A "happy-fault" pervades our country. On the one hand, the division caused by Justin Trudeau has finally forced an honest discussion about the cracks in our Confederation. On the other hand, due to our prime minister's lack of deft and the rage he inspires across the country, the risk of a permanent fracture, de facto or de jure, is dangerously high. Canadians now stand before a growing abyss - will we close the gap or let gravity pull us down onto the rocks below?
To be candid, I believe this country is worth saving. What I mean by "this country" is not clear even to yours truly, but in broad strokes, I don't want the geography to change, though that is not to say the borders ought to remain the same as they are now within this landmass. As to questions of history and culture, whatever our imperfections, what we have to be grateful for far outweighs the events to regret: those who died to preserve our Dominion did not do so in vain.
No Canadian is an island. Our heritage of liberty requires defence and our democratic institutions require renovation if we are to prosper as a nation. This was an open secret from Confederation onwards, as the founding documents and dealings prove. But throughout the post-war period, particularly since the Canada Act of 1982, our country has been on a collision course, as successive governments picked winners and losers, finally enshrining them in law.
A fatal tilt towards regionalism, legislation by activist judges and a cowardly Parliament have fostered a Canada devoid of leadership. We cannot build metal tubes on our own land for our resources; we prosecute those recommissioning ships to supply our Royal Navy; we send cash overseas, while the cupboard is bare for veterans, fur trappers, families, or seniors; and what little we redistribute is taken from long suffering regions and given to those now in surplus.
There are dozens more issues, but the final indictment was self-inflicted by the Supreme Court. tephen Harper's nominee was turned down by current justices and all of Harper's temporary solutions to our constitutional contradictions were ruled out of order. Thus, the robed magistrates signed their own eviction notice, for if patching or repairing a crumbling foundation is unthinkable, then demolishing the entire structure is the only option left.
While lacking in the dramatic sense, a hack is available to us. Quebec has never signed the Constitution, which begs the question if it was ever legitimate. Rather than amend the broken document that only adds to our ills daily, the rest of Canada ought to rescind their signatures with a simple majority vote. I have no doubt our oligarchs in Ottawa will scream bloody murder, but as an ornery outsider once said, "they are entitled to their opinion - now let them enforce it."
Many will declare such talk inflammatory, perhaps even an incitement to violence. I can only respond that our current social and political contract is a sham - no one with any integrity can defend it without caveat. No wonder nationalism and patriotism are prohibited words - they point to what is lacking under our noses: a country that makes any semblance of sense. Add to this the innumerable, unsustainable promises of every party, and who can believe this farce?
Again, I declare this country worth saving and the people in it worthy of "peace, order, and good government." The last has long left us - I can only promise the other two will follow without serious course correction and that will reap civil unrest, sown decades past. But while there is still enough light to redraft our documents by, let us meet in good faith. Whatever the result, at least we attempted to keep the more than 150-year-old dream of Canada alive.
I am happy to suggest what those solutions might look like in later columns. Until then, we can only hope and pray the weak bonds holding us together endure the current tensions.
