Sunday, August 2, 2020

A Ship without a Captain


A second wave of COVID-19 is growing internationally, nationally and provincially. Regionally cases are on the rise as well, which stands to reason. No one is immune to this virus or its insidious impact on day-to-day living but some are experiencing its consequence far more severely than others, so far.

 As with most storms, until folks are actually in the eye of it and experiencing its full force and impact, they do not respect it, even if they do fear it. Some will mock and jeer it. Some will cower and be crippled by it. Some will defy it and run out to confront it. Human responses to conflict are pretty predictable in that respect; they’re not all the same, unless and until uniformity and conformity is encouraged, enforced and sustained by the majority of those folks in any given society.

 That’s where Law arises as a tool to make as many as possible decide that being as much the same and behaving as much the same as possible is in everyone’s best interests. Those would be the Group Rights that have increasingly been challenged and minimized by the birth of Individual Rights in the past several decades and their expansion.

 Those Individual Rights are now challenged once more by the need for conformity to Group Rights interests and the clash between them is the David & Goliath struggle of our Age; precipitated in large part by a pandemic that can kill millions of folks indiscriminately if not checked and make both sets of ‘Rights’ completely mute.

 I won’t be here in 50 years but I would like to know how it all turns out. At a time when new cases and deaths are rising internationally, nationally and provincially as a second wave begins to unfold and gain momentum, political leadership is encouraging re-opening the economy, sending folks back to work and children into classrooms within the next couple of months.

 I see a perfect storm brewing and a lot of imperfect leaders putting on their blinders. Will they be held accountable for crimes against humanity if they are, by these choices now, sending the masses to slaughter? How will those masses cope if the health care system, the education system and the supply chains collapse just as the summer ends and we all start heading into the fall and winter seasons again? I certainly hope the Harvest is a good one this year!

 There is a large gap in the messaging between what I am seeing and reading from international bodies like the WHO and what my federal and provincial government leaders are messaging, and I am not okay with that. The interests of the Greater Good deserve better!

 If the economy needs shutting down and basic incomes distributed for 2 years, so be it. IMO that will still be far less costly for the rich and far less divesting for the masses of poor in the long-run than losing a significant percentage of the total work-force in coming months and all of the knowledge, skills and experience they possess with them for coming decades.

 It feels today like I’m on a ship with no Captain tacking into a very imperfect storm.

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Cannabis & Clubs


I was reading an article in the C.S.C.M. Club Quarterly Summer 2018 magazine that was a dialogue on Cannabis legalization. The panel for the discussion was a joke in my opinion; made up of only male, mostly middle-aged and privileged W.A.P. GMs that have no known experience with Cannabis or its sub-culture other than their periodic historical experience with it in respect to the employer/employee relationship and enforcement of Club policies. Any expertise they may have beyond that certainly was not evident in the article. I want to get back into the Club business at least in part to shake up and help dispel the absurd rhetoric I am hearing and reading related to Cannabis and it's potential negative impact on Clubs and the workplace.

GMs who hang out in hospitality suites at conferences and base a large part of their professional careers promoting and encouraging alcohol sales at their Clubs, as well as often participating in the consumption of those mind and motor-function altering libations themselves, are being massive hypocrites when they disregard that reality and say they see no place for Cannabis in their "family" oriented Clubs today. So, alcohol sales support healthy family values but Cannabis product sales don't? Is that your argument, really? What those individuals demonstrated through their dialogue is only how sadly misinformed the "establishment" and some of its more antiquated guardians really are and how closed-minded the Club industry's "leaders" as a whole really are. Under-informed and misinformed people default to the fear-mongering, stereotyping and cautionary messaging conveyed by that dialogue. It baffles my mind why the Society would turn to such clearly under-qualified and poorly informed people to record a dialogue  on the subject of recreational Cannabis with in the first place?

Open-minded GMs don't have time for that nonsense. They are too busy researching this relatively new multi-billion dollar industry to investigate ways in which the products and collateral influences and impacts of this bud(ding) industry can serve to reduce expenses of operations and contribute to products and services profits for the Club in years to come. Open-minded GMs are aware that the private club industry they are a part of was once a source for members of illegal liquor sales during the era of prohibition, as well as healthy profits for Clubs. They are also cognizant of the fact that the evolution of a taboo weed to a new market of legal products has occurred as a result of many decades of its prevalence in society. Cannabis is legal today because for decades Canadians have been using it for recreational and medicinal reasons and the masses of those who are okay with that has arrived at a time in history when their numbers are greater than those who think it should remain prohibited. Open-minded GMs are not so pompous as to presume that they now have some moral duty to act in the place of parents for their members by deciding what should and should not be promoted, encouraged and/or permitted at their Club.

