APRIL/MAY 2008 ISSUE
 The Genocide Olympics:
Where do we stand?
As China makes final preparations for this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing, the controversy surrounding the games is growing. China has gone to great lengths to "clean up" their image, however these efforts are superficial at best and unfortunately for them, the world is just not buying in.
The Olympics has become a coming out party of sorts for hosting nations over the years. Despite the IOC (International Olympic Committee) position that politics and sport represent two different forums, the fact is politics and the games have gone hand in hand for years. In 1936, as Hitler has his coming out party with the Berlin Olympics, great efforts were made to camouflage Germany's racist and militaristic character in order to bedazzle foreigners and journalists with an image of a peaceful and tolerant Germany. It is still a widely held belief that western democracies missed the opportunity to take a stand; a
stand that could have given pause to Hitler's plans.
The ongoing genocide in Darfur is horrific and untenable. The fact that China has out and out refused to intercede in any way shape of form in a region where their purchase of oil for arms is literally fuelling genocide is just plain wrong. This blatant disregard for human life cannot continue. I am not sure how any country can feel good about competing in
the games in a country that for all intents and purposes supports these atrocities. The question is what are we going to do about it?
The opportunity for us to take a stand is here. The first genocide of this century is underway and it is imperative that we demonstrate our position with action. There is no debate that participation in the Games also makes us complicit.
One by one, as governments, high profile individuals, groups and organizations publicly condemn China, talks of boycotts are now brewing. One can only wonder what the
IOC was thinking when they awarded the Olympic Games to Beijing to begin with. It is unacceptable that the IOC has refused to take a stand, particularly now as Beijing exerts
brutal and bloody force on Tibetan protesters.
It is clear that it is going to take China a whole lot more than "cosmetics" to endear themselves to the world. It is time China was made accountable and if that means boycotting their precious Olympic Games, then so be it.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 ISSUE
 2007 will remain in my mind as the year that compromised our national identity and what it means to me to be
Canadian.
Much to my disappointment, our government
continued to evade the grave issue of
climate change, even after being confronted
with conclusive and unrefuting scientific evidence
that climate change is real upon the release of the
IPCC Report at the end of last year. The Harper
government's allegiance to their Alberta roots and big oil came through loud and clear, at the expense of their mandated commitment to the people of Canada, the environment they are sworn to protect and the international obligations they are entrusted to uphold.
The IPCC Report was paramount in finalizing a
definitive path, however as Harper continued to talk
the talk, there was absolutely no attempt made to
commit to the walk.
As the science was now irrefutable, I think we all expected action. However Harper responded by digging his heels in even further by continuing to spew rhetoric of action while at the same time taking none. I couldn't understand why we Canadians and the international community were letting him get away with this.
Finally this fall both Harper and Baird set out to a meeting of the Commonwealth in Uganda. Canada was hammered for their lack of action, particularly by the British and African media. Next, as they jetted off to the Bali Conference it was clear that the international community was not prepared to put up with the dance any longer. The jig was up as they say.
By the end of the conference both Canada and the US were humiliated into signing on to a clear path beyond Kyoto.
I never thought I would see the day that Canada would have to be humiliated into accepting
responsibility on any level, particularly the future of our planet. The Canada where I grew up was one of great pride and leadership. We inspired respect and cooperation. Being Canadian was a great privilege and was envied by many. Remember the days when
everyone, including Americans, were attaching the Canadian flag to their backpacks? Everyone wanted to be us. You know...true North, strong and free. It saddens me that the identity I grew up with has been shattered in the eyes of the world because of the
almighty oil dollar.
We need to make it clear to our government that we are not prepared to allow them to compromise our responsibility and international reputation any longer.
Yes, they have signed on to a post-Kyoto protocol; however Harper didn't honour Canada's pledge to Kyoto to start with. I have grave doubts he will honour word our this time. In light of this how do we Canadians remain true to our identity and ensure a path of action? Our future and the future of our children, along with the integrity of our nation depend on it.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 ISSUE
How much are we
willing to compromise?
This past year Canadians have been bombarded by many product recalls including toys originating in China. I started wondering…
how many of us realize how much of what we eat
also comes from China?
Last year alone Canadian food imports amounted to $19 billion. According to Statistics Canada between 1996 and 2006 food imports grew over 20 percent. Although over half of our food imports come from the US, we need to consider the volume of imports that contained ingredients originating in China. Even if the label says "product of the USA" or "product of Canada"
for that matter, it could be processed in China or
contain ingredients from China.
In July the head of China's State Food and Drug Administration from 1997 to 2006 was executed for taking bribes to approve tainted and untested products. Who knew? In early August China's product safety watchdog Li Changjiang admitted that there were problems citing that small food manufacturers often worked in poor conditions, and that in some
cases product quality was unstable or substandard.
Food politics aside, it seems abundantly clear that the sheer admission of a Chinese
government official that there are problems should be just cause to monitor imports from China more closely. Toys are one thing, but our food? Not so. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) does not scrutinize products based on their country of origin, but by the level of risk they pose (ie. possible bacterial contamination etc.) The CFIA inspects less than 10
percent of what they consider to be "low risk" products.
It is clear that we need to take personal responsibility for our food safety. Buying local is one way you can ensure you know where your food comes from. Short of that, buying organic ensures knowledge as to the origin of all ingredients. This certainly doesn't mean that the organic won't contain ingredients from China, however if it’s recalled it can be traced.
Just like our toys, we want our food to be inexpensive. Cost aside…do you really trust that food from China is safe? Doesn’t the admission of a Chinese government official warrant our authorities to reassess their own food politics? At the end of the day we need to determine
how much we are willing to compromise to eat cheap.
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