Whispering in the Wind (WITW 58) December 17, 2014
For many of us December is the time of year for
reflection and anticipation – reflecting on what has gone well (or not so well)
in 2014 and planning for better things to come in 2015. With “Whispering in the Wind” being a
political column and the last newspaper entry for 2014, I thought it important
to identify two key political events that are now unfolding and how these
events will impact Canadian politics in in the up-coming year.
Collapsing
Oil Prices
In the last six months the international price of oil has
declined precipitously by more than 40 percent and that’s bad news for oil
producing countries like Canada, United States and Russia. Experts are now predicting that the global price
for oil has yet to bottom out and the world should expect low prices for the
next couple of years. In Canada, the
price collapse has hit the conventional oil and gas sector particularly hard in
Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland with virtually everybody associated with
the industry measuring their short term risk and longer term survival. For the governments of Canada the issues are equally,
if not more, complex. For the provinces
in the short term, it’s all about the buoyancy of their respective treasuries and
if there is prudent spending, it could mean less debt financing. For the federal government the issues have
become desperate – remember the 2015 federal budget was to be tabled in early
2015 and by all accounts it was to be an election campaign budget without
incurring debt. In my view, Canada is in
a desperate situation when it comes to the development of the country’s energy
industry, so the mess has to be treated an opportunity in Nation Building – and
that means and requires strong, cooperative political leadership with the big
question, does it exist?
The
Threat of Increased Terrorism
On October 22, 2014 an honor guard was shot dead at the
National War Memorial in Ottawa – minutes later the shooter was shot dead in
the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings – the shooter was later labeled as
being a “lone” terrorist. Two days
earlier two uniformed soldiers were run down by a “lone” terrorist in Quebec –
one of the uniformed soldiers died as a result of his hit and run injuries, the
“lone” terrorist was shot dead by the police after a short auto chase. In the last few days a known religious
extremist was shot dead in Sidney Australia – two patrons in the restaurant
were also shot and killed in the hostage incident – the religious extremist was
later identified as a “lone” terrorist.
I think a pattern is developing when it comes to terrorism activity in
countries like Canada and Australia.
When authorities use the label “lone” terrorist does it mean that there
is no plan or conspiracy perpetrated and organized by a nefarious group like
the ISIS organization? I’m not
interested in the details of interrogation and the rights of those who want to
harm or destroy me, what I am interested in is the containment of terrorist
activity – and if that means setting up a Guantanamo Bay type facility then it
should be presented to Canadians as an option.
I, like many other Canadians, await Prime Minister Harper’s further
legislation on dealing with both home grown and imported terrorist activity. In my view Mr. Harper should draft this
anti-terrorism legislation with the full input of the other political parties
and he should present his suggestions prior to the election being called.
Have
a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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