The Big "Cancelled"

Okay, we all knew at the start of the summer that we would likely be moving into a federal election in the fall; whether we liked it or not, the stars appeared to be aligning.  But with the Prime Minister's remarkably swift machinations, all things have now gone into hyper-drive (Harper-drive?).  The dislocation that has resulted from his maneuvering has created numerous disappointments, some national, some patriotic and some personal.Consider the message we have just delivered - again - to China.  It was troubling that the Prime Minister failed to attend the opening of the Beijing Olympics (even George W. Bush was there), but now that he has requested the Governor General to cancel her plans to attend the Special Olympics in the same city, we have signaled once again that our domestic politics has trumped our international reputation. Whatever Mr. Harper's reasonings, I do feel sorry for all those very special athletes who will compete without the Governor General's presence and support.Both parliamentary investigations into the "In-and-Out" scheme and Bernier affair are now history. Regardless of which side of the issue you are on, all opposition parties worked together to uncover irregularities in some important issues and their cooperation is not all that common.  While the PM called parliament "dysfunctional," at least in these two areas some things were clearly transpiring because of cooperation amongst most parties.Numerous charitable initiatives will now have to compete with an early federal election.  Take food banks as an example. They will clearly lose some media time as a result of a national political contest.  The result? Food drive totals will be down across the country and supplies could well dry up for many agencies.  Food banks went ahead with such initiatives, believing that a federal election call would take place later, as the pundits and parties seemed to suggest.  Those plans are now in disarray.Personally, I have been working extensively with the Ontario Association of Food Banks and it's executive director Adam Spence to establish a First Nations food bank in the remote region of Sandy Lake, northern Ontario. The challenges are enormous. But just as we planned to move the project forward by journeying to the area and working with community leaders, the Prime Minister will have likely pulled the plug and launched us into a full federal campaign.I had also asked Bill Clinton to come to London, Ontario in October to assist me with our Canadian Centre for Democracy Initiative in the Middle East - a project supported by local Jewish and Muslim leaders.  It was to be a significant and historic moment for these two communities in London, but it now has to be postponed. We had hoped to get it completed before a fall election, but it too is now a casualty of political gamesmanship.Planning during a political season is difficult at the best of times, but, believing that the vote would happen in November, the best laid plans have now wrecked upon the rocks. And who loses? Some very special athletes, the hungry, aboriginal communities, and caring Muslim and Jewish Canadian citizens striving to support peace in their respective home countries. This is a dear price to pay for political optics. Political advantage has trumped real human needs and stories - never a fair trade-off at the best of times.