A note from Mireille B:
Dear Mireille,
Your questions are deep and real, and ones we share.
Especially the apathy of Canadians....we spoke at Ottawa U to young women and few were interested in politics, in changing things. But then a few were very engaged. I think we do not need to be many, but just a few of us who are really focused, who hold in our sight a vision that inspires.
The first step is to expose the lies that have allowed our voices to loose the capacity to inform, to inspire and to call for change. This starts at home and then our friends and then whomever we meet, write to, and call to account: our leaders, our councillors etc.
The hardest thing, I have found, is to get people to work together. In numbers there is strength and in joining our voices there is power, so I too belong to these groups, but when I talk about collaboration, their faces go blank!
And then, it requires so much energy to go out there and work for change!
At least we are attempting transformation.
Thank-you for your words.
Esther
There are many issues that are of interest to me. However I have been particularly interested in Canadian political issues in view of the lack of democracy that Harper has demonstrated since his tenure in parliament. I demonstrated during the last prorogation of parliament and have been a member of Fairvote & Harper22 since. Although all issues are important, I believe that our political system as it stands now is not working anymore and we need political reform. How our country is govern will affect how all other issues are dealt with. I have also read a lot about the global economic crisis.
There are many challenges that await us, or that are already here .... the aging population and health care, a school system that is stretched to the limit, education that is becoming more and more expensive, the poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer.... as well as pressing environmental issues that need to be addressed now or it will be too late.... natural resources that will be depleted not so far in the future... provinces that only care about "their provinces" vs Canada...... lack of patriotism when we live in the best country in the world, ..... not to mention the global economic crisis following the US banking crash and the recent catastrophe in Japan which is bound to affect our economy ... two major economic forces on which Canada depends, too much so with the US. And I forgot, .... war... in which we are involved in (because the US says so), with an inadequate defense system... should I go on?
How can we afford some idiot in parliament? We cannot.
How do we get people involved in the electoral process so that they feel their vote makes a difference. How do we fight Canadian apathy?
Where is integrity and transparency in government.... it's never been perfect, but transparency has gone out the window completely with Harper..... and integrity, well, that's hard to get in politics, isn't it?
That's my bit for tonight.
I just feel so powerless, like many Canadians do, to bring about change.
Dear Mireille,
Your questions are deep and real, and ones we share.
Especially the apathy of Canadians....we spoke at Ottawa U to young women and few were interested in politics, in changing things. But then a few were very engaged. I think we do not need to be many, but just a few of us who are really focused, who hold in our sight a vision that inspires.
The first step is to expose the lies that have allowed our voices to loose the capacity to inform, to inspire and to call for change. This starts at home and then our friends and then whomever we meet, write to, and call to account: our leaders, our councillors etc.
The hardest thing, I have found, is to get people to work together. In numbers there is strength and in joining our voices there is power, so I too belong to these groups, but when I talk about collaboration, their faces go blank!
And then, it requires so much energy to go out there and work for change!
At least we are attempting transformation.
Thank-you for your words.
Esther
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