The problem with Canada in general, but politics globally is that all that matters is winning. It's not about actual governing, or policy, or vision, it's just about staying in power, and whatever games you have to [play to make that happen. There are no actual "leaders" in Canada anymore. Leaders make decisions, and act on them. They don't study them again. We don't have an HST between Toronto and Montreal although there's an actual business case for it. We don't have a functional military because it's just a drain on the bottom line. Builds a pipeline to the East Coast? Not in my lifetime, although everyone wants LNG...which we're too stupid to brand a greener energy. Plan for a big increase in immigration? Why?
And with the ethnic climate continuing to shift on a rapid basis, having a coherent foreign policy will become even more difficult for whomever is supposedly running the country; hint....it's the corporations who are receiving billion dollar subsidies to create paltry few jobs while handing the subsidies to their shareholders.
But we have seat plots to win an election. We are so royally fucked.
This is so true. A post nationalist state is just another way of being utilitarian, i.e., that one will do whatever to maximize what is valued, which as you point out, is power for Liberals and socialist policies for NDP. No vision, no purpose, no guidance, no honour loyalty or duty. That's the mess we are in. Pierre appealing to the Canadian Dream at least points him in a direction.
I think Poilievre has a clue but is keeping the sound bytes at a minimum. Remember, to much of the MSM Poilievre is the Anti-Christ, readying himself to dismantle the social safety net. At this point in time, the Liberals are stepping onto their own land mines. Poilievre just needs to stay out of the way and watch for shrapnel.
Politicians seeking to exploit diaspora politics have made the calculation that they can get away with making commitments to interest groups that'd be unpopular with the general electorate because the broader public isn't paying attention or won't notice. One of the perennial stories in BC is a politician getting questioned about appearing at a Sikh event like a Vaisakhi parade where there's posters and floats commemorating Khalistani martyrs who've been involved in terrorist actions in India. The politicians will usually muster some excuse that they didn't realize that would happen, but this has happened so many times that the excuse rings hollow. They're unwilling to force the issue, and calculate that the political benefit in the community outweighs the consequences with the broader public. They're probably right.
Outside of the parental rights issue that Pierre Poilievre has (very briefly) discussed with the Muslim parents, there isn't a single instance of Mr. Poilievre embracing this toxic 'vote optimization' strategy. In fact even the gender ideology issue is rarely even mentioned in his own talking points and only talks about it in response to questions.
You know what he does speak A LOT about - when it comes to immigrants? It is about how their credentials and experience are not recognized in Canada, and how he intends to resolve them. THAT is a real issue that plagues ALL immigrants (including myself). And literally no other federal politician even mentions this issue in their regular talking points.
So yeah, it would be important to at least acknowledge how (so far) Mr. Poilievre has distanced himself from the Libs and the NDP by not seeking out minority votes in toxic ways.
Because Canadians know the self regulated professions (an oxymoron) are self interested guilds, more interested in protecting their sictures and protected income streams than the best interests of the public. Qualified immigrants are collateral damage.
Oct 5, 2023·edited Oct 5, 2023Liked by Rahim Mohamed
I have many thoughts and a meeting that I need to run to, but I’ll say this for now: if Canada aggressively panders to Tamil extremists, it’ll make the current spat with India look like a trip to Disneyland.
Much of what Mr. Mohamed writes is an unfortunate artifact of the First-Past-the-Post electoral system. It would serve Canadians better, in my view, if people who write about election campaign tactics would acknowledge how they are highly influenced by electoral systems. What Mr. Mohamed laments in his article is less of a concern where proportional representation electoral systems like Mixed Member Proportional and Single Transferable Vote are used. MMP and STV have both been recommended for Canada aby independent inquiries.
FPTP is the focus of the last two paragraphs e.g.: “there’s little policymakers can do to wrest this problem, short of changing the electoral system. (Ironically, Justin Trudeau promised that the 2015 federal election would be the last to use first-past-the-post voting.)”
Great article. “Diaspora politics” only serves to divide, rather than unite Canadians amidst our diversity. It should be downplayed, not emphasized. Fortunately, it has struck Justin Trudeau on the most karma like way.
Believe Conservatives were the initial leaders in "shopping for votes" and use of data under the early Harper years. Cumulative narrow strategies for an overall stronger result. No real solutions (and PR might not change this reality all that much.
