Cobourg Daily Star
Lately we have been hearing a lot about "3P" programs. The power brokers would have us believe this means "Public Private Partnerships" which, in the health care field in particular, is thought to be the way of the future. I'm here to tell you, as the old song goes, "It ain't necessarily so."
It is just possible, dear readers, the real meaning of "3P" is nothing more than Politics - Prozac and Promises. I'll let you decide on what the proper order should be.
Looking up Prozac on the web, I was not at all surprised to learn it is "the most widely prescribed antidepressant medication in history." This came from the Eli Lily website. Particularly when you read, "Since its introduction in 1986, Prozac has helped over 40- million patients worldwide, including those suffering from depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, bulimia nervosa and panic disorder." When you think about what has been going on in Canadian politics, three out of four ain't bad.
This is not to make light of depression. It is a very real disease faced by many people every day. I would suggest, however, politics in Canada and the Excited States is definitely a major cause. Think about it!
Little wonder so many Canadians are depressed. Bad enough we have only one Canadian team still in the hunt for Lord Stanley's Holy Grail but, even more depressing ,is the fact there is not one natural-born Canadian goalkeeper to be found still strapping on the pads. What has become of our national game? (Okay, I know. Lacrosse is the official national game, but let's get real. It's hockey.)
Even more depressing is the state of Canadian politics. At every level. Here we are facing an election nobody really wants, living in a country where voter turn-off has resulted in ever lower voter turn out, at a time when we voters really can't afford to screw up. We have a Liberal and a Conservative Party - both operating in self- destruct mode - plagued by more double dealing and back stabbing than we've seen since Caesar met Brutus at the Senate House in Rome back in 44 BC.
We have the NPD, led by Jack Layton, salivating in the wings, dreaming of controlling a minority government. If the rest of Canada doesn't get out and vote this time, a minority government in which the NDP holds the balance of power could happen. And isn't that a frightening thought?
As if Layton in Ottawa isn't scary enough, now we have Olivia Chow(Jack's significant other), declaring she will be a candidate when Paul Martin finally decides to call an election. Layton and Chow both in Ottawa would give an entirely new meaning to parliament or, as it is better known, the "House of Comics."
Chow's declaration is an example of political opportunism at its best. After seducing the voters in Toronto into reelecting her as a city councillor just six months ago, she is now trying for the brass ring, a seat beside Jack in Ottawa. Assuming, that is, Jack wins, too. Chow, according to CFRB in Toronto, could walk away from council with a full year's salary package and leave the taxpayers there facing a byelection bill of an estimated $150,000. You see, Olivia is not resigning her Toronto council seat; just taking a leave of absence in case she doesn't win federally. Samuel Johnson sure hit the nail on the head when he said, "Politics are now nothing more than a means of rising in the world."
The Conservatives could sure use a little Prozac. Looks to me like many Conservative hopefuls are suffering a panic disorder of considerable magnitude as Joe Clark leads a charge against the party he suffered with for so long. Joe reminds me more than a little of Junius, the unknown author of a series of letters published with the sole intent of discrediting England's Prime Minister Grafton way back in the late 1700s. Junius wrote, "There is a holy mistaken zeal in politics as well as religion. By persuading others we persuade ourselves." Sounds like Joe to me!
The Liberals seem to have been suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder for a long, long time.
Now we have Chuck Guite and Jean Brault being charged by the RCMP as a result of the sponsorship scandal. With each of these fine gentlemen now facing six fraud-related charges, I believe we are going to see some very interesting days ahead. Guite and Brault will not take the "fall"quietly, and if they begin to "sing", there is no telling where the trail might lead. I bet there will be a lot more Liberals lined up for Prozac before we hear the end of this one.
Guite was the bureaucrat who directed the sponsorship program. Brault, who headed the ad agency which worked (?) for the government, was both a major contributor to Liberal campaigns and the recipient of some pretty rich contracts. Big bucks were moving back and forth. Someone in government had to know what was going on.
Having dealt with Politics and Prozac, I now move to Promises, the third "P." It will be a very long time before we can ever again believe our political leaders.
Promises today are quickly forgotten tomorrow and there is always somebody else to blame for government's failures. The government - government of all political stripes - will promise us anything to get our votes but fall woefully short on delivering on those promises once elected.
There is no doubt in my mind we have too much government, too big and unmanageable a civil service and too little recourse when it comes to ousting candidates who fail to deliver. We are in urgent need of political reform, but don't hold your breath.
I am sure many enter public life with the very best of intentions, but as Robert Louis Stevenson said, "Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary."
Well, perhaps this is where we should start. Perhaps we should insist all candidates attend and graduate from courses on honesty, morality and responsibility before they are allowed to run for office.
They would then have to pass an independent constituent's review panel assessment every year to remain in office. It might not change things a lot, but it would be a step in the right direction.
Proportional representation would be worth considering too.
Source: Johnson, B. 2004, The real meaning of 3P: [Final Edition], Don Mills, Ontario, Canada.
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