We Live in a Broken Canada

We Live in a Broken Canada

Arthur Beaudette News Advertiser - Opinion

Despite the polarization surrounding topics such as energy, the climate and carbon taxes, there seems to be one thing that is uniting Canadians at this time. Some would have predicted this and others will call it fake news. That one solidifying truth... “Right now, Canada is broken.” In a poll conducted for the National Post, 69% of Canadians agreed with that statement. Other interesting numbers included 63% of people who think PM Trudeau is not governing well and 64% of respondents who say they don’t support the Prime Minister.

While these numbers on their own are impressive, we should look closer. A little over one month ago, Meyers Norris Penny, (MNP) conducted a survey which revealed that 50% of respondents stated they were within $200 of not being able to pay their monthly bills. The release by MNP used the phrase “debt hopelessness”. When I look at that, I see almost 20% additional people who AREN’T broke still unhappy with where we are at as a nation.

To further paint the picture of our broken nation, 62% of Canadians believe that PM Trudeau has not delivered on his promises to Indigenous people. This should not surprise anyone with a memory longer than the current news cycle or the latest PM selfie. Those people will remember things like a young Justin Trudeau in blackface and the smarmy response to an Indigenous protester at one of his expensive fundraisers. Not to single out PM Trudeau (more than deserved), we also need to look at other politicians. More than 80% of Canadians believe their politicians care more about their own partisan interests than working on behalf of all Canadians. We see this regardless of the party in power with each citing how major changes are needed because of the previous government’s supposed devastating mismanagement.

No one can argue the successive governments who collectively created a number of current or recent issues. Poor Indigenous relations, a submarine fleet that did not sail ONE single day last year, 10 fire and smoke incidents on frigates since 2018, replacement of Sea King helicopters, our used military jet purchase from Australia, failure to support our energy industry, Phoenix pay system and the $2 million gun registry that actually cost Canadians more than 1$ billion.

Some argue that it’s not Canada that is broken but rather our political system. Call it what you will, things do appear to be broken or at least not working for the majority of Canadians. 70% is a lot of people. Things will get worse and eventually Canada might actually be broken.

Tell me what you think.

Email me at abletters@newsadvertiser.com