This is the title of a 1965 book by George Grant, decrying the way Canada was being increasingly intertwined with, and dominated by, the United States. This concern is even more pertinent today, but in this blog my lament is for our American neighbour. I fear that the country is in danger of imploding.
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The ongoing COVID crisis has generated a steady stream of articles and analyses about what our cities will be like after the crisis (whenever that might be). Much of the discussion has focused on changes in transportation, including two quite contrasting visions of the future. One foresees cities in which the car no longer prevails; instead road space is given over to pedestrians and (especially) cyclists. Critics debunk this view as idealistic nonsense, arguing that only the young and fit can travel on bikes and on foot – and that even they won’t be keen to do so during a Canadian winter. The other vision is that of continuing dominance by the car, indeed even greater reliance on the car as people avoid the crowding and close proximity of travel by public transit and as suburban development continues. Sooner or later, the U.S. will recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is less clear that it will recover from the toxic damage to its democracy. President Trump has done something outrageous almost constantly since being elected and the American public has become numbed to his behaviour. But I find it remarkable that Trump is blatantly disregarding the rule of law and the fundamentals of democratic government with virtually no outcry, much less consequences. Consider these two examples of the President’s actions in the recent past. A recent headline in the Toronto Star proclaimed that “young people will pay the price” if, as expected, universities and colleges shift to online learning – at least temporarily and for some portion of the courses. This is but one of a number of stories sounding the alarm over the damage to education if the COVID-19 pandemic makes it impossible to resume regular classes this fall. I appreciate that colleges and universities, like virtually all other organizations – public and private – are facing a major disruption and severe financial challenges at this time. However, I am not persuaded that a temporary shift to (mostly) online education would be as big a disruption as most observers seem to think. I base this on an admittedly extremely small sample – and a dated one at that – which is my own experience with delivering online education almost 20 years ago. Much has been written in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis about the lessons we should have learned from previous crises and about how we must do things differently going forward. These comments have understandably focused on health and social service issues related to the COVID-19 crisis, where improvements are essential to our future survival. But this crisis has also highlighted issues related to municipal governments and their place in Canada’s federation.
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AuthorC. Richard Tindal, Ph.D is a retired Professor of Government. He taught for 30 years at St. Lawrence College, Kingston and was an occasional Visiting Professor at Queen's University. He has also written and consulted extensively about government. Archives
October 2023
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