Leadership matters in this country
By Lethbridge Herald on January 5, 2024.
FROM THE HILL
Rachael Thomas – Conservative Member of Parliament for Lethbridge
If you were to look down on Earth from space, you would see the drastic difference between two countries that once shared a common story.
One country brims with light, radiant from its vibrant and bustling cities. The other is cloaked in utter darkness, dormant and cold.
Both countries started from much the same place, sharing a common history. Both experienced the fires of war and upheaval and were left with the task of reconstructing from rubble. However, the two countries chose very different paths forward.
The country to the north has chosen a path of isolation where the government is the master and people are pawns in the hands of a totalitarian dictator.
The country to the south has chosen a democratic approach and the government empowers the people with education, freedom, and opportunity.
These countries are North Korea and South Korea.
After the Korean War came to a stop in 1953, each side had to choose a way forward, and the economic outcomes of their choices could not be more different.
North Korea does not generate enough electricity for each home to have a refrigerator, nor enough food to keep citizens well-fed.
This is the result of a heavy-fisted military dictatorship that has robbed the people of the chance to pursue an education, capitalize on opportunity, and advance the economic wellbeing of their families and country.
Meanwhile, South Korea enjoys one of the world’s most advanced economies and is home to some of the world’s top brands, such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Company.
Those who call South Korea home enjoy access to education, high-paying jobs, and boundless opportunity to be innovative and entrepreneurial. South Korea hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1988 and the Winter Olympic Games in 2018.
The stark difference between these countries is the result of two very different leadership styles.
Leadership matters.
When leaders believe in their people and generate opportunity for them to use their gifts, talents, and abilities to prosper themselves, amazing things happen. But the opposite is also true.
When leaders stifle their people and refuse to let them reach their full potential, the whole country suffers.
Throughout 2023 I had the privilege of speaking with many of you and I heard a combination of disappointment and frustration with the present, along with anticipation and hope for the future.
While many are angry about the current government’s ever-rising punitive carbon tax, the sky-rocketing cost of living, and Prime Minister Trudeau’s divisive political games, I also heard from those who want to build businesses, invent new technologies, help the less fortunate, and improve our society in new and creative ways.
You see, the Canadian people are alive and well.
They just need a leader who will grant them freedom and opportunity — the lifeblood of this country’s democracy.
Imagine what Canada would look like in five or ten years from now if the leaders of this country put the people before government.
Imagine what it would look like if agriculture was championed, energy was developed and stewarded, and a business-friendly environment was generated. Imagine what it would look like if the carbon tax was scrapped, a cart full of groceries was easily affordable, and our communities were safe.
This is the type of Canada we can create, not through more taxation, increased regulation, and pitting one region of our country against another, but by having a leader who believes in the commonsense of the common people and who grants them the freedom to succeed.
Leadership matters.
25-24
For many of us, the federal Conservative’s Pierre Poilievre is certainly not the savior for the Canadian people. Here again, is more, on the, real, Poilievre….do not be fooled. Read on for the explanation:
“Speaking the fascist’s language: Pierre Poilievre’s perfidious rhetorical appeal for working class votes. Poilievre follows in a long right-wing tradition of intentionally appealing to the masses while actively working against them.”
http://www.canadiandimension.com/articles/view/speaking-the-fascists-language-pierre-poilievres-perfidious-rhetorical-appeal-for-working-class-votes
I must agree with Rachael, “Leadership counts”. Integrity, honesty, consistency, a lack of ideologically partisan mythinformation — HUGE factors in sound leadership. So few politicians exhibiting this in their public announcements and rants, preferring instead brainwashing rhetoric and bizarre arbitrary “facts” to indoctrinate the masses.
I do question the focus on the ideas of “energy development and stewardship” as being some Holy Grail for our province. Recently an article appeared in the news about some oil patch CEO achieving incredible results in returns for his corporation profit-wise, while announcing a thousand plus people being laid off. That is hardly a job creating success story. Employed people equates to folks with cash to spend and pay bills… folks who don’t need to rely upon food-banks to feed their children or tent encampments for housing. Moreover some 34 million dollars provided by the Liberal government to cleanup abandoned well sites was left on the table ! Meanwhile Alberta has the highest methane emitting/leaking single source well-site in North America, still sitting there ignored.. Irrational to think that these are examples of sound leadership, although I do give the Libs a pat on the back for attempting to demonstrate leadership with their job-creating offer of providing that corporate welfare cash for the cleanup. Why aren’t these overpaid oil wizards proving their leadership skills by employing these folks to service these abandoned wells?!?! BTW: If the fossil fuel energy biz is such a fabulous asset for Alberta, why aren’t they using Kenny’s tax breaks to stimulate more jobs? What happened to that promise?
While we are on the topic of such ironic examples of stupid leadership skills, we shouldn’t leave out the example that many job creating projects of renewable resource were quashed recently in our province by our ideologically flat-earther-brained premier. Indeed, sound leadership is desperately needed. Sheeeesh… waste Fed’s money for cleaning up well sites, while killing new technology industry while you profess concern for the cleanup of much less polluting sites? This latter easily rectified with some intelligent legislated requirements. Agreed… leadership is needed.
For your information, I am not a flag-waving fan of Justin Trudeau, but heh, when Poilievre failed to come up with any sensible, achievable solutions for the housing crisis, Trudeau has acted to help with this problem by offering funding for housing directly to municipalities willing to speed up the problems with zoning regulation obstacles for the development of housing that will provide more affordable alternative; cutting the red tape that both the federal and provincial conservatives consistently decry as “more government”. Plus, the Libs have very wisely brought back the concept of the equivalent of war vet housing blueprints to reduce technical approvals for housing structures. Brilliant leadership !
I could go on, but you probably have some free lunch to attend. I hate to interfere in the priorities of sound leadership.
I do agree Rachael. Sound leadership matters in Canada. Thank you for bringing our attention to this concept.
it is not leadership when our elected bums get pulled around by their heads so far up the arses of the oligarchs of the planet.
Exactly well statedand so true.
Your attempt to compare the US/Canada situation with North and South Korea is not analogous and frankly bizarre.
I am a lifelong conservative but lately, I find your tone and inflections troubling.