Making legal profits for and reducing the operational costs of Clubs is the responsibility of the GMs. The birth of a multi-billion dollar industry with enormous untapped and still-to-be-discovered potential for generating profits and reducing costs has arrived and some of the brightest minds in our industry are dialoguing doubts, apprehensions and cautionary rhetoric? Insert eye roll now. To closed-minded GMs I say, please proceed to the golfers lounge, get a beer, wine or highball, and sit around judging and mocking what you don't know anything to speak of about nor have any experience with to speak of but clearly don't mind waxing eloquently, albeit ignorantly, on about no less. As a wiser route to my way of thinking, I am welcoming the opportunity to discover win/win Club policies and practices that will encourage convenience, comfort and quality in the delivery of whatever products, events and services members value and want. If that includes safe and convenient use of Cannabis as a part of their recreational activities and enjoyments I am going to look for ways to facilitate that and when and where possible make profit for the Club in doing so.

When I am not working I will be golfing at courses that do accommodate its use and there are millions of other golfers as well as potential golfers and members who are likely to be inclined toward that freedom of choice as well. Does anyone really think that by taking restrictive attitudes and establishing restrictive policies against plant products that it's estimated one in four Canadians have and/or do consume it is going to help grow Club profits and memberships or the game of golf for that matter? I suspect it is just the same closed-minded people reflected in the article's dialogue that still feel that way. Fortunately their babble is nothing more than page filler and is unlikely to have influenced anyone negatively who has the capacity to embrace and be inclusive of new opportunities in the management of today's Clubs.

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

It's not my 1st priority



It is always predictable working with volunteers and typical with the poorest organized of the bunch that sooner or later we will have the, "I am a volunteer and this isn't my first priority" conversation. It usually arises as a result of me challenging them in some fashion to fulfill the responsibilities of the role the volunteer is accountable for in a timely manner or to meet the need for punctual information and direction to other employees, volunteers and patrons in the dynamic. Most volunteers are valued contributors and do a great job in their roles. Some volunteers mean well but undertake too much or are not equipped in knowledge, experience or available time to succeed in the roles they play. Some others talk the talk but don't walk the walk; they are quick to put on and flash their volunteer credentials but are light on effort when it comes to completing their role's associated tasks and communications. 

It is no easy thing to push non-profit organizations and their hybrid teams comprised of employees and volunteers toward the adoption and maintenance of best business practices when there are volunteers in the mix who think they are more knowledgeable and experienced and are doing a better job than they actually are. Disciplinary policies and processes can serve to correct and improve on deficiencies in the performance of employees but mechanisms to address the inadequate performance of volunteers are less apparent and not as amenable to achieving corrective measures and outcomes. 

Whether in a paid role or a volunteer role, every person contributing to the operations of a non-profit entity represents a link in its chain. The strength and capacity of that chain is only as good as its weakest link. The short-term and long-term success or failure of any initiative or enterprise is determined by the contributions of all those involved in it and their commitment to fulfilling the duties and responsibilities of their roles. Receiving or not receiving pay for the role performed and the service delivered is irrelevant to the equation. As a manager of employees and volunteers for more than three decades I have learned that the appropriate response is to dismiss the "I am a volunteer and this is not my first priority" statement as the go-to excuse of those who like the status their volunteerism affords them in social circles but don't like or aren't willing or able to do the work that goes with it. Those folks do a disservice to everyone involved, paid or unpaid, and it is in everyone's best interest for their link to be removed from the chain promptly. 

The good reputation and success of any non-profit entity requires that all those who represent it and participate in it, whether paid or unpaid, consistently achieve some universally recognized best business practices related to communications. Replying to emails and voice mails received in a timely manner is everyone's responsibility. In today's world of PCs, tablets and smartphones claiming to be too busy to respond for days or weeks has nothing to do with being busy and everything to do with being disorganized, tardy and dismissive of ones responsibilities, whether paid to achieve them or otherwise. 

