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What will Canadians stand for?
There are some things that most Canadians can agree on: We value a good public health system for all people. We value a good public education system for our children and young adults. We are in favour of protecting Canada’s environment for the long-term benefit of future generations. We want our justice system to be effective, fair and even-handed when applying Canada’s laws.
I am sure there are many other things that Canadians can agree upon, but let’s start with these four values. Many of these things have been under-funded for the past 25 years and are beginning to show the signs of wear-and-tear and show a decline in effectiveness and service levels.
There are a variety of reasons behind the present situation. All four of these values cost money, and the cost of living (inflation), population growth, multiple recessions and the pandemic contributed to reduced funding for core services. Even with valid and understandable reasons, few politicians have the courage to tell voters that taxes need to increase to just maintain levels of service from declining. And so, we watch it gradually slip away. Is the reality that voters are too cheap to pay for what they say that they want?
This presents the question of whether these four are truly important values or simply passive preferences. Sometimes, it’s hard to know whether Canadians are 'nice' or just uninvolved and non-confrontational. It is reported that six million citizens cannot find a family physician. A thousand people stood for hours in the snow of Walkerton for a chance to have a doctor. Would it have been more effective for the thousand to go to the office of their MPP or the office of the health minister? I do not know.
What I do know is that in life, business and government, “you get what you pay for.” A good healthcare system, a good education system, a good legal system and a clean, healthy environment cost real money. Be wise and be efficient, but be prepared to invest in quality. As voters, we must speak up or we will lose it (or maybe it just wasn’t important enough to fight for).
David Howell
Orillia
