[.ca] Does Canada matter?: Liberalism and the illusion of ... (ISBN 0921870647)

Reclaiming involvement in community politics:
Clarence Bolt, Does Canada Matter? Liberalism and the Illusion of Sovereignty. Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 1999. Clarence Bolt has written a thought-provoking essay on politics and development in Canada. Ronsdale Press does a service to a general readership by making available this college professor's synthesis of the thinking of many well-known writers on the subject of contemporary Canadian economic politics. From newspaper, radio, and television programs over the past five years, these names are familiar to the most average layperson: Maude Barlow, Richard Gwyn, Mel Hurtig, and Linda McQuaig. Reference to these authors gives the reader a quick orientation about Bolt's values and position as critic about much of the results of liberalism throughout the entire history of Canada. Most valuable, is his incorporation of George Grant's philosophy into his own argument. It's been said before that Grant, a Canadian philosopher, was due for a come-back. The main argument of Does Canada Matter? can be found in quotes such as the following: "The liberal values and practices to which Canadians have been committed since confederation... have created a way of life which sacrifices regional and community uniqueness... and produces political apathy among residents by rendering local and regional politics virtually meaningless." In the thinking of George Grant, Bolt writes that "the shared commitment by Canadians and Americans to modern technology with its homogenizing tendencies" has replaced the classic definition of a good life as identified by "politics, community, friendship and family." Early in his book, Bolt introduces a concept of automobile culture, then returns to it quite often to explain such specific issues as urban development and the economic and philosophical motivations of growth and development. By automobile culture, he means the enormous amount of money and land that local, regional, provincial, federal governments must commit to the building of roads, parking lots, and naturally, taking what was in most cases very productive farm land out of production in order to support these infrastructures. "Industrial countries such as Canada solve this problem by importing ever-increasing amounts of less safe food from less reliable sources, delivered by transportation systems (truck, rail, or air) which, ironically, are largely responsible for the inappropriate use of local land (and loss of food-producing capabilities) in the first place." As a result, governments have fewer dollars for the social welfare issues that should be their main concern, their priorities are set by factors outside their own communities, and region is pitted against region across Canada for federal dollars. "By the 1980s, fully one-third of the land of major Canadian cities was devoted to parking, and another twenty percent to roads, lanes, and alleys. City residents (often the poor who could not afford to leave) and businesses were saddled with ever-escalating tax bills as city governments attempted to continue to provide a wide array of services, many primarily for the benefit of the non-resident, non-tax-paying commuters." In such an analysis, Does Canada Matter? becomes a practical essay for those in politics at all levels, or those hoping to become involved as elected officials. The author's approach to this issue helps the reader understand his more general concern, a criticism of liberalism. Bolt is active in local politics, and links the disillusionment voters have in the power of local politicians to accomplish anything with what he calls a key liberal myth that growth and development are valuable for their own sake. "Typically, local governments borrow money to install infrastructure services such as sewer, water, garbage disposal, lighting, and sidewalks, the understanding being that developers who create new housing, factories, and stores will pass the costs of these services on to the purchasers of their developments. Repayment of loans made by local governments requires rapid development to avoid excess interest payments for taxpayers. Therefore, suburban expansion often becomes a self-feeding monster, necessitating ever-faster rates of growth." While many of the author's specific examples deal with British Columbia in general and Victoria in particular, his framework can easily be applied to any other community in Canada that is experiencing a boom in development. Some readers may not agree with the use Bolt makes of Marxist economic analysis at some points in the book, nor the apparently limited value he places on the prospects he grants the Reform Party for success as an alternative political party. However, Does Canada Matter? is very current in its consideration of modern Canada, up to mid-1998, and does raise questions of values that motivate our economic sensibilities. -30-