“Des choix très, très clairs”

Justin Trudeau, Tout le monde en parle, 10 mars 2024 (11:30-12:00):

“On est dans un moment, une croisée du chemin, pas seulement au Canada mais à travers le monde, là. Tu sais, il y a vraiment des choix très, très clairs. Est-ce qu’on s’en va vers du populisme qui veut revenir en arrière sur le droit des femmes, revenir en arrière sur la lutte contre les changements climatiques, revenir en arrière sur la défense de la démocratie? Ou bien est-ce qu’on se dit, mais non, on est sur la bonne voie en tant que pays avec des valeurs progressistes…?”

The obvious problem is that it’s not sufficient to have progressive values in the absence of progressive actions.

You don’t want Canadians to end up with a populist, regressive government? You’re concerned about the rights of women and the defence of democracy? Implement electoral reform now. Not minor tweaks to voting hours, but full-on abandonment of the unrepresentative, harmful first-past-the-post system. You have at most two years. You’ve had nearly ten. The consequences of failing to do this are predictable. Is that the legacy you want?

Is it accurate to imply our current practices are moving us forward on climate change? We’re spending billions to subsidize oil and gas companies, and betting our financial futures on them as if infinite growth with finite resources is possible. If you actually want the planet to become less hostile to human life, that money needs to be reallocated from polluting industries to progressive environmental actions. Are we even willing to challenge the orthodoxy of building ever more lanes for cars? It is certainly easier to march against the concept of climate change than it is to put “progressive values” into actual practice.

There are absolutely clear choices here. There are business as usual choices wrapped up in the language of “values,” where “progressive” governments pat themselves on the back for the flimsiest achievements and life continues to get worse for many (most?) people. And then there are daring, history-making, name-defining choices that could put us on the right path as a country with progressive practices.

Give Canadians something tangible to vote for. That’s your clear choice to make.