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www.policymagazine.ca July—August 2020

Canadian Politics and Public Policy

The Road to Recovery

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Canadian Politics and Public Policy

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER L. Ian MacDonald [email protected] ASSOCIATE EDITOR Lisa Van Dusen Adam Scotti photo [email protected] CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Thomas S. Axworthy, Andrew Balfour, Yaroslav Baran, In This Issue Derek H. Burney, Catherine Cano, Margaret Clarke, Rachel Curran, From the Editor / L. Ian MacDonald John Delacourt, Susan Delacourt, 2 The Road to Recovery Graham Fraser, Dan Gagnier, Helaina Gaspard, Martin Goldfarb, Geoff Norquay Sarah Goldfeder, Patrick Gossage, 3 Pandemic Lessons for Fixing Canada’s Health Care System Frank Graves, Shachi Kurl, Brad Lavigne, Kevin Lynch, Jeremy Kinsman, John Delacourt Peter Mansbridge, Carissima Mathen, 6 Crisis is the Mother of Collaboration: Federalism and COVID-19 Elizabeth May, Velma McColl, David McLaughlin, David Mitchell, 8 Laurette Dubé Don Newman, Geoff Norquay, Toward a Convergence Economy: Leapfrogging to a Fen Osler-Hampson, Kevin Page, Post-Pandemic Society Robin V. Sears, Brian Topp, Lori Turnbull, Jaime Watt, Goldy Hyder and Brian Kingston Anthony Wilson-Smith 11 The Canadian Economy Post-Lockdown WEB DESIGN Lisa Van Dusen Nicolas Landry 14 COVID-19, Democracy and the Future of Work [email protected] SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR 16 Seamus O’Regan Grace MacDonald Our Post-Pandemic Energy Future [email protected] Lori Turnbull GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION 19 After the Pandemic: Competitive or Cooperative Federalism? Monica Thomas [email protected] Jeremy Kinsman 21 History at a Juncture Policy Robin V. Sears Policy is published six times annually 24 The Fall of China’s Mask by LPAC Ltd. The contents are copyrighted, but may be reproduced Column / Don Newman with permission and attribution in 27 A New and More Dangerous World print, and viewed free of charge at the Policy home page at policymagazine.ca. Price: $6.95 per issue Canada and the World Annual Subscription: $39.95 Wanda Thomas Bernard PRINTED AND DISTRIBUTED BY 28 Collective Rage Requires Collective Action St. Joseph Communications, 1165 Kenaston Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 1A4 Summer Reading Available in Air Canada Maple Leaf Review by James Baxter Lounges across Canada, as well as 31 VIA Rail Lounges in Montreal, Ottawa Professional Heckler: The Life and Art of Duncan Macpherson and Toronto. Terry Mosher Now available on PressReader. Review by Anthony Wilson-Smith 32 Trumpocalypse—Restoring American Democracy Special thanks to our sponsors David Frum and advertisers.

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From the Editor / L. Ian MacDonald The Road to Recovery elcome to our issue on the nomic renewal will be largely in mu- Our lead foreign affairs writer Jeremy Road to Recovery from the nicipalities which, as he also points Kinsman evokes three junctures of W COVID-19 pandemic that out, are constitutional purviews of the modern age: the emergence of the has infected more than 100,000 Ca- the provinces. multilateral world order after the Sec- nadians in the space of only a few McGill University’s Laurette Dubé ond World War in 1945, the end of months, with a tragic death toll of writes that the pandemic presents a the Cold War in 1989 and the collapse over 8,000 by the beginning of sum- transformative opportunity. As she of markets in 2008. The difference be- mer. In the United States, there have writes in Toward a Convergence Econ- tween then and now? The Americans been more than 2 million cases, and omy: “Planning the recovery and be- were engaged and there was leader- some 115,000 deaths; the highest na- yond for the COVID-19 pandemic are ship in the White House. tional death toll in the world, with woven in the fabric of modern econ- Robin Sears looks at post-pandemic thousands more to come. omies and societies, in particular at China, and the fall, literally and fig- The substance of our conversations the intersection of health and eco- uratively, of China’s masks in a way has many new entries, from social nomic systems.” that has seriously downgraded the distancing to working from home, to Goldy Hyder and Brian Kingston of reputation of Xi Jinping. say nothing of kids being home from the Business Council of Canada offer And our columnist Don Newman school. The economic damage has a realistic outlook on the prospects for sums up with a post-pandemic politi- been devastating and disruptive, as recovery. As they write: “It is increas- cal perspective. millions of Canadians lost their jobs ingly apparent that Canada will ex- in the shutdown. perience a multi-speed recovery with n Canada and the World, from her As the COVID toll declined and the stops and starts that will affect differ- vantage point as a thought leader economy showed signs of resilience, ent sectors in different ways.” I and independent Black sena- there were grounds for optimism that Policy Associate Editor Lisa Van Du- tor from Nova Scotia, Wanda Thom- Canada and the world were indeed on sen, whose work in both the U.S. and as Bernard considers the killing of the early steps to recovery. Canada has included covering inter- George Floyd as a catalyst for change But make no mistake, the pandemic national financial institutions and in Collective Rage Requires Collective Ac- will have lasting effects on public and countless federal budgets, looks at tion. It is a withering indictment of an- fiscal policy in Canada. the intersection of technology, glob- ti-Black racism and police brutality in al debt and democracy post-pandem- Canada as well as the United States. ence our cover package, on ic in COVID-19, Democracy and the Finally, we offer reviews of two excel- lessons learned and a look Future of Work. ahead. lent books for summer reading. James H Natural Resources Minister Seamus Baxter thoroughly enjoyed Profession- Geoff Norquay, who spent years as a O’Regan makes the point that in any al Heckler, Terry Mosher’s biography senior official working on health care conversation about clean energy, Can- of the great political cartoonist Dun- and public policy, looks at the epicen- ada begins from a position of strength, can MacPherson. What makes the tre of it all—the crisis in long-term especially in renewables: “The diversi- bio by Aislin so compelling, Baxter care for seniors, which has accounted ty of our energy sector is our under- writes, is that it reads “as if Mario Le- for 80 percent of the deaths in Canada lying strength. It is that diversity that mieux were recounting the life story from COVID-19. will carry Canada through this short- of Wayne Gretzky.” Liberal insider John Delacourt exam- term storm.” And former Maclean’s Editor Anthony ines the federal-provincial manage- Dalhousie University’s Lori Turnbull, Wilson-Smith sees many strengths in ment challenges of health care, a pro- co-winner of the Donner Prize, has a David Frum’s Trumpocalypse, includ- vincial jurisdiction largely funded by sense that the pandemic will trigger a ing “the ability to turn a neat phrase, the feds. In the LTCs alone, he notes, throwback to the constitutional poli- and the diligence to support his asser- “the provinces are struggling to man- tics of the 1980s and 90s, with inter- tions with a mountain of research.” age this crisis with limited help or governmental affairs and Charter pol- leadership from Ottawa.” The eco- itics dominating our discourse. Enjoy.

Policy 3 Rawpixel photo Pandemic Lessons for Fixing Canada’s Health Care System

As with all crises, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed Geoff Norquay strengths and weaknesses in Canada’s health care sys- anadians are rightfully proud tem at all levels: public health, active treatment and of their health care system; physician services. While our jurisdictional architecture C the vast majority of our citizens value it as a defining feature has proven both good and bad during the crisis, govern- of our citizenship. The current pan- ments at all levels will need to collaborate to close all demic has resulted in unprecedented pressures being placed on Canadi- the other capacity gaps. an health care, so how has the system fared, how is it holding up and what have we learned so far? Like much else in the COVID-19 odys- sey, the report card is mixed. In some respects, Canadian health care has held firm and performed admirably; in others, such as long-term care for seniors, the outcomes are abysmal. In terms of pandemic planning, Canada was caught flat-footed, but so was every other country in the world. At times, Canada’s federal-provincial-territorial division of powers has caused real challenges in creating

July/August 2020 4 timely and coordinated responses. In In the widespread take-up of tele-health prompted the widespread take-up of tele-health by the pandemic, the system has adopted new prompted by the pandemic, the system has adopted new approaches that approaches that are likely to revolutionize the delivery of are likely to revolutionize the delivery health care in the future. of health care in the future. At the broadest level, there are three sides to health care in Canada: public health, active treatment and the pro- federal government and the provinces provinces and territories to…report to vision of physician services. Public to source critical supplies in a chaotic us according to the definitions, but health has always placed a distant sec- and highly competitive market. sometimes that does vary and we do ond to the importance of acute care have certain data gaps that we must and doctors in the health care system. ow that the provinces are address.” In post-pandemic Canada, It has a broad mandate—the promo- re-opening their economies the absence of dependable data is a tion of population health—and its N stage by stage, Canadians challenge that must be overcome. normal concerns are such threats as are critically dependent on the im- seasonal flus, occasional outbreaks of plementation of massive “test, trace n the early stages of the pandem- measles, the opioid epidemic, obesity and isolate” measures across the coun- ic, significant concern was ex and sexually transmitted diseases. try. These measures are essential to I pressed that victims of the virus the country’s ability to detect possi- might flood this country’s active treat- The responsibility for pandemic plan- ble spikes in community transmission ment capacity and collapse it, as oc- ning is subject to peaks and valleys in of the virus if the pace of returning to curred in such countries as Italy and political decision-makers’ interest— normal is too fast. Testifying before Spain. With 57,000 hospital beds, high importance in the face of events the House of Commons health com- Canada’s comparative ranking in beds like SARS and H1N1—but receding as mittee on May 19, Dr. Theresa Tam, per 1,000 people is the lowest of all a top of mind issue as time passes and Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Organisation for Economic Co-opera- memory fades. said that the 30 testing labs in Can- tion and Development (OECD) coun- This reality, plus Canada’s federal-pro- ada have a daily capacity for rough- tries and our occupancy rates tend vincial structure, is what caused this ly 60,000 tests, but on average, only towards being the highest. Even in country to be unprepared for the need 27,000 are currently being performed normal times, the persistence of “hall- for personal protective equipment by provinces and territories. Ontario way medicine” is a major challenge (PPE) generated by COVID-19. Sever- and Quebec have faced almost con- for provincial health systems. al months into the pandemic, Cana- stant challenges in completing suffi- Likely due to the shutdown of the da is still struggling to ensure access cient numbers of tests. economy and the success of self-isola- of front-line workers to essential PPE. If an army marches on its stomach in tion and social distancing in flatten- This occurred for two reasons: first, a time of war, in a pandemic, public ing the curve, the much-feared run the provinces allowed their stockpiles health officials and epidemiologists on acute care never happened in most to dwindle and become out of date; march on accurate and comprehen- provinces. There was one notable ex- and second, the federal government sive data. They need to see the spread ception. Because of the virulence of took a lackadaisical approach to main- of the virus in real time to form effec- the outbreak in Quebec, that prov- taining the national emergency stock- tive responses and mobilize resourc- ince came the closest to catastrophe. pile of this equipment. es. This means timely data on positive In early May, an astounding 11,600 of At both levels of government, there cases and their location, the numbers its front-line health care workers were were lapses in on-time replacement of deaths and where they are occur- missing from the system—sick, quar- of PPE that had reached its best-be- ring, the number of recovered cas- antined or afraid to go to work. That fore date. In addition, when the pan- es and how many tests are being per- situation persisted for weeks. demic struck, the system experienced formed. On data collection and its When the pandemic took hold in challenges related to distribution dependability, Canada’s experience in mid-March, provinces cancelled elec- of supplies. In April, CBC disclosed 2020 is that the whole is not greater tive surgeries to protect their hospi- that in 2019, the federal government than the sum of the parts. tal capacities in the event of an in- threw out two million N95 masks and In reality, Canada has no national flux of COVID-19 patients. As a result, 440,000 medical gloves when it shut public health data system; once again thousands of Canadians can now be down an emergency stockpile ware- our creaky federal/provincial/territori- counted as the collateral damage of house in Regina. The masks had ex- al structure gets in the way. As Dr. Tam our chronically low number of active pired five years before in 2014. The told the Commons health committee treatment beds. Based on an extrapo- absence of an adequate supply of PPE in May, “We actually have nation- lation of Ontario and British Colum- has led to a mad scramble by both the al case definitions, but it’s up to the bia’s share of the population, the re-

