the north grenville
www.ngtimes.ca
TIMES
Vol. 3, No. 42
The Voice of North Grenville
October 21, 2015
Something old, something new, Does the result of this on the tolerant and for North Grenville carrying federal election mean that understanding view of what
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Canadians have been granted the power and authority to comment forcefully on their political representatives? Can we hope to believe that the wishes of the Canadian people have been heard in a way that makes our democratic system validated? In these past few weeks, democracy, and the power of the popular vote, has been called into question by our elected council. We have been shown, in the most obvious and open manner, how vulnerable and fragile our political system is. Ironically, given the ubiquity of social media, even the typos of immediate social media posts are analysed for deeper meanings! What does this election say about our democratic system? We, as a nation, have elected a Liberal Government, led by the son of one of our most internationally famous Prime Ministers. When I first came to this country, all I knew about Canada was that Pierre Trudeau was the Prime Minister. Now, I know that Canadians are somewhat divided about the elder Trudeau’s record. All I know
is that Pierre gave Canada a clear identity as a tolerant and welcoming nation, something I appreciated as an immigrant to this country. I have to admit, regardless of party politics, that I welcome the arrival of another Trudeau to Sussex Drive, particularly after the divisive and bigotry of the past decade. I know Pierre was not perfect. I know that his “Just watch me” approach to civil
government was unacceptable to many democrats. But I also know that Canada did not endure the horrors of the IRA and the Loyalist terrorists that my country did. I also know that Justin is not Pierre. But I can only, perhaps naively, hope that his approach to Canada in some ways mirrors the attitudes of his father. When I hear Joe Clark, that true and admirable Tory, speak of Justin as somehow
Canada is, or should be, I must accept that a new and in many ways revolutionary approach to governing Canada has eclipsed the narrow, cynical and un-Canadian ways of Stephen Harper, that un-Conservative destroyer of genuine Canadian values. I can only hope that our nation can recover its true and legitimate identity as the most democratic, most tolerant, most welcoming country in the world. Let me admit something else here: I am an immigrant. I arrived in Canada in 1982 as a foreign student, with an emphasis on “foreign”. Even though I was Irish, white and relatively educated, I was aware that I was not a native Canadian. (Of course, I became aware later that there were only a few “native Canadians” left in Canada, but that took time to learn). But I was welcomed here, I was made to feel like part of a community, and encouraged to retain my Irish identity, culture and attitudes (not easily adapted to Continued on page 3
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