The Redford Team

Smoky Lake Signal Article No. 202 (December 21, 2011)

Whispering in the Wind

Year End Political Notables –
At this time of year the news media generally offers a lot of comment on politicians and how they have fared in 2011. Maclean’s Magazine labeled interim leader of the Liberal Party, Bob Rae as Parliamentarian of the Year, a label that I totally disagree with; nevertheless, it should help him in his “unannounced” bid for the Liberal leadership. John Baird of the Conservatives has been identified as being the Best Orator in Ottawa which is a real surprise to me – Mr. Baird was up to a few months ago, the Conservative’s bully in the House of Commons, now he is being recognized as a level headed, seasoned diplomat – in my view Mr. Baird is a man wearing a coat of many colors so when will we see the real John Baird?. Rex Murphy of the CBC recognized Prime Minister Steven Harper as the Most Over-Rated Politician in Canada, a strange label and a strange choice. Mr. Murphy’s argument for choosing Mr. Harper as Canada’s most over-rated politicians is that the opposition parties are overestimating Mr. Harper’s power and influence. From my perspective, Mr. Harper, as Prime Minister, has proved to be the most Under-Rated politician in Canada – in my view Mr. Harper clearly stated what he wanted to do with a majority government in the election campaign and is now implementing his clearly stated agenda. Unfortunately the Prime Minister’s tenacity has been at the expense of some important parliamentary traditions which could prove to be a very dangerous strategy when it comes to building a better Canada. For me Mark Carney should be identified as Canada’s Most Notable Canadian. Mr. Carney is Chairman of the Bank of Canada and recently appointed Chairman of the extremely influential Financial Stability Board – one could say that Mark Carney is currently the most important “financial mind” in the world, and he’s not a politician.

Attawapiskat, Harper’s Achilles Heel
Attawapiskat is proving to be a festering wound in the side of the federal government and the smell that is emerging is a clear indicator of a very rotten system. Prime Minister Harper has agreed to a meeting with the First Nations hierarchy on January 24 and hopefully that meeting will be the beginning of the end for a broken system of privilege and dependence. In the short term, the financial situation in Attawapiskat is a mess (and there could be many more messes in other aboriginal communities) – the RCMP should be sent into Attawapiskat to assure Canadian law is upheld and the appointed “third party manager” is able to do his job. I think what the Chief Theresa Spence of Attawapiskat First Nation is claiming is outrageously wrong and her decisions are an affront to Canada. Interestingly enough I do see some parallels between what is going on in Attawapiskat today and what went on in Quebec in the 1970s and 80s regarding Quebec separatism – it’s time a strong leader like Prime Minister Harper takes on these issues and settle matters once and for all – after all he does have a majority in both the House of Commons and the Senate so why not take on two particularly thorny issues.



Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year:
I’ve been writing “Whispering in the Wind” for the past three and one half years and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I’m actually surprised on the amount of input and comment I’ve received from readers – I regularly receive magazines and e-mails giving me a gentle nudge to offer another perspective – more than once I’ve been stopped on the streets of Smoky Lake with suggestions on what to write about and where I might have made a mistake. To all of you thank you and please keep the comments and ideas coming – have a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful, joyous 2012 – and yes, let’s take on the political / economic system, it needs a lot of fixing!