Policy 5 sult is a backlog of as many as 189,000 Possible Pandemic Wave Scenarios possible scenarios for the course of the delayed surgeries nationwide. These for COVID-19 COVID-19 pandemic.” deferrals now need to be cleared, and Based on the evidence from previ- Scenario 1: Peaks and Valleys B.C. estimates that it will take as long ous influenza pandemics and what is as two years. known about COVID-19, the researchers conclude that there are likely three n the positive side of the pan- possibilities for the future progress of demic, in just three months the virus: O Canada has seen a sea-change in the use of telemedicine—the deliv- Scenario 1, in which the current peak ery of medical care and information us- Scenario 2: Fall Peak is followed by “a series of repetitive ing telecommunications technologies. smaller waves that occur through With people warned away from hospi- the summer and then consistently tal emergency departments and many over a 1- to 2-year period, gradually physicians’ offices closed or restricting diminishing in 2021.” visits, doctors and patients quickly em- COVID-19 CASES Scenario 2, where the Spring 2020 braced access to and delivery of medi- wave is followed by a larger wave this coming fall or winter and smaller cal care through online platforms. Scenario 3: Slow Burn waves in 2021. With the boom in the use of tele- health approaches, apps for doc- Scenario 3, in which the current tor-to-patient interactions such as initial wave is followed by “a ‘slow ZOOM, GoToMeeting and Doxy.me burn’ of ongoing transmission and have proliferated. Patients without case occurrence, but without a clear Jan 2020 Jul 2020 Jan 2021 Jul 2021 Jan 2022 a physician can access one through wave pattern.” MONTH Cloudmd, and Medimap now pro- hat this means is that we vides quick access to virtual appoint- Source: CIDRAP, University of Minnesota are now in a race between ments with walk-in clinics. The good the development of herd news is that provincial fee-for-ser- W immunity and the discovery of a vac- vice reimbursement systems are be- These longstanding issues are complicated by Canada’s jurisdictional cine against the virus. Until a vac- ginning to catch up with these new cine becomes available, successive realities. In April, British Columbia structure: 13 separate and often pro- tectionist political and administrative waves of infection will continue to changed its physician payment mod- sweep through the population, build- els to accommodate virtual medicine. systems; different standards from jurisdiction to jurisdiction; mixed pub- ing towards the achievement of herd The apocalypse that has befallen Can- lic, private and philanthropic own- immunity. Only a vaccine can put a stop to the virus. ada’s frail elderly living in long-term ership, confounded by the lack of care facilities stands as the greatest inclusion of these facilities under the The possibility of continuing stops failure of our health care system in the Canada Health Act. When the pan- and starts to economic activity to current pandemic. It is also a searing demic is over, there will be a reck- stem the spread of future outbreaks national shame. Roughly 400,000 Ca- oning on long-term care in Canada; is a daunting prospect for both gov- nadians live in these facilities and as it will be painful and complex…and ernments and the national psyche. At of late May, according to the Nation- very expensive. the very least it means the necessity al Institute on Ageing (NIA), 80 per- of redoubling current efforts to put in Epidemiologists and public health cent of all COVID-19-related deaths in place test, trace and isolate measures planners are quite certain that Canada—5,324 out of a total of 6,599 that are comprehensive and robust, as COVID-19 is far from done with Cana- deaths—were residents in long-term well as securing dependable supplies dians and our health care system. A re- care settings. of personal protective equipment to cent paper by the Center of Infectious prepare for the next wave. ith stunning prescience, a Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) late-2019 study by the NIA at the University of Minnesota argues Among the top-tier lessons we’ve counted the ways that that the best comparative model for already learned: prepare for the W long-term care homes were courting predicting what comes next can be worst. disaster with conditions that would learned from the influenza pandemics Contributing Writer Geoff Norquay, spread infections: people living close that occurred in 1918-19, 1957, 1968 a principal of the Earnscliffe Strategy together in residences that suffered and 2009-10: “Identifying key similar- Group, is a former social policy adviser from chronic staff shortages, and low- ities and differences in the epidemiol- to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and paid employees forced to work part- ogy of COVID-19 and pandemic in- communications director to Stephen time in several different facilities. fluenza can help envisioning several Harper in opposition.

July/August 2020 6 Crisis is the Mother of Collaboration: Federalism and COVID-19

To adapt John F. Kennedy on Canada-U.S. relations to his free time at the new casino across our federal-provincial dynamic: Geography has made us the river in Gatineau. roommates, history has made us skeptical and a pandem- his 2004 conference has taken ic has made us cooperate. Despite all the systemic weak- on a new historical resonance T when viewed through the lens nesses revealed by the COVID-19 crisis, its public health of how our current Liberal minori- and economic exigencies have proven that Canada’s gov- ty government has, because of the ernments are capable of working together. Longtime Lib- challenges of COVID-19, been com- pelled to adopt a bolder federal role. eral strategist and Hill + Knowlton VP John Delacourt The fact that 80 percent of the deaths examines the economic and political implications of that due to the virus have occurred in care homes, even though only one per- breaking news. cent of the population is living in them, is a stark enough statistic and a sign that the provinces are struggling to manage this crisis with limited help or leadership from Ottawa. John Delacourt expectations that he would use this Seniors Minister Deborah Schulte has meeting as a bully pulpit for feder- stated there will be a “Team Cana- t is a time that now seems as realism, even though a report written da approach” to establishing federal mote as the Cold War years, given by former Saskatchewan Premier Roy guidelines for these homes now. An- I the current fog-of-war reality of Romanow just two years before called other Liberal minority government, this pandemic. But in 2004, Paul for an assertive position that would similarly chastened by a loss of ma- Martin’s Liberal government, com- have the feds providing 25 percent of jority fortunes, now has to deal with ing off an election that had seen a all health care funding to the prov- what was overlooked 15 years ago. confident majority reduced to a ner- inces and territories. Apart from Ro- vous minority, convened a meeting manow’s recommendations there Yet there are two other factors that of the first ministers on health care was also the prospect of a national are pulling strongly, like a magnet- at the old railway station in down- pharmacare plan being discussed in ic force, on the compass points di- town Ottawa—the building that the halls—and perhaps even an op- rected toward federal leadership: now houses the Senate. portunity to look ahead and mitigate the economic impact of the pan- the risk of a crisis for seniors’ care. demic on our cities and the strong Much was expected for a national Yet after four days of meetings, with undercurrents of a new economic vision. The conference was suppos- a result that might have been indic- nationalism, owing to the grim re- edly going to set the co-ordinates on ative of risk aversion or canny trans- alization that depending on global how health care would be managed actional politics by Martin and his supply chains for essential goods in in Canada for generations to come. team, the final deal was far less than a time of international crisis seems Implicit in the rhetoric leading up a “fix for a generation.” There was an increasingly ill-advised. The trage- to the discussions was an evocation agreement on wait times for five pri- dy that has befallen the long- term of a larger theme: a defining tone ority areas and another on an escala- care homes may have been the first for co-operative federalism for the tor clause for funding, and those were sign that a new way of working col- new century. the high points of a conference so laboratively with the provinces on Yet for those among the press gal- underwhelming that Alberta Premier solutions is needed, but our cities lery who knew Prime Minister Paul Ralph Klein skipped the last day and and our ability to manufacture and Martin well, they did not have high was rumoured to be spending most of manage our own essential products Policy 7 and tighten our hold on our greatest The Canadian economy is undoubtedly on a long resources are now the crucial long- term challenges. trek for recovery and when it’s over, the hardships may fade quickly from memory as well. But perhaps some of o one knows this better than the lessons from a more co-operative federalism will resonate ministers Catherine McKen- beyond this crisis. N na and Mélanie Joly, tasked with managing infrastructure and the regional economic development agencies, respectively. As McKenna and her team have been focused on the creation of a kind of second Eco- U.S. or China for what we’ll need in thors note, nearly three percent of nomic Action Plan, working with the future crises no longer seems wise or Canada’s GDP is from the cultural in- provinces on a prioritized list of “shov- forward-thinking. No one has come dustries; greater than agriculture, for- el-worthy” projects, they have quickly to this realization as swiftly as Deputy estry, fishing and hunting, accommo- come to the realization that revenue Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and dation and food services and utilities. shortfalls at the municipal level are her office, whose conversations with The hearkening back to the Great De- going to make partnering on needed the premiers have focused on avert- pression for inspiration may be more ing shortages as supply chains have projects very difficult. McKenna’s of- apt a notion than we currently want hardened like clotted arteries, strug- fice has stated they were initially look- to consider. gling to pump some lifeblood into ing at making changes to the gas tax communities whose need is greatest. And yet. Outgoing Bank of Canada fund, increasing the annual escalator A rethinking of the positives and neg- Governor Stephen Poloz, with one of of two percent, but because the tax atives of wide-open markets has gone the few heartening comments of his is allocated on a per capita basis for from a ripple to a wave around the final days, stated the dire econom- provinces and territories, smaller com- world now, and Canada has learned ic forecasts for the next few quarters munities may not benefit to the same the same lessons as other nations in may be “overblown” and that a wave degree. Joly has had to look squarely the G7. It would be an exaggeration of innovation and new startups may at the dark horizon for cities as well. to presume the next election will see emerge over the horizon. With that, Under normal circumstances, region- campaign platforms touting a new the new tide of federalism may recede al economic development agencies economic nationalism, but a new fo- over the stronger terra firma of this re- target their support at communities cus on how Canada can ably depend covery phase. The stimulus measures, large and small. If anything, they will upon itself in times of future crises in this scenario, will have achieved devote greater attention to the lat- will be plausible, and will likely sound the objective of cushioning the im- ter to help grow the tourism and ser- very compelling to an electorate made pact on all sectors and providing a vice economies, especially in places war-weary by this virus. smoother transition back to small but that never really recovered from the incremental growth. last recession in 2008. But as store- till, as it is with most COVID- There is a saying about marathon run- fronts and restaurants are boarded up era phenomena, it is too ear- ning and childbirth—that people do it on formerly busy downtown streets, ly to say if a greater role for the over and over because we have short with no signs of return, there are just S federal government in Canadians’ term memories of pain. The Canadi- too many Canadians out of work in lives will maintain its appeal past that an economy is undoubtedly on a long Montreal and Toronto. With cultur- next campaign or through the worst trek for recovery and when it’s over, al events and conferences now tak- of this recovery period. Yet there are the hardships may fade quickly from en off the table for the next few quar- strong voices from other fronts that memory as well. But perhaps some of ters, federal resources and leadership are beginning to suggest so. A trio of the lessons from a more co-operative are needed more than ever during the prominent names from academia and federalism will resonate beyond this long months of recovery ahead. the cultural sector recently authored crisis. For the Trudeau government’s an op-ed for the Globe and Mail calling fortunes, that might be the best news nd as these urban economies on the government to create a vari- they can hope for before another elec- stutter-start back to life, the ation of President Franklin D. Roo- tion campaign. merits of looking outward and sevelt’s Works Progress Administra- A Contributing Writer John Delacourt, re-embracing the central tenets of tion, a Depression-era initiative that Vice President and Group Leader globalization are being re-examined. got Americans working on bricks- of Hill + Knowlton’s public affairs Provinces largely managing their own and-mortar construction projects but practice in Ottawa, is a former director supplies of, say, surgical masks for per- also on films, murals and photogra- of communications for the Liberal sonal protection made eminent sense phy projects. It is less fanciful a no- Research Bureau. He is also the author just months ago. Now, relying on the tion than it sounds at first; as the au- of three novels.

July/August 2020 8

The world seen from space. As fate would have it, the most brightly lit cities and countries are among the most devastated by the coronavirus, from New York in the U.S., to London in the U.K., to Paris and northern France, to Italy, India and China, with COVID also spreading in the southern hemisphere. A different world economy lies ahead. NASA/NOAA photo Toward a Convergence Economy: LEAPFROGGING TO A POST-PANDEMIC SOCIETY

Among the many things the COVID-19 pandemic has Laurette Dubé been, it is a perfect storm of health and economic factors he COVID-19 pandemic forc- converging to produce a wicked problem for governments es questions about the order worldwide. Laurette Dubé has been researching the great- T that has prevailed since the onset of the first industrial revolution, er-than-the-sum-of-its-parts aspects of health and eco- i.e., the Rest converging with the West. nomic convergence for more than a decade in her role as a This model of economic convergence has brought tremendous social and professor and researcher at McGill University’s Desautels economic progress. As the world em- Faculty of Management, and as Chair and Scientific Di- barked on a relentless quest for na- rector, McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and tional and global economic growth, consumer lifestyle and industrial sup- Economics (MCCHE). Dubé explains why this crisis was ply chains and markets progressive- inevitable, and how the accelerated Industry 4.0 digitiza- ly replaced traditional livelihoods tion forced upon us by the pandemic may power a leapfrog and local communities and systems in most of the world. Over recent de- strategy to a convergence economy. cades, transportation and communi- cation technologies have powered ever-increasing speed and connectivity, at least until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Controlling the spread of the virus that emerged in a wet market in Wuhan, China, has proven to be more challenging than containing the chol-