My NE Calgary community had an incident a few weeks ago with our Eritrean diaspora, being an open public brawl involving weapons involving over a dozen combatants . The problem is these young guys are still attached to the political turmoil in their homeland because of various hostile actors involved in their social media as well as their own patriotism towards what 'really' feels like home.
We need integration. We need the Canadian people to be united by a collective identity and common values so that we can live in peace within the ever more hostile geopolitical order.
Impossible to homogenize a country as politically/socially/ethnically/culturally/spiritually diverse and as geographically vast as Canada, and it would be stupid to try.
Integration is more desirable. Before you react negatively to that, please note that by 'integration' I mean blending our different approaches to life to share the best elements that we can agree on to help form a shared set of 'Canadian' values. Not CPC or LPC or NDP values, but non-partisan life values. Not easy, to be sure, but vital if this country is to survive descending into tribal anarchy, where it is headed currently, with politicians from all political parties encouraging it at every opportunity in their myopic obsession to win power.
How does integration happen?
Marriage.
Sports.
Art.
Poetry.
Music.
Sharing meals.
Sharing stories.
I would also add that a lot of Canada's problem is the outrageous costs to travel interprovincially. Far more Canadians need to travel to the different regions of this vast country (and not just in city airports, but out into rural areas as well). If we meet each other where we live, we will stand a much better chance of understanding each other.
Understanding leads to integration and a more harmonious populace.
You can't force it.
You can encourage it.
I'd support a provincial exchange program whose goal was not traditional tourism but rather getting Canadians from different regions and perspectives together on a personal level. Tax incentives, outright annual grants, whatever it takes.
Integration means we strive to learn about each other by sharing the best of ourselves.
Perhaps Canada is just too big to be united. The one country bigger than us broke up into over a dozen pieces 30 years ago and the one geographical next in size after us has ugly geographic politics as well.
Let's not forget about Yugoslavia, which broke up among big reasons being grossly disproportionate equalization and certain ethnic groups getting the "good" federal jobs. Wonder who that reminds us of?
The problem with Canada in general, but politics globally is that all that matters is winning. It's not about actual governing, or policy, or vision, it's just about staying in power, and whatever games you have to [play to make that happen. There are no actual "leaders" in Canada anymore. Leaders make decisions, and act on them. They don't study them again. We don't have an HST between Toronto and Montreal although there's an actual business case for it. We don't have a functional military because it's just a drain on the bottom line. Builds a pipeline to the East Coast? Not in my lifetime, although everyone wants LNG...which we're too stupid to brand a greener energy. Plan for a big increase in immigration? Why?
And with the ethnic climate continuing to shift on a rapid basis, having a coherent foreign policy will become even more difficult for whomever is supposedly running the country; hint....it's the corporations who are receiving billion dollar subsidies to create paltry few jobs while handing the subsidies to their shareholders.
But we have seat plots to win an election. We are so royally fucked.
This is so true. A post nationalist state is just another way of being utilitarian, i.e., that one will do whatever to maximize what is valued, which as you point out, is power for Liberals and socialist policies for NDP. No vision, no purpose, no guidance, no honour loyalty or duty. That's the mess we are in. Pierre appealing to the Canadian Dream at least points him in a direction.
I don't think Pierre is any different. He dodges tough questions the same way Trudeau does. They could be twins. Neither has a clue.
I think Poilievre has a clue but is keeping the sound bytes at a minimum. Remember, to much of the MSM Poilievre is the Anti-Christ, readying himself to dismantle the social safety net. At this point in time, the Liberals are stepping onto their own land mines. Poilievre just needs to stay out of the way and watch for shrapnel.
Which questions do we not know the answer to?
Politicians seeking to exploit diaspora politics have made the calculation that they can get away with making commitments to interest groups that'd be unpopular with the general electorate because the broader public isn't paying attention or won't notice. One of the perennial stories in BC is a politician getting questioned about appearing at a Sikh event like a Vaisakhi parade where there's posters and floats commemorating Khalistani martyrs who've been involved in terrorist actions in India. The politicians will usually muster some excuse that they didn't realize that would happen, but this has happened so many times that the excuse rings hollow. They're unwilling to force the issue, and calculate that the political benefit in the community outweighs the consequences with the broader public. They're probably right.
Outside of the parental rights issue that Pierre Poilievre has (very briefly) discussed with the Muslim parents, there isn't a single instance of Mr. Poilievre embracing this toxic 'vote optimization' strategy. In fact even the gender ideology issue is rarely even mentioned in his own talking points and only talks about it in response to questions.
