Three Christmas Wishes

In most cases communities are at their very best over the holiday season. Generosity to charities can often be overwhelming. Citizens across the board put in extra effort to add to the quality of life in their midst. This Christmas season promises to be hard-pressed, however, as the economy remains moribund, trapped within a convergence of forces that refuse to release their grasp.In a phrase, we need help. While larger trends have played themselves out in ways that have created uncertainty in our future, our communities have watched in concern as the number of our own falling into poverty has escalated. Even worse, we witness those struggling in poverty for some time growing discouraged at their inability to escape it, despite their own best efforts.So, here’s my wish list to the three levels of government as it's pulled from the original Christmas story.Local governments - “And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” … Luke 2:7Like so many other communities, London, Ontario is facing a significant affordable housing crisis. For many there is no room in the inn. So here’s my request. Hold a national housing conference in our city and ask all the relevant ministers from all levels of government to sit down and discuss a national housing strategy. As a city we have been fortunate enough to have had a former mayor who led a special Canadian mayors task force on housing. Our present mayor, Joe Fontana, has not only assumed a similar position but was also the federal housing minister that put together a national housing program that ultimately disappeared after the fall of the Paul Martin government. I know this mayor well and he has been pushing for just such a national meeting of ministers – or as he puts it, “one table, one time, with one purpose.” To all community administrators across the country, one of the best gifts you could give to your citizens, especially the marginalized, is your full support for just such an initiative. For some, the waiting time for affordable housing in our communities is 8.3 years. That’s too long. Some of our people need a place to lay their head. Pull your forces together and make this a Christmas gift that actually means something.Provincial government – “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.” … Luke 2:20.The province of Ontario is in the process of undertaking the first comprehensive review of social assistance in two decades. Led by two eminent Canadians, it has travelled the length and breadth of the province asking communities to make suggestions pertaining to income inequality. I have followed the progress and I see difficulties coming. Communities are asking for transformative change on issues like employment and inequality while it’s likely true the provincial government desires only incremental adjustments. Don’t go that route. The Occupy Wall Street message of the 99% and the 1% has resonated with Ontario's citizens because they feel the financial system requires more than just tinkering. Please listen. Don’t go back to Queens Park the same way you came. You have heard some pretty remarkable things about how communities are strapped and in need of significant leadership and assistance. Thank you for your past efforts with a poverty reduction strategy - it has helped. But when your final report comes out in a few months, make it a declarative statement by responding robustly to things you have heard – just like the shepherds.Federal government – “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace toward people of good will” … Luke 2:14Seriously folks, this is the great spirit of Christmas and no one can locate it in Ottawa. It’s bad enough that the rank partisanship breaks the public will, but there are people at the receiving end of your policies that have fallen on serious times. Christmas is an empty promise unless a movement to assist the oppressed is part of the narrative. For 18 months both the Senate and the House produced serious reports on anti-poverty initiatives only to get a “Bah, humbug!” once they reached the government. To all MPs – your people are in pain and confusion this Christmas season, feeling all the more hopeless because the conflicting rumbling coming out of Parliament. The partisanship is hardly the characteristic of a caring and understanding legislature. Your people require peace, not war; they require relief not mere rhetoric. Please don’t add to the burden of the marginalized by proving to them that they won’t get a hearing in Ottawa. Put away the swords by turning them into ploughshares and bringing political peace back to our land.These are my wishes. As communities we are conscious that our people are struggling and we look to our governments, especially at this time of year, to hearken to our call for serious reform. We want a fair country once more, not a fearful one. We desire a Christmas that counts.Note: We all have such wishes and I pray and trust yours come true. Above all, Merry Christmas and a meaningful holiday season to each of you. Thank you for the difference you make in this country.