Policy 9 era epidemic in 1850s London before Externalities are making the regular occurrence of Dr. John Snow traced its source to the extreme adverse events, including but not limited Broad Street pump. Beyond clear differences in the physical speed of prop- to COVID-19, a new normal. The pandemic, by its agation of the virus per se between immediacy and the digital-powered nature of individual the two epidemics, challenges plan- and collective responses, may be the tipping point for ning the recovery and beyond for the societal-scale redress. COVID-19 pandemic are woven in the fabric of modern economies and societies, in particular at the intersection of health and economic systems. ic, social, environmental and health convergence innovation with part- he development of both health trajectories become interwoven with- ners at community, city, province/ and economic systems has in and across jurisdictions, building state, and global levels, with a world- been and is still being pow- T resilience throughout by redefining wide network of special COVID-19 ered by science, technology and in- science, innovation and growth at platforms spreading from Quebec, to novation, which depending on esti- the same time as we reinvent every the rest of Canada and elsewhere. The mates, accounts for 50 to 80 percent day life. Individuals and organizations same way digitization and artificial of all social and economic progress from across disciplines and sectors can intelligence in the precision pharma- that has accumulated across indus- be brought together to foster the de- cogenomics and medicine realms will trial revolutions. This Western-cen- sign, production, promotion and de- hopefully produce a COVID-19 vac- tric linear pattern powered by the ef- ployment of portfolios of real-world cine and cure faster than for previous ficiency of disciplinary and sectoral solutions that can only reach socie- pandemics, precision convergence sci- silos has however fueled a structur- tal-scale through a next-generation ence and innovation may do the same al divide between economy and soci- combination of behavioral change for the everyday lives of individuals, ety, producing a set of interconnected and ecosystem transformation, i.e, de- businesses and society to support life- grand challenges such as inequity, uni- signing, building and navigating the long wellness and resilience in all its versal health, lifestyle-related health convergence economy boat all at the physical, mental and financial dimen- care, climate change, resource scarci- same time. sions, during recovery and beyond. ty, and others confronting traditional and modern economies. Industry 4.0 digitization is now en- At the individual level, expanding abling finer-grained linkages between upon a unique combination of be- These have been threatening the fi- human behavior components and the nancial viability of individuals, busi- havioural, social, economic, and sys- ever more dynamic and interconnect- tems sciences, convergence science nesses, and governments in industri- ed real-world contexts created in real adds layers that bring together neu- alized and developing countries alike. time by innovation pipelines, deliv- roscience and artificial intelligence These externalities are making the ery systems, supply chains and mar- (AI) to capture the full richness and regular occurrence of extreme adverse kets. Consequently, convergence is scope of rational and non-rational re- events, including but not limited to an interdisciplinary and solution-fo- al-world human behavior as it unfolds COVID-19, a new normal. The pan- cused concept that leverages innova- in real time over a person’s lifespan, in demic, by its immediacy and the dig- tion from precision medicine, neu- ever-changing conditions and in his/ ital-powered nature of individual and roinformatic, analytics (behavioral, her diverse roles as consumer, produc- collective responses, may be the tip- business and systems) as well as other, and citizen, translating in immedi- ping point for societal-scale redress to er disciplines that have integrated AI ate and long term outcomes for indi- this prevailing and vulnerable order. and other digital technologies to im- vidual, business and society. As the COVID-19 pandemic is accel- prove economic, social and commer- erating our journey in an Industry 4.0 cial outcomes. By integrating this With the western lifestyle spreading era that blurs the boundaries among wide scope of disciplines, convergence over the world, materialism has be- the biological, physical and digital helps make commercial and/or social come a comfortable, reassuring ad- realms, a different type of conver- solutions more adaptive by facilitat- diction, so deeply ingrained that few gence may be possible by innovating ing more precisely targeted, better dif- even question its stranglehold on a the way we innovate on both sides of ferentiated, scalable, and impactful society. What if materialism and the the structural divide between econo- solutions than prior standard practice. collection of possessions are not just my and society, supported by a nov- a hollow promise of happiness, but el convergence within and between e have perfected the devel- a drain that steals the humanity and basic, life, behavioural, and social opment of this conver- heart from a culture? What if the ex- sciences. In such digital-powered re- W gence approach through perience of the complex emotions imagined convergence, the econom- more than a decade of work in food of fear, hope, despair, faith, and mo-

July/August 2020 10 tivation that has driven some of the tion in all its forms having played a the peace-time post-COVID world. So most unique collaborations during key enabling role in more than one are conventional innovation policies, the COVID-19 crisis where to place a way. For instance, a leading genom- or any single sectoral policy for that permanent slowdown on the hedonic ic company in South Korea specializ- matter. Moving toward a convergence treadmill that has sustained econom- ing in diverse precision medicine and economy requires changes at differ- ic growth since the onset of industri- pharmacogenomic solutions shifted ent levels: individual (livelihoods, life- alization? “Materialism” has been in- gears in applying these technologies styles); professional (mindset, skill deed placed under the microscope by toward COVID-19 diagnostics, con- and practice); organizational (innova- the almost complete halt of commer- tributing importantly to the acceler- tion pipelines, business models, prac- cial exchanges, compounded by home ation of national control of the pan- tices and strategies; supply chains and schooling and working, social distanc- demic. ELSE, an IBM-led consortium markets); and systemic (design, policy, ing, confinement, and, for many, a grouping competitors with supercom- political economy, and culture). Solu- significant income drop. puter-equipped national agencies and tions within each of these levels as well research centres, is now enabling ba- as boundary-spanning collaborations Many are searching and may find al- sic and life scientists worldwide to across diverse disciplines, sectors, and ternatives to a commercial belief sys- accelerate the omics sciences char- jurisdictions are needed. COVID-19 tem that abandons too many and acterization of the virus and hopeful- may have accelerated the markedly results in overworked lives that of- ly produce a vaccine and cure. In the different style and focus that are need- ten feel worthless, without meaning agri-food sector, where global connec- ed in moving from economic con- or purpose. As with drug addictions, tivity in the agro-industrial complex vergence to convergence economies. could some of the unusual ways of life has faced major disruption, novel con- These include (1) an aspiration for pur- forced upon all by COVID-19 be part nectivity has emerged with national, posive and directional innovation that of a solution to create a world from state/provincial, city and even com- pervades health and economic goals which one doesn’t wish to escape. In munity food systems to enable afford- on both sides of the economy-society fact, research shows that in contrast able access to all through connecting divide; (2) pragmatic focus targeting to previous financial depressions or unused farming, processing and logis- individual and collective solutions in pandemics, even retail therapy does tic capacity with surging demand for core activities and programs of each not provide comfort. By one estimate, social support. In all of these sectors, it and all actors; (3) global aspirations, over 300 department stores could go is likely that mutual interests of actors regardless of the entry point taken for under by the end of next year. throughout jurisdicitions will main- specific solutions. tain and expand upon such connec- hat are the paths to the tivity, be it only for more transparen- Economies and societies in the past convergence economy for cy and resilience. have been able to steer away from W businesses and other or- danger. The pandemic has raised ques- ganizations in public and social sec- ‘Materialism’ has tions for individuals, business, and society about what sort of future we tors for the post-pandemic recovery been indeed placed and beyond, including but not lim- want, what are individual and collec- ited to retail businesses? Businesses under the microscope by the tive roles—including the role of busi- and other organizations, regardless of almost complete halt of ness, civil society and government—in their sectors, size and geo-location, are commercial exchanges, moving from economic convergence to convergence economy. key intermediaries between individu- compounded by home als and their everyday lives at home, The world needs re-imagining more at work and in the community. Pre- schooling and working, social distancing, than ever. This is true for our every- cision convergence is at the intersec- day lives as much as for everyday sci- tion point between individuals (with confinement, and, for many, ence, business and society. This new their biology, brain, and life-trajecto- a significant income drop. and improved way of doing things is ry aspirations) and the professions, meant to be not just marginally bet- organizations, institutions, systems, ter, but to produce quantum leaps, and policies that support them in ev- particularly at the health and wealth er-changing contexts, including the intersection. A convergence econo- virus emergence and pandemic man- my may pave the way to one of those urning to society, the wartime agement in its different phases. quantum leaps needed to re-imagine policy that most political lead- the world. The COVID-19 response has clear- T ers have appropriately used ly transformed many facets of the to place individuals, businesses, the Laurette Dubé is Chair and Scientific innovation pipeline and operations economy and society on pause to flat- Director, McGill Centre for the as well as supply and demand with- ten the curve and control the crisis is Convergence of Health and Economics in and across sectors, with digitiza- likely to have limited applicability in (MCCHE).

Policy 11

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at his daily COVID-19 briefing outside Rideau Cottage. He’s been announcing unprecedented government grants and program spending to stimulate economic recovery from the devastating impact of the pandemic. Adam Scotti photo. The Canadian Economy Post-Lockdown

As with previous economic disruptions throughout his- Goldy Hyder tory—wars, depressions, industrial revolutions—the and Brian Kingston COVID-19 pandemic has transformed society, but in a he COVID-19 pandemic has more telescoped manner. While the long-term implica- devastated the Canadian T economy. In the first quar- tions remain to be seen, the short- and medium-term ter of 2020, the economy shrank by a ones are beginning to clarify. Goldy Hyder and Brian previously unimaginable 8.2 percent Kingston of the Business Council of Canada provide a on an annualized basis. The economic downturn pushed the unemploy- helpful assessment of where the business and consumer ment rate to 13.7 percent in May, status quo lies at press time. with the federal deficit on track to hit $252.1 billion in fiscal 2020-21 after extraordinary programs were un- veiled to support Canadians.

In the early days of the pandemic and economic crisis, there were hopes

July/August 2020 12 that once the spread of COVID-19 Businesses will need to take steps to rebuild the was curtailed, Canada’s economy would rebound and life would return confidence of employees and customers. That means to normal. While we may have wit- demonstrating a commitment to safety, including proper nessed the bottom of the econom- sanitization procedures and physical distancing. ic contraction, it is increasingly apparent that Canada will experience a multi-speed recovery with stops and starts that will affect different sectors in different ways. downs are lifted, with little need for to consumer attitudes toward travel- Given a protracted, uneven recov- fundamental changes to their busi- ing and taking holidays are unlikely, ery, the Canadian economy will look ness models. but there is bound to be a lag effect. very different over the medium term. To respond to consumer concerns, Many companies in the manufactur- There are four key trends that govern- businesses in these sectors have al- ing, natural resources and construc- ments and businesses will need to un- ready begun unveiling new protocols tion sectors are positioned to recov- derstand and adapt to if Canada is to aimed at boosting consumer confi- er relatively quickly as demand picks emerge from the crisis stronger. dence. Equally important are clear up in Canada and around the world. and coordinated efforts from govern- The key challenge for these compa- ments across Canada to ease travel re- The shutdown also nies will be to ensure that workers strictions and restart the travel and have adequate protective equipment hit the aviation, tourism sector. accommodation and tourism and workspaces that allow for physical distancing. sectors early and hard. 2. Digitization The outlook is more uncertain for Permanent changes to he pandemic forced many entrepreneurs and employees who consumer attitudes toward companies to pivot almost cannot realistically serve customers traveling and taking holidays overnight to a digital work- while practising physical distancing. T from-home model. Those that could are unlikely, but there is Many restaurants, bars, hair salons operate in a virtual environment and other personal care services face bound to be a lag effect. moved quickly to equip employees a long and difficult road to recovery. to operate remotely. For businesses in The Canadian Federation of Indepen- the physical retail sector the pandem- dent Business, which represents more ic required an immediate shift to on- than 110,000 small firms, says a third line sales and delivery. 1. Living with the virus of its members who have been forced to close their doors during the month This accelerated a digitization trend hysical distancing, protective of May are unsure if they will be ever that was well under way before equipment, testing, tracking be able to reopen. COVID-19. According to McKinsey’s and tracing will become the P 2017 Digital Global Survey, 92 per- ‘new normal’ until a vaccine is avail- The oil and gas industry suffered a dou- cent of companies thought their busi- able and mass produced. Business- ble whammy. The government-man- ness models would need to change to es will need to take steps to rebuild dated shutdown significantly reduced adapt to digitization. Digitalization the confidence of employees and cus- demand for their products at the same is no longer a journey for companies tomers. That means demonstrating time that global oversupply was hav- but a necessity for survival. a commitment to safety, including ing a sharp downward effect on pric- proper sanitization procedures and es. Any economic recovery is that What could this mean for commercial physical distancing. much harder without the full contri- real estate? A recent survey of Business bution of a sector that represents al- Council members found that 73 per For the most part, businesses that op- most 10 percent of Canada’s GDP. As cent of respondents will make work- erated without the need for direct the country transitions to a lower-car- ing remotely a permanent option for physical contact before the pandemic bon economy it will need to draw on roles that permit it. For some business- will be able to scale up quickly as de- the knowledge from Canada’s energy es this may mean reducing their real mand comes back. This includes some sector, which is already innovating in estate footprint while others may re- corporate services as well as online re- emission reductions. quire more space to allow for adequate tailers and the tech sector. Many, if distancing in the workplace. not most, of these businesses will be The shutdown also hit the aviation, able to return to normal operations accommodation and tourism sectors This potential shift could have a sig- as soon as government-ordered shut- early and hard. Permanent changes nificant impact on commercial real es-