You know what he does speak A LOT about - when it comes to immigrants? It is about how their credentials and experience are not recognized in Canada, and how he intends to resolve them. THAT is a real issue that plagues ALL immigrants (including myself). And literally no other federal politician even mentions this issue in their regular talking points.
So yeah, it would be important to at least acknowledge how (so far) Mr. Poilievre has distanced himself from the Libs and the NDP by not seeking out minority votes in toxic ways.
Because Canadians know the self regulated professions (an oxymoron) are self interested guilds, more interested in protecting their sictures and protected income streams than the best interests of the public. Qualified immigrants are collateral damage.
I have many thoughts and a meeting that I need to run to, but I’ll say this for now: if Canada aggressively panders to Tamil extremists, it’ll make the current spat with India look like a trip to Disneyland.
Much of what Mr. Mohamed writes is an unfortunate artifact of the First-Past-the-Post electoral system. It would serve Canadians better, in my view, if people who write about election campaign tactics would acknowledge how they are highly influenced by electoral systems. What Mr. Mohamed laments in his article is less of a concern where proportional representation electoral systems like Mixed Member Proportional and Single Transferable Vote are used. MMP and STV have both been recommended for Canada aby independent inquiries.
FPTP is the focus of the last two paragraphs e.g.: “there’s little policymakers can do to wrest this problem, short of changing the electoral system. (Ironically, Justin Trudeau promised that the 2015 federal election would be the last to use first-past-the-post voting.)”
Great article. “Diaspora politics” only serves to divide, rather than unite Canadians amidst our diversity. It should be downplayed, not emphasized. Fortunately, it has struck Justin Trudeau on the most karma like way.
Why should Canadians even care about our reputation in the world and about ethnic politics?
As long as we get our free health care and subsides we couldn't care less. Hand to mouth like good peasants.
Believe Conservatives were the initial leaders in "shopping for votes" and use of data under the early Harper years. Cumulative narrow strategies for an overall stronger result. No real solutions (and PR might not change this reality all that much.
My NE Calgary community had an incident a few weeks ago with our Eritrean diaspora, being an open public brawl involving weapons involving over a dozen combatants . The problem is these young guys are still attached to the political turmoil in their homeland because of various hostile actors involved in their social media as well as their own patriotism towards what 'really' feels like home.
We need integration. We need the Canadian people to be united by a collective identity and common values so that we can live in peace within the ever more hostile geopolitical order.
Impossible to homogenize a country as politically/socially/ethnically/culturally/spiritually diverse and as geographically vast as Canada, and it would be stupid to try.
Integration is more desirable. Before you react negatively to that, please note that by 'integration' I mean blending our different approaches to life to share the best elements that we can agree on to help form a shared set of 'Canadian' values. Not CPC or LPC or NDP values, but non-partisan life values. Not easy, to be sure, but vital if this country is to survive descending into tribal anarchy, where it is headed currently, with politicians from all political parties encouraging it at every opportunity in their myopic obsession to win power.
How does integration happen?
Marriage.
Sports.
Art.
Poetry.
Music.
Sharing meals.
Sharing stories.
I would also add that a lot of Canada's problem is the outrageous costs to travel interprovincially. Far more Canadians need to travel to the different regions of this vast country (and not just in city airports, but out into rural areas as well). If we meet each other where we live, we will stand a much better chance of understanding each other.
Understanding leads to integration and a more harmonious populace.
You can't force it.
You can encourage it.
I'd support a provincial exchange program whose goal was not traditional tourism but rather getting Canadians from different regions and perspectives together on a personal level. Tax incentives, outright annual grants, whatever it takes.
Integration means we strive to learn about each other by sharing the best of ourselves.
Celebrating together.
Perhaps Canada is just too big to be united. The one country bigger than us broke up into over a dozen pieces 30 years ago and the one geographical next in size after us has ugly geographic politics as well.
Let's not forget about Yugoslavia, which broke up among big reasons being grossly disproportionate equalization and certain ethnic groups getting the "good" federal jobs. Wonder who that reminds us of?
we used to have that: it was called katimavik
That still exists, which is great, we just need more of it. https://katimavik.org/en/
oh look at that! they brought it back
they cancelled it just as my kids were getting old enough to do it, so I just resigned myself to it being over. shoot, now they are too old