope and implications of the Texas ACLU’s argument that book banning could violate federal anti-discrimination laws.  This year, Mr. Chrastka said, EveryLibrary plans to repeat that contention in amicus briefs it will file in lawsuits against school book banning.

Unfortunately, proceeding with various forms of litigation takes time and also can result in other consequences when judgements are rendered.  Decisions rendered can open up other cans of worms, including greater availability of and accessibility to teaching of school materials on religion.  However, one must weigh the benefits of having freedom of thought in an open and democratic society, suggesting that any kind of indiscriminate book bans can lead to thought control and authoritarian measures.  Any decision will likely be contested by Texas as a possible infringement of its jurisdiction over education within school districts in the state.  The matter may even eventually end up going to the Supreme Court, which again would further delay any move to eliminate discriminatory and arbitrary book banning in their libraries by School Boards.

In the above noted blog, I claimed that “throughout formal education today, children will be faced with information and discussion about a number of difficult topics — where better than in schools.  People need to place more trust in educators, who after all have extensively studied and researched many of these topics in compiling their curriculum.  Misinformed and indiscriminate censorship doesn’t have any place in these processes, especially where educators and librarians unfortunately can end up facing daily harassment by fringe groups.  Freedom of thought and practice should be the foundation of a public school education, while respecting the rights of all parents and not just a few.”

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Jan 6

Flexible Working Aimed At Improving Work-Life Balance Is Making A Comeback

by bcurry

For the last two decades I have been following workplace trends toward flexible working arrangements offered by employers and the resulting pros and cons.  Now, the issue has once again raised its head as a result of discussions around post-pandemic alternative working conditions, including remote work or various hybrid arrangements.  The Great Recession of 2008 caused a lot of employers to consider alternate and more flexible working arrangements for their employees so as to better retain the most critical members of their workforce.  Struggling to survive the economic downturn, the need for increased productivity became greater than ever, which made it the perfect time for companies to introduce smarter working practices.  In a 2009 survey of 400 employers by the Families and Work Institute in New York found that 81 percent had maintained flexible work arrangements such as telecommuting, compressed workweeks, phased retirement and voluntary reduced hours.  Among companies with 1,000 or more workers, 37 percent used flexible work arrangements to minimize layoffs. 

As one can see, the idea of flexible working arrangements is not a new concept.  If anything, interest in promoting work-life balance has increased as a result of the pandemic’s impact on work and the labour force.  A recent report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) concludes that giving workers flexibility in terms of where and when they work can be win-win for both employees and businesses.  The ILO report further concludes that flexible work schedules can improve workers’ job satisfaction, performance and commitment to an organization — thereby reducing recruitment costs and increasing productivity.

“Flexibility” is now the new magic word for recruiters, and for good rationale as flexibility (or lack thereof) is consistently one of the biggest reasons employees cite for staying or leaving a job.  While pay continues to be paramount for most people, in the current environment companies need to find new ways to distinguish themselves as an employer of choice.  Unfortunately, there are still some employers who fail to see the benefits of offering flexible work arrangements in an era when new technologies better facilitate such opportunities, including remote or hybrid forms of work.  For example, the Canadian federal government recently mandated a policy requiring workers this coming spring to work at least two to three days a week in person, or between 40 to 60 percent of their regular schedule.  This employer is saying that in-person work better supports collaboration, team spirit, innovation and a culture of belonging.  While the federal Treasury Board is arguing that the employer has the right to determine where employees work, several federal unions are going to the courts to argue against the policy.  This has angered thousands of employees who currently have flexible working arrangements, especially as they are currently in contract negotiations.  However, I believe that the primary drive behind this employer’s decision has more to do with management’s continuing distrust in not having in-person accountability and supervision, believing other arrangements negatively affect productivity.

However, most experts agree that, in what continues to be a tough economic climate, empowering employees with the right tools and working environment will have numerous flow-on benefits; including improved customer service, retaining talent, ultimately giving the business a significant competitive advantage.  Most experts would agree that giving workers flexibility in terms of where and when they work can be win-win for both employees and businesses.  The above noted ILO report echoes the findings of many other recent studies and surveys.  While salary, benefits and work security have historically topped the list of sought-after incentives, multiple post-pandemic polls have found workers, especially women, increasingly prioritizing work-life balance.  The main question now is whether or not employers can really afford to not seriously consider promoting work-life balance through greater flexible working conditions?

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Jan 1

How Is Climate Change Affecting Our Younger Generation?

by bcurry

You may have heard of the terms “eco-anxiety” or “eco-distress” being used when one talks about the psychological impact of climate change on people, especially youth.  Unless one is living on another planet, one cannot help but recognize the extremes we are witnessing with respect to our climate in recent years, even by former deniers.  Across the world, we are seeing more severe weather resulting in flooding, droughts, wildfires, heat waves, tornadoes, etc., etc.  This phenomenon has led to many of us to question the future of humankind in light of one major disaster after another.

