Go to article index for other editions of Bob Orrick's IN RE (In the Matter of).
Switzerland's System Vs Canada's System
By
Bob Orrick
In a previous column, mention was made of Switzerland and that country's policy of citizen participation in deciding major government undertakings. A comparison with Canada's non-citizen participation is possible. The recent Kyoto Agreement is an example.
In Canada, Prime Minister Jean Chretien has stated publicly that Canada will ratify the Agreement albeit with a slight modification. That 'slight modification' has caused some countries that strongly support the Kyoto Agreement to blanch a bit. They wonder aloud that if Canada is able to 'modify' its agreement what will stop other countries from following suit. The argument goes that once any one country initiates a modification, the agreement as written is weakened. That, however, is not our main point of consideration here.
In Switzerland referenda are held frequently. The citizens have an opportunity to voice their opinion on matters that concern them financially. One example of that is in Bern where a referendum was put before the people to determine whether or not they should fund Bern's bid for the 2010 Winter Games. Contrast that to Canada where this country's prime minister has decreed that Canada will ratify the Kyoto Agreement. The PM's decision flies against a goody number of Canadians - especially those in Alberta - where the Agreement is seen as nothing more than another Liberal attempt to rape the province al a the National Energy Policy [October 1980] of Liberal Prime Minister Trudeau. In Canada, the citizens have no opportunity to speak via referenda. The country appears to be divided along a fault line with capitalists on one side and the environments on the other.
Many Canadians, and others, are questioning the validity of the scientific reports that have been presented in support of the Kyoto Agreement. Some Agreement supporters claim that air pollution is killing Canadians and point to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as being the most peer-reviewed document "in the history of science." [Source: Many-Sue Atkinson, Vancouver, the Vancouver Sun 09 September 2002.] Others, such as Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper state that global warming is a scientific hypothesis. In her letter, Ms. Atkinson claims that "the majority of Nobel Prize winners agree that climate change is the most urgent issue facing humanity." I do not know if that is true but I have a strong suspicion that a distant cousin of mine, a Nobel Prize winner, would not agree. His Prize was in economics and much of his counsel has been listened to. I suspect that Canadian and world economics and the Kyoto Agreement are racing toward each other with the inevitable 'bashing of heads' the outcome. The winner? Well, that will be decided by generations currently in their infancy.
Does Switzerland have a better policy than Canada's vis-à-vis referenda? Clearly, the answer is yes; Canada's policy in this regard is negligible. Also very clear is the position taken by Canada's current prime minister, and others before him, that a prime minister can do what he darned well wants. In this respect, Canada's political system assures the country will forever be a fief.
Canadians deserve better.
Bob Orrick is a private tutor of English grammar, literature, poetry and Canadian history to off-shore youngsters. His pupils hail from such places as Taiwan, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Venezuela. He was previously in international marketing, was a ministerial assistant to a provincial cabinet minister, spent a few years as a reporter then editor of a community newspaper and enjoyed a career in the Royal Canadian Navy.
Advertising Information 
