Politicians Need Not Fear

The conventional wisdom in politics is that serious conversation about important issues won't get you elected. The truth is, most of us crave real debate.

Canada faces tough and serious challenges. Yet, rarely do we hear our national leadership attempt to engage us in a conversation about them.

Why? Because most politicians live in fear. They fear bad polls, angry constituents, negative press coverage, losing elections. Many fear telling the truth because experience shows that doing so will cost them dearly. So they either ignore it, pretend it’s not there, or outright lie, hoping people won’t notice.

While we insist that politicians should stop “lying” to us, we are merciless in punishing them for daring to be straight with us. Come election time, we end up rewarding those who promise, through some wave of a magic wand, that we’ll get lower taxes, better hospitals, better schools, better roads – better everything – if we only elect them! And we usually do.

If you’re new to this profession, as I am, conventional wisdom holds that engaging in serious conversation about important issues is a non-starter. The press won’t cover it. Political opponents will attack. Arguments will be “spun” and twisted beyond recognition. You will be framed as “out of touch with ordinary Canadians,” “just visiting,” or, God forbid, a well-travelled, experienced, globally renowned writer and “academic.”

Leadership can change this. Most of us crave an honest conversation about the future.

So, what are the key areas that cry out for a national 21st century strategy? My list is reform of parliamentary institutions, innovation and productivity, education and training, infrastructure, health care, pensions, the environment, and Aboriginal policy. Most are in areas of exclusive provincial jurisdiction. All require a strong federal-provincial consensus.

That is a reality we absolutely and unavoidably must come to grips with and address constructively as a nation, and that is why constitutional modernization is so absolutely critical to our future.

These major issues arguably represent some of the most intractable of public policy challenges. For the most part they have been ignored for that very reason. They call for deep, meaningful, and fundamental change. They require constitutional renewal. They require deep cooperation between all levels of government and society. And they require massive investments. Experience tells us that none of this will get done. Or worse, they will be addressed through “gradual incrementalism,” and Canadians won’t know what hit them until it’s too late.

But here is a fact that virtually all “politicians” refuse to acknowledge: Failure to deal with the tough issues will cost Canada dearly. It already is, although imperceptibly. Complacency prevents us from meeting our true promise as a people. At the very least, inaction will cause Canada to further stagnate, decline, and fragment.

The investments of which I speak are not of the tennis court, swimming pool, hockey rink, snowmobile trail, make-work slush fund variety that we’ve come to expect from Ottawa over the past few years. They are of the transformative, nation-building kind and require massive commitments in scope, and a change in the way we do business in Canada.

In a Canadian context, even entertaining constitutional renewal conjures images of the jurisdictional ground wars of the past. But we must renew and modernize the arrangements that govern those vital relationships. For too long, they have been ignored.

Our democracy cannot function if people lack confidence in our democratic institutions. Today, we are witnessing what happens when that occurs. We disengage, disconnect, become cynical, and don’t vote. We must not assign blame to politicians alone for this state of affairs. In a very real way we are getting the government we deserve.

The time has come to modernize the arrangements amongst the partners of Confederation – the provinces, territories, municipalities, and First Nations – so that in a 21st century world we can work more effectively, invest more efficiently, and strengthen the core of our national soul.

We delude ourselves into thinking that all is well because there is not an imminent threat to our unity. But in the past decade, by stealth and neglect, our country has become more and more fragmented and regionalized. One need look no further than the skirmishes and cleavages on everything from energy and climate change policy to health care and securities regulation, to name a few.

There are many levels of government, but there is only one taxpayer. Canadians don’t much care for jurisdictional protocol and niceties, but they grow understandably impatient when these get in the way of smart policy and decision-making. Moving the dial on important files is what matters to people. And if the outpouring of pride during the Vancouver Olympics reminded us of anything, it is that we believe deep in our bones that Canada is much more than a confederation of shopping centers, to paraphrase a great patriot.

These truly national challenges requires the type of leadership that seeks to unite, build consensus, take intelligent risks, and extends a hand to bridge partisan divides to get big things done in the national interest. It is the kind of leadership that is filled with hope and optimism for what Canada can become.

Never before has the imperative of coherent national leadership to address the multiplicity of big issues been more pressing. The world in which we live, breath, work, and compete is a very small one indeed. A pan-Canadian approach in vital strategic areas will, in fact, save us money and be infinitely more efficient and productive than the hodgepodge of narrow and parochial policies in place today that don’t get us results.

And for that – dare I say it – we need to reform, renew, and modernize the basic arrangements that govern our national institutions. The current ones are profoundly wasteful, inefficient, divisive, and no longer relevant to our democracy in the 21st century.

Canada needs change and the political leadership with the guts to be straight about that fundamental reality.

Our times demand that we tackle the fundamental issues head-on. We are overdue for that “adult conversation” about building this great country of ours for a new century. Let’s have it. Let the people decide. And then, let’s get on with it.

This is the third of a three-part series on the future of Canadian politics by Dan Veniez. Read part one here. Read part two here.