The grim forecasts have even led to something referred to as “reproductive anxiety”, whereby the young generation in particular is seriously questioning whether or not to have children?  On the one hand, people look at the carbon print attributed to having another child born.  On the other hand, some question whether it is the responsible thing to do in having a child born into an era of climate and environmental crises.  This tends to be an issue primarily among North American and European highly educated classes, who have the luxury of considering all the alternatives.  After all, it is the industrialized countries that produce the vast majority of fossil fuel emissions and greenhouse gases. 

One can certainly appreciate such arguments among today’s younger generation as we begin a new year.  We appear no closer to resolving the issue than we were five decades ago.  This has left us with an air of extreme pessimism, especially given recent world events.  Governments pay a lot of lip service to reducing carbon and other detrimental emissions, without actually achieving much of anything.  However, where I disagree is over the issue of where our future environmentalists, scientists, engineers and other professionals will come from.  We have come to believe that we have to better adapt our dwellings, infrastructure and technologies to meet the existing climate change challenges.  We will rely heavily on the creativity and productivity of our youngest to commit to developing and implementing new forms of adaptation and effective policies to deal with the multitude of climate change impacts.

Numerous technological experiments are already underway and it is up to the next generation to continue these initiatives.  Many of us are fortunately in a position to encourage and support the educational endeavours of our children, especially in the industrialized countries.  However, we must realize that the bulk of the impacts of global warning will occur in emerging or lesser developed countries, such as threats of mass starvation, conflict, rising sea levels, deaths and species extinctions.  For this reason, we must also support the work of persons in those affected countries, of which there are many.  If we do not do more, one can expect that migration from these countries to North America and Europe will continue at even greater rates.

As for the older generation, we must do our fair share of sacrifices.  This could mean adapting new forms of green technologies to reduce our carbon footprint.  There may be some ways in which to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, including through less air and motor vehicle travel.  How we heat and cool our homes is another area where changes can be made.  Promoting more urban intensification is also something we should consider, thereby reducing single home dwellings and commuting to work.  We have already seen the impact of working from home on travel.  We need to better inform ourselves of climate- and energy-related challenges so as to better educate our children and grandchildren.  As they say, ignorance is no excuse!

As in the case of Sweden’s Greta Thunberg, we have to encourage and support young environmental activists.  At age 15, she started spending time outside the Swedish Parliament to call for stronger action on climate change and later sailed in a yacht to North America, where she attended the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit.  It took some time for her parents to eventually support her activism.  We need more young people like Ms. Thunberg to come forward and demand that more needs to be done to address climate change issues.  Happily, she has been joined by other activists around the world.

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Dec 21

Differences in Governance Systems in Canada and the U.S. Do Matter

by bcurry

Back in high school and in university we were introduced to the two systems of governance in Canada, Great Britain and the U.S.  Canada like the U.K is a parliamentary system, with the normal three levels of governance: the legislature, executive and judiciary components.  As a republic, the U.S. has a similar constitutional makeup, although how each of the members is selected varies greatly.  In Canada, the Prime Minister is selected by which party gets the most seats in the House of Commons.  The PM also sits in Parliament.  Sometimes, if a party doesn’t win the majority of seats to form a government, the party with the most seats can negotiate with another party to form what is referred to as a “minority government”.  Minority governments are tricky because they can be toppled by a “confidence vote” on critical motions such as a budget.  Canada currently has a minority government as a result of the last federal election in September 2021. The PM currently selects the members to Cabinet who are normally members of Parliament, unlike in the U.S. where the President selects Cabinet members who do not sit in Congress.

In the U.S., citizens vote separately for the President and for candidates to the House of Representatives and the Senate, often in what are referred to as “mid-term elections”.  Unlike in Canada where there are mainly five official parties, the U.S. only has two parties: the Democrats and the Republicans.  As a result, Congress can often see a split in control between the House of Representatives and the Senate, as is the case now with the Republicans controlling the House and the Democrats the Senate.  In addition, there are those members who are independents.  The Canadian Senate on the other hand is made up of appointed members (by the Governor General on the PM’s recommendation) who now do not have any party affiliation.  Compared to the American Senate, the Canadian Senate does not have much power, especially when it comes to financial matters such as the budget.  It examines bills referred from the House and can recommend amendments which the governing party can accept or ignore in the final reading before parliament.  While committee hearings before the U.S. Senate can make or break policies or federal appointments, the Canadian Senate’s committees can simply provide reports on selected subjects which the Government most often ignores and get shelved.