The vast majority of communications, whether internal or external, can be addressed in under five minutes. Failing to put that time and effort in can and does result in others having to pick up the slack in the chain, and those others may or more likely may not have the information needed to do so appropriately and competently. Failing to do so also produces both internal and external frustrations for the parties who are waiting or are having to fill in with respect to those communications. Unless physical or mental incapacity is in play, no one, paid or unpaid, can legitimately use the "I am too busy" rationalization to justify not communicating punctually. It is a lame excuse, not a valid reason. 

If communications are not a person's priority for accomplishment in any role undertaken in life, whether paid or unpaid, it is best to step aside and allow the role to be filled by someone else who will see them as the priority that they are. While a volunteer role may not be a first priority, it is certain that the initiative or enterprise participated in is of primary importance to those who are committed to it as a priority, be they paid or unpaid. Any volunteer who sees their role as one that can be shelved in favor of their other life involvements is disrespecting all involved by being a weak link in the chain and their contributions, or lack thereof, are a burden no one else should rightly have to carry. Do your part or don't. If you do your part you can be assured it will be appreciated. If you are not going to do what can and should be reasonably expected then please have the courtesy to admit you are not the right person for the role and quit.

Monday, December 18, 2017

A Rant Against 'Affluenza'




It is now pretty apparent one of the icons of wholesomeness during my youth and young adulthood, Bill Cosby, was actually all the while a sexually abusive monster; Bill Clinton really did inhale, and used the Oval Office to prey on a young lady for his sexual gratification as well; and Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of my country for the past nine years, appears to have lied and deceived Canadians so often over the term he has held the reigns of power that it's actually somehow come to seem normal to get screwed by the government he leads. I think it's sadly well beyond the point that such unethical and abusive conduct seems expected by the masses from the leadership We get from our elected politicians and societal role models nowadays; mass cynicism attests to it.

Have humans really always been so corrupt and deceitful in intents or is this a phenomenon of contemporary times? Sadly, history makes it evident it is a perpetuation of abhorrence, rather than the birth of it, in "civilized" society. History does indeed repeat itself, time and time again, and I suspect it will continue to do so for so long as human beings the world over focus on the differences between us, be those race, colour, religion, age, sex, or sexual orientation, rather than on the similarities and commonalities we share together as Homo Sapiens.

Donald Trump wants to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, and undoubtedly it won't be long before the xenophobia he proselytizes turns its attention North. Renewed calls for "Manifest Destiny" are certainly not beyond the possible with men of his ilk. The Republican campaign is even targeting "Anchor children" within it's own borders now; sending chills down my spin from the nauseatingly recognizable similarities in the divisive discourse and arrogant sense of superiority that has been echoed in every genocidal agenda pursued through the annals of mankind.
In Europe walls and fences are already being erected in an effort to stem the tide of "illegal" migrants swarming into Europe from war-torn states like Syria and drought ravaged countries across Africa. More than 350,000 people have made the harrowing journey toward freedom and a better, safer life this year alone, and no small number have perished trying along the way as well. Today there are more than 50,000,000 people living in Refugee Camps around the globe; displaced by warfare, religious persecution, droughts and famines.

Let those seven zeros sink in for a moment, as you imagine yourself as but one person amongst them. Don't be deceived by delusions of gene pools and birthrights, nor so arrogant and ignorant as to believe that life and your experience of living it could not be turned on its head in an instant. Life and its circumstances are ever-changing and you could well find yourself one amongst the marginalized and disenfranchised were the political system and/or economic system to fail, both for you personally and for society as a whole as well. Both are not only likely, but inevitable too - it's only a matter of when, not if, as demonstrated by the waxing and waning of peoples and nations throughout all past millenniums and during the one we live now as well.

Affluenza not only breeds contempt for those poorer off it seems, but also a delusional sense of inflated self-worth and invincibility. Time and again it is evidenced by historical record that when wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few the vast majority of human beings suffer hardships portionately beyond all possible measure. Sooner or later those masses rise up and cut the heads off the snakes in their midst. Generosity of spirit in words and deeds is the only antidote that can stave off the executioners, but typically arrives too meek and mild, not to mention too late.

The world We live in is not in a good place today. Millions of souls are suffering unspeakable burdens because of the greed, detachment and denial of the "Haves" and their lack of compassion and appreciation for the gravity of the depravity that millions upon millions of "Have-nots" experience every day. The tide of the marginalized and disenfranchised will not be stemmed without a corresponding expansion of atrocities to address it. Those inhumane actions in turn will serve only to motivate with increased resolve those who feel they have nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking from those who chose not to give and share from the good fortune evident within their plenty.