Policy 13 tate and the thousands of small-and- ness surging popularity as Canadi- plies, including the US, despite calls medium-sized businesses that provide ans seek holidays that allow them from the World Health Organization services to tenants and their employ- to maintain physical distancing. Ac- and WTO not to do so. ees in and around office towers. cording to a recent survey by Aba- In response to lockdowns around the cus Data, 1 in 3 Canadians (9.9 mil- world and the rise in protectionism, 3. New consumer preferences lion people) say they never before many businesses are re-examining thought RVing was right for them, their supply chains with emphasis he pandemic has created new but are now open to it as a result of on improving resiliency to insulate opportunities for entrepre- the pandemic. neurs and businesses that them from future disruptions. This T For the hotel industry, renewed em- move quickly to respond to changing includes shortening supply chains consumer preferences. Living with phasis will be put on cleanliness and and diversifying input sources. the virus for years and not months certification programs to restore con- For Canada, this means a renewed may result in permanent changes to sumer confidence. In Singapore, a set emphasis on strengthening supply consumer behavior. of criteria has been established for ho- tels to limit the spread of COVID-19 chains in North America. The pend- For example, physical distancing that includes an audit process to ening implementation of the Cana- may result in greater demand for ve- sure compliance. This has created sig- da-United States-Mexico Agreement hicle ownership at the expense of nificant opportunities for the private (CUSMA), which replaced the North ride-sharing and public transit. Ac- sector to develop and deliver certifi- American Free Trade Agreement cording to a recent survey by auto- cation and assessment programs in (NAFTA) creates an opportunity for TRADER, 65 per cent of respondents partnership with government and the US, Mexico and Canada to devel- who use ride-sharing services are us- other businesses. op a continental supply chain resiliency strategy. For the US, this would ing them less, while 81 percent of While it is impossible to predict meet one of the key objectives it set respondents who use public tran- whether changes to consumer be- out at the beginning of the CUSMA sit have limited their use. Survey re- haviour will be permanent, there renegotiation—incentivize greater spondents also indicated that even is clearly an opportunity for entre- production in North America. when physical distancing is no lon- preneurs and businesses to tap into ger required, 70 percent would not shifting preferences. This could be achieved by promot- revert to using ride sharing, and 40 ing greater North American regulatory percent would not go back to taking 4. Supply chains and trade compatibility in key goods sectors, in- public transit. cluding medical devices. As businesses ven before the pandemic hit, look to reduce their reliance on inputs Activities such as Canada was exposed to rising from China, consideration could be RVing, previously E protectionism around the given to relocation incentives. world, led by our neighbor to the reserved for a small subset of south. The most recent trade moni- any businesses will be per- toring report from the World Trade the population, may witness manently and negative- Organization (WTO) found that be- surging popularity as ly transformed by the tween mid-October 2018 and mid-Oc- M Canadians seek holidays COVID-19 pandemic and economic tober 2019, import-restrictive mea- downturn. While some opportuni- that allow them to maintain sures implemented by members were ties have been created for those that estimated to cover US$747 billion in physical distancing. can respond to the new trends shap- trade. This is the highest level record- ing the Canadian economy, the tran- ed since October 2012 and represents sition will be painful for many. an increase of 27 percent compared to the figure recorded in the previous For Canada to emerge stronger from annual overview of US$588 billion. this crisis we need to understand the In the travel and tourism indus- trends shaping the economy and try, demand may shift from over- Faced with a lack of critical equip- build back better. This will require seas travel to more domestic or re- ment such as respirators, protec- ongoing cooperation among busi- gional holidays in designated ‘safe tive garments and ventilators, many ness, labour and government to nav- zones’ where the virus is contained. countries have taken a national se- igate the turbulent waters ahead. This will create opportunities for curity approach to health care equip- businesses that can offer new and ment, adopting export controls and Goldy Hyder is President and Chief innovative tourism packages close directing domestic manufacturers to Executive Officer of the Business to home. And activities such as RV- begin production of supplies. Today, Council of Canada, and Brian Kingston ing, previously reserved for a small nearly 100 countries have instituted is Vice President (Policy) for the subset of the population, may wit- export restrictions on COVID-19 sup- Business Council.

July/August 2020 14 COVID-19, Democracy and the Future of Work

The global economy was already being transformed be- jobs, particularly at the lower end of skill sets… Twenty years from now, fore the COVID-19 pandemic hit, most significantly due labor demand for lots of skill sets to the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the will be substantially lower. I don’t nature of work—a trend knowledgeable observers were think people have that in their mental model.” His more recent rhetoric predicting would be felt more seriously in the coming de- has been less alarmist, possibly be- cade. Now, governments will have to balance bracing for cause of the firestorm that prediction ignited. In 2017, McKinsey manag- the impact of that meteorite with reduced revenues and ing director Dominic Barton—then a possible debt crisis post-pandemic. heading the Trudeau government’s advisory council on economic growth, now Canada’s ambassador to China—predicted that 40 percent of Canadian jobs could be lost to automation over the coming decade.

Lisa Van Dusen lance rates, including in journalism, were then still working for actual The pre-pandemic ne of the questions that salaries with benefits and reasonable employment arose in Washington in the income security. O immediate aftermath of the numbers did not reflect 2008 financial crisis was to what de- Structural unemployment is defined the relatively recent gree the crash would produce struc- as that “resulting from industrial re- evolution in the practical tural unemployment. organization, typically due to tech- nological change, rather than fluc- implications of the words, Because the disaster was man-made tuations in supply or demand.” The ‘job’, ‘employment’ and corruption-driven, it was not industrial reorganization resulting and ‘career’. fuelled by organic weaknesses in from the unprecedented techno- the U.S. economy and so did not logical change of the internet—in- produce either cyclical (reflecting cluding automation, robotization, the normal cycles of recession and digitization and the systematic re- growth) or frictional (post-universi- dundancy of many meat space jobs ty job searches, people changing cit- and workplaces—was already well That pre-existing precariousness re- ies) unemployment beyond the lev- underway when the COVID-19 out- flected a two-decade trend whereby els that would have existed without break became a pandemic, followed technology-enhanced productivity the force multiplier of a global mar- by the only example of self-induced, and profits have been broadly valued ket collapse. widespread economic stagnation above human livelihood and quality At the time, the first decade and a in history. of life, partly due to the state capture half of the fourth industrial revolu- of government legislative priorities tion had had a significant impact on he pre-pandemic structural by Big Tech and other industrial be- how people worked, less so on where employment status quo was al- hemoths that has produced, among and for what price. The gig economy T ready tilting from uncertain other deliverables, the decimation was brand new (the term was coined to precarious, at least in terms of sus- of unions. The pre-pandemic em- in the wake of the crash by former tainability, a fact underscored by a ployment numbers did not reflect Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown in a range of experts including Bill Gates, the relatively recent evolution in the January 2009 Daily Beast column). who said in 2014 that “Technolo- practical implications of the words, Many people now working at free- gy over time will reduce demand for “job”, “employment” and “career”.

Policy 15 This time, that puts the question The answer lies in the unknowns of the degree to of how much structural unemployment damage will be done by a cri- which economies are able to return to something sis in a different context—more akin approaching pre-pandemic activity before a confluence to the prognosis for a COVID-19 pa- of massive fiscal outlays, protracted atrophy, a failure to tient who already had a pre-exist- contain the virus and depleted tax revenues generates a ing chronic disease than the outlook for an otherwise healthy victim. The debt crisis.” May jobs numbers everywhere reflect the predictable impact of a society in quarantine. How much of those pandemic unemployment rates, including Canada’s record 13.7 percent, far, been extraordinarily efficient at cially in clean energy. The Recovery will turn out to be structural? rationalizing worst-case scenarios. Act converted the financial crisis The answer lies in the unknowns into an opportunity by investing In 2009, Barack Obama’s require- of the degree to which economies more than $90 billion and leverag- are able to return to something ap- ment for the American Recov- ing another $150 billion for clean proaching pre-pandemic activity be- ery and Reinvestment Act that Joe energy. As Dan Woynillowicz and fore a confluence of massive fiscal Biden oversaw was that beyond the outlays, protracted atrophy, a failure short-term, post-crisis remedial out- Sarah Petrevan pointed out in a re- to contain the virus and depleted tax lays, taxpayers’ money be spent on cent Hill Times piece, wind gener- revenues generates a debt crisis. The the industries and jobs of the fu- ation has tripled and solar has in- odds of that happening depend on ture, both to secure sustainable live- creased more than 80-fold since the X-factor of a virus that has, so lihoods and foster innovation, espe- those investments.

There are ways to manage wicked problems and ways not to. That Canadian Unemployment Rate at Record High Obama’s successor is himself a wicked problem shouldn’t preclude lead- 14 ers in Washington, Ottawa and May elsewhere from anticipating and 1981-1982 2020 recession pre-empting disaster; there’s a dif- 13 April 2020 ference between unintended conse- 1990-1992 quences and unavoidable ones. recession 12 In 2017, when Barton predicted the 2008-2009 recession economic toll of technology on our 11 pre-pandemic calculations, his solution was an industrial strategy based on “inclusive growth”. For inclusive 10 growth to prevail over productivity and profits, democracy will have to

PERCENTAGE 9 prevail over corruption and author- itarianism. That our current wick- 8 ed problems are playing out against March 2020 that clash should simplify, not com- plicate matters. 7 Lisa Van Dusen is Associate Editor of Policy Magazine and a columnist for 6 The Hill Times. She was Washington bureau chief for Sun Media, 5 international writer for Peter Jennings 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 at ABC News, and an editor at AP in New York and UPI in Washington. Source: Stats Canada

July/August 2020 16

Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan gives the keynote at the GLOBE clean technology conference in Vancouver in February. In negotiating clean tech agreements with other countries, O’Regan says Canada begins from a position of strength in diversity in renewables such as hydro, nuclear, solar and wind energy. GLOBE series photo. Our Post-Pandemic Energy Future

At the dawn of 2020, it seemed the wicked problem that Seamus O’Regan would dominate global agendas for this year would be oliticians are always looking climate change. While the COVID-19 pandemic and eco- for stories, and for places to nomic shutdown have eclipsed even the climate crisis in P tell them. In the month of February, before the COVID-19 shut- the political discourse for the moment, international poli- down, I’d struck gold. I found myself cy makers and thought leaders in the energy field are still in two different cities, on two different days, and with two vastly dif- working to reconcile our economic and climate change ferent audiences, and two different mitigation needs. Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s Minister of ways of telling the exact same story. And, in the telling of this tale, I had Natural Resources, is one of them. found a way to make my point.

In Vancouver, I gave a keynote speech at GLOBE, North America’s largest cleantech conference. My message was simple—that Canada would not reach its climate goals without the oil and gas industry. Natural Resources Canada officials had run the numbers

Policy 17 and the road to net-zero emissions The relationship between non-renewable and by 2050 ran through the oil-producing provinces of Alberta, Saskatche- renewable energy sources is not one of opposing wan and Newfoundland & Labrador, teams. It is one of symbiosis. That synergy must prevail in and there was no getting around it. the months and years ahead. The next day, I flew to Calgary. I co-hosted an Innovation Summit with Alberta’s Energy Minister, Son- ya Savage. The audience might not ducers and make it a nation-building he relationship between non- have been as large as GLOBE’s, but imperative. We do not see ourselves renewable and renewable en- around that table sat some of the big- that way, but others do. T ergy sources is not one of opposing teams. It is one of symbi- gest players in Alberta energy R&D. They also see us as the second-larg- osis. That synergy must prevail in News headlines were dominated by est producer of hydroelectricity in the months and years ahead. The stories of investors increasingly turn- the world. They see us as a global relative sizes of the renewable and ing their backs on the sector, and the leader in solar and wind power and non-renewable shares of the energy mood of the room was unsettled. I emerging renewable energy storage sector are shifting. They will contin- told them exactly what I had told the technologies. They know we’re a ue to shift over time. How govern- audience at GLOBE. And that day, in ments manage the shifting of those listening to what the people around tier-1 nation for nuclear energy, and tectonic plates—how they support that table told me, it became clear to a driver of clean hydrogen produc- the workers and regions that rely on me that, in fact, Canadian oil and gas tion, biofuels, and cutting- edge fuel industries experiencing that shift— needed net-zero. cell technologies. has great political and economic Call me the Minister of Inconvenient So, others look upon us with high consequences for the country. Truths. It was not the crowd-pleas- expectations. They also look upon To drive our post-COVID recov- ing message either expected, but us with some envy. Countries ery and advance our commitment each was receptive to it. It felt like around the world see energy and to net-zero, I believe we need to do the time had come to sit and speak energy infrastructure as integral to three things: of the world not as each wanted it to their post-pandemic recovery, but be, but as it was. few have the range of renewable and First, we need to be smart. We must non-renewables that we do. use every ounce of our ingenuity to anada is the fourth-largest make our traditional sources of energy producer of oil in the world. more sustainable—through electrifica- That is a point I always make Others look upon C tion, carbon capture and storage, and to every audience on the subject of us with high evolving clean technologies. energy. That accomplishment, the expectations. They also look result of the extraordinary ingenu- Second, we need to be thorough. ity of our people, has brought us upon us with some envy. Countries around the world This means making smarter individ- immense financial wealth and em- ual choices that will achieve collec- ployed hundreds of thousands of see energy and energy tive results—better appliances, bet- Canadians. It does not mean we dig infrastructure as integral to ter light bulbs, better windows, better in and resist the truth of our chang- their post-pandemic recovery, building codes, better cars. This ‘radi- ing climate. It does mean we have a but few have the range of cal incrementalism’ will, cumulative- great responsibility. And the world is ly, be far more effective than any one watching—increasingly by Zoom. renewable and non- single, revolutionary technology we renewables that we do. hope will one day save us. COVID-19 has meant attending international summits from your den. Third, we need to be thought- At my second International Energy ful about the challenges ahead in Agency ministerial meeting, I was the global economic recovery, and surprised I was one of the first chosen about just how fundamental this The diversity of our energy sec- to speak, of the dozens of ministers longer-term energy transition will who were ‘there’. It dawned that that tor is our underlying strength. It is be. Some will say that we are mov- was because I was the Minister of Nat- that diversity that will carry Canada ing too fast. Others will say that we ural Resources of the fourth largest through this short-term storm, and are moving too slowly. oil-producing country in the world. through the long-term transition Other countries below us on that that has been underway since before Through all of it, we must be deter- ranking readily identify as oil-pro- the pandemic began. mined that people—energy workers

