We need a real leader in Canada

Here we are in Canada, and all our national media are reporting about the dramatic and exhilarating political races in the United States, filled with glamorous, charismatic, highly-principled (for the most-part) candidates. I can’t blame them – it’s far more interesting than our own politics, for several reasons:

• The contenders are all talented, powerful speakers who know how to raise the cheers in any crowd.
• They have the energy and adrenaline in their audiences of a nation sick and tired of their current President and overjoyed at the opportunity to get in someone new and fresh.
• There is excitement and a breath of future in the air for Americans.
  

In Canada, things are slightly different, to say the least. There's hardly been talk of the upcoming elections because there's no one exciting to place our bets on. We’ve got a Prime Minister who thinks only of select money-making, environment-destroying industries and builds almost all his policies around supporting these, regardless of what Canadians think. We’ve got an opposition leader who’s afraid to rock the boat and doesn’t stand up like his party really wants him to (and is therefore losing the confidence of his supporters across Canada). We’ve got the NDP who keeps things interesting in the House, but hasn’t yet balanced their strong social values with complementary economic and environmental values to be considered a strong candidate for national leadership. There’s the Bloc Quebecois that only Quebecois will vote for to maintain their sovereign voice, and then, way down there, but pushing up hard like a crocus in spring, is the Green Party, fighting for ANY voice at all in Parliament. (Come on guys, give them a seat, please?)

Who do you vote for? No one shines like a Hilary or shows a futuristic vision like Obama. Who has what it takes to turn Canada’s course toward a more sustainable, economically-stable in the long-term, socially diverse and democratic future?

I’m tired of governments that feel like they have “no option” but to continue to develop the tar sands, and will continue to rip up our forests for paper and wood products that won’t sell because China can do it cheaper. I’m tired of hearing of our failing industrial manufacturing sector in Ontario – where’s the Province in providing directive for these industries to shift gears and come to grips with the fact that cars as we know them must change to meet the growing demand for less-oil-gulping energy? I’m tired of hearing that yet another fishery is on the verge of collapse. I continue to see a government that is blind to what this means for our economy.

We need a leader who can make decisions based on their impacts 20, 30, and 50 years down the road, not for the next fiscal quarter, or even till the next election campaign. We need a leader who can bring Canada back to the main stage and lead internationally on environmental issues that are affecting the planet. Our next leader should consider economic decisions that will invest in the future, and help industries and economies make a smooth transition from our oil-dependent economies now to one that could cope with changes in our energy platform. We should be thinking of protecting our built and national heritage – building cities for beauty and longevity rather than frugality and uniformity. We need to invest in cross-country and inter-city transportation (NOT highways and airports!), protect the integrity of our fresh water, combat the influx of weapons into our country, and protect our aboriginal population’s rights, lands, health and education. Interestingly enough, most of the biggest threats we are faced can be minimized by protecting our natural resources.

Where is Canada going? I hope we can we turn it around, sooner rather than later.

I have some friends who would make great Prime Ministers…I should give them a call.