Canada’s Honourable Allan J. MacEachen: Nationhood and Leadership

03 Monday Jul 2017

Tags

Allan J. MacEachen, Canada's Medical Care Act, Confederation, Margaret's Museum, President Bill Clinton, Sheldon Currie, the Coady International Institute, Universal health care

Allan J. MacEachen

First elected into office in 1953, under the Liberal government of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, the Honourable Allan J. MacEachen was instrumental in designing Canada’s social programmes.

Although he was not reelected in 1958, his only political defeat, he did not leave Ottawa. He worked instead as a special assistant and consultant on economic affairs for the Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson, a Nobel Laureate.

Under Louis St. Laurent, Canada had begun putting into place social programs that would protect Canadians. For Mr MacEachen, this endeavour would culminate in the Medical Care Act, passed by Parliament in 1966, when Mr MacEachen served as Minister of National Health and Welfare (1965-1968). The implementation of Medicare was a major victory for Mr MacEachen and an enormous gift to Canadians. It was, in fact, a major historical moment. A nation was born.

Very few persons could have been as dedicated as Mr MacEachen in his role as Canada’s Minister of National Health and Welfare. Mr MacEachen had worked as professor of Economics at St. Francis Xavier University, which is home to the world-renowned Coady International Institute, founded in 1959 and named after the Reverend Dr Moses Michael Coady, a coöperative entrepreneur who created the Antigonish Movement. On 19 November 2009, during an interview with Steve Sutherland of the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), Mr MacEachen said he was a “disciple” of Father Coady who wanted to “enable people to get a vision of possibilities. (StFX Digital Archives, Quotes by Rev. Dr. Moses Coady) ”

Moreover, Allan J. MacEachen was born in Inverness, Cape Breton, the son of a coal miner. The coal miners of Cape Breton toiled painfully, and often died, reaping coal deep underground and bringing it to the surface. (Have you seen Margaret’s Museum, a 1995 British-Canadian film based on a story by Sheldon Currie, a former teacher at StFX?) When interviewed by Steve Sutherland of the CBC, Mr MacEachen said that the miners of Inverness were “poor” and, that, when they had to retire, they did not have a “pension.” He had witnessed poverty.

The Honourable Allan J MacEachen studied at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT), and became a professor of Economics. In his CBC interview, he said that people were not interested in what he knew. They wanted to know what he could do for them. They had needs which he understood and he was in a position to help his nation. He had the knowledge and the shrewdness to do so.

During the same interview, Mr MacEachen stated that, as a politician, he had learned that he had to “obey” his constituents. He had learned to “listen” to the people, to “serve” them, and to “take Canada into account.” That interview is a lesson in leadership and nationhood. Mr MacEachen cared for the people, as should all elected officials.

Former US President Bill Clinton is a recent visitor to StFX University. On 11 May 2011, President Clinton opened StFX University’s Frank McKenna Centre for Leadership. That Centre has solid foundations.

The Honourable Allan J. MacEachen was Minister of Amateur Sport, Minister of National Health and Welfare, Minister of Manpower and Immigration, Minister of Finance, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Secretary of State for External Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, and a Senator. In this capacity, he was the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

For two decades, the Honourable Allan J. MacEachen was also my next-door neighbour in Antigonish, N. S. and a dear friend. I am honoured to say that he remains a dear friend.

The US: Obstructionism and Scapegoating

07 Monday Nov 2011

Posted by michelinewalker in United States

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

competence, extremism, obstructionism, President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, President G.W. Bush, racism, scapegoating, WordPress

(Photo credit: Google images)

Obstructionism

Since the 2010 mid-term elections, Tea Party members and hardline Republicans have systematically opposed all proposals brought forth by the current President of the United States, President Barack Obama, and his administration. That is called obstructionism, and it is a very ugly practice.

Scapegoating

Moreover, since the 2010 mid-term elections, Tea Party members and hardline Republicans have also, and systematically, blamed the President and his administration for not doing what they, i.e. Tea Party Members and hardline Republicans, are systematically preventing him from doing. That is called scapegoating, and it is also a very ugly practice.

Distortion of reality

As things stand, President Obama and his administration are even being blamed for the debt caused by the two unfunded wars authorized by the Bush administration, a Republican administration. The former President (R) and his administration are the ones who engaged into two wars, gave tax-cuts to the affluent and incurred a huge debt. Not to mention that these wars, unnecessary wars, caused the maiming, the death and the disorientation of thousands of young lives.

After 9/11, America had to hunt down Bin Laden. All that was required was intelligence work and well-trained commandos. This is how Bin Laden was found, under a Democratic administration.

