Tomasi di Lampedusa writes in
his novel, The
Leopard, “if we
want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.” It seems
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has read it, or, he was thinking the same
thing when he shuffled his Cabinet last week. And he succeeded in
selling that contradictory message to the national media.
Take the
National Post.
On the front page last Friday the headline was “Harper goes green.”
The Toronto Star
headline read, “PM
warms to environment.”
The Ottawa Citizen’s
said, “PM hands Baird
environment file in effort to polish Tories’ image.” The
Ottawa Sun
said, “King of Green: Cabinet
shuffle puts Nepean’s Baird on environment hot seat.” But also on the
same National Post
front page on
Friday, the headline of the main columnist, Andrew Coyne, was “The man
sent to kill the issue—Baird posting is all about appearances.” I agree
with Coyne. The shuffle was about the messengers, not the message; at
least on the environment issue. I’m firmly convinced that the fight
against pollution will be won only when polluters are convinced that a
safe environment means better economy and a better quality of life. The
polluters are not just the big corporations, but every citizen with a
car, an air conditioning system, and scores of household appliances.
All economic portfolios,
Finance, Industry and Canadian Heritage, were untouched and the same
political masters are at Health, Defence and Foreign Affairs.
This means that Harper’s
government has no intention of changing its policies; in fact, the Prime
Minister has said many times that he is happy with the performance of
his executive after one year at the helm. The two major changes in
Justice and Environment only signal a change in the way the government
will handle those two issues during the upcoming elections.
The Prime Minister, however,
has handled those two changes with opposite criteria. While he has given
the Justice portfolio to a real “fixer,” a smoother minister, Rob
Nicholson, he has chosen for the Environment a sharp-shooter, John
Baird.
To me, this means that while
Harper really wants to go ahead with reforms in the Justice Department
and on the Environment, he only needs someone who screams louder than
the opposition.
Basically during the next
election there will be a lot of hot air and that’s also thanks to the
media who are always looking for fights and headlines and little
substance.
But last week’s shuffle also
had some important messages for Canadians. Most of the media missed it.
Harper made a few significant
changes in his government which indicate a renewed focus on Immigration,
Citizenship and the Canadian identity.
He changed the minister of
Immigration, Human Resources and, more importantly, he appointed Jason
Kenney to the position of Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and
Canadian Identity.
So why is a sharp Member of
Parliament from Alberta in a portfolio usually handled by a Toronto,
Montreal, or, Vancouver politician? There are quite a few answers to
that.
Kenney spends more time in
Toronto than in Alberta. He’s popular in Ontario and this might surprise
many people but he’s popular among ethnocultural communities.
Harper has expressed a deep
interest in reshaping the concept of citizenship, especially after the
international events of last year.
There are many issues still
pending in this department: foreign credentials, undocumented workers
and the lineup of potential immigrants on the doorstep of our embassies.
Canada needs more people in
order to help our economy.
Immigration is more connected
to our borders than to security-related issues.
I believe the subtle
appointment of Kenney to this apparently minor position is the most
important signal coming from last week’s shuffle. The government wants
to redefine the concept of what Canadian citizenship is all about.
In the meantime media are
focusing on the “cockfight” over the environment.
