Your Turn As Santa

What do you do when Santa turns into Scrooge? In what is surely the tip of the iceberg, the federal government quietly cut $53 million from settlement agencies in the GTA. Speaking with a number of agencies in Toronto today gave the unmistakable impression that a government bent on providing corporate tax cuts is as determined to cut programming for the most vulnerable among us. The GTA settlement cuts are the canary in the proverbial coal mine, as the federal government begins sharpening its knife for budget time only a few months away.It has always been this way - passing the pain of recessionary times primarily on to those that can least survive them. The next few months are about to turn very painful for people who hoped for a better life.When it finally reaches the point of broad public knowledge, federal ministers will start urging us as citizens to step up and help those suffering. It's as predictable as political rancour these days, but what it ultimately means is that governments frequently toss the most vulnerable into the cold in hopes that human compassion will rise to the occasion, substituting for government negligence. And we will ... like we always do. Except that our charity won't be enough; it can never be enough.So let's brace ourselves for those fellow Canadians about to tumble into our midst homeless, jobless, penniless and hopeless. How we respond to them will be a strong indication of a citizenry's willingness to step in when public policy makers fail. Today is Christmas Eve and, as the recent cuts reveal, we are about to be challenged as to whether the Christmas spirit really is about the season of giving.There's something else you need to know before you consider your options. The charities you intend to support aren't suddenly dealing with the problem of funding shortages; they've been dealing with it for years. Those that tied themselves to government assistance are being continually squeezed as governments lose commitment in light of pressing economic realities. They are more pressed than they have ever been, and as government cuts they have to choice but ot come to you. Yet while this is transpiring, Canadian CEO incomes have gone from the ratio 45 to 1 five decades ago to 500 to 1 today. In other words, while thousands are about to fall into grips of poverty, there's plenty of money to go around for those that manage to get access to it.This Christmas more than any other in recent memory will tell the tale of both you and your country. The latter is already failing the litmus test of the true meaning of the season. Because of that, it will be up to each and every citizen to recapture the generous Canadian spirit that others have lost. A government that can but won't do a thing for those Nortel pensioners about to fall into destitution just as Christmas ensues is very unlikely to have an immediate change of heart. This has repeatedly been the problem with government: it takes the vote but leaves you to undertake the sacrifice.We are largely left to our own devices just as we are being pinched in difficult times. It will take some extra generosity this year if we are to pull through, as might be the case for many years to come. We now fall into what could be called the "Nietzsche test." Answering a question as to why great societies fail, the German philosopher merely replied: "He who cannot give anything away cannot feel anything either." Well, now it's our time to feel. It's my fervent hope that Canadians haven't become so ingrown through their own problems that they can't assist those in more precarious need. This will be a holiday season in which the poor are left more to their own devices. Please give generously to whatever charity you support, and give more than you have in times previous. They are under assault, afraid to lift their voices for fear of losing what's left of their declining government funding. Stop reading all the political soundbites flying in your direction. Instead, let's feel something greater this Christmas - the needs of a people fallen on hard times. It's the best way to show elected officials that by our giving, we get one of the key lessons of the season, and that we expect them to sit up and take notice.