July/August 2020 18 and their families—aren’t left behind. part of our country’s energy mix until, that if your plants are struggling be- And we must be determined that and perhaps beyond, 2050. The world cause there’s too much sunlight… you whole regions of this country—those today does not yet have the technol- don’t solve that problem by sticking that produce much of our non-renew- ogy to fully meet our energy needs them in the cupboard all day long. able energy now—aren’t left behind. without non-renewables, and we do They need balance. not yet have all the commercially vi- Our mission must be a shared one— Our energy transition and the inter- able replacements we need. to build a stronger, more sustainable play between economy and environ- and innovative energy sector as part The work continues even as our gov- ment is no different. They are eco- of a more prosperous and sustainable ernment responds to the clear and systems. Ecosystems need balance. economy. It will require determina- present immediate threats posed by Bringing Canada’s economic and en- tion, good will, empathy, and the co- the pandemic. That matters. It matters vironmental ecosystem into balance operation of all Canadians. It will be because the work is important, and it must, and will be, an enduring pursuit. hard work. matters because of the role it will be playing in generating growth for so As the late Jim Prentice wrote in his Our government was elected on a many communities that have been hit book Triple Crown, “No other democ- platform with a serious plan to fight hard by the pandemic, including In- racy in the world possesses a compa- climate change. Canadians expect us digenous communities. rable set of energy opportunities.” We to honour that commitment. The eco- are a country blessed with a bounty nomic recovery from the COVID-19 Right now, across this country, many of natural resource wealth. We are a people are re-discovering the simple pandemic requires broad-based mea- country that relies on that bounty, joys of gardening. We’re all creating sures that put Canadians back to work, nationally, for an enviable quality of micro-environments on our window- and keep us on our path to achieving life. Our stewardship of these resourc- sills, our patios, and our yards. net-zero emissions by 2050. es, as we meet the urgency of combat- It is worth emphasizing that the key s my mother taught me, gar- ing climate change, is the challenge word in that objective is “net”. It is an dening is all about balance. of our age. acknowledgment that non-renewable A Even though I don’t have Seamus O’Regan is federal Minister of sources of energy will continue to be a much of a green thumb, I do know Natural Resources.

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Policy 19

After the Pandemic: Competitive or Cooperative Federalism?

In Canada, the debate about temporary restrictions on that have been deemed “hot spots”, including Montreal, will face restric- mobility and other rights has been largely ruled by public tions longer than other parts of Que- health factors. Sooner or later, it will shift to the Charter bec. The restrictions on rights are being justified, in public at least, by the of Rights and Freedoms enacted by the current prime min- need to protect communities from ister’s father. the spread of COVID-19.

owever, these emergency orders have, for the most part, rights. Our freedoms of assembly and Lori Turnbull not been tested in court. mobility, for example, have been re- H Once the acute public health cri- n the effort to use physical dis- stricted as never before. Further, the sis is behind us, much of our ener- tancing to stop the spread of restrictions on these rights vary con- gy will shift toward a critical analy- COVID-19, politicians and public siderably depending on the jurisdic- I sis of how governments managed the health officials have made frequent tion, which creates an inconsistent COVID-19 crisis. appeals to our sense of community. application of Charter rights. There Phrases like “we’re in this together” have been police checkpoints at some There will be intense scrutiny of eco- and “protect yourself and others” res- provincial borders but not others. At nomic stabilization measures, includ- onate with our sense of individual these checkpoints, some travelers ing the Canada Emergency Response responsibility for public health and get turned away but some do not. As Benefit (CERB), as well as supports for safety. We have been asked to resist provinces re-open at different paces, Indigenous communities, small busi- self-interested impulses to socialize freedoms to gather and travel are re- nesses, the agricultural sectors, stu- in favour of protecting not just our- stored on different schedules. dents, and others. selves but our neighbours. Elected governments and public If the empty parks, restaurants, offic- health officials will face questions es, and campuses are any indication, The restrictions on these rights vary about the timing and consistency of there has been an enormous amount public health warnings, as well as of goodwill from the public regard- considerably depending the quality and consistency of treat- ing compliance with physical dis- on the jurisdiction, which ment and care throughout the pan- tancing rules. creates an inconsistent demic for conditions unrelated to Of course, governments have not re- application of Charter COVID-19. As well, governments lied solely on moral suasion, a form across the country will face questions of soft power, to uphold the rules. rights. about their compliance with the Ca- Police in different jurisdictions have nadian Charter of Rights and Free- issued tickets and fines for non-com- doms. Some advocacy groups have pliance. in April, Ottawa issued over begun this work already. 100 tickets for violations of a by- Most of the coverage on non-Charter law on emergency orders related The interjurisdictional inconsisten- compliance because of the COVID-19 to COVID-19. cies with respect to restrictions on crisis has pertained to emergency lim- It has been suggested that the use civil liberties make complete sense to itations of inter-provincial and even of emergency orders, to the extent the extent that they reflect the signif- in-province travel. For two months, that they restrict our ability to move icant differences among local, pro- the Sureté du Québec stopped thou- across provincial borders and gather vincial, territorial, and regional juris- sands and thousands of cars crossing together in groups, run afoul of our dictions with respect to the presence the five bridges between Ottawa and Charter rights; of our constitutional and spread of COVID-19. Locations Gatineau. One woman in Nova Sco-

July/August 2020 20 transformative implications for other elements of the social safety net. On the other hand, suppressions of Char- ter rights are not popular, particularly when the time frame is medium- to long-term in nature and there are significant inconsistencies in the appli- cations of Charter rights.

The COVID-19 recovery and rebuild- ing period will necessitate discussions about the constitutional division of power (read: constitutional division of labour) because no order of government can solve this alone. Many of the issues that are arising, including the notion of universal paid sick leave, are within provincial jurisdiction, but will never advance without federal support (read: federal money).

So, despite the exhaustion following the constitutional debates that Justin Trudeau watches in his home study as the House committee discusses Ottawa’s pandemic dominated the 1980s and 90s, we response—much of it with the provinces, where a new federalism, either cooperative or competitive, may emerge. Adam Scotti photo. are headed into another such round of talks. The urgency is different this time in the sense that there is not a tia was prevented from traveling to its responsibilities to citizens, and the crisis around Quebec’s place in the Newfoundland for the funeral of her parameters of its power. federation, but there is an intergov- mother. ernmental conflict in the offing, waiting to explode. The Charter is clear in Section 6 (mo- The nature, bility rights) that Canadians and per- substance and The economic impact of COVID-19 manent residents have the right “to will create even more urgency around reside in any province” and to “pur- seriousness of these questions conversations that had been happen- sue the gaining of a livelihood in any has the potential to trigger ing already regarding the fairness of province.” The constitutional over- a new era of constitutional the equalization formula. The grow- ride in the Section 33 notwithstand- politics in Canada centered ing sense of resentment in the West ing clause does not apply to Section will add to this urgency. 6, as it does to Sections 2, and 7 to around a critical discussion The constitutional dialogue will be in- 15 on fundamental and legal rights. of the role of the state, formal rather than formal. We won’t However, governments would likely its responsibilities to citizens, change the wording, because the po- pursue a defence of emergency orders and the parameters of litical will for that won’t be there, but under Section 1, the reasonable lim- its power. we will talk about what the wording its clause. There is bound to be a legal means. We could enter into a new battle on this, probably ending up in stage of cooperative federalism, in the Supreme Court. which governments share responsibility and cost, or we could go in the iven the possibility of a sec- opposite direction of competitive fed- ond wave of the pandem- A constitution has many purposes, eralism in which governments pass re- ic, which could force us all but a central one is to define the man- G sponsibilities and costs back and forth back into lockdown at some point in date and powers of governments. The like hot potatoes. Either way, Charter the future, answers to the questions COVID-19 era has seen an expansive politics and intergovernmental affairs above cannot come soon enough. The role for the state in the lives of Cana- are going to be hot again. nature, substance and seriousness of dians. There could be a strong appe- these questions has the potential to tite for some of this to continue. For Contributing Writer Lori Turnbull, trigger a new era of constitutional pol- instance, there is support for CERB co-winner of the Donner Prize, is itics in Canada centered around a crit- payments to transform into a basic Director of the School of Public ical discussion of the role of the state, income program, which would have Administration at Dalhousie University.

Policy 21

History at a Juncture

As the world surveys the geopolitical damage generat- “are still nations, and no more can be expected of this forum for politi- ed by Donald Trump’s presidency and the COVID-19 cal adjustment than the sum total of pandemic, the coming months take on disproportion- (their) contributions.” Fast-forward to the politicized criticism of the ate importance as a hinge of history. Veteran diplomat UN’s World Health Organization for Jeremy Kinsman explores the hazards and opportunities not extracting adequate transparency Canada will face. and compliance from China, as if the WHO failed to live up to a suprana- tional mandate that the UN’s found- ers, especially the sovereignty-ob- sessed U.S., never intended.

Jeremy Kinsman divides the world, defines our time, That wasn’t a limitation when mem- and chokes the prospects of global co- ber-states were on the same page, ow often in these dark operation. This crucial fourth “junc- drafted by the U.S. as the world’s months have we read or ture” in the last seventy-five years fol- uncontested leader, confident in its H said that we can’t revert to lows: 1), In 1945, the creation of our ability and responsibility to shape the pre-COVID “normal”; how it rules-based system; 2), In 1989, the events, accounting for half of global provides an opportunity for a bet- Cold War’s end; and 3), In 2008, the GDP, having emerged from the war ter world? In The Economist, Marga- financial system’s breakdown. relatively unscathed. Acheson viewed ret MacMillan, called it a “juncture, the United States as “the locomotive where the river of history changes di- and the rest of the world the train... rection.” But toward better or worse? Canadians revere that the economic aspects (were) no Martin Wolf of the Financial Times the postwar creation less important than the political as- warns that it’s “Reasonable to bet of the cooperative rules- pects of peace. And only the United that the world which emerges on the States had the power and the purpose other side of the pandemic will be based system built on the to yoke them together.” less open than the one that entered ashes of the 20th century’s it.” Can nations trade dangerous murderous wars. he international trade and pay- competition for national advantage ments ecosystem aimed to end for cooperative solutions to human- T the “beggar-thy-neighbour” ity’s challenges? Can they sustain nationalist protectionism that deep- globalization’s benefits, which lifted ened the Great Depression and has- billions from poverty, while taming tened WW II. It valorized open mar- its harmful fixation on financialized anadians revere the post kets and private enterprise, too much profit? war creation of the coopera- for Stalin’s USSR to ratify, ominous- C tive rules-based system built ly signaling a divided world to come, America’s retreat under Donald on the ashes of the 20th century’s but worked miracles for the industri- Trump into truculent neo-isolation- murderous wars under inspired Amer- alized West. Their economies boomed ism is a huge negative. His mantra of ican leadership that mixed idealism for three decades that the French de- “America First” fans global flames of and realism. While the UN Charter scribe as les trente glorieuses. populist nationalism, evoking old de- opens with “We, the peoples,” the mons that caused the Second World United Nations always belonged to Shunning different perspectives, War. His defeat in November won’t their sovereign member-states. Most needs and grievances of the emerg- alone restore the world’s cooperative “people” had no states of their own, ing “global South,” whose national spirit without evidence that interna- being still colonies. liberations occurred over those same tional institutions work effectively in decades, its working hypothesis was the interests of all. Moreover, it may Ex-U.S. Secretary of State Dean that emerging economic powers— not end the increasingly toxic rival- Acheson’s memoir Present at the Cre- China, India—would just merge into ry with China for global primacy that ation reminds us that UN members the globalized system of financial-

July/August 2020 22 ized capitalism. But as Martin Wolf Once elected, Trump’s anti-globalist puts it, “Latecomers will not accept administration abandoned world leadership ... disadvantage.” Meanwhile, the UN’s peace and security aspects, the Gen- unilaterally weaponized tariffs even against democratic eral Assembly and Security Council, allies in a vindictive and destructive search for were paralyzed by the ideological competitive advantage. Cold War.

