I cannot help it but to be thankful that my family and I adopted Canada as our country. This is a country that has been voted by the United Nations on more than one occasion as the best country to live in. No wonder Paul Martin, the newly elected leader of the Liberal Party, and soon to be Canadian Prime Minister said he is proud. I believe he reflects the feeling of many other Canadians.
Just consider what Canada has to offer focusing on Paul Martin’s vision for Canada.
Canada offers, in Paul Martin’s words, “endless glowing strings of cities, towns, and homesteads. When the stunning features of Canada stare at you, you see there exquisite variety, magnitude and ruggednessand beauty. It is a palette of enormous colour and range. But more than that it is a profile of character, our character seen from above.”
It is the character of Canada expressed by Paul Martin that makes yours truly love it. Canada provides politicians that reason with the people. They recognize that the mission of government is to turn the national will, that is, the will of the people toward great accomplishment. Politicians listen to the people and set objectives and build consensus to achieve these objectives despite differences amongst them. Paul Martin promises to provide new politics of achievement.
Politics of achievement will involve building on Canadian treasured values and using ingenuity and innovation to expand the personal and national growth frontier. Politics of achievement, as summarized from Paul Martin’s speech, will include:
1. Strengthening the social foundations of Canadian lifepension plan and universal health care systems. These foundations are the cornerstones of Canadian identity, pride and values.
2. Putting an end to regional discord and intergovernmental bickering, hence uniting the country’s regions and their leaders.
3. Maintaining the sense of nationhood that is at ease with the Canadian identity of multicultural diversity and linguistic duality.
4. Increasing Canada’s influence in the world working to ensure that the global institutions of the future are suffused with values Canadians treasurerule of law, liberty, democracy, equality of opportunity and fairness.
5. Expressing the concerns of Canadians about the poor and underprivileged of the world the frightened and helpless victims of battle-torn societies the sick and vulnerable without healthcare and education.
6. Running a government that is accountable. A government that treats tax payers money like personal money, because it is.
7. Building an economy driven by individual ingenuity and creativity which means having an education system that is second to none and committing to the pursuit of excellence and innovation.
8. Creating high quality jobs that will offer higher wages.
9. Increasing the strength of the new Canadian currency that of ideas and discoveries.
10. Improving the quality of care for the less privileged among Canadianschildren and the elderly. Hauling down the barriers which marginalize individuals with physical and mental disabilities.
11. Improving the quality of life for Canadians letting Canadians feel quality by feeling good health, breathing clean air, tasting pure water from their taps.
12. Experiencing quality of life by seeing people working, with dignity, with good pay, with the opportunity to move ahead.
13. Knowing quality of life by having Canadian families and children receive the schooling and higher education they need in today’s world.
14. It does not matter where you choose to live, for wherever you go you will find cities and regions thriving with energy.
15. Having the ability to send messages to Ottawa through your Member of Parliament and not your member of Parliament bringing you messages from Ottawa.
16. Having a leadership dedicated to building a society based on equality, not privilege on duty, not entitlement. A society based on compassion and caring not indifference or neglect.
Indeed, it is worthwhile monitoring how politics of achievement continue to be fulfilled.
Lastly it is worthwhile to note how Paul Martin concluded his address. “It is in Canadians that the true meaning of Canada is found. Everything possible in the world is possible in Canada. Every dream that is dreamt can be fulfilled here.” And the question is: Do you have a dream? If you do, then would you work to fulfill it. TwCN, November 30, 2003.
