Every now and then, it is helpful to contemplate where a country may be heading and, in doing so, create an opportunity to make things better for its citizenry.
Recently McGill University brought together some of Canada’s leading thinkers for a Canada Remix symposium, an event that delved into the country’s current state of affairs and what today’s realities may mean for the future of Canada. Addressing the Remix audience was the likes of Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, G&M chief political writer John Ibbitson, renowned artist Ken Lum, former Ontario Premier Bob Rae and Inuit leader Mary Simon
Canadian business magnate, Charles Bronfman, set the stage for the discussion of Canada this way:
It is a tribute to Canadians past and present that the challenges we face are those of a democratic and prosperous society. It is important that we understand our history. (I hope that the Heritage Minutes have helped do that.) And it is important that we continually challenge ourselves to do better. We need to be constructive and critical in the examination of Canada and Canadians.
Countries need stories and myths — about heroes and rebels, decisions and developments, missteps and accomplishments. We have lots of these, some well-known and others obscure. But we also need access to knowledge, and information with which to test our beliefs and assumptions about our past, present and future.
In a special column for the Montreal Gazette, “Does Quebec still matter?”, Celine Cooper summarizes the symposium’s key points and makes the observation: “Quebec’s place in Canada wasn’t a talking point at the Canada Remix symposium at McGill, raising an interesting question.” She writes:
First, Canada matters. Being Canadian — as artist Ken Lum said that day — is still something worth pursuing.
Second, Canada lacks dynamic leadership and big ideas. I couldn’t agree more.
But the theme that I found curiously absent, an omission that I found particularly puzzling given that we were all seated in the heart of downtown Montreal, was the issue of Quebec.
Cooper’s comments are worth a read:
http://www.canada.com/Does+Quebec+still+matter/10239296/story.html
While contemplating Canada’s future prospects, here are a few more interesting links:
- Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada has produced a video “Imagining Canada’s Future”
- The Conference Board of Canada provides a detailed look at statistics and economic trends in its “Long-Term Economic Forecast”
- Here is a more immediate assessment, a CBC reporting of a government document that explores the fate of Canada’s middle class, “What we know about the middle-class in Canada”
Oh, Canada….