Its seemingly miraculous, euphoric end in 1989 provided the next defining “juncture” and opportunity to set things right. In ending both the Cold War and the USSR’s communist re- Basking in the notion it had “won” macy, which radically changed the gime for essentially moral and idealis- the Cold War, ingesting what Francis world’s agenda, thickened borders, tic reasons, Mikhail Gorbachev facili- Fukuyama declared to be “the uni- prompting wars and waves of refu- tated the liberation of Eastern Europe, versalization of western liberal de- gees, but with no interruption of the the fall of the Berlin Wall and the uni- mocracy as the final form of govern- globalization of markets—until the fication of Germany. Withdrawal of ment,” Western self-congratulation still under-estimated financial cri- more than a million Soviet military (for Gorbachev’s initiative) extended sis of 2008 essentially killed 1989’s ended its empire, not in defeat, but to to the assumption that the U.S. eco- “one-world” belief in convergence, pursue a “European common home.” nomic model was universally validat- setting the scene for another “junc- ed. By then, the U.S. economy was at ture” in world affairs. Gorbachev’s project to transform the one-fourth of the world’s GDP. But controlled Soviet society and econo- as Richard Cohen of the New York t became a missed opportun- my that was unprecedented in scale Times wrote, the U.S. “got used to the ity. The world’s banking system and scope received inadequate West- century being theirs.” I was rescued, largely by the U.S., ern support and he lost control of the but not its victims, sapping belief in process and public buy-in. Populist ewly sovereign states of east- the fairness of Western-driven capi- rival Boris Yeltsin, who couldn’t dis- ern Europe and the ex-USSR tal markets. Even in developed econ- place him as President of the USSR, initially looked to “imitate” omies, resentment of globalization’s broke the Soviet Union into 15 new N Western economic and political sys- down-sides that exploited the vul- autonomous, largely mono-cultur- tems to fill the void left by the evac- nerable roiled hollowed-out commu- al republics in 1991. In April 1992, uation of communism. But needing nities of people left behind, accel- George H.W. Bush committed the belief-systems more authentically erating grievance-based nationalist U.S. to contribute $24 billion to sup- “theirs,” nationalist populist leaders populism and polarizing electorates port the Russian re-form project. But plumbed pre-communist pasts for at the expense of the moderate cen- grants over the 10-year period from old religious, traditional, and eth- tre, where compromise lives. Out- 1990 to 2000 were $5 billion, or less nocentric narratives, rejecting secu- comes included Brexit and Donald than one year’s aid to Egypt or Isra- lar, multi-cultural western liberalism, Trump’s ascendancy. el at that time. Bill Clinton, whose and kick-starting a fixation on na- presidency roughly coincided with Once elected, Trump’s anti-globalist tional “identity” that anticipated its that of Yeltsin, understood Russia de- administration abandoned world lead- global surge today. served more help but couldn’t budge ership, withdrawing from multilater- the U.S. Congress. Meanwhile, the prosperous 90s al accords on climate, nuclear weap- ons, trade, health, and human rights, roared ahead, fueled by the global- and undermining the world’s securi- oreover, Western econom- ization of world markets and infor- ty and economic cooperation frame- ic advisers and institutions mation technologies indifferent to work that the U.S. had itself created. counter-productively cultural pushback. WTO member- M The Trump administration unilater- pressed for an abrupt shift to an ship in 2001 rewarded the extraordi- ally weaponized tariffs even against open market economy via “shock nary rise of China, whose communist democratic allies in a vindictive and therapy” and “structural adjust- leadership had opened up the econ- destructive search for competitive ad- ment”, deepening what The New omy without embracing democracy. vantage, reducing U.S. relationships Yorker’s David Remnick described as An emerging spirit of “globalism” to bilateral “deals.” The most import- “the destruction of everyday life,” as conceded a need to pool some sov- ant and elusive would be with China. the ex-Soviet economy plunged by ereignty to meet trans-national chal- 42 percent. Sadly, in Russia, democ- lenges of climate change and hu- Though America now accounted for racy and liberalism became and re- man security. But it was submerged only one-seventh of the global econ- main toxic words. by the 9/11 attacks against U.S. pri- omy, the mindset of U.S. global pri-

Policy 23 tionalist adults in a global virtual situation room will be easier. But if they don’t, we’ll have to work even harder.

It will require moderation of the increasingly “civilizational” U.S.-Chi- na antagonism. Former U.S. Trea- sury Secretary Larry Summers offers open-eyed realism: “We need to craft a relationship with China from the principles of mutual respect and strategic reassurance, with rather less ... feigned affection ... We are not partners. We are not really friends... We need to be pulling in unison if things are to work for either of us. If we can respect each other’s roles, respect our very substantial differences, confine our spheres of nego- tiation to those areas that are most important for cooperation, and rep- resent the most fundamental interests of our societies.”

A COVID infection rate map of the western world, a new geopolitical map quite different from the Canada’s hands-on multilateral order after the Second World War in 1945, the end of the Cold War in 1989 and the collapse of global markets in 2008. Martin Sanchez Unsplash photo commitment to cooperation and global macy endured, increasingly rattled cy and shorter supply chains occurs reform must co-exist with by China’s spectacular and unprec- at the expense of trade, economic the daily stress of managing edented rise. President Xi’s own na- recovery will not generate adequate our U.S. relationship. If tionalistic pursuit of grandeur and revenue to service the mountains of China’s history of violating fairness debt from the trillions of dollars of like-minded Americans requirements of multilateral and bi- relief programs. Trade drives global- return to power under Joe lateral trade agreements made the ri- ization’s historic benefits, which over Biden, convening valry toxically litigious. 20 years cut the numbers living in ex- internationalist adults in a treme poverty from 40 percent to 10 In early 2020, the COVID-19 pan- percent of global population. global virtual situation room demic suddenly emerged as the next will be easier. But if they Can international political will be mo- potential defining global juncture. As don’t, we’ll have to work the challenges and threats of climate bilized? Tony Blair argues it should be change, nuclear proliferation, food obvious that doing the best for your even harder. security, and others loom over us, its country means working together, not proof of our need to cooperate across that cooperation means doing the best borders is understood everywhere ex- for other countries. Ministers Freeland cept possibly the White House. But and Champagne have been on it, pro- as a stress test, COVID-19 exposed an moting a multilateralist defence soli- uneven, competitive, and politicized darity group along with France, Ger- Our generational challenge—saving response, hobbled without U.S. lead- many and others. Canada convened the vital postwar system through the ership that had coordinated the inter- efforts to reform the WTO. salvation of its reform—represents a tall order. But stakes couldn’t national effort to subdue Ebola only Canada’s hands-on commitment to be higher. five years earlier. cooperation and global reform must co-exist with the daily stress of man- Contributing Writer Jeremy Kinsman he pandemic turned coun- aging our U.S. relationship, an existen- was Canadian ambassador in Moscow, tries inward. Borders matter tial balancing act, but unrelenting. If Rome, London, and Brussels and is a T more. But if the impulse to re- like-minded Americans return to pow- distinguished fellow of the Canadian duce vulnerability by self-sufficien- er under Joe Biden, convening interna- International Council.

July/August 2020 24

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters defied a police ban to participate in the annual Tiananmen Square memorial vigil in Victoria Park, Hong Kong on June 4, 2020. Iris Tong Wikimedia photo The Fall of China’s Mask

As China’s behaviour on the world stage has been em- Robin V. Sears

boldened by the incompetence and unpredictability of hinese president Xi Jinping Donald Trump, Beijing’s abuses of power have become in- has done serious damage to creasingly brazen. On issues from Hong Kong to Taiwan C his country’s global reputation, perhaps exceeded only by to Huawei, the economic stakes and intimidation tactics that inflicted by Mao in his declin- that served to mute criticism of China for more than a ing years. This is not entirely surpris- ing, since Xi clearly sees himself in decade are proving less and less effective. As veteran Chi- the same vein, as a transformation- na-watcher Robin Sears writes, “It is hard to understand al leader. The statistics that track the what Xi’s endgame is.” reputational damage are brutal. In Canada, only 15 percent of Canadi- ans today still hold a positive view of China—a fall from 58 percent 15 years ago and 43 percent when Xi took office in 2013.

More seriously, 85 percent of those polled by Angus Reid say they do not believe Beijing’s COVID fables. Chi- na’s failure to adequately protect Af- rican students from racist attacks has wounded them in many African

Policy 25 countries. The EU countries are con- Canada at first refused to criticize the Chinese sidering steps to block Chinese in- shipment of unsafe equipment publicly, or to vestment, as is Canada. The United States has seen two-way investment acknowledge the Taiwanese generosity by name. Days later, flows cut in half, and is actively try- presumably after someone had whispered in his ear about ing to weaken the Chinese economy, how craven this appeared, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau especially in the tech sector. offered a terse thanks. Even China’s quiet march through multilateral institutions—implant- ing loyalists in executive roles in organizations from Interpol, to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization this appeared, Prime Minister Jus- measures on China’s abrogation of its among many others—is now being tin Trudeau offered a terse thanks. treaty obligations to the United King- pushed back on, with the support of It took Trudeau some weeks to ac- dom and Hong Kong. some developing nations that China knowledge that China had made er- The last British governor of Hong could have counted on the purchased rors in its early handling of the cri- Kong, Chris Patten, denounced the loyalty of only two years ago. sis, and even longer to join the call nonsense that China needed to take for the WHO to launch an indepen- this step for the security of the city, ut it is China’s use of person- dent inquiry into its mishandling pointing to existing laws in Hong al protective equipment, espe- of COVID. Kong which gave the government cially masks, as a diplomatic B The first telling example of how Can- ample tools to challenge what Beijing card in an attempt to buy goodwill, ada was beginning to turn away from called “foreign-sponsored terrorism.” that has failed most spectacularly in China, and how badly wrong the The U.K. then offered a fast track to recent months. First, it was revealed game of diplomatic masks had gone citizenship to the 3,000,000 holders that China canvassed the world to was the leak of Ambassador Dominic of the travel document issued before import PPE equipment in late De- Barton’s harsh denunciation of Chi- the handover—the British Nation- cember and January, when Beijing na’s games in a briefing to the Ca- al Overseas Passport. Canada said to knew that COVID was getting out of nadian International Council. Those the 300,000 holders of Canadian citi- control in Wuhan, that the epidemic who know Barton as the savvy global zenship and passports in the city that was coming, but was strenuously de- leader of McKinsey, and one of Can- they were “welcome home” anytime. nying it publicly. ada’s most experienced China hands, Senior Chinese diplomats of an earlier Then in March, when the pandemic do not believe that the “leak” of his generation have shared with Western went global, China started to manu- remarks was unplanned. colleagues how embarrassing Beijing’s facture masks in great quantities and behaviour is to them. They underline offer them, often free of charge, to hen came Beijing’s move to however, that it is the product of di- African and European nations. Can- impose Chinese Communist rect orders from the president and ada’s shipments, like many others, Party-style restrictions on free T those around him. In private, leaders were returned when the masks were speech in Hong Kong. Claiming that of an earlier generation say to trusted found to be defective or of shoddy it needs to fight terrorism, Beijing’s Westerners, “We have seen this mov- quality. EU chief diplomat Josep Bor- plan would allow China’s security ie. It was called the Great Cultural rell called out China very directly, and intelligence apparatus to oper- Revolution. We know how it ends.” saying that China was fighting “…a ate in Hong Kong, and punish the But how this sequel will end is per- struggle for influence through spin- usual authoritarian catch-all hob- haps not as clear as the veterans of the ning and the politics of generosity.” goblins of “treason, secession, sedi- “Great CR”. Today, China has nearly Since then, things have gone badly tion and subversion”. 150 USD billionaires. They have a lot wrong for the Chinese spinners. This has provoked a storm of criti- to lose if China slides into protection- Taiwan, an increasingly nimble com- cism including a joint denunciation ist isolationism and its provocative petitor, also sent masks—but theirs by Canada and key allies and a move behaviour on the global stage incurs were of very good quality. Canada at to end Hong Kong’s special trade and wider sanctions. Beijing has commit- first refused to criticize the Chinese economic status by the Trump ad- ted to nearly $2 trillion of investment shipment of unsafe equipment pub- ministration—criticized by some as overseas. Some of that in places like licly, or to acknowledge the Taiwan- effectively punishing Hong Kong in- Ethiopia is already being threatened ese generosity by name. Days later, stead of China. Then came the for- with takeover by angry national gov- presumably after someone had whis- mation of a nine-nation group of ernments. It is hard to understand pered in his ear about how craven parliamentarians to push for stronger what Xi’s endgame is.

