Leadership Is About Listening

When I first met Chandra Arya, the Liberal candidate for Nepean, he presented his view of how the team should precede with the day's work.  He then turned to me and said "What do you think, Peter?"  A simple, but powerfully inclusive statement.  It left me curious about the root of the power of this statement, and I've concluded that it was the element of listening.

Through the simple act of listening, Chandra achieved three of the most prized objectives of leadership:

• having those you are leading feel valued,
• empowering those who look to your leadership, and
• fully engaging your team in the work to be done.

So how can this be translated to the leadership on a national level?  

I would suggest the creation of Citizen Forums on a wide range of topics from innovation to social policy through the economy and jobs to sustainable development and the environment.  Citizen Forums would use a wide range of means to engage Canadians in the discussion moving from face-to-face town hall meetings through to the most advanced on-line collaborations. 

This level of collaboration is based on the belief that Canadians are creative and innovative and can collectively address the economic, social and environmental challenges before us.

If we engage people from all walks of life, the energy of this diversity will create solutions that were not previously envisioned.  By listening to Canadians, Citizen Forums will lead us to opportunities and solutions that go beyond political ideology by embracing what is positive from a non-partisan approach to policy on all levels.  A true leader has the confidence to allow for ideas that do not necessarily fit neatly into their existing political perspective - but this takes courage from a leader who is willing to take risks.

How can this practically be implemented?

Let's start by bringing back Katimavik, but with a slightly updated mandate.  Rather than just participating as volunteers, these young people would learn how to use existing innovative practices from the business world to suggest improvements to the programs they are volunteering in.  Think of teaching these youth Six Sigma approaches that they could apply to volunteer agencies.

How about using some of the crowd-sourcing methods employed by Kickstarter or Indiegogo? If a citizens' forum came forward with ten program enhancements to EI training programs, these ideas would be pitched on a citizens forum web site.  All Canadians would be encouraged to comment on and critic these program ideas.  The public service would be given the responsibility of compiling this information, providing a public report and passing this information to leadership. This would meet with significant cynicism initially, but leadership that embraces the best ideas and actually implements them would very quickly dispel such cynicism and build a tremendous creative momentum.

Apply these ideas to negotiations between the government and civil servants.  What would be the result of asking civil servants HOW sick leave could be changed to both make it more responsive to the needs of the civil service while still saving tax dollars.  

 

Let's start by asking citizens how they could use citizen's forums .

Personally, I believe Justin Trudeau has the foresight and confidence to be the leader to do this.

Consensus Senate

One of the challenges of governing is seeing beyond a four year mandate.  The reality of any governing party is that they wish to receive a renewal of their mandate every four years.  This makes it difficult to put in place programs and policies that realistically have a much longer horizon to success.  Making positive change to greenhouse gas emissions is an excellent example.  Substantial reductions may take decades to achieve, so what are the pay offs to a government who implements programs within their four year mandate that will not see substantive results for ten years.

But couldn't an improved Senate fulfill some of this role?  Broad, overarching non-partisan objectives would guide the Senate in reviewing and either passing legislation or sending it back to Parliament with recommendations for revision.  Theoretically, this is the current role of Canada's Senate, but because appointment to the Senate has become a partisan exercise aimed at ensuring unfettered passage of government bills, the Senate has lost its capacity to be an agent of sober second thought.  Could this be solved by reducing the period of appointment  to something less than age 75 but significantly more than a four-year parliament lifecycle.  This would give senators a longer view of government priorities and objectives but also allow for ongoing revitalization of the Senate. This wouldn't preclude reappointment, but would limit the lifetime appointment scenario that currently exists.

As for selecting Senators, I would suggest that appointments be made by all-party consensus.  Representation on the consensus appointment committee would be equal across all parties with representation in the House of Commons.  Consideration could be given to representation from sitting Senators and exiting Senators, but the fundamental premise would require full consensus for all appointments.  All parties would be responsible for putting appointment recommendations forward and they would be free to choose how these recommendations are selected.  Requirements for a degree of regional, ethnic, aboriginal and gender representation could be mandated.

This would be a painful process initially, but anyone who has experience with consensus decision making knows that those involved in consensus building quickly gel and become very efficient.

Such an appointment process would allow our Senate to be populated with Canada's best and brightest thinkers - people who are not there at the pleasure of a particular party and therefore making decisions based on what is in the best long-term interest of Canada.

 

Why I'm voting for the future right now .

I'm old enough to remember Trudeau-mania.  I remember the referendum.  And I more recently remember the orange tide that was Jack Layton.  The common factor of all of these is a passion for a better Canada.  Politicians who believed from the very depths of their being that change for the better is really possible.  

That was the feeling I had when I was twelve years old and I joined Pollution Probe and held local businesses to task for dumping oil in storm sewers, and the feeling I had when I was a youth worker on the streets of Toronto in my twenties.  That's the feeling I had when I was a social policy analyst for the government of Canada in the 80's and 90's.  But that feeling faded away when Stephen Harper's Conservatives took power some ten years ago.

Full disclosure requires that I honestly tell you that I've always had left of centre political views.  I've voted Liberal, NDP and Green.  I've worked as a public servant under both Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments and since 2006, a Conservative regime. My job was to provide the analysis of  impacts of a variety of policy options.  If the universal Baby Bonus (yes I'm old enough to remember the Baby Bonus) was replaced with a targeted Child Tax Benefit, who would benefit and who would not.  There were no value judgements in the analysis.  It was factual and the political side of winners and losers was properly left to the politicians.  If our analysis indicated that a possible policy change would give a benefit to same-sex couples and that represented 3% of the population, my job was done and it was up to the government of the day to decide if it was politically expedient to pursue such a policy (the Supreme Court of Canada made the call on that one).

