Donald Trump

Donald Trump

This is only my opinion, and not the representation of Saintel Daily, LLC.

Due to the large amounts of Donald Trump news, I am finding it extremely difficult to look at my Twitter feed.  Maybe I could un-follow some of the news accounts, but they’re everywhere. So what’s the point?  I will say that reading some of the headlines is kind of depressing.  How bad is that?  I’m not even reading the actual story, and I’m not American.  And yet, I can’t seem to handle what’s happen.  Let alone, believe it to be real.

In my post earlier this week, I wrote about the tragedy in Quebec City.  I was deeply saddened by the thought that something like this could happen.  Especially in Canada.  No, I don’t think Canadians are morally superior or are better in any way.  I do, however, think that as a whole society is more accepting of differences.  In the eyes of many Americans, our most politically right leaning Prime Ministers would still be considered socialist.  Especially when compared to Donald Trump.  Canadian Conservative Prime Ministers lead their parties, and the country based on strong economic principles.  They traditionally do not make wide-sweeping changes to existing social systems.

I have two theories about this.  One is that it would be career suicide, and two, I’m not sure they could get the support in the House of Commons.  While I don’t intend on making this a lesson in civics, I will note that if a party doesn’t have the confidence of the House, the Governor General will dissolve Parliament and call for an election.  This can happen 6 months after a party takes office.  Or any time during the term.  What I’m getting at is that it’s hard for me to believe that Donald Trump is able to get away with some of the things he’s doing.  Yes, I understand that the systems are different, but it’s just very hard for me to fathom this kind of oppression. (Yes, I said it)

Don’t get me wrong, this is not a humble brag. The Canadian system has it’s challenges, but right now it’s looking pretty good.  A friend challenged me to think about what Canada would be like if Donald Trump were Prime Minister.   Immediately, I felt nauseous.  (And this is what I feel for my American friends)  But I started to make a list of all the changes that would happen, and it isn’t pretty.

If Donald Trump were Prime Minister (barf):

  • All 40,000 Syrian refugees would be deported.  Currently there are several Cities in Ontario putting motions forward to their Councils to become “Sanctuary Cities”.  Not something we would likely see under Trump.
  • There would be a severe overhaul to the immigration laws.  Currently, there are many ways to apply and become a permanent resident including sponsorship, and having certain job qualifications.  An interesting point to note here is that many in the healthcare industry are foreign born.  What would happen if they were no longer able to move to Canada to fulfill those jobs?  The healthcare industry would take a hit for sure.
  • There would be more oil drilling in Alberta.  There is a lot of concern about the environmental impact that the oil sand mining has.  But who cares, right?  More oil means more money, which means lower taxes for residents.  Climate change isn’t a concern to Trump after all.
  • The Federal department governing employment and social development would be eliminated.
  • Canada would no longer be a bilingual nation.  There would be no bilingual signage.  You would only be able to be served by the Federal Government in English.  This would infuriate Quebec. My opinion is that any MP in Quebec would form a coalition with another party to bring Trump’s government down.
  • The national defense budget would be quadrupled.  At minimum.

The list literally could go on forever.  This scares me.  What I would like to highlight (again) is the Canadian political system.  It is balanced.  It allows for a representation to be as diverse as the population it serves.  There is a possibility that there wouldn’t be enough opposition to stop something like this, but these cases are rare.  Canadian’s are also not traditionally known to rock the boat, so a wide scale change would have immeasurable effects.  Our social systems would look very different.  Maybe even non-existent.

It is extremely scary to think about a world in which Donald Trump is the leader of any country.  I have a hard time wrapping my brain around this fact when it comes to America.  I would also like to hold out hope that love and kindness will prevail.  Canada is not immune to hate.  Canada is not immune to oppression.  It seems though, that historically we have tried to rise above it.  We try to be safe sanctuary for people.  We recognize that differences make us stronger and use that strength to succeed.  My hope is that America will be able to do the same.

“My dream is for people around the world to look up and to see Canada like a little jewel sitting at the top of the continent.” Tommy Douglas.

By Staff Writer

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