Proundly Canadian!
MIKE SILICZ VOLUNTEER STAFF
The release of the 2007 federal budget by the Conservatives earlier this month reveals that Canadians are lucky. Because the majority of Canadians’ economic needs are more than adequately met, Canadian society has had the privilege for over 10 years to consider issues of social values over issues of economics. And it is for this reason that Canada is one of the healthiest democracies in the world, as well as one of the luckiest countries on earth!
The 2007 federal budget is almost unbelievable. In summary, the latest budget surplus will be used to pay off Canada’s debt; all the while, paradoxically, the budget will cut taxes and increase social spending. Canada has just posted its 10th consecutive fiscal surplus, a feat that remains unparalleled by any other G8 country to date. The bottom line is that Canada’s economic policy is a leading example of sound fiscal management combined with a social-welfare conscious agenda.
Who is responsible for this economic success? There are a myriad of reasons as to why Canada has been so prosperous. Liberal scholars have attributed Canada’s success to a robust macroeconomic policy, an attractive environment for foreign investment, and NAFTA. Socialist scholars argue that Canada’s wealth of natural resources, the massive rise in demand for raw materials from China, and the maturity of a Canadian capital class are the real reasons why Canada has prospered over the past decade.
Yet whatever the material reason, it is interesting to note that Canada’s economic prosperity cannot be linked specifically to one federal party. Both minority and majority governments have delivered successful budgets, be they Liberal or Conservative. For a decade, regardless of the party in power, Canada has been performing so well that it makes one wonder what exactly do political parties have to do with the process?
Not very much. Despite the praise of liberal economists, neither Paul Martin nor the Liberals are responsible for saving Canada’s economy. Nor are the Conservatives or the Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty. If anyone is responsible, it could be the monetary policy of the central bank of Canada. Yet why do the federal parties sling arrows at each other each year over the merits of their budgets that inevitably end up benefiting almost everyone? What exactly is there to oppose in budgets that help everybody out?
It is that Canadians can ask those very questions that make Canada the luckiest country in the world. Who could possibly find a problem with this most recent budget? It is important to keep in mind that almost everybody in the country is getting a piece of the pie, and the debate simply rages around who should get the biggest piece. There will always be wrangling over who gets more, but the important thing is that almost all demographic groups are getting something.
And it is this luxury that allows Canadians to debate issues relating to their own personal values and views of society, rather than having to focus and worry about issues of material economic concern. After all, what exactly could opposition parties offer different from what the Harper government has done in this budget, other than offer a slightly different shade of grey? Whereas other democracies debate the serious problem of how best to allocate scarce resources within their societies, Canada has the privilege of being able to debate principles and ethics rather than issues of money. These issues of social choice and personal freedom, not issues of basic material need, impact most Canadians’ views on federal politics today. And thus through this discourse of social values and norms, Canada has become a leader in championing humane internationalism on the global scale. Since no one federal party can take full responsibility for the economic prosperity of the past decade, Canadians are free to vote along the lines of their personal values and freedoms. This leaves Canadians free to vote for those who share comparable views and values of religion, abortion, same-sex rights, child-raising, gender roles, and environmentalism; knowing full well that no federal party will spend the country back into financial ruin.
Without the fear of economic consequences, Canada has spent the last 10 years advancing the politics of social choice theory over economic choice theory. And for that, Canadians should be proud. Where else can you vote with your mind and heart, free from the looming threat of a coercive invisible hand influencing your decision? Since most Canadians’ basic needs are met and exceeded, Canadians have been able to vote based on their social values and views of the world. And because of this blessing, Canada has become one of the most democratic and multicultural societies on the planet. Citizens of Canada: be thankful, happy, and proud to be able to say “I am Canadian!”
Michael Silicz is a first-year law student with a background in political science and history.
