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The Niagara Independent, December 30, 2022 \u2013<\/em> With New Year\u2019s Eve upon us, let\u2019s consider three significant federal government issues that should be of utmost concern to Canadians in 2023: 1) the country\u2019s federal-provincial constitutional wrangling, 2) Canada\u2019s euthanasia laws, and 3) Central Bank Digital. These issues may not dominate the Ottawa news headlines, but they have the potential to impact Canadians\u2019 way of life for years.<\/p>\n The country\u2019s federal-provincial constitutional wrangling\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n The Canadian Constitution and Charter of Rights are foundational documents for the country and its laws. On multiple occasions over the past few years Quebec Premier Francois Legault has repeatedly maligned these documents by declaring Quebec a \u201cnation,\u201d and passing provincial legislation that violates minority language rights, denies religious freedom and, most recently, does away with the oath of allegiance to Canada\u2019s Head of State.<\/p>\n In confronting Legault\u2019s subversive powerplays, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau\u2019s response has been one of indifference. When pressed on whether Leagault had the authority to unilaterally introduce such legislation, Trudeau mused Quebec \u201ceffectively has the right to modify a part of the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet, in this past year, Trudeau has had a different reaction when other provinces decided to follow the example set by La Belle Province. For instance, the PM and his ministers took to the media to immediately criticize Ontario Premier Doug Ford\u2019s use of the notwithstanding clause to avoid a teachers\u2019 strike. The obvious double-standard has also been displayed in the PM\u2019s and ministers\u2019 comments about Premier Danielle Smith and the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act<\/i>.<\/p>\n In 2022, both Saskatchewan and Alberta passed legislation to restore their respective provincial rights in the face of an increasingly agitating federal government. The seizing of citizens\u2019 firearms is the latest of various wedge issues that keep piling up between westerners and eastern politicians (a.k.a. Laurentian elites). And rubbing salt in the open sores has been the news of the 2023-24 transfer payments that have Alberta and Saskatchewan contributing the most money to the pot from which Quebec takes the lion\u2019s share: $49.4 billion of the $94.6 billion total transfers (52 per cent).<\/p>\n How the Trudeau government manages the constitutional wrangling in 2023 will either help to defuse or will amplify the country\u2019s political tensions and its west-east divide.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s euthanasia laws\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Canada is in the international spotlight for its progressive euthanasia laws. These laws were about to be extended to providing state-assisted suicide for the mentally ill, that is until the Trudeau government announced just before Christmas a last-minute pause to further review the policy.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s MAiD law, introduced in 2016, permits Canadians to receive state-assisted suicide if suffering from a \u201creasonably foreseeable\u201d fatal condition. Since MAiD\u2019s introduction, the Trudeau government has been incrementally expanding the eligibility for the service. In 2021, the requirement that a person\u2019s death must be \u201creasonably foreseeable\u201d was removed, permitting people who are not terminally ill to use the state\u2019s service. One needs to have \u201cintolerable\u201d suffering or an \u201cadvanced state of irreversible decline.\u201d In March 2023, these requirements were to become even broader to include Canadians \u201cwhose only medical condition is a mental illness.\u201d<\/p>\n The underpinning question is whether or not expanding the scope of MAiD is replacing the government\u2019s responsibility to help Canada\u2019s most vulnerable improve their lives. Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Canada, expresses the essence of the government\u2019s MAiD program in this way: \u201cIt\u2019s abandonment. So you\u2019re in a bad situation, and instead of receiving care \u2026 euthanasia is the only real option you can apply for and get.\u201d<\/p>\n From statements made by Justice Minister David Lametti, the Trudeau government seems intent on expanding the MAiD eligibility. Lametti has characterized state-assisted suicide as a \u201chumane\u201d service. The justice minister observed, \u201cThis is a group within the population, who for physical reasons and possibly mental reasons, can\u2019t make that choice themselves, to do it themselves. Ultimately, this [MAiD] provides a more humane way for them to make the decision they otherwise could have made if they were able in some other way.\u201d<\/p>\n With Lametti\u2019s obvious bias, it is not difficult to imagine the outcome of the government\u2019s deliberations in 2023 on its euthanasia service? Still, the world is watching this policy review on an euthanasia program that for many has already become a blot on our country\u2019s collective conscience. As a New York Times<\/i> editorial piece recently opined about Canada: \u201cIt is barbaric, however, to establish a bureaucratic system that offers death as a reliable treatment for suffering and enlists the healing profession in delivering this \u201ccure.\u201d And while there may be worse evils ahead, this isn\u2019t a slippery slope argument: When 10,000 people are availing themselves of your euthanasia system every year, you have already entered the dystopia.\u201d<\/p>\n Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n The World Economic Forum (WEF) explains that CBDCs are digital versions of a country\u2019s physical currency; in Canada it would be a digital loonie. A country\u2019s central bank will issue and manage its digital currency according to financial policies and directions agreed upon in global forums such as the International Monetary Fund and the WEF. The end goal would have a global digital economy that will replace all cash transactions.<\/p>\n In early December the Bank of Canada\u00a0Governor Tiff Macklem announced that in 2023 the bank is initiating a \u201cdevelopment phase\u201d for a CBDC in Canada. At the same time, it will consult with Canadians on the potential for a Canadian CBDC. Apparently the bank is interested in the public\u2019s \u201cexpectations of a digital currency and what features would be important to them.\u201d<\/p>\n The fact is that the Trudeau government has already committed Canada to participating in the development of CBDCs. In an international paper \u201cCentral Bank Digital Currency: A Digital Revolution\u201d by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Canada is listed as a country already in the pilot stage of developing its CBDC. The paper cites \u201c16 of the 20 countries that make up the G20 Group are already in the development or pilot stage of a CBDC.\u201d It also states \u201ccountries which make up 95 per cent of the global GDP are exploring CBDC.\u201d<\/p>\n So, in this upcoming year, Canadians can weigh in on what appears to be an eventuality. Governor Macklem is not asking us whether we favour the introduction of CBDCs. Given that much of this is being driven by a global financial agenda, the bank is likely to skip the queries about a desirable CBDC implementation schedule for the country. Canadians are also unlikely to be asked how they feel about the mandatory use of CBDCs for certain transactions.<\/p>\n As is the case with MAiD, the Trudeau government appears to be intent on implementing its new monetary policy in spite of public opinion. It is revealing that, in describing its role in the development of CBDCs, the Bank of Canada states: \u201cThe day may come when Canadians can no longer readily use cash or when an alternative private digital currency becomes widely adopted. That might be the tipping point when a CBDC could be needed.\u201d<\/p>\n Verily, with this federal government, Canadians should enter 2023 with their eyes wide open. Happy New Year!<\/i><\/p>\n Chris George<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is an Ottawa-based government affairs advisor and wordsmith, president of\u00a0CG&A COMMUNICATIONS<\/a>. Contact:\u00a0ChrisG.George@gmail.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n