—ooo—

Given the above, I would like to ask not that a former Republican President and his administration be crucified, but that Americans remember the facts. By the same token, I would also like to ask that Americans stop throwing stones at a Democratic administration that did not incur the debt now bedeviling the United States and destabilizing global markets.

President Bill Clinton: his legacy

When President Bill Clinton left office, Americans had a substantial financial surplus. In fact, America was rich.

Consequences: America was near bankruptcy

However, because the former President Bush declared two unjustified wars and gave tax-cuts to the affluent, the former President spent the funds the United Sates needed to remain a prosperous country. President Bush (R) may have had the best of intentions when he went into Afghanistan and then entered Iraq, a sovereign nation, but he acted blindly and irresponsibly. He took money from less affluent Americans until the bubble burst.

The Bubble burst

Yes, the bubble burst. This happened in the late summer and early autumn of 2008. Having been apprised that the ship was sinking, President Bush went to the Democratic Party, told that the United States was no longer solvent, and asks for assistance on the part of the Democrats. The Democrats agreed to prevent the collapse of both the US economy and the economies of its financial partners.

The Mid-Term Elections: robots are voted into office

After President Obama and his administration were voted into office, a shockingly unqualified Sarah Palin started sabotaging the work of President Obama and his administration. She was not alone; she had helpers. She opposed health-care reforms claiming that big government would kill grandmothers, etc.

Birth of the Tea Party

Out of Sarah Palin’s ill-conceived speeches and the support of mindless and irresponsible politicians, grew the Tea Party. After the mid-term elections of 2010, members of the Tea Party and hardline Republicans suddenly found themselves in a position that prevented not only a reasonable, but also a sane discussion of issues facing the US.

Robots

With all due respect, those members of Congress voted into office in 2010 are robots that have been programmed to say “no” to any action President Obama presents to save America.

As you know, robots do not think. They are programmed and the ones I am speaking of have been programmed to say “no” systematically to any action proposed by President Obama and his administration.

Saving America

Saving America begins with making sure Americans have jobs. Too large of chunk of American products are manufactured by people who will accept a very small income. Consequently, too may products are manufactured abroad. And, to make matters worse,

the robots in Congress will vote against any package that would stimulate the growth of jobs. Tea Party members and hardline Republicans are saying “no.”

—ooo—

Therefore, I would ask

that Americans stop blaming President Obama and his administration for a debt he and his administration did not incur.

And I would also ask

that Americans support President Obama in his attempt to help his nation.

Conclusion

It short, I am seeing bad faith, amnesia, various forms of extremism, ignorance of societal needs, frequent instances of inhumanity, blindness, pig-headedness and the tail end of racism. Sorry, but the job, i.e. the Presidency, goes and should go, to the person best qualified to perform the required duties. Unfortunately, there have been too many exceptions to this fundamental requirement: competence.

If the Republican Congress will not provide President Obama with the funds he and his administration require to create jobs, I’m sorry but, between obstructionism and scapegoating, the narrative is over. The consequences will be an economic depression so profound and so broad, it will hurt everyone including Tea Party members, hardline Republicans and, eventually, those who fund their campaigns.

Stop the robots or face the consequences.

The End

November 7, 2011

WordPress

Canada’s Honourable Allan J. MacEachen: Nationhood and Leadership

12 Friday Aug 2011

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Allan J. MacEachen, Canada's Medical Care Act, Father Moses Coady, Margaret's Museum, President Bill Clinton, Sheldon Currie, StFX, the Frank McKenna Centre for Leadership

Allan J. MacEachen

First elected into office in 1553, under the Liberal government of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, the Honourable Allan J. MacEachen was instrumental in designing Canada’s social programmes.

Moreover, Allan J. MacEachen was born in Inverness, Cape Breton, the son of a coal miner. The coal miners of Cape Breton toiled painfully, and often died, reaping coal deep underground and bringing it to the surface. (Have you seen Margaret’s Museum, a 1995 British-Canadian film based on a story by Sheldon Currie, a former teacher at StFX? When interviewed by Steve Sutherland of the CBC, Mr MacEachen said that the miners of Inverness were “poor” and, that, when they had to retire, they did not have a “pension.” He had witnessed poverty.

The Honourable Allan J MacEachen had studied at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT), and became a professor of Economics. In his CBC interview, he said that people were not interested in what he knew. They wanted to know what he could do for them. They had needs which he understood and he was in a position to help his nation. He had the knowledge and the shrewdness to do so.

For two decades, the Honourable Allan J. MacEachen was also my next-door neighbour in Antigonish, N. S. and a dear friend. I am honoured to say that he remains a dear friend.

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