I am appalled and enraged that I live at a time when it is apparent more and more with each passing day that "Christians" of all stripes are failing miserably in demonstrating they are any good at all at practicing what their Scriptures" preach; Some "Muslims" are bastardizing their religion for extremist political ends by lopping off heads; and racism, unemployment and disenfranchisement of tens of millions of people shines renewed light on unresolved systematic and systemic discrimination in the "free" nations of the West that shatter all illusions of their egalitarian and democratic designs and intents.

The time is nigh for serious leadership and unbridled altruism and integrity in the words and deeds of leaders representing political communities everywhere on the globe. It is achievable because it is imaginable. From great minds can come an abundance of good for all if that is the aim. "High expectations equal high results and low expectations equal no results". It is long past time that our "leaders" start getting that, and are held to account when it's obvious that they don't.

It is indeed time for change! It does not matter which party comes to power next in this country or any other. What does matter is that they must lead with truth, transparency, compassion and humble servitude. That goes for all of them! Achieve that and in doing so it will prove you are worthy of being entrusted to lead the people toward their good governance and welfare. Any less and you may as well put your neck on the chopping block and await the falling of the axe. We deserve far better than We have been getting from our leaders on any given day.

The time is drawing closer and the cooking pots are coming to a boil once again. Will it be snake stew on the menu once more, or will the affluent decide to generously take from what excess they possess to offer up to the benefit of the less fortunate other menu choices instead? Either way the appetite will be quenched. For the affluent the question is simple: would you like the future served up with or without your heads attached?

Donald Trump's "Mein Kampf" - Reincarnation of an Imbecile!




Screw political correctness; far too many innocent people have died because of silence in dealing with bigots, isolationists and war mongers! Bomb the hell out of the oilfields in the middle east to stop ISIS; cast aspersions on "illegal" Mexicans - all they do is bring drugs into America, ..."they're thieves and rapists, and I suppose some of them are good people too." (particularly the ones who have toiled with their blood, sweat and tears to make Trump a billionaire); Immigration Policy is too weak, etc., etc. Undoubtedly many native Americans feel the same way about Donald and his immigrant heritage in America as well, and more justly and rightly hold that view than he does!

These divisive and disruptive rhetorical political tactics are pathetic strategies with historical roots deservedly associated with a very evil man, and by employing them Donald Trump is demonstrating that he is not one ounce better! I cannot see that he is running to earn the Republican nomination for President with altruistic intentions to serve his fellow citizens in their best interests, by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, his sole motivation to my mind is based on an egocentric desire to hold what he and some others consider to be the most powerful public office in the free world. Accordingly he is really and very seriously dangerous to us all, Americans or not. He is not to be laughed at and dismissed as stupid. He is indeed to my mind an imbecile, but not one lacking intelligence. Rather, to me, he is an example of an intelligent man who is negligently applying his brains to employ despicable means toward detestable ends.

How many American (along with British and Canadian) soldiers died in the quest to rid the world of a man the likes of Adolf Hitler, and have died since protecting human rights and international covenants, treaties and conventions from men of a similarly evil ilk and with like malign intents? Most Republicans, at least from what I see and read in news media looking from the outside in, have an American flag hanging from their house or hanging somewhere in their yard, at least in part to demonstrate their patriotism and to honour the legacy of defending against political tyranny and racial injustice. Yet, somehow Donald Trump is running #2 out of the possible Republican candidates in poles to date?! Are you kidding me? Give your heads a shake people!!! It seems to me some Americans are taking a symbol of the racist nature of their nation's history down (the Confederate flag) and at the very same time are building up and giving legitimacy to bombastic absurdity and destructive discourse from a "potential" President for the nation. Is that supposed to be some kind of progress? From the outside looking in, it appears to me that Trump's supporters must surely be the ones on drugs, and apparently they're the really psychedelic kind that enable idiocy to somehow seem logical, just and right.

Donald Trump is to my mind an arrogant prick with a Napoleon-like Emperor's woody on. He is being extremely irresponsible and horrifically short-sighted in the pursuit of his personal ambitions, and it is Americans, not Mexicans and Chinese, who will pay for that the most in the fullness of time if this man gets the public office he seeks. I don't care if you live in the back hills of Kentucky or on a main street in a major city in Kansas or Virginia (or any other state), it is way past time for all Americans to get their heads out of the sand and see the evil in this man for what it is! In the contemporary era, particularly with the history of Nazi Germany to draw from in memory banks and history texts, it is inconceivable to me that good, God-fearing and otherwise, loyal Americans cannot see through the charade that Donald Trump is proselytizing and the sham that he embodies with such views. It is past time for the lot of his supporters to undergo detoxification, so America, and the world, can be rid once again of a vile man who would so shamelessly and so arrogantly presume a right to orate such out-right crap for public consumption and indoctrination.

