Sunny times with storm clouds approaching.

AuthorAtkins, Michael
PositionPresident's Note - Viewpoint essay

A new year and a new prime minister. A moment to be thankful for small mercies. It seems strange to turn one's country over to the same family more than once in a lifetime, but I must say I have approved in both instances, although I was pleased to see the father go when he did.

In 1968, I was coming of age with a Trudeau that took the country by storm, and in 2016 I am just aging as his son prevails. I'm not complaining. I would have taken an unemployed Ontario Hockey League mascot ahead of the previous regime.

These Trudeaus have a way of producing sounds bites that capture the spirit of the times.

For Pierre, it was: "There's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation," which explained his government's move to decriminalize homosexuality and the selling of contraceptives, among other things.

Today, it is Justin's classic response to the gender-neutral cabinet: "Because it's 2015."

We shall see soon enough if our youthful PM has feet of clay (i.e. beginning with a surfeit of nannies) but for the moment let's not quibble. His cabinet is actually allowed to talk, our scientists are free to speak, and we are back on the A list for cocktails in Europe.

Recently, I did something I have never done before and will likely not do again. I watched the entire first question period of our 42nd Parliament. It was great. It featured the respectful cut and thrust of a democracy in full action and accountability. The questions were good. The answers not bad. The impressive part was the quality of the participants. It made this old fogey proud. Of course, it has nowhere to go but down as tensions grow, new beginnings melt like last year's snow, and promises of best behaviour succumb to political mischief and bad temper--but we'll have the video. It was a peaceful transition of power to a new party and a new generation in this extraordinary country of ours. We should all be proud.

Storm clouds threaten the sweetness of our reclamation.

Thankfully, we are out of step with the worst of the xenophobia engulfing our neighbours to the south. It is going to get lonely on this Canuck island of civility and naivete, in a world where warfare has been disrupted by drones on the one side and "self-radicalizing" jihadists on the other. This unconscionable disregard for the murder of...

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