By Michael Lashley

Keenly aware of my own obsessive concerns about the evils of modern society, I pride myself on being an expert at counting my blessings.

I am very much aware of the advantages of living in a country which will never accept as its head of government someone who combines crude and publicly displayed disrespect for the bodies and minds of women with an equally crude attitude of arrogant ignorance, and an equally public display of political, religious and cultural intolerance.

Since such confession is good for the soul, I go on to rejoice over one of the other benefits of living in Canada: I am free from the negative effects of the political leadership provided by such farcical entertainers as the incomparable former Governor of Alaska who once ran for vice-presidential office.

Moreover, I am extremely grateful for the liberty that Canada has afforded me to write and publish provocative commentaries on the absurdity, selfishness and cruelty of conservative thinking and policies.

That is why I have two distinct reasons for giving Canada a very good report card for its 150 years of existence as an independent country.

On the one hand, Canada has performed quite well in its own right as a country.

On the other hand, Canada’s ongoing successes contrast, sometimes quite sharply, with the current situation of other industrialized countries. I am appalled at the dismal performance of several other “developed” countries such as France, the USA, the United Kingdom and Italy in several key areas: political and constitutional maturity; economic development and economic stability; equity and equality; and race relations.

This is not to say that I am not disappointed in Canada’s obviously weak performance in some areas. As I look at the last 150 years of Canada’s history, a few enduring and scandalous realities catch my attention.

In that regard, I have to force myself to use polite language in describing the continued disenfranchisement of the Indigenous Peoples and their marginalization in all the negative aspects of that term. Hopefully, with the advent of the current federal government, I am expecting major improvements in this area of national life.

Similarly, I hold my head and “bawl” in disbelief when I see the Senate allowing for a second time the claims and payments related to allowances and entitlements that have been formally deemed legal, but which are so manifestly and outrageously unethical. Notwithstanding the decisions of the courts, I have great difficulty in accepting the fact that the political parties, many senators and the senate administration itself persist in the obscenely insensitive behavior that says “I am entitled to my entitlements”.

Continuing on the negative side, I was not surprised by some of Canada’s other undesirable characteristics. Inequality, racism, poverty and malnutrition are systemic challenges. The dirty stories of the politics of money and the money of politics are ever present. Both politicians and political parties of various stripes pander to the wishes of the electorate- thus failing to provide the society with responsible leadership on key issues.

And now I return to the good news as I personally see it.

It is a victory in itself that the Confederation of 1867 has endured and to this day has survived major challenges from Quebec and from the persistent pulling and tugging that pits Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan against the other provinces. Equally relevant here is the fact that, while Ontario has never been the province most loved by the other provinces, its separatist movement is more or less non-existent.

I am also relieved that inter-racial and inter-cultural relations in Canada are not anywhere as toxic and violent as in France or the USA.

In fact, it is a sign of some degree of institutional and political maturity that Ms. Kelly Leitch and Black Lives Matter/Toronto can ruffle feathers among the affected communities, the intelligentsia and the political class, without upending the national security of the whole country as happens regularly in France and the USA.

The same can be said for the controversial area of immigration policy and practice. All three of the main national political parties agree on the principle of a significant annual intake of immigrants. Where they forcefully disagree is on the numbers, admission criteria and geo-cultural regions for the sourcing of immigrants.

Yes, there is certainly room for improvement in many areas.

The most dangerous challenge that we face is our refusal to recognize that the current economic system is destroying our society and the world as a whole. This system emphasizes productive competitivity, globalization and supply chain production. As a consequence, it continues to create higher and higher levels of unemployment, under-employment, poverty, inequality and marginalization.

But even as I fight to correct those injustices, I remain convinced that, when compared with its peers in the industrialized world, Canada is doing quite well, thank you.