Monetarily I am not worth $9 billion, as I have read Trump is "worth", and in fact monetarily I am not worth much at all. Fortunately, monetary wealth and accumulation of financial assets has never been the measure of a good man, nor will it ever be so. No, a good man speaks truth, honours his Mother & Father, and respects his friends and neighbours. A good man works for the betterment of life for all in his community (locally and globally), not just for those that meet his measure of their worthiness to live their life in liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A good man uses his public podium to build people up, he does not use it to cast aspersions and tear them down.

As for Donald Trump, based on what I have seen and read, I wouldn't pay a penny for his thoughts on anything, and Americans would be wise to recognize that the vision and reality this moron is attempting to create is philosophically bankrupt and a horrendous future investment in the free world for all Americans, and their friends and allies. Donald Trump to my mind has not got a clue what "struggle" really is, but it would most certainly be poetic justice if some day not so far from now that is exactly the Karma he earns for himself with all this nonsense. He needs to go back to building hotels and golf courses and leave political 'leadership' to those who are bright enough to get that with the power of public office also comes the responsibility to serve one's fellow citizens and the global community well with it. That seems well out of his reach, and there is absolutely not one single Mexican he can blame for that - he must just go ahead and own that all by himself!

What I Like About Me




The inside voice can be a cuttingly critical one at times. In the past few years there has been much to process and deal with in life and it certainly has taken its share of shots in and at my psyche for past choices made and paths followed. I believe it is important to be introspective and self-critiquing periodically in life, but it is equally important to know what one likes about oneself and one's situation and circumstances as well.

There have been no shortage of external critics and critiquers frequently eager to offer their impressions over the years and had it not been for knowing what I like about me it would have been easy enough to be submissive and conceding in accepting and being shaped by perceptions of an identity and personality not of my own design.
Part of maintaining and sustaining, as well as building and enhancing, on what is good is to focus on the positives and not the negatives. Accordingly, it's time again in life to take stock of what there is that I like about me.

I like that I value life and the living of it as an awesome adventure and an amazing journey. I experience it's abundant beauty in person by making time in my schedule every day to walk with my canine princesses and seek out what is beautiful, inspiring, or just neat in its own way. Routinely in all four seasons we have adventured together to parks, lakes, mountains, oceans and islands on highways, back roads, trail systems and bodies of water to experience a life enriched by the majesty of nature.

I like that I value everyone and believe that ALL human beings are equal in worth within humanity. I also like that I have a high sense of empathy for others and am not afraid to champion and defend under-dogs and the oppressed. I believe strongly in equality and 'Justice' and in all that is expressed and implied in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I like that it matters to me to be inclusive with my love and appreciation for the wonder of creation that exists within every living being and thing. I like that I am quick to be a good Samaritan or to lend a helping hand to those I see in a situation of need as well. Those occasions in life bless me with the chance to put a smile on MY face for good deeds done.

I like that I am physically strong and intellectually persistent in seeking out and achieving new heights of knowledge and understanding about life and everything it comprises with every breath I take. I like that I feel passionate about unique and interesting aspects of life and its existence in community with others. I also appreciate that I am able to pursue my interests with veracity and tenacity, routinely accomplishing what I set out to discover, learn about and achieve along the way.

I like that I have a good moral compass and a non-violent disposition and nature, but also have the physical size and grey matter to avoid, deter or defend against most threats to my well-being and best interests. I like that I have a gregarious and jovial nature far more often than not and am able to laugh at myself as well as others. I also like that I have the capacity to feel and experience the whole range of human emotions through different situations and circumstances experienced as a part of living. Happy, glad, sad and mad are at times all a part of the ride and offer each their own innate lessons, virtues, benefits and blessings, in encompassing the various parts of my being.

I like that I am wise enough to know that life is about change and capable of perpetually learning how to adapt to survive and thrive through it. I like that my instincts and impulses are most often nurturing and that I feel compelled toward tenderness and protectiveness of all that is endowed with vulnerability and innocence. I also like knowing that I can and have responded appropriately and successfully in life in defusing, preventing, and resolving many dangers, threats and conflicts with confidence, competence and composure.

