A teacher presented a math problem to her second graders: “Suppose there were a dozen sheep and six of them jumped over a fence. How many would be left?”
One boy quickly answered “None,” and the teacher asked him how he got his answer. “Teacher, you don’t know anything about sheep. When one goes, they all go!”
Well, just a few years ago I was like that teacher, but instead of lacking knowledge about sheep, I knew very little about what was happening in Canada and wasn’t really interested in finding out.
So if you’re wondering why I’ve been keeping you up to date on recent government decisions, I guess it’s because I began feeling like the kid who was answering the math equation and realized things were just not adding up in a logical manner.
One contradictory piece of information that hasn’t received a great deal of publicity is the federal government’s decision to invest $500 million in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. This bank is controlled by China in order to extend China’s influence in Southeast Asia, and it will (are you ready for this?) support projects such as pipelines in Asia.
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While little is being done to help the energy industry in Canada, our federal government is using Canadian money to build pipelines in other countries.
However, that’s not the only double message we’re receiving.
Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale is trying to make legitimate gun ownership a public safety issue. But at the same time, he’s defending the decision to support terrorists returning to Canada.
And there’s even more contradictions playing out right before our eyes.
In Canada we all expect equal rights and opportunities. At the same time, $250,000 has been allotted to support services to the LGBTQ+ community, $770,000 to fund a travelling exhibit called Legalizing Love, $145 million to those previously not admitted into the military service because of their sexual orientation, and Heritage Minister Melanie Joly has set aside $15 million to promote homosexuality.
How is all this possible when the Supreme Court of Canada states there is no hierarchy of rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
Nevertheless, the voices of Canadians do make a difference. That was proven when a petition against the removal of Clause 14 of Bill C-51 was successful, ensuring continued protection for religious services and those performing them. It was encouraging to have the government listen to the voice of Canadians.
“Where one goes, they all go” may work out well for sheep, but it’s a dismal portrayal of Canadian democracy when we follow along without letting our government representatives hear our voice.
That reminds me of both a cartoon and a quote. The cartoon had two sheep stepping out from their flock. They handed a piece of paper to two wolves and said, “We all signed this petition asking you to stop eating us.”
And the quote goes like this: “A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves,” unless those sheep are persistent, continually signing petitions and voicing their concerns to their government representatives.
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