Appointments to the Supreme Court are a whole other matter.  In the U.S., such appointments are highly politicized and depend on which party the President and Senate members come from.  In recent years, the majority of Supreme Court justices have been appointed under Republican regimes, resulting in a prevalent conservative court.  In Canada, on the other hand, Supreme Court appointments are more or less apolitical and made to reflect regional, ethnic and affirmative action considerations.  Frankly, given recent decisions by the American Supreme Court (e.g. Roe vs. Wade), I must say that I prefer the more independent Canadian version when it comes to appointing jurists.

There will always be debates over which system is better.  The fact of the matter is that both have their benefits and flaws.  One major concern with the American system is how the President is elected and the role of the “electoral college”.  For example, in the case of Donald Trump, he had smaller percentage of the popular vote than Hillary Clinton and yet won the election.  In both countries, it is especially important to win certain urban and rural areas in order to be politically successful.  For this reason, parties target certain key states in the U.S. and certain key provinces in Canada.  One major difference is how candidates in the election process are funded.  In the U.S. there is no end to the hundreds of millions of dollars that candidates can gather from such sources as Super PACs (political action committees).  For example, this year’s midterm election was expected to set a new spending record, with over $9 billion being raised. This is significantly higher than the previous record of $7 billion, which was set in 2018.  In Canada, contributions to candidates are far less and are regulated by controls enforced by an independent agency, namely Elections Canada.

To change the current governance systems in both countries would require significant constitutional amendments which don’t appear to be on the horizon anytime soon.  I would suggest, maybe just maybe, the time is right for governments to re-examine the governance processes in light of our histories and the continuing changes in both societies.

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Dec 11

Issues Raised Over Military’s Junior R.O.C.T. Programs in American High Schools

by bcurry

Recently, I read an article in the New York Times (Times) which highlighted the apparent mandatory participation of high school students in the military’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (J.R.O.C.T.) program.  The article points out that J.R.O.T.C. programs, taught by military veterans at some 3,500 high schools across the country, are supposed to be elective, and the Pentagon has said that requiring students to take them goes against its guidelines.

In Canada, over 57 000 youth, aged 12-18 participate in the after school and summer Cadet program: supervised and led by over 9000 military and civilian members; supported by their communities, sponsors, the Canadian Armed Forces, and the Navy, Army Cadet and Air Cadet Leagues of Canada.  Cadets generally run activities one night per week, and one weekend per month, with additional opportunities for unique experiences during the summer and throughout the year.  As in the case of the J.R.O.C.T. program, the cadet program markets once in a lifetime opportunities that develop leadership, citizenship, and self-confidence.  However, unlike the J.R.O.C.T. program, it is completely voluntary.

The Times found the vast majority of the schools with those high enrollment numbers were attended by a large proportion of non-white students and those from low-income households.  The role of J.R.O.T.C. in U.S. high schools has been a point of debate since the program was founded more than a century ago.   What is disconcerting is that in many schools a student is automatically enrolled, and must put in a request in order to leave the program.  Some have described such a military program as a means to indoctrinate young people and a form of “brainwashing”.  Others, including civilian teachers, are uncomfortable with military posters and recruiters on campus and the curriculum taught in J.R.O.T.C. classes, especially as it pertains to U.S. history regarding foreign policy and military initiatives oversees (e.g. Vietnam).  Some high school freshmen are also in J.R.O.T.C. at the start of the school year in part because of a shortage of physical education teachers.

These types of military sponsored programs advertise their worth in terms of better attendance and graduation rates, and fewer discipline problems at school.  However, critics have long contended that the program’s militaristic discipline emphasizes obedience over independence and critical thinking. The Times found the program’s textbooks falsified or downplayed the failings of the U.S. government, suggesting the promotion of “fake history”.  It is asserted by some opponents that the program’s heavy concentration in schools with low-income and non-white students helps propel such students into the military instead of encouraging other routes to college or jobs in the civilian economy.  I am a firm believer that what is needed by young people is more in the line of developing “self-discipline” and “commitment” to their studies and communities.  After all, schools are expected to provide guidance and programs aimed at self-discipline and other behavioural issues.  Not all young people respond well to the forced adherence to disciplinary measures and regimentation. 

Yes, in both Canada and the U.S. without compulsory military service, there is a shortage of personnel in the professional military.  However, a mandatory J.R.O.C.T.-like program in high schools is not going to resolve the problem.  The requirements of the modern military today are totally different from years ago.  Recruiters today are looking more for better educated and more technically savvy candidates.  Indeed, they may be better off promoting military service at the post-secondary level, especially were STEP programs are available.  If eventual serving in the military subsidizes post-secondary tuitions and other expenses, then perhaps more young people would voluntarily consider such a program.  Simply having a high school diploma no longer cuts the mustard.  Governments will have to consider improving wages, working conditions and benefits just like employers in the private sector.  The concept of “patriotism” can go only so far in today’s competitive society.

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