Canada is clearly at an inflection point. We neither asked for nor wanted this, but ignoring it and carrying on isn’t a solution. So, what should we do? I’m in favour of a big rethink, via a Royal Commission. Given how long this would take, though, we need to get going on at least investigating options.
Here, then, is my list. Note that I’m absolutely not an expert and I’d get voted out of office immediately if I ever managed to become a politician. So, I provide these in the spirit of contributing to a national conversation. No doubt there are better ideas out there. Let’s pick some and start trying stuff!
Eliminating inter-provincial barriers to trade is the obvious one and evidently could be done within a month. Simultaneously frustrating and emblematic that something debated for decades could actually make significant progress so quickly, once we got motivated.
While we’re eliminating inter-provincial trade barriers, why not really embrace free trade, including the elimination of supply management?
Actually prioritizing our sovereignty in the Arctic. Our most recent defence policy statement hints at this, but we continue to expect our armed forces to do too much with too little. The recent announcement of working with Australia to upgrade our Arctic radar equipment is a good example of something we need more of. Underpinning all of this is figuring out how to actually procure equipment. Plus anything we do in the Arctic must properly engage with First Nations.
Raise the HST by 1%, offset by income tax reductions, and dedicate the funds to cities. This one would get me booted out of government quickly. That said, Canadian cities remain under-resourced, relative to the services they need to provide. They need a source of revenue that grows with the economy.
The CRA should prepopulate our tax returns. They already have most of the information. Just fill them in and allow us to adjust if necessary. Of course, this would require simplifying our tax system, which is the real point.
📚 Finished reading: The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger is a fascinating book about how sophisticated and under appreciated plants are: they can detect relatives, “see” their surroundings, manipulate their environment, and make complex decisions.
Near the end, Schlanger writes:
Now when I spot a tendril that is making its way through a crack in the sidewalk, I internally commend it for its resourcefulness. I feel I know about some of what it took for the plant to do that-the small miracle of its germination, the craning of its elongation, the articulation of the hundreds, maybe thousands of fine root hairs, right now probing its belowground world for sustenance. I think about the stem cells in each of its growing tips, poised and ready to become whatever sort of flesh the plant needs them to be. The whole being a sensitive, decisioning network spread throughout hundreds of limbs, thousands of roots.
A body in motion, adapting in real time to every subtle shift, flowing like water through its surroundings and taking note of the shape and smell and texture of it all.
What I always find so striking is that these ‘clever’ a-historical solutions both batter suspension of disbelief but are also a lot less actually clever than the historical solutions.
Bret Devereaux continues his fun series of critiquing The Ring of Power from the perspective of a medieval historian.
Nice surprise to see The Wheel of Time Season 3 show up on my AppleTV today. A great show and I hadn’t been following along with development of the new season.
🚴 My first workout with the Zwift Ride was good. The bike is comfortable, quiet, and smooth. Plus, I liked not having to move furniture around before starting while still only half awake.
Finished reading: Waves in an Impossible Sea by Matt Strassler is a fascinating, comprehensive, and clear book about field theory in physics. I’ve read a few books on this topic and this is the best one. If you’re curious about particle physics and want to avoid math, you’ll like this one 📚
🇨🇦 Regardless of if any of the proposals are adopted (though I think several should be carefully considered), I’m glad to see Build Canada is offering bold ideas. We need more of this, especially these days
