Our new times are sometimes heady ones, full of excitement and hope. The forces of what we call globalisation have brought new possibilities of economic well-being for many individuals, corporations and countries. For legions of others, however, these have been very difficult times. One legacy of such difficulties is fear and uncertainty.
People feel hostage to corporate downsizing, chronic unemployment, and fraying social fabrics.
They fear for their children's future as well as their own. Nonetheless, any encounter with Canadians, whether at the hockey rink, in public hearings or via public opinion data, reveals little consensus about where problems come from. Nor do they agree about how to address their fears and uncertainty about the future. Indeed, as soon as choices are put on the table, diverging priorities become evident. Our referendum campaigns and recent elections have seen worrying incivilities during democratic discussion of what Canada should look like in the future.