OVER THE EDGE March 12 - March 26, 2008. What is Canada For? Michael Byers has a Few Ideas Visiting Professor Praises Schwarzenegger, Criticizes Harper During UNBC Visit ANDREW KURJATA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Canada is more power- ful than it thinks, at least according to Dr. Michael Byers. The Canada Re- _search Chair was at UNBC on March 3 presenting ideas from his book, “In- tent for a Nation: What is Canada for?” In it, he argues that Canada can and should be a leader in international affairs, citing its powerful economy and good international repu- tation. He also criticized current Prime Minister Stephen Harper for his stance on issues ranging ments my whole life,” he explained. He recalled being a student at McGill when Brian Mulroney was elected on a platform of free trade and having a professor say it was proof positive that Grant was right. When he left Canada in 1992 to go England, “I honestly thought I’d never come back. I wanted to practice international law, and you don’t do that in a colony.” But after Jean Chretien refused to join the United States in invading Iraq in 2003, Byers decided to leave his job at Duke University in the United ergy sources, the world’s second-largest country (“real estate matters”), and a “pretty good” repu- tation. He then challenged Canada to be a leader, especially in three areas: climate change, nuclear non-proliferation, and peacekeeping. “My climate change hero is Arnold Schwarz- enegger,” he said, refer- ring to the action star- turned-governor. “He’s proving an important point: climate change is not a left-right issue; it’s a right-wrong issue.” How- ever, while he praised Schwarzenegger and His conclusion is quite simple: Canada remains an independ- ent country, despite increased economic ties with the United from the environment to Afghanistan, saying Can- ada needs to take a more independent stance in for- eign affairs. “Intent for a Nation,” is described as “a relent- lessly optimistic mani- festo for Canada’s role in the world.” Its title is a deliberate play on George Grant’s famous book, “Lament for a Na- tion,” published in 1965. Grant argued that due to the forces of economics and modern culture, Can- ada was destined to one day become a part of the United States. In the years since, Grant’s ideas have become a cornerstone for discussions on Canada’s future: political nation- alists often accuse each other of “selling out” to the US on everything from trade to foreign pol- icy, and later this month the CBC will be airing a movie about Canada’s last days as an independ- ent nation. As interesting as these ideas might be, ‘argues Byers, they are definitely wrong. But he didn’t always feel that way. “I was born one year after ‘Lament for a Na- tion,’ was published and I’ve lived with these argu- States.. States and come back to Canada to find out what was going on. “I’m not so interested in why [Chretien] said no,” Byers said, “What’s important is that he could say no.... This challenged the way I'd been thinking about my country for almost 35 years.” His conclusion is quite simple: Canada remains an independent coun- try, despite increased economic ties with the United States. “I would Say non-economic as- pects of nationhood are thing political scientists and economists don’t pay enough attention to. A na- tion is partly about what kind of future we want to leave for our children.” He cited values like toler- ance and support for uni- versal public healthcare as important components of Canadian identity. He also argued that Canad- ians often sell themselves short when it comes to international affairs. “Don’t laugh,” he warmed when saying that Canada was a powerful country, “people always laugh there.” He then listed off Canada’s polit- ical resources: the world’s eighth largest economy, a member of the G8, en- other countries such as Germany and Norway for their leadership on marrying the economy and the environment, he criticized Canadian lead- ers for “dragging up the back.” On nuclear -non-prolif- eration he wondered why Canada has yet to declare itself a formal nuclear- weapons free country. “It will piss of the Pentagon, it will raise the question of nuclear subs through the Northwest Passage, it will piss of the UK and France,” he said, but argued that it’s what an independent and moral Canada would do. Instead, he said, “Canada has been two-faced” when it comes to nuclear policy. Finally, he spoke of Canada’s role in Afghan- istan, arguing that the mission was an attempt to turn the Canadian army into a “rapid reaction, counter-infraction force, something like the US — Marines Corp.” “The Canadian army is being changed into some- thing that will supplement what the US already has,” he said. “We’re squan- dering the capacity to go in and keep and make peace... because of that George Grant thesis.” Literacy rates falling, education rates rising Sy Saray MILLAR CUP Ontario Bureau Cuitr TORONTO (CUP) -- While more Canadians than ever before are furthering their education, literacy rates among adults are falling. Recently released research from Statistics Canada used data from University of British Columbia economics professors between 1993 and 2003. While education levels were rising throughout those years, they found, literacy rates were fall- ing. In fact, the average literacy of a 35-year-old