Clinton News Record, 2016-07-06, Page 5Wednesday, July 6, 2016 • News Record 5
Here's three Brexit concerns for Canada
Carleton University politi-
cal scientist Elliot Tepper
likes to say that it all began
"with a lump of coal" -- a ref-
erence to the European Coal
and Steel Community that
brought a handful of coun-
tries, including Britain, into
partnership in 1951. Now, he
says, "British voters have
given the EU a lump of coal."
Perhaps it is not quite that
grim, but there is no denying
the United Kingdom has
shocked much of the world
by voting to leave the Euro-
pean Union and -- once the
protracted and complicated
negotiations are complete --
strike out on its own.
It's been alone before.
While the EU grew from
efforts to bring European
nations under a common
roof in the last century to
stave off future continent -
destroying wars, Britain had
historically given as good as
it got in bloody conflicts with
its neighbours. Those who
now look toward a more
independent future believe it
can flourish just fine. The
plunging pound, the
suddenly fresh threat of
Scottish independence, the
now -discredited prime min-
ister -- none of this fazes
those who lived through the
Blitz.
Perhaps they are right. For
the rest of us, however, there
are implications. In Canada,
three merit immediate
attention.
First, many Canadian
businesses -- from banks to
Bombardier -- run opera-
tions in Britain, and not just
because they like warm beer;
the United Kingdom was
chosen as a practical gate-
way to continental com-
merce. There is labour force
mobility and a manufactur-
ing supply chain. With-
drawal from the EU leaves
these businesses scrambling
to figure out their next
moves.
Second, the Brexit compli-
cates efforts to ensurethe
Comprehensive Economic
and Trade Agreement is rati-
fied in the EU. It's not that
Europe will suddenly be less
reluctant to embrace free
trade with Canada; it's that,
suddenly, this topples to the
bottom of the to-do list for
European governments
grappling with the loss of a
key member.
Third, while many Britons
who backed the "Leave"
campaign did so thought-
fully -- unconvinced, for
instance, of the need for so
much EU regulation -- the
Brexit undeniably appealed
to scarier elements too. It's
anti-establishment, anti -
immigrant flavour has galva-
nized Europe's far right. Will
it also provide a shot in the
arm to equally antediluvian
politicians, such as Donald
Trump, on this side of the
pond? If so, what would that
mean for us?
Canadians know the
downside to referendums,
which partially explains why
this one has resonated so
profoundly here. As we await
the fallout, let's wish the Brit-
ish well navigating the lumps
of coal now strewn on the
path ahead.
-Postmedia Network
(REUTERS/Yves Herman)
Nigel Farage (L), Britain's UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader and European Commission President
Jean Claude Juncker (R) take part in a plenary session at the European Parliament on the outcome of
the "Brexit" summit, in Brussels February 24, 2016.
Time for Iran to free Case not made for CPP increase
imprisoned professor
By all accounts, retired Con-
cordia University professor
Homa Hoodfar was visiting her
native Iran to reconnect with a
country she loves and continue
her research on women in pub-
lic life.
That she now finds herself
detained at Tehran's notorious
Evin prison, long associated
with torture and death, is as
outrageous as itis terrifying.
It is to be hoped the authori-
ties will heed international calls
for the 65 -year-old Hoodfar to
be released and allowed to
return to Canada, her home
since the early 1990s.
It is a mystery why she is
being detained; family mem-
bers say Hoodfar did not want
to draw attention to her initial
arrest in March because she
was convinced it was a
misunderstanding.
They say she travelled to Iran
regularly over the years, and
this latest visit was partly to find
comfort in her native land after
the death of her husband last
year.
Her visit also coincided with
parliamentary elections in
which a record number of
women were elected as MPs,
something of clear interest to a
social anthropologist whose
academic work has focused on
women in the Middle East and
beyond.
In March, reports say,
members of the Revolution-
ary Guards raided Hoodfar's
apartment, confiscated her
electronic devices and pass-
ports -- she's a citizen of Iran,
Canada and Ireland -- and
summoned her for what
became a series of interroga-
tion sessions. On June 6, she
was incarcerated and has
since been denied access to
outsiders, including her law-
yer. There are concerns she is
unable to take her medication
for a neurological condition.
Complicating efforts to help
Hoodfar is the fact that Ottawa
shut its embassy in Iran in
2012 after years of strained
relations. In 2003, Zahra
Kazemi of Montreal was
arrested for photographing
Evin prison, and died during
her detention. A medical
examiner concluded she had
been tortured and raped.
The current crisis comes
after the Liberal government
made clear it wants to re-
establish relations with Teh-
ran. It recently lifted some of
its sanctions against the
regime. However, despite the
2013 election of a moderate
president, Hassan Rouhani,
there has been no significant
improvement in the country's
dismal human rights record.
Ottawa says it views Hood-
far's case as a priority, and is
doing what it can to help. Col-
leagues have called for her
release, and the pressure is
mounting through hashtag
campaigns and online peti-
tions. Amnesty International
has added its voice.
It's time for Iran to pay
heed, do what's right and let
her go.
- Postmedia Network
It's an old, tired, paternal-
istic argument: Canadians
aren't saving enough for
retirement, so the govern-
ment should do it for them.
Let's give Ottawa and the
provinces more of your
money, so government can
make sure you'll be ok.
What? Not convinced?
With headlines about
household debt and a weak
economy recurring daily, it's
no wonder many of us are
concerned about our ability
to save for retirement.
Some of us no longer
expect to retire, at least not
in the way a previous gener-
ation did.
But as the country's
finance ministers meet in
Vancouver on Monday,
apparently bent on "enhanc-
ing" the Canadian Pension
Plan, someone really ought
to ask one more time if that's
what Canadians want.
To change CPP, finance
ministers need a symbolic
two thirds of the population.
Do two-thirds of Canadi-
ans really want to hand over
more of their paycheque or
to have more of their tax dol-
lars re -allocated?
Does that sound like an
(MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Finance Minister Bill Morneau.
apt description of the mil-
lennial generation that will
be affected?
Or would they rather have
the ability to plan their own
financial futures, using other
investment tools that are out
there, like RRSPs and TFSAs?
One recent survey showed
that it's a minority of house-
holds, albeit a substantial one,
that are struggling to save for
retirement, roughly 17%.
That means the majority of
Canadians are already man-
aging to put enough money
away so they can comforta-
bly retire.
The government has not
made the case to Canadians
for beefing up CPP.
The next generation will
not thank us down the road
for having taken this one on
faith.
To be fair, there is nothing
nefarious in the attempts to
improve Canadians' retire-
ment positioning. House-
hold debt levels in this coun-
try are troubling, and we
have seen an eroding of pri-
vate sector pension plans.
But the proposed solu-
tions are poor policy.
Dan Kelly, president of the
Canadian Federation of
Independent Business,
recently told The Canadian
Press that CPP expansion
will "scorch the economy
and a whole bunch of Cana-
dians with it."
Financial literacy cam-
paigns and giving taxpayers
more of their money back, so
that they control their own
savings, is the mature and
responsible role for govern-
ment to play here.
Trust Canadians. We don't
need to be saved from
ourselves.
-Postmedia Network