The extreme political right v-s the social welfare agenda:

The interest and concern of those who seek a social agenda is the welfare of all individuals not just the ablest and more fortunate members of society. Those on the right resent interference with their right to be successful even if it is at the expense of individuals less fortunate than themselves. The right's ideology emphasizes the importance of being free to pursue their dreams using their own abilities and resists any controls, especially government controls, on their ability to prosper.

The trouble with this philosophy is that not everyone has the ability nor the opportunities that others have in life. If inclusion is not a prevailing value then we live in a society that values the survival of the fittest and polarizes individuals into rich and poor categories.

Some have promoted the maintenance of a middle class to feed the appetite of the rich and to provide for the poor. Its important for the rich and the poor to have a middle class. The middle class, if large enough can consume the products of the rich (thereby making them richer) and likewise the middle class can consume and pay taxes that will finance services to themselves as well as the poor.

How one looks at the world and their own place in it is a reflection of the values that they have been taught during childhood. If one is taught to value others and share resources then it is natural to be concerned about those who are less fortunate or victims of misfortune. When something goes wrong such as a natural disaster, lack of opportunity due to poverty, mental or physical disabilities, or inadequate parental guidance during childhood, there is a human need to respond.

The capitalist system plays against this attitude. The idea of markets is good but the current market system is damaging if left unchecked as witnessed during the current recession and near collapse of the global economic system. Greed takes over when one experiences the accumulation of excess and becomes driven to be more successful. We can only conclude that an unregulated market system makes everyone a victim of greed and is harmful to all of us. According to Raj Patel, author of The Value of Nothing: "The flaw at the heart of markets is essentially the idea that profit and corporations should govern the valuation of things and that everyone else should stand aside". Global economies still need a place to do business and markets can be a good thing but they need to be regulated.

A market economy, if left unregulated, is basically problematic. A system based on unending consumption is basically unsustainable because the planet's resources are finite. We are seeing this played out, for example, with the consumption of oil. Oil reserves, like coal reserves before them, are being depleted and very few new reserves are being discovered. We can foresee the day when oil and oil products will no longer be available. The global community is currently scrambling to find other sources of energy which will undoubtedly impact the standard of living of the developed world as well as the whole global community.

Can we ever include all people in a system that trumps greed over need? Can the global economies ever agree on a system that will propose solutions for the greater good at the expense of their own economies? A case in point is the failure of the developed world and emerging markets to curb their excesses to control carbon emissions. We have seen very little progress here and no expression of optimism for the future benefit of our children who will suffer if we do not curb our excesses. Our civilization may be known in the future as the one that caused future generations grief rather than creating the conditions for a better life for all.

There is no doubt that climate change due to carbon emissions (man-made or otherwise) has contributed to a global food crisis. One billion people live in poverty and are chronically hungry around the globe. According to Margaret Biggs, President of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), "The ability of poor people to grow food to feed starving populations will be strongly challenged by climate change in the next five years".

Another case in point is the Canadian health care insurance system. Denis Falvey writing an opinion in the Halifax Chronicle Herald has made a clear distinction in describing our health care system as being both moral and financial. He states: " It is immoral in this day and age for a rich country to provide health care on the basis of a patient's financial means. It is also economically and socially backward and limiting for a country to provide health care on that basis".


We must abolish the idea that paying our fair share of taxes is something that we should try to avoid. Paying taxes provides the means for us all to enjoy the benefits of living in a society that values all individuals. It is a way of distributing wealth so that everyone can benefit in spite of their misfortune - the trade mark of a caring and inclusive society.

Haiti: Will we stay for the long haul?

Canadians have been generous with their donations to assist with Haiti's recovery following the devastating earthquake on January 12th.

Canada has its own recession yet the charity of people even when their own situations might be precarious is impressive. Of course the situation Canadians find themselves in is nothing compared to Haitians, yet those who give to others while facing hardships of their own can relate to the suffering of others even as they try to cope with less serious situations of their own. In our materialistic and egocentric society one would think that the prevailing opinion when asked for donations would be that: "I'm not able to give because I have enough problems of my own". Instead the value we have seen expressed is one of compassion and to give what one can. The massive outpouring of good will and charity in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti is exceptional. Canadians as individuals, organizations and governments have been very generous by raising over $80 million in directing their wealth to Haiti relief efforts. On January 14, the Canadian government announced the creation of the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund which will match the donations dollar for dollar of registered Canadian charitable organizations in support of humanitarian and recovery efforts in response to the earthquake in Haiti. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will allocate these funds to Canadian and international humanitarian and development organizations. When added to the generosity of other nations, this humanitarian effort will go down in history as one of the largest ever made to one small country hit by a terrible disaster.

As we observe our response and the response of the international community, there is no doubt that the values of sharing and compassion are universal. The outpouring of concern trumps other news witnessed daily of armed conflict, lawlessness and cruelty which seems to attract constant media attention. In the Haiti situation, this outpouring of compassion is refreshing in a world where we read in the media everyday of inhuman acts and suffering of innocent people by a few who wish only to satisfy their own selfish desires. The hope is that our attention to Haiti and other disasters will not be short lived.

The fact is that Haiti is only the latest disaster to hit innocent people. There have been other notable disasters recently such as the tsunami in the Philippines, the flooding in Bangladesh, the Sichuan earthquake in China, wild fires in Australia, famine in Africa and armed conflict in various parts of the world forcing people to be dislocated, exposed to violence with little hope of ever being able to sustain themselves and their families.

However, Haiti is unique because the world needs to ask itself: "How did Haiti get in to this sad condition in the first place". The world has known about Haiti's situation for decades. It has become known as the "basket case" in the western hemisphere. That is not to say that it has been totally ignored. The disaster has brought to the world's attention the vast number of government and other relief organizations as well as the United Nations that have been working in Haiti for many years. Unfortunately, it appears as if the assistance was uncoordinated, each organization working independently in hospitals, orphanages, schools law enforcement and others. Often emergencies create opportunity and under Canada's leadership key ministers were brought together last week in Ottawa to rally the international community towards a strategic and coordinated effort to rebuild Haiti over the long term. Prime Minister Harper's call came during an address to delegates of the Ministerial Preparatory Conference on Haiti where Haiti's Prime Minister, Jean-Max Bellerive was in attendance. He stated: “It is Canada’s hope that this meeting will set the stage for broad international action on reconstruction that will mobilize the will and resources of all of Haiti’s partners”.

As the work of emergency aid continues, the international community is now mobilizing for the long term reconstruction of Haiti, a task that is considered to take at least a decade and more. The mobilization, if it is sustained, perhaps will be a positive outcome of the earthquake although it should not have taken such a traumatic event effecting masses of innocent people to look at the long term development of this country. Any redevelopment of Haiti needs to include Haitians and their government. They need support for governance and their institutions, maintenance of security, a program for preserving the land, so that the land is able to eventually support and sustain the Haitian people.

Lets hope that after the initial response to Haiti subsides, we will not forget their long term needs.