Canada at the Podium

June 28, 2010

I wish you could have been there with us, in the room with Prime Minister Harper and Hu Jintao, President of China.

Not that there were top secrets being revealed that would have shocked us here in the Okanagan or Nicola Valleys.  It's just that no two people will ever agree on everything (hello all newlyweds or longtime partners!), but there can be common ground worth standing together on.

In that meeting, late on an afternoon just before the official start of the G-8, common ground was found.  The PM articulated some of the main issues that matter most to most of us.

President Hu felt enough trust in the room to be able to do the same thing on behalf of the people he represents.  Some of those items you are now seeing emerge from the course of the G-8 and G-20 sessions.

For instance is the need for all nations to deal with their deficits now to prevent a long term financial meltdown later.  Even prior to the G-20 Canada has been saying it is better to tighten our belts now, rather than having empty pockets later.

Germany's Chancellor, at the G-8 this week, has also been clear. She has been saying that all European countries, not just Greece, have got to start dealing with their high spending and start reducing deficits.

The new U.K. Government, under the leadership of Conservative PM Cameron, with the support of Britain's Liberal Democrats, has come to the same conclusion.

 A big part of the deficit mess is actually arrived at in most cases with good intentions.  People get elected sincerely promising more and more programs for more and more people.  The problem with always promising 'more' prosperity for all, through government spending, is that it eventually leads to less prosperity for all.

Yes, a 30 hour work week,16 weeks of annual  vacation, home ownership without down-payments, a 45 day work year, all sound like heaven.  Problem is, we live on Earth. There aren't enough hard working people around willing to have all their earnings taxed away at the rates that would be required to pay for the dream programs of many elected people.

Nor is there enough money (your taxes) in the federal Treasury to pay for all the good programs we have now, if we are going to add on the debt payments we'd need for more and more new programs.

We can all enjoy a pretty decent standard of living with pretty good government support programs if we are realistic.  But we need to accept that government cannot be all things to all people all the time.

Canada's position on economic issues is being heard around the world. It is resulting in increased investment, homegrown and international.  That means more jobs, more opportunities for young people and more assurance for the elderly.

You've heard the expression, 'the best social program is a job'. 

Well, job opportunities are most available in those jurisdictions where deficits are kept down, thereby keeping taxes down.  That's the way the world works. Always has and always will.

That course, along with steps towards global security regarding areas like human rights and democracy, was sketched out in that meeting this week.

That is the way to prosperity. Because we have a robust economy funds from government coffers can be directed to large national support programs and also to local people doing local programs.

Like the Naramata Centre Society who will work on a project to enhance the natural habitat of Naramata Creek, or the Okanagan Nation Alliance who are working to rehabilitate and restore a riparian buffer along the Okanagan River at McIntyre Dam.  

And the Nicola Similkameen Forestry Society who will perform ecosystem and environmental restoration work in the Cascades Forest District.

Yes, Canada's messages at the G-20 are being listened to. It's because we're showing that the responsible way may not always instantly be the easiest way in the short run.         

But it is the most beneficial in the long run.