Midsummer musings and notes

As Canada mourns the death of the 88th person serving in Afghanistan, it behooves us to revisit this file, to remember also those others who have suffered physical and mental harm, and to keep in mind those civilian Afghanis who have died or been maimed.

It is now clearer than ever that we are in Afghanistan because the Bush administration made the mistake of moving from there, the home base of the Taliban/al Qaeda, to an invasion of Iraq. This has been and continues to be Barak Obama’s view, but this is insufficient comfort to Canadians who have paid heavily to help our American friends cover their mistake.

Of course, oil will soon be pulsing out of Iraq with the investment of global energy companies, but this too is insufficient comfort to those who have suffered so profoundly.

Our PM and his Minister of Defence continue to assert that our sacrifices will not only help Afghanis, but will also do our international reputation good. Perhaps, but I found it curious that on a recent visit to Boston— where I read the papers, listened to radio and watched television—there was no mention of Canada’s contribution, even though there was lots of attention given to Afghanistan.

The line being argued there, where it’s most likely that folks would know about Canada, is Americans must go back in to Afghanistan in much greater numbers and a more aggressive posture because that’s where the 911 horror originated and where it still flourishes; because the insurgency is becoming stronger; and because the rest of NATO just isn’t up to the task.

It’s frustrating, isn’t it, where you’re covering someone’s butt after they have made a series of stupid errors not to be appreciated; or, worse still, to be told by them that you’re not doing it right?

Though the war in Afghanistan is against proclaimed opponents of the Global North, it is also undeniably a war for geo-political control of the region. Now that this is clearer, and now that the Americans appear poised to return in significantly greater numbers, perhaps it is time again for Canada to consider how long we should stay.

This should be an election issue, Steve and Stéphane’s desire to bury it notwithstanding. The intention of American forces to return to Afghanistan gives us a real opportunity to review the date of our exit and the nature of our mission.

Density and development

On the local front, animated disagreement continues on the question of future density of development in our towns and counties.

As someone who has experienced density intensity, I understand why it is that some folks oppose and even fear it. But it is also important to see that population development is important to the vibrancy of our region. We can assuage development anxiety, at least a bit, by steadfastly seeking to minimize the impact of density upon those who are challenged by it.

The world would be great if all landlords and property managers were as responsible and civically minded as some of them indeed are, just as it would be great if all neighbours were as good as the best. But the world is not ideal, not even the local community, where reputations are built or destroyed by how well folks conduct their lives and manage their investments.

In this real world, we need to use the power of government to manage the conduct of all of us in our impact on the lives of others. And some municipalities have gone a considerable way to provide for this by legislating effective noise and unsightliness bylaws.

Such bylaws are only as effective, however, as is the willingness of local authorities to enforce them, over time. The concern is that while development plans last in their impact forever, management of the impact of development changes with administrations.

Writing a firm commitment in municipal development plans to act vigorously to legislate and enforce bylaws that manage growth would help, making such commitments less likely to weaken or be ignored over time.