July/August 2020 26 As a powerful nation of many millen- nia and a leader on the Asian stage, China must surely understand that if you provoke every one of your neigh- bouring states—with the exception of your fellow authoritarian, Russia— you will have encircled yourself with a ring of enemies. If you turn the Euro- peans from ambivalence to anger, and the Americans from rhetorical threats to active measures to weaken your economy, you face economic disaster at home. If your growth rate continues to slide and unemployment rises, you will imperil the steely grip of the China’s President Xi at Davos in 2017, now emerging, writes Robin Sears, as “an increasingly tragic figure, whose diplomatic mask has indeed fallen.” World Economic Forum photo Chinese Communist Party. ticians, and an unending stream of in- “World history shows that the road Those who stand up sulting threats to Taiwan’s president, of human civilization has never been for Taiwan, Hong Tsai Ing-wen, re-elected just in Janu- a smooth one and that mankind has ary—have served to deepen Taiwan- made progress by surmounting diffi- Kong or Tibet in Canada are ese determination to fight to main- culty. No difficulty, however daunt- often swamped on social tain their status. The longer Canada ing, will stop mankind from advanc- media platforms with insults fails in its efforts to win release of its ing. When encountering difficulty we and even death threats. In two high-profile political prisoners, should not complain, blame others, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, or run away from responsibilities ... some cases, the threats have the more intense will be the demands Instead we should join hands and been delivered in person. on the prime minister to increase pres- rise to the challenge. History is made sure on China, in lockstep with the by the brave.” world’s leading democracies. It marked the highpoint of Xi’s inter- anada also needs to respond national status, which has declined internally to reliable reports badly since then. The man who ap- nother difference between to- from several Chinese Cana- pealed to the world to “join hands,” day’s self-destructive behav- C dian civil society organizations that risks becoming the pariah whose prof- iour and the end of Maoism, A they are subject to harassment and fered hand world leaders will refuse. is the rising status of Taiwan. Presi- threats. Those who stand up for Tai- Not merely because post-pandem- dent Xi has unwisely hitched his leg- wan, Hong Kong or Tibet in Cana- ic hand-shaking will be out of fash- acy to the unification of Taiwan with da are often swamped on social me- ion for a long time to come. But be- China. This will not happen, unless dia platforms with insults and even cause it be folly domestically for those Xi is so foolish as to believe the world death threats. In some cases, the leaders to be seen shaking his hand. It would stand by as tens of thousands threats have been delivered in per- was moving to see tens of thousands of Taiwanese died in a bloody inva- son. Investigations, arrests and con- sion, followed by a brutal occupation. of Hong Kongers commemorating victions should be one of the tools The Americans, the Japanese and the the Tiananmen massacre on June 4, we use to punish the work of Beijing’s South Koreans have been quietly as they have done for three decades, paid enforcers in Canada. building up their defence and security defying Beijing and their own govern- relationship with Taiwan. The Amer- Instead of expelling a long list of of- ment despite the risk of mass arrests. icans have stepped up high-technol- fending diplomats—who will merely Meanwhile, President Xi presents an ogy arms sales, and permitted some be replaced by officials of similar style increasingly tragic figure whose dip- U.S. diplomats and military leaders to and demeanour—we should call out lomatic mask has indeed fallen. visit the country for discussions on the offenders by name and cite the re- military and strategic co-operation. sults of investigations of their threat- Contributing Writer Robin V. Sears, ening Canadians. a principal of the Earnscliffe Strategy Beijing’s unrelenting pressure on Tai- Group in Ottawa, previously served for wan—attempting to freeze them It already feels like ancient history five years in Tokyo as Ontario’s agent- out of multilateral bodies, flaunting that President Xi, at Davos days be- general in Asia, and later worked for a large network of spies and black- fore Donald Trump’s inauguration, another five years in the private sector mailed local business leaders and poli- appealed for global harmony: in Hong Kong.

Policy 27

Column / Don Newman A New and More Dangerous World

he world that is emerging Canada and more importantly the place.” A less co-operative place and a from the COVID-19 pandem- United States, who have reaped huge place where, if countries want to play T ic will be a much different profits in the past 30 years by ex- a role, they will have to step up to place than we have been used to, and porting North American jobs to Chi- both compete and co-operate as the Canada will have to find a way to na and then importing the products situation dictates. manage in it, let alone thrive in it. those jobs make back here. The au- tomotive sector is just one example. This is the new world reality. Canadi- To hold its own in this new world, ans and their government will have Canada will need a new attitude, a Well, that idea was just wrong. Now to get used to it. The idea that trade new realization that the world we people who warned that the Chinese with China was to be the econom- knew is gone, a new confidence to would use their increasing economic ic salvation of the country is gone. confront and survive the world that might to increase their political, mil- New markets in Asia and Europe will is emerging and a new attitude by itary and economic influence are be- have to be developed along with a re- the country, the provinces and a new ing proven right. assertion of our commitments to our type of government to deal with the North American trading partners. Rather than become a rules obeying new reality that we will be living in. member of the global economy Chi- Once again Canada will have to get This new world was coming even na steals intellectual property, bul- serious about our military. Procure- without the pandemic and without lies its smaller neighbours, ignores ment will have to be streamlined. the disaster of the election in 2016 rulings that go against it at interna- Thirty years to replace aging equip- of Donald Trump as President of the tional tribunals and has militarized ment will no longer cut it. Neither United States. islands in the South China Sea in an will used aircraft from Australia or effort to control the shipping lanes These events did not create the new burnt-out submarines from Britain. through which 30 percent of the world that is emerging, they just world’s trade passes. It goes without saying that Huawei helped accelerate the pace of change. will be excluded from our 5 G com- This was the state of play when Of equal importance is the 2018 de- munications network. Canada will COVID-19 hit. As part of his pledge cision of the People’s Congress in also have to get serious about Chinese to bring back jobs to America, Presi- China to make Xi Jinping President influence already in this country. We dent Trump was already engaged in for life. That decision confirmed his will have to clampdown on Confucius a trade war with China. He escalated stranglehold on power and eliminat- clubs on University campuses, treat tensions by labelling COVID-19 the ed the possibility of course correc- intellectual property thefts harshly China virus because it originated in tions going forward in China’s asser- and warn travellers about the dangers Wuhan province in that country. tive and dangerous plan to extend its of visiting China, as Michael Kovig influence not only in its surrounding Since then, relations have just grown and Michael Spavor imprisoned there area but also through Africa, Latin colder, and even if Trump is defeat- in a harsh Chinese hostage diplomacy America and beyond. ed in the U.S. presidential election maneuver have found out. later this year, China and the United The world is quickly becoming a States seem destined to be in a Cold t also put paid to the argument tougher, more dangerous place. That War that will rival the one between that by helping China open up is the new reality and Canada has to the U.S. and the Soviet Union for 45 I economically the country would be ready to compete in it. evolve into something more like years after the Second World War. western democracies and become a Columnist Don Newman, Executive rules-abiding member of the global his new Cold War will make Vice President of Rubicon Strategies in economy. That idea was promoted the world a much harder Ottawa, is a lifetime member of the by the business community in both T place. A “for us or against us Parliamentary Press Gallery.

July/August 2020 28

Canada and the World

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (centre) and Minister of Social Development Ahmed Hussen (left) attend a racial justice protest on Parliament Hill on June 5, 2020. Adam Scotti photo Collective Rage Requires Collective Action

White Canadians, no less than white Americans, have Wanda Thomas Bernard spent centuries conditioned by racist mythology propa- any Canadians seem to gated to protect an economic hierarchy that never got find a sense of comfort over the trauma of the abolishment of slavery and has M and safety in discussing anti-Black racism at arm’s length. been making Black people pay for it—including through When I hear media and people in shame and guilt projected as fear and objectification— conversation make a distinction between current events in the United overtly and insidiously, ever since. African Canadian States and race relations in Cana- Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard delivers a compendium da, I cringe. In our country, I see a of the causes and effects of Black anger, and a call for preference to discuss the strengths of multiculturalism and diversity in transformative change. contrast with American politics and blatant acts of violent racism. Colo- nialism, anti-Black racism and white supremacy do not respect borders. I am reminded of the daily racism that I experience in Canada, ranging

Policy 29 from passive-aggressive comments Colonialism, anti-Black racism and white supremacy to outright denial of service. do not respect borders. I am reminded of the daily When I recount my experiences as a racism that I experience in Canada, ranging from passive- Black woman, I am often met with aggressive comments to outright denial of service. shock and disbelief, which results in a feeling of invisibility and a denial of my reality. I heard this same tone of shock as people reacted to the video of George Floyd being killed by police in Minneapolis on May 25. I ers accessing funds. Black Canadians pact of racism and violence on the know his cries for help were not un- need support and resources to ad- health of Black men, their families heard, they were just ignored. I see dress years of neglect and indiffer- and communities in three Canadian the clear parallel as the cries from ence. Despite hearing from several cities. We heard from Black Canadi- African Canadians are also not un- senators on the many forms of an- ans about the detrimental toll rac- heard, just ignored. ti-Black racism impacting Canadians ism-related stress has on their lives. Many African Canadians have fami- during the anti-Black Racism Inquiry This racism-related stress is caused ly and friends who live in the cities in the last Parliament, other political by the cumulative impact of blatant where protests are happening in the leaders continue denying that Cana- acts of racism, consistently being United States. Whether the connec- da has a history of systemic racism. underestimated and undervalued, tion is by blood or by common ex- and over-criminalization. This bur- perience, the affinity we have with den has serious health consequenc- each other comes from our shared Until we see es for our communities. There is a deep anger felt by Black people in re- ancestry. They are our brothers and reactions of non- sisters. The strength of people of Af- sponse to racism. That anger is often rican descent is enormous. We have violence from police internalized and can erupt to a state survived until this point, but we towards Black people, we of absolute rage. I often feel rage and are tired. Witnessing racism in me- will continue to see violence have turned it into action. Over the dia creates a ripple of collective pain years, I have strategically used my erupt, mirroring systemic rage to fuel my activism work. through all people of African descent. Collective pain requires col- violence. lective action. he rage of protesters is the same rage. It is real, and it is Canada seems to be stuck in a state T warranted. Until we see ac- of non-action or insufficient actions. countability from police, people will This cycle of non-action is enabled continue to feel forced to take the by continually occupying a state of Denial and ignorance enable the vio- law into their own hands. Until we shock and disbelief despite the con- lence that results in our deaths. see reactions of non-violence from tinuous stream of new deaths, vio- police towards Black people, we will lence and injustices. As Angela Davis George Floyd was murdered by po- continue to see violence erupt, mir- said, “it is not enough to be non-rac- lice officer Derek Chauvin and three roring systemic violence. ist, we must be anti-racist”. That is of his colleagues as witnesses stood also true for remaining in a state of by watching and filming it for eight As an African Canadian, moth- non-action. Remaining in a state of minutes and 46 seconds. This vid- er, wife, and grandmother of two non-racism and non-action, at this eo has fueled an international rage. young Black boys, I bear the burden point, is as harmful as racism itself. People of African descent have been of stress and worry of “living while expressing this same rage for hun- Black”. This stress is for myself, for This is known as the bystand- dreds of years in many different my community, for my family, es- er effect. In 2018, Prime Minister forms, and yet it often goes ignored. pecially for these two boys who are Trudeau acknowledged the United Not only do we experience violence quickly growing into Black men. Too Nations Decade for People of Afri- in ways as tangible as seen in the often, when I see Black men depict- can Descent. The government sub- video of George Floyd’s murder, we ed in the news; they are being killed, sequently allocated funds for Black experience violence through more or they are portrayed as a threat for communities in the 2018 and 2019 subtle forms of racism. Both types of simply existing. Many African Cana- budgets, but change continues to be racism are killing us. dians consistently share similar sto- very slow. Despite these allocations, ries with me about their daily expe- I hear from many grassroots com- From 2002 to 2010, I led a team of riences. This is why the message is munity groups that they face barri- researchers who examined the im- urgent: Black Lives Matter.

July/August 2020 30 On May 28 in Toronto, a young Af- ro-Indigenous woman named Regis Korchinski-Paquet was killed when she fell from her apartment balco- ny on the 24th floor. Her family had called the police because she was in mental health distress. How does a woman in distress calling for help end up dead? Her death tragically unites the injustice of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women with Misogynoir, a phrase coined by Moya Bailey rep- resenting the intersectional experience of Black women; misogyny compounded with racism. Regis’ family is looking for an answer for what happened to their daughter, and African Canadians are filled with rage and sor- row at the loss of our sister.

