Resolutions For A Saner 2009

My Top 3

With 2009 just around the corner, the obligatory end-of-year pundit guess-fest is underway. But if anything, the intense uncertainty of 2008 has shown that such predictions are pretty much a lost cause. So instead of more wild speculation about what’s to come, here’s a short list of suggestions for a saner, more productive Harper needs to resolve to start sticking to his word. In the last four months of 2008, the prime minister called an early election in defiance of his own fixed-date election law; watched Canada’s economy sink into recession after declaring firmly that it would not; and named 18 unelected Conservatives to the Senate after spending much of his career calling for an end to patronage appointments to the upper chamber. Prime Minister Harper would do well to remember that his government was elected by a public sick to death of political elites doing whatever they wanted, promises and principles be damned. Should he prove himself to be yet another unscrupulous power-monger, Harper’s cynicism could be his must resolve to make their May 2009 convention more than just a coronation. Yes, Stéphane Dion’s bungling of the coalition crisis made it necessary to forego a full leadership race and install Michael Ignatieff as Grit leader. But the Liberal Party is in desperate need of renewal, not just in terms of finances, but also of public image and policy. A leadership contest would have stimulated debate on all three; without one, the Liberal leadership will have to work extra hard to ensure the voices of the grassroots are and their elected representatives need to resolve to once again make the environment their top priority. After the economic crisis is over, the environmental crisis will still need to be solved. Even now the climate situation continues to worsen, with the federal government doing little to encourage change. All parties need to join together in the coming year and put into action a comprehensive plan to make Canada a leader in emissions reductions and green technology.A good place to start would be to ensure that any sector that receives a federal bailout must green up its act. That means you, auto industry.