I wish I didn't have to write this
January 16, 2006
By Cam Tait
Thank the good Lord I'm not working for a nonprofit agency these days because a fist might go through a wall in frustration. We're having a federal election in seven days - count the sleeps, won't you? - and we're so bogged down in leaders putting on a soap opera-like television show, in prime time no less, that we can't make any progress. The country has been put on pause. We might as well hang "Gone Fishing" signs on all of our borders and on Parliament Hill. It's time to call a spade a spade, and that's exactly what our government leaders have done, folks.
And we let them! We let them cook up television spots and then yank them at the last minute. We listen to them launch personal attacks against one another, and then watch them fester under the hot television lights. We let them spend taxpayers' money on senseless bickering.
One very fundamental question: why?
Why, in a country with such potential, are we left spinning our wheels? We can't even get out of the muddy ditch, never mind putting things in gear and travelling down the road. Scandals, accusations and trying to write - or is that rewrite? - the constitution during an election campaign is downright shameful. Surely, departed politicians like Sir John A. Macdonald, Lester B. Pearson, Robert Stanfield, and Pierre Elliott Trudeau must be turning in their graves.
And there sits the nonprofit sector in their quiet corner. Every time the sun comes up, they roll up their sleeves and do whatever needs to be done: feeding the poor, mending the sick, giving hope to the hopeless and...well, you know the story better than I do. Of course, they get a visit from a candidate, but only when the cameras are rolling and flashing, and then they're whisked away to another such event. Do they take time to listen to the real needs and concerns of a charity? Do they really understand what charities are faced with, day after day? I'll let you answer.
Even if they did take an issue and decide to make it a priority, the sector might still be left with a feeling of hopelessness. How can a candidate focus on an issue - something that is truly meaningful to Canadians and something that has the wonderful potential to change lives - when there is all this goofy bickering going on? The issue would get lost in the shuffle because, unfortunately, it isn't sexy enough and doesn't create controversy.
I've never had aspirations to be a political commentator. It's something I'm not well versed in and I do not feel comfortable in the role. But I am a Canadian. And I find it very frustrating to know that next week's election isn't addressing any real concrete issues; it's all about who is throwing the most mud at whom.
I can only imagine what it feels like for someone working on the front lines, trying to make a difference with the same challenges day after day, and not seeing any relief in sight. When I was a young boy, my parents told me the government was there to help me, and that every four years an election would be held. Elections, I was taught, were a chance for new ideas, new programs...a new start. I sadly wonder where that has gone. And, I'm pretty sure employees of Canadian charities are asking themselves the same question.
Cam Tait is a sports reporter and columnist for the Edmonton Journal. He covered community investments and volunteers for 19 years. E-mail Cam at cam@charityvillage.com with thoughts, suggestions or ideas.
Opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CharityVillage.com®.