I like that I value music and the arts, and that I find pleasure in creating and sharing my passions and talents to please and enrich life for myself and others. I like that I feel humble about the skills and abilities I have as well, and that I am able to admire and learn from those who I discover on my journey are better or brighter at one thing or another. I like that I have come to understand with age and the plethora of insights I have enjoyed on the journey to now just how little I do know and how so very much more there is to discover, learn and come to understand still.

I like that I feel a predominant desire to be kind, considerate and respectful toward all living beings and achieve that ambition the vast majority of the days and nights in my life. Above all else, I like that I can like and love myself and sleep well at night knowing that on the whole I like the man that I am.

Canada - An Insensate Society





There is no question that on the whole Canada, for all the proselytizing to the contrary, is a brutal society that far too frequently proves to be lacking in good sense and humane decency. From all indications in the state's propaganda and media there are few, if any, other nations that are any better, but there is no solace in being at the top of a putrid pile. The fact is that be it in the municipal, provincial or federal spheres, Good Governance is not being achieved and altruistic leadership is dismal. Cynicism festers wherever it has not been replaced with disdain and outright contempt within its citizenry. Now in its 150th year of nationhood, the country and its culture are in desperate need of a major overhaul if there is to be any possibility for it to thrive in the future. 

Affluence abounds, and with it proportional ignorance and callousness as the gap between the haves and have-nots grows steadily from a fissure to a canyon. In Vancouver there has been an increase in homelessness of 30% in the past year, with some 3,500 people now living in tents or sleeping on the streets. I suspect that number is under-estimated and also only captures the dire circumstances reported for one municipality. It is a growing population from coast-to-coast-to-coast. It is estimated that 3 million households live precariously on meagre means and C.T.V. reported that in 2016 there were an estimated 235,000 homeless Canadians, and another 50,000 who rely on family or friends to provide them with shelter. I am one of them. In the face of such staggering numbers of fellow human beings enduring such hardship is the reality that there are no shortage of livable spaces that could house them. On any given day I would wager there are at least ten times as many Motorhomes and 5th wheel trailers sitting empty, with their owners paying to store them in gated lots so they can use them on vacations for a couple or a few weeks each summer. The majority will be worn out while sitting idle through the passing of seasons more than they will be from wear and tear through utilization. It is resource wastefulness and absurdity on the grandest of scales! 

On April 12th, 2017 the Parliament of Canada bestowed honorary citizenship upon Nobel Peace Prize co-winner, Malala Yousafzai with much pomp and ceremony, not to mention tax dollars spent. I wish to take nothing away from Malala's human rights activism and her championing of girls education. There is no question that globally it is a pressing need for millions and she is a wonderful soul doing what she can to encourage positive change. That said, the theatre on display in Parliament and the ovations from M.P.s during her speech reeks of hypocrisy, to say the least. 

1 in 7 Canadians - nearly 5 million people - live in poverty today. An estimated 2 million seniors live on less that $17,000 per year, while the most basic standard of living is calculated at $18,000 per year for a single person. 3 million children live in poverty and fully 40% of indigenous children in the country are living in poverty. Precarious employment has risen by 50% in the past two decades. In the past 25 years the population in the country has risen by 30% while national investment in housing has declined by 46%. It has been reported that the average earnings of the least wealthy Canadians has declined by more than 20% in that same period. A staggering 8 out of 10 provinces saw an increase in food bank usage in 2016, and 1 in 10 Canadians cannot afford to fill their medical prescriptions. 

Unless and until Canadian politicians effectively address the deficiencies in their own homeland the pretentiousness of their leadership will remain the reality of optics on display. Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Assemblies and municipal Councils need to stop patting themselves on the back for achieving such horrific leadership results. They need to pull up their socks, and get busy working to solve the very serious and life-threatening socio-economic challenges faced every hour of every day by millions of their fellow Canadians. There has been far too much political grandstanding and far too little progress achieved. There is no longer reason for pride in Canada. There is ample evidence for reasons to feel shame though, and that needs to change. We do not need flowery speeches and the bestowing of honorary citizenships. We need citizens and politicians with honour and integrity, who see and feel the urgency in the lives of those they serve and work diligently and tirelessly to produce a more compassionate and successful nation worthy of celebration.