September 2008 - The Senior Times

Editorial: Barack Obama shines light for Canada
Anyone who watched Barack
Obama’s magnificent acceptance
speech at last month’s Democratic
Party convention could only have
been impressed by the man’s
rhetorical skill and the magnitude
of this historic moment.
This man is gifted, not just by his
use of words – simple words that pack
a mighty punch – but also by his ability
to touch on the concerns of average
Americans at a critical time in
their history. His nomination speaks
volumes about how the political culture
in that country is evolving. His
Yes We Can promise of change in such
THE SENIOR TIMES
Publisher & Managing Editor Barbara Moser
Assistant Editor Kristine Berey
Office Manager Thelma Gearey
Journalists Kristine Berey, Adam Desaulniers,
Rachel Lau, Nancy Snipper
Sales Manager Jacquie Soloway-Cons
Advertising Jodie Alter, Gloria Beigleman,
Shirley Cohen, Sandra Schachter
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key areas as Iraq, healthcare, and the
growing wealth-poverty gap mobilized
millions – of people and dollars
– from across the spectrum. As power
beckons, however, there are signs that
Obama is retreating from some of his
potentially controversial stands. One
example is his reversal on denying
retroactive federal immunity to
phone companies involved in the
Bush domestic wiretap program.
As The Nation magazine reported
last month under the heading
Change We Can Believe In, progressive
Americans who are supporting
Obama delivered an open letter to
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Cover photo Andrew Soong
Published by Publications Newborn Inc. Contents copyright ©2008. All rights reserved. Legal Deposit: National Library of Canada No. D368087 Dépot légal Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec, 1993.
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6 THE SENIOR TIMES September 2008
him during the convention, demanding
that he not cave on a series of crucial
commitments. These include:
• Withdrawal from Iraq on a fixed
timetable
• Universal healthcare
• A more progressive financial and
welfare system
• Public investment to repair
infrastructure
• Fair trade policies
• Shifting billions from fossil-fuel
consumption to alternative
energy sources.
• Restoration of the freedom to
organize unions by passing the
Employee Free Choice Act.
This last point is key to allowing
American unions to turn around their
erosion in membership, which has
hurt the middle class. The Act would
allow arbitration on first contracts
after 120 days without an agreement,
and would stop employers from ordering
secret ballots where the majority
of workers sign union cards
without evidence of coercion.
This is what real change means and
these areas clearly distinguish Obama
from McCain, whose inherent promise
of “more of the same” stands in
stark contrast to Yes We Can.
***
The intensity and passion seen in
Denver and the hope inspired by
Obama can only spill over into the
upcoming Canadian election. Why
Stephen Harper wants one is something
of a mystery. The polls show
him picking up support in Quebec at
the expense of the Bloc, but losing
some in vote-rich Ontario.
One hypothesis is that he wants to
bleed dry the Liberals’ war chest at a
time when it can’t match Tory
fundraising, which is short-term
thinking at best – if another Harper
minority results, all he’ll have done is
weaken the Liberals’ finances for the
inevitable follow-up vote.
Another possibility is that he wants
to get the election behind him by
mid-October to limit the progressive
spillover from the Obama campaign,
which can only help the opposition.
Whatever his reasons, Harper has yet
to make a convincing case that the current
arrangement is holding him back.
Liberal leader Dion, stopping briefly
in Westmount to support Marc Garneau,
assured The Senior Times that
when an election comes, seniors’ issues
will top his agenda, including his Green
Shift plan, which he said is of special
concern to grandparents.