Up until the Harper government took power, civil servants were given access to the tools that they needed to inform the government of the day - up to date labour force data, research from government funded bodies like the National Council of Welfare and of course the rich data provided by the Census long form...  Enlightened politicians of all stripes appreciated the knowledge we were able to provide.  I still have a hand-written thank you note from Jake Epp - then Minister of Health and Welfare.  To be certain, political ideology swayed the interpretation of the numbers we presented, but that is government and politics.  
 

Under the Harper regime, scientific research has been slashed while the few scientists who are able to do some research are muzzled if their findings do not fall in lock-step with Conservative ideology.  Beyond that, under Harper rule, existing research has been destroyed in exercises akin to fascist book burning.  Harper cut all funding to the arm's-length National Council of Welfare because Harper and the Conservative caucus see no value in understanding poverty or income inequity.  Why fund research that will inform progressive policy and focus a spot-light on what your  economic and social policy is not doing.  Similarly, why fund research on climate change when it is easier to simply deny its existence.  Cast the abysmal position  of murdered and missing aboriginal women as a "tough on crime" issue and you don't need any further understanding when the clear solution is to get tougher on crime by pumping more money into prisons and building a more oppressive police state.

The modus operandi of the Harper government is:

• to keep consultation to a bare minimum (Harper has never sat down with all of his provincial counter-parts at any time during his ten years in office and consistently refused to engage with First Nations), 

• limit evidence-based understanding whenever possible (cut research bodies like the NCW and destroy existing non-compliant research)  and,
• support your agenda with ideological rhetoric (witness the non-answers given by the likes of Calandra and Poilievre during Question Period, the suffocating control exercised by Harper on his caucus and the cloistering of Harper from media and voter questions during this election).

When I was a kid I wasn't content with "because I told or so" and "I know what's best for you".  As an adult, I'm still not content with that answer - especially when it is coming from the Prime Minister, but now I have a choice.  I'm choosing the party that believes in making informed decisions based of facts and evidence.  I'm choosing the candidate who has proven that he can and is willing to work for those he wants to represent.  I'm choosing to vote for the leader who wants to answer questions, who asks real questions and who wants real change based on transparency, collaboration and consultation.

I'm choosing to vote for a better Canada, honest candidates who are running because they passionately believe they can be part of real change for a better Canada.  I'm voting for Team Trudeau because I'm voting for the future right now.

If....

If you're under 30, Harper doesn't believe you have any leadership abilities

If you're a senior, remember Harper when you slip on the ice going to get your mail

Of course if you're a 65 or 66 year old senior, no worries because there is no need to go to the mail box - Harper increased the eligibility age for Old Age Security to 67, so there's no cheque to pick up.

If you're a veteran, remember Harper when you have to travel hundreds of extra kms to prove that you lost your legs in the war he sent you into

If you're a student, remember that it was Harper's government that lost over half a million of your student loan records

If you're aboriginal, probably best to try to forget Harper because that's certainly what he has done to you

If you like honesty in your life, remember it was Harper who blatantly lied to you hours after calling the election when he said this longest election ever will not cost you anything more than a regular duration election.

If you're trying to travel to the US, remember Harper when you have to take 30% more money with you because that's about how much our dollar has dropped under his "leadership"

If you used to work at Target, Future Shop, Blacks, Zellers, Guess, Parasuco, Jacob, Staples, Mexx, Sears, Grand and Toy,  The Gap, remember Harper was managing the economy when the store you worked at closed.

Contributed by M.W.

If you benefit from freedom of information (um EVERYONE), let's not forget Bill C-51 that has completely done away with this under the guise of an "anti-terrorism" law.

If you're a woman, remember that Harper does NOT support your reproductive rights and actively attempts to take away these rights that are fundamental to our health, well-being, and freedom as women in the year 20-fucking-15... not 1950. Remember he does not even consider abortion as an important and vital aspect of maternal health.

If part of your Canadian identity includes appreciating DIVERSITY and EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, don't forget about Bill C-24 that has made your friends and neighbours who immigrated to Canada second class citizens under the eyes of the Canadian law.

And something more closer to home... If you value community leadership and experiential learning for Canadian youth, don't forget Harper is the one who does NOT value this and cancelled funding for the Katimavik program. Remember all of the small businesses and community outreach centres that have completely shut down because there are no more Canadian youth volunteering at them.

Contributed by TB

If you are a scientist, remember it was Harper who muzzled any research you did that did not fit neatly into his conservative rhetoric.

If you believe there is value in scientific research that has already been done, remember it was Harper who closed fisheries libraries across Canada and had thousands of pages of irreplaceable research destroyed forever.

Updates from the Andy Wang Campaign Trail - Sort of.

It is going to be difficult to provide updates on the Andy Wang campaign as I have been blocked from his Twitter feed.  In fairness to Andy, my Tweets have not been glowing endorsements.  That said, do the people of Nepean want to be represented by a young man whose first knee-jerk reaction to the expression of a dissenting opinion is to block them - Andy's message is "I don't like what you're saying about me, so I'm going to try to ignore you - I'm going to hide from anyone who doesn't agree with me."


This has certainly been Stephen Harper's approach.  He has NEVER met with all of the Premiers in one room.  Why would anyone expect that Andy Wang would be any different.

Voting in Nepean

We are only days into the longest federal election campaign in modern Canadian history and the first election for the newly configured riding of Nepean. This blog will comment on the activities of the candidates for this riding and on the election as a whole.


To date for Nepean the following candidates have been selected by their respective parties:

• Chandra Arya - Liberal Party of Canada
• Andy Wang - Conservative Party of Canada
• Jean-Luc cook - Green Party of Canada
• Sean Devine - NDP Party of Canada

Here's a link to the riding map: New Riding of Nepean