Month: July 2023

More than occasionally, opposition criticism is nothing more than hyperbole. An exaggeration here. An embellishment there.

The recent failure of the federal government to provide adequately for the predictable arrival of refugees and asylum seekers sleeping on a street corner in Toronto is not one of them.

Every denunciation was richly deserved. And it’s undoubtedly why the federal Liberals swiftly coughed up the cash the city demanded. Simply put, the Trudeau government couldn’t withstand the damaging accusations swirling around them: their rhetoric was empty, they professed generosity but provided only hardship.

The dust on this issue is far from settled. Mayor Olivia Chow has indicated that federal funding is insufficient and that much more is needed until Toronto can properly accommodate further refugees.

But now that these newcomers have found shelter (after volunteers in the Black community stepped up) and the corresponding media storm has died down, it’s time to do what it’s never too early to do — recognize what we can learn from this.

• The first lesson is one that every Canadian, but especially our political leaders, must come to terms with: this issue is here to stay. It does not matter who is mayor or what parties govern at any level. Geopolitical conditions, turbocharged by climate change, mean that Canada will continue to be a country of choice for asylum seekers and refugees worldwide. That’s not just a good thing, it’s a great thing. That means our country is peaceful, stable, free and, to adopt the old cliché, the envy of the world.

Countries either have a lineup of people trying to leave, or a lineup of people trying to get in. Canada is blessed to be one of those rare countries that is the latter. But keeping it this way requires visionary leadership we have yet to have the courage to adopt.

• The second lesson is that a serious, long-term plan involving all three levels of government is needed to meet this challenge. This episode uncovered systemic issues that no one level of government can solve on their own. While the feds should take the reins, to make this work, all levels must collaborate on, to name a few, housing, labour and educational strategies.

Obvious to anyone paying attention to the latest municipal campaign is that this event only underlined and exacerbated pre-existing areas where Toronto is falling desperately short. Indeed, its genesis lies in the startling fact that Toronto’s shelter system is at full capacity virtually every night, that of the 9,000 people who rely on the system, about 35 per cent are refugees and that the number of asylum seekers in Toronto’s shelter system has grown by 500 per cent in 20 months.

These numbers represent an emergency, a level of human suffering that cannot and should not be tolerated. And yet it took this particular story — justifiably highlighted by our media — before we woke up.

The positive side of this coin is that once Canadians witnessed these images, action was demanded, then taken. The negative side is that it was not until this story exploded in the media that we did.

But that reveals a hard truth: how many major issues affecting so many disadvantaged sectors of our society have we ignored until the TV cameras show up? How many communities continue, for decades, on boiled water advisories because we just can’t be bothered to continue to care?

And so enough. It shouldn’t take last-minute emergencies. It shouldn’t take the glare of the media light. It shouldn’t take the arrival of a Hollywood celebrity for us to care. Instead, we should care because we are Canadians. Because we, as Canadians, have values.

Not just when they are convenient.

In the midst of the United States’ 247th celebration of its independence last week, it’s worth marvelling at the incredible success of a nation founded on the ideals of a group of courageous 18th century revolutionaries.

But as we do, let’s not paper over some pretty serious cracks that have emerged in those 247 years. Of those cracks, the biggest one to emerge in some time centres around one of the country’s most important institutions, the Supreme Court. It’s my view that some of the court’s recent actions pose a real threat to the country’s founding principles and the viability of its democracy.

I’ve written before that Donald Trump’s most significant legacy as president was his loading of the court with ultra-conservative ideologues (not to mention hundreds of appointments to the courts below).

Hiding behind the guise of strict originalist legal philosophy, which asserts all statements in the Constitution be interpreted based on their original portrayal, these justices have sloppily applied this framework to implement radical decisions that are actually highly political. What’s more, these decisions are antithetical to the fundamental founding vision of all being created equal, free to pursue life, liberty and happiness.

While I disagree with many of the judgments reached by this court, particularly those that curtail women’s rights to autonomy over their own bodies and that shamefully permit discrimination against same-sex couples, the critical issue is that the court has become an unaccountable, rampant political weapon, rather than a bastion of independent legal judgment.

This is not just a problem for liberal democrats. Conservatives should be equally concerned, and will be when, inevitably, the judicial pendulum swings back the other way.

While this court is Trump’s legacy, fixing it should be President Biden’s. Job one for the president should be restoring trust in the institution. He ought to do this because, plain and simple, it’s the right thing to do. But it is also good politics for the president because in doing so he’ll be able to harness the widespread anger at the court’s controversial decisions and use it as devastating ammunition in what will be a brutal 2024 presidential race.

Even with major domestic and international policy wins to point to, Biden’s path to victory is still unclear. But a Supreme Court whose decisions are satisfying only to a diminishing minority of voters, whose members have been plagued by high-profile accusations of corruption and suffers from dwindling confidence among Americans, is a prime opening to exploit in his re-election agenda.

Biden’s team should target common-sense, centrist voters with a plan to make the court the appropriate and accountable judicial check and balance it is meant to be.

First, Biden should address the court’s major accountability problem. In no world does it make sense for Supreme Court justices to accept luxury trips from major political donors without properly disclosing them. A proper strict originalist would agree that is contrary to the independent vision for the court originally set out in the United States Constitution.

No longer is it acceptable that the Supreme Court is the only court without a binding code of ethics, which ought to either ban these quasi-donations or must ensure they are transparently disclosed.

It’s also time for term limits. The most sensible suggestion is staggered, non-renewable 18-year terms, so each court’s membership reflects the selections of the previous 4½ presidential administrations. This would help curb the ideological loading of the court, from either side.

Of course, Biden will need the support of Congress to do any of this, but it is his time to lead. This court, having been off on a frolic of its own making, has lost its legitimacy.

Such reform would be a brilliant way for Biden to not only cement his place in history but wash away the tarnished legacy of his predecessor.