Like any self-respecting, wannabe columnist, I guess I better start this one off with a quote, in this case the Greek philosopher Epicurus. “We must free ourselves from the prison of public education and politics,” he wrote in one of the few surviving pieces of his prolific writings.
You could read this a number of ways, but for the purposes of this column, I want to ruminate on what I think this means for anyone writing a column: we would be much wiser not to.
We should ignore the need to continually educate the public according to our understanding of facts and engage in political discourse according to our political ends. For surely this is a bottomless pit of disagreement, with no satisfying outcome for anyone.
A prison indeed.
Perhaps the writers of columns should take the lead from the voters of Prince George, who have by and large disengaged from politics.
Not even 30 per cent of us bothered to vote in our recent municipal election, and if you cornered the average citizen in the parking lot of the Save-on with election pamphlets, like I did, chances are they would avoid you like an aspen stand avoids wildfire; sometimes they get caught in the blaze but usually they snuff it out.
Maybe there is something to be said about living a non-political life, which so many of us subscribe to, and perhaps Epicurus is looking down on us in approval right now. I’ve got friends who will terminate a conversation the moment it gets political. And they are probably a lot happier because of it.
But as wise as Epicurus is, and you can bet I have some more quotes of his to share, I think he’s ultimately got it wrong on this one.
Too many of us have heeded the sage’s advice to stay out of the prison of endless political argument, a desire comment sections usually do nothing to temper, and we are poorer because of it, not only metaphorically, but literally as well.
The less people engage with politics and public education, the more of your tax dollars are wasted, the more our environment is devalued, and the further the fabric of our society unravels.
If we don’t get out there and engage, step on toes, above all vote, eventually we won’t live in a free-market democracy where the public good is paramount. We will live in a feudalistic corporatocracy on a dying planet where profits for global capital are paramount.
We are well on the way to the latter, and that’s my motivation for this column, the “back story” if you will, and I look forward to being incarcerated by lively debate in the columns ahead, Epicurus be damned.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