in 2003 was the equivalent to the literacy of a 25-year-old in that same year. According to W. Craig Riddell, a co-author of the paper, the biggest changes in literacy skills are defined by those who are at the very top of the spectrum and at the very bottom. At the bottom of the spectrum, the changes are positive — more people who had lower literacy skills in 1993, had higher literacy skills in 2003. However, those at the top spectrum of literacy skills went down substantially in the 10 year span. “In the middle distribution [though] there is not much change,” Riddell said, noting that the majority of adults fall into the middle range. There are many possibilities for this trend, said Kathryn McMullen of Statistics Canada. “Perhaps schools were doing a pooyer job at imparting literacy skills, but there is a possible another explanation . . . over that 14-year period, the school system of all levels — elementary, secondary and post-secondary — have become more inclusive in terms of the school popula- tion,” she said. McMullen cited the fact that 30 or more years ago, not as many people were attending post- secondary institutions because the schools were more exclusive. But in the past 30 years, due to governmental and public support for the institu- tions, post-secondary education opened up to a much wider segment of the population. “We also see at the university level it’s a much broader, more diverse population . .. we do have much broader range of people part in the post- secondary system,” she said. Another surprising result from the research shows that high school dropouts today have more literacy skills than their university-edu- cated counterparts. This leads the belief that education systems are doing more for those at the bottom end of the education system than those at the top. Riddell said the fact that more people are at- tending post-secondary institutions but literacy tates are falling could call into question the kind of education being received at these institutions. While the quantity of education is up, the quality, he said, can be argued might be going down. Indeed, declining literacy rate are most preva- lent at the post-secondary level, where class sizes are increasing and less one-on-one exists between students and professors, Riddell ex- plained. The report should be alarming to Canadians because, the authors say, literacy affects the earn- ings one can make in their lifetime — no matter what their educational background may be. According to the report, a 25-point increase in literacy can be the equivalent of an extra year of schooling in regards to earnings. The report also pointed to the fact that once out of school, previously learned lessons can easily be forgotten if they are not used in day-to-day settings. Women in power should help women in need Sy ANDREA Pare Tue Link (Concoroia University) MONTREAL (CUP) -- Those who defy race and gender barriers to ascend to seats of power have a responsibility to help others follow, ac- cording to Rita Shelton Deverell, prominent dir- ector and broadcaster. In a post-feminist era, she said, women need to help each other. Deverell spoke at Concordia University’s third Diversity and Canadian Media conference on Feb. 28. “One person can make a huge difference if they are sitting in [that] chair,” she said. As a founder of Vision T.V. and the former director of the Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network, Deverell and other pioneering female broadcasters helped transform the news and pro- duction rooms. As they started to rise through media ranks, she said, they started acquiring seats of influence. “T honestly didn’t realize we were changing who owned the media,” she said. “What I didn’t know in those days was how easy it was for the top to get toppled.” But all the gains she fought for will be lost if the next generation of influential females fail to pull others into the boardrooms, said Deverell. She fears this might happen. “We’re living in a post-feminist era,” she said, and young women trying to advance in their ca- reers have forgotten their common struggle. “Be there for each other, without trying to re- place each other,” she urged. “It is up to all of us if we wish to inherit the airwaves [...] to take all of these steps if we wish to build on it.” “Mentor the next generation,” she urged. The conference was dedicated in Gail Guthrie Valaskakis honour by the Concordia communica- tions department and the Centre for Research Ac- tion for Race Relations. Valaskakis’, Concordia’s late dean of Arts and Science, was one such mentor. “She opened the door for me,” said friend and fellow native rights activist Barbara Malloch. “Lately, ’ve-been wondering, ‘how many people did she open doors for?’” The answer appears to be many. Valaskakis’ persistence and charm helped to win many im- portant battles. She was one of the founders of the Native Friendship Centre in Montreal and of the Native Aboriginal Healing Foundation, as well as a key researcher for the report of the Royal Com- mission on Aboriginal Peoples. Her influence helped create new programs in academia and in government to support indigen- ous communications. “There was never a thing that Gail wanted that she couldn’t get. She would have the board members eating out of her hands,” he said to the crowd, who laughed appreciative- ly.