Black youth and Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard with her grandsons and her husband, George Bernard, at the Black leaders are Owen Sound Emancipation Festival. Photo courtesy Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard ready for change. We have been ready, and we need do better” but at this point, those equip Black communities with sup- partners in action, not just words feel empty as we find our- ports. As I watch videos and news in words. We need selves back in this place of collective coverage of the protests erupting in collective action. grief because more of our brothers American and Canadian cities in re- and sisters have been taken from us sponse to George Floyd’s death, I so violently. “We must do better” is worry about the impact gathering in not a commitment to change. What crowds will put on our already vul- we need to hear is who will take ac- nerable community. We do not yet tion, and how will they do it? Black know the full extent of the impact As I lie awake at night worrying communities, Black youth and Black this pandemic is having on Black about the prolonged violence en- leaders are ready for change. We lives in Canada, but we do know the dured by people of African descent, I have been ready, and we need part- “pandemic of racism” is proving to reflect on when I have had this feel- ners in action, not just in words. We be more deadly than COVID-19. ing before. Was it earlier this year need collective action. when Breonna Taylor was killed in African Canadians are experiencing a cumulative exhaustion and rage her own apartment? Or was it in ince the middle of March, my 1968, hearing the accounts of the ri- that is a consequence of the col- mind and work have been oc- lective perspective that Black lives ots after Martin Luther King Jr. was cupied with the knowledge that are expendable in Canada and the killed? Was it 10 years later, in 1978, S African Canadians are more suscepti- United States. The exhaustion and when Buddy Evans, a young man ble to COVID-19. This is due to high- rage are an intergenerational reac- with roots in East Preston was killed er rates of pre-existing health issues, tion to hundreds of years of histor- by Toronto police who were later ex- as we know racism-related stress takes ic and current oppression, and mes- onerated? Was it 14 years after that, a toll on health. This vulnerability is sages that Black lives do not matter. in 1992, during the riots incited by also due to an increased exposure to Our ancestors were ignored, and we the acquittal of the police officers the public, as there are a higher num- have been ignored, which is why our who assaulted Rodney King? Was it ber of African Canadians who are em- rage is real, and warranted. Black 22 years after that, in 2014 after the ployed in essential services. Lives Matter. death of Michael Brown? I ask myself what has changed since these I have been advocating for the Cana- Wanda Thomas Bernard is an events, what have we learned, and dian government to collect accurate Independent Senator, the first Black what needs to happen now. I repeat- data disaggregated by race in order Nova Scotian woman to be appointed edly hear leaders say that “we must to fully grasp this racial inequity and to the Senate.

Policy 31 Summer Reading

another occasion, when rable symbols of political history. He asked about his penchant often placed his bespectacled and be- for finding humour in draggled John Q. Public at the centre the mundane, Macpher- of his art, giving his readers a direct son said: “I taught myself attachment to what they were seeing. how to see.” He rarely drew Liberal prime minister Lester Pearson without his “scandal al- Through cheerful an- batross” following closely on his heels. ecdotes and a deft re- His cartoons of Pierre Trudeau also be- PROFESSIONAL counting of the events HECKLER trayed an inner conflict that many Ca- of the era, Mosher takes nadians shared over the prime minis- The Life and Art of readers on the journey ter’s panache and intellect juxtaposed DUNCAN during which Macpher- with his breathtaking arrogance. MACPHERSON son created many of the most iconic political While cartooning became his day job, TERRY MOSHER cartoons from what was Mosher makes it clear that it would be the heyday of Canadian an injustice to dismiss Macpherson as journalism. simply that. In detailing Macpherson’s time working in Toronto’s famed Stu- From his days drawing planes to teach dio Building, where he rubbed shoul- The Life and RCAF pilots to spot the difference be- ders with many of the greats includ- tween a Messerschmitt and a Spitfire ing many remaining members of the Work of One in the Second World War to his skew- Group of Seven, Mosher makes clear ering caricatures of stodgy Canadian that Macpherson was a singularly tal- Great Canadian politicos from the late 1950s until ented artist and had he chosen a dif- Cartoonist— his death in 1993 at 69, the genius of ferent path, he might well have been Macpherson’s snark and meticulous regarded as one of Canada’s best ever. by Another use of detail is evident in the hundreds One example of Macpherson’s skills of sketches and finished cartoons that as an artist that served him well in Mosher has curated. Terry Mosher cartooning was his remarkable ability to draw the backs of people’s heads hat makes Professional Heck- Professional Heckler: The Life and have them be immediately recog- ler so engaging is the sense nizable, which gave those cartoons an and Art of Duncan Macpherson. W that it is written by no less a tal- immersive feel. Montreal and Kingston: McGill- ent. It’s as if Mario Lemieux were Queens University Press, 2020 recounting the life story of Wayne hile his bread and butter was Gretzky. With similar talents and de- WCanadian politics, Macpher- Review by James Baxter mons, and both products of the same son had a broad fascination with high school art program in Toronto, international affairs. He made mul- uncan Macpherson was not Mosher brings a blend of reverence, tiple trips to Cuba, China and Rus- D just one of the greatest political gratitude, envy and understanding sia and was able to depict them in cartoonists in Canadian history. He of “Dunc’s” career and often-mercu- wonderful drawings that humanized might have been one of the best and rial life that only someone with five those caught in the middle of su- most innovative to ever to pick up decades in the cartooning trenches perpower struggles. Scarred by what the mocking pen. could. The two were sometimes col- he and his friends had witnessed in leagues, sometimes rivals. They were the Second World War, his cartoons His genius is slowly revealed, often both high-functioning alcoholics, of conflict grew darker as Korea led inadvertently in his own words, in and while Mosher eventually chose to Vietnam, to the Middle East and a new biography Professional Heckler: the path to recovery, Macpherson eventually to the Gulf War at the The Life and Art of Duncan Macpher- never saw the need. very end of his life. son, written by another brilliant Ca- nadian cartoonist, Terry Mosher, bet- Often in spite of himself, Macpher- From the book’s foreword by John ter known to Montreal Gazette readers, son became one of the most innova- Honderich, the former editor and among others, as Aislin. tive and subversive of Canadian art- publisher of the Toronto Star, through ists. Recognized as a genius by author to its last pages, what is revealed is “Drawing was as natural to me as and Toronto Star editor Pierre Berton, that there was far more to Duncan breathing,” Macpherson once wrote of Macpherson was given the opportuni- Macpherson than what was printed his ability to draw quickly and well. On ty to create some of the most memo- on tomorrow’s fish wrapper. He was

July/August 2020 32 a brilliant and skilled artist, as adept cist—the ability to turn a neat phrase, with a brush as a pen. He was also a and the diligence to support his as- chameleon, capable of quickly adapt- sertions with a mountain of research. ing to new political and business sit- He lists well-established criticisms uations. At a time when most sought of Trump such as his habitual lies; lifelong jobs with one company, contempt for democratic norms and Macpherson was among the first to traditions; dog-whistling toward mi- realize he could make more money norities; and so on, with plenty of (and have more fun) as an indepen- examples. Then, this deft take on the dent contractor. difference between the two dominant Of course, no Canadian political icon political lines of thought: “American took more of the brunt of Macpher- conservatives take pride in their na- son’s lampooning than former prime tion but mistrust the nation’s state. minister John Diefenbaker, whose American liberals value the state but sagging jowls, buck teeth and wild feel discomfort with the concept of eyes proved irresistible. From the mo- ‘nation.’” Those views, in the ex- ment Diefenbaker scrapped the Avro treme, explain why masked, armed Arrow, his popularity began to wane. dissidents tote American flags even But many point to Macpherson’s most as they threaten the lives of elected famous and irreverent cartoon depict- officials in state legislatures. It also ing Dief as a callous Marie Antoinette explains why Democrats embrace as the shove that began the populist’s used to say, have an edge over Amer- what he calls ‘The Great Awokening’, slide into political ignominy. icans at his old craft because “we’re embracing identity politics at the expense of united interests—and main- While some thought Macpherson’s used to being observers on the world stream voter support. caricatures of politicians bordered on stage, while Americans expect a lead- cruel, he (usually) respectfully dis- ing role.” One exception is another Even if Trump loses this fall, Frum ar- agreed. He said he aimed his humour expat—Canadian-raised, Washing- gues that the rubble in his wake won’t to be “devastating without wound- ton-based author and commentator be swept away easily. He proposes ing” those in his crosshairs. And, for David Frum. For decades, Frum en- steps that include abolition of the the most part, his aim was true. The joyed a place in the higher reaches of right to filibuster; a different approach same could be said of Mosher’s book. the Republican Party through books, to climate change to bridge fears over It is both a lighthearted visual romp speeches, columns and television ap- the economic impact of environmen- through Canadian history and a nu- pearances in which he provided eru- tal measures; a targeted approach anced, honest look at the life of a deep- dite promotion of traditional conser- to immigration (similar to Canada) vative philosophies and policies. But ly complicated and gifted artist. aimed at matching newcomers with he has never gone along with prevail- needs in the workplace; and, last but James Baxter, founder and former Editor ing thought just for the sake of it. of iPolitics, is a lifelong aficionado of far from least, Republican and Demo- Canadian political cartooning. Trumpocalypse, Frum’s second go at cratic parties that return to the cross- excoriating the present president of aisle pragmatism of decades gone by. the United States in book form, is the latest example of that trait. (His rum—who voted for Hillary Clin- The previous was the 2018 Trumpocracy.) F ton in the last election—remains The title arguably does the book a an unrepentant traditional conserva- Trumpification disservice, because Frum does more tive of the ‘compassionate’ variety. than just profess his disgust with He has recounted how, in the Trump of Republican Donald Trump (although there’s era, he runs into onetime ideological plenty of that.) He analyzes Repub- soulmates who support Trump and America lican policy shifts and problems— ask, in dismay; “What happened to regretfully concluding the party has you?—to which, he has said, he in- David Frum done the U.S. more harm than good variably responds; “what happened so far this century. He dissects the to you?” It is one thing to leave a par- Trumpocalypse—Restoring American social and political conditions that ty—and quite another, as is the case Democracy. Toronto and New York, led to Trump ‘s election; explains with Frum, to have your party leave HarperCollins Publishers, 2020. why the Democrats may still blow you. Not to mention the country that the election this fall; and provides Frum moved to some three decades Review by ideas to bridge the enormous dis- ago—measured against the one that connect between Washington and he finds himself living in today. Anthony Wilson-Smith much of the rest of the country. Contributing Writer Anthony Wilson- anadians, the late, great home rum has two qualities necessary for Smith, President of Historica Canada, is C grown journalist Peter Jennings F a successful author and polemi- a former Editor of Maclean’s.

Policy An Open Letter

To: The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P. The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, P.C., M.P. Prime Minister of Canada Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs

The Honourable William Morneau, P.C., M.P. Minister of Finance

Dear Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister, Re: Support for Charities and Not-For-Profits with Increased Funding from the Private Sector Congratulations on your timely and significant fiscal support for employees, employers, HEALTHCARE small, medium and large companies, charities and not-for-profit organizations. It has been extremely effective in helping all Canadians deal with the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. As you have said, ”We are all in this together.“ All political parties deserve credit for setting aside partisan interest and putting the country first. Their proposals have resulted in improvements to relief and recovery programs, and it is equally to the government’s credit for accepting changes in the same constructive spirit. In an unprecedented economic emergency, Canadians have benefited from Parliament’s only agenda being the national interest. Jernej Furman Flickr photo

In that spirit of the public interest, we take this opportunity to reiterate a modest EDUCATION proposal that would enable public spirited individuals and organizations to play a positive role in the recovery in their communities and provinces, as well as our country. In an open letter published in the March/April issue of Policy Magazine, we outlined the opportunity to introduce a budgetary measure that would stimulate an estimated $200 million of additional annual charitable donations. The proposal is simplicity itself. Ottawa would remove the capital gains tax on charitable donations of private company shares and real estate. A foregone federal tax estimated at $50-$60 million would result in charitable donations several times over. RA ND Unsplash photo Among other downstream benefits in the current context of economic recovery, this would also create jobs in the charitable and not-for-profit sectors such as healthcare, NeONB social services and education. SOCIAL SERVICES Though a budget or fiscal update have been understandably delayed, we urge you to present a simple amendment to the Income Tax Act that could be adopted during the four days of the summer sitting of Parliament. This would enable charities and not-for- profits to begin receiving additional donations immediately over the summer months, rather than having to wait until the fall or even next spring. We are confident that all parties in the House, as well as members of the Senate, will welcome and expedite passage of such an initiative. All stakeholders in our hospitals, social service agencies, universities and arts and cultural organizations, and the millions of Canadians they serve, will be very Nick Fewings Unsplash photo appreciative of any additional support. Thank you for your interest and consideration. Yours sincerely,

Donald K. Johnson, O.C., LL.D. cc: The Honourable Andrew Scheer, P.C., M.P., Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Mr. Jagmeet Singh, M.P., Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada M. Yves-François Blanchet, M.P., Chef du Bloc Québécois Ms. Jo-Ann Roberts, Interim Leader of the Green Party of Canada