In a blog at the beginning of this year, I stated: “After one year of the Trump Presidency, the rule of law – and the democratic system it supports – both seem increasingly in jeopardy.” I emphasized that the notion that a President can legislate by executive decree in the absence of prior statutory authorization is not consistent with any reasonable interpretation of government by the rule of law. Those concerns remain with respect to the trade/tariff war currently being waged by the President on Canada (and Mexico and the European Union as well).
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Throughout history, cities have been seen as a beacon of hope, opportunity, and advancement. The extent of urbanization is tracked as an indicator of a developing country. Canada is certainly in the forefront among urbanizing nations, with much of its population and economic output concentrated in a handful of major metropolitan areas. In an address to Big City Mayors in 2001, Jane Jacobs expressed the situation this way: "Without Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, and Winnipeg … Canada would be so poor that it would qualify as a third world country. The … taxes that businesses and residents in these five cities pay are what make federal and provincial programs and activities financially possible." No, we are not referring to a Hollywood remake of the 40 year old horror film that featured murderous tomatoes. Even more frightening, apparently, is the spectre of rogue Canadian Cheese Curds invading the U.S. and wreaking havoc on the American public – presumably by causing weight gain in an already obese population. Donald Trump has sounded the alarm on the threat to national security posed by the Canadian diary industry. He has cried fowl and vowed to eggxact revenge. In attempting to understand his behaviour (never an easy task) I can only assume that he may have given up on his dream of a Nobel Prize (even after forming a mutual admiration society with the North Korean Leader) and may instead by focused on winning a Pulletser Prize. In his blatantly obvious, but successful, ploy to win second choice votes from radical right leadership candidate Tanya Granic Allen, Doug Ford suddenly decided that Ontario’s modern sex education curriculum needed revisiting and that rote learning should perhaps return to the math curriculum in place of a problem-solving approach known as discovery math. Now that Ford has been elected, however, we are about to embark on a province-wide version of discovery math. |
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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