2010 is a Year of Unrivalled Opportunity for Canada’s International Image
Photo Credit: Toronto Star
The coming year will be integral to the rebuilding of Canada’s international image. Regardless of one’s views concerning the Copenhagen climate summit, it is unarguable that Canada’s position in the world has been damaged due to it. The perceived image of Stephen Harper’s government put forward by the majority of the international press was overwhelmingly negative. More importantly, it was seen as a fall from grace by a country popularly looked upon as America’s more liberal, and green, cousin, particularly in Europe.
I recently attended an orientation for a job at the 2010 Winter Olympics. As expected, one of the central themes was the history and tradition of the Olympic Games, from their beginnings in ancient Greece to the global brand of the new millennium. However, it was one particular aspect of the presentation that strikes a chord with Canada’s needs coming into 2010. I was informed that the Olympic movement is a celebration of three pillars: Sport, Culture and Sustainability. It is this last pillar that it is necessary for Stephen Harper and the government to grasp in the forthcoming year.
There is a triumvirate of events in the coming twelve months that will allow the Canadian government to do this, therefore reasserting their position on the world stage and in the minds of skeptical foreigners. They could also act as a springboard of goodwill for Harper come the next election if handled correctly. The question, though, is whether they will be used merely as a superficial varnish with which to paper over the cracks, or as the start of a genuine attempt to unite the Canadian people and re-establish and sustain a place as a respected and leading member of the global community.
These events are, of course, the Winter Olympics and the G8 and G20 summits.
The Olympics should be a fantastic sporting event for the country, and this promise appears as though it will be fulfilled. Of course, the real issue with the games are their legacy and their much-vaunted social sustainability. The bid that captured the games was based heavily on the involvement of the First Nations and the sustainability of the events to the local communities and the associated social needs. However, many of the problems that have emerged since the successful bid that come under this remit have been neglected and conveniently ignored.
The crunch is whether VANOC wants to actually carry on with their promises. It would be perfectly viable for them to present the desired image of an idyllic Canada during the games in order to try and sate their insatiable hunger for positive global PR and subsequently opportunely renege on the policies that formed the core of the initial bid. Tired clichés will more than likely be trotted out, citing the economic climate and unfortunate oversights. Ideally for VANOC there would be the odd dissenting voice, some local fallout, and that would be that. Unfortunately, if the years of planning are anything to go by, the omens point to this outcome. Most of the social sustainability initiatives that have been put in place so far have been forced upon VANOC. They have never been truly compliant, but yet have curiously been praised for their efforts. Among the many schemes suggested to, and turned down by VANOC, was a $1 homelessness levy to be charged on Olympic tickets and merchandising that would be matched by the provincial and federal governments. VANOC and government partners also turned down their own housing table’s recommendations of building 3,200 units and have pointed fingers at one another as evictions have mounted month after month in the Olympic build-up. Yet despite all of this there is talk of success. Even IOC head Jacques Rogge spoke of his praise during a recent visit. There is a nagging sense that the PR machine is being put into overdrive, and often to worrying effect. Meanwhile, there have also been numerous reports of journalists and vocal opponents of the Olympics being gently dissuaded from furthering their cause. As CBC.com reported recently, U.S. journalist Amy Goodman said she was stopped at a Canadian border crossing south of Vancouver and questioned for 90 minutes by authorities concerned she was coming to Canada to speak against the Olympics. It is one thing to implement an orchestrated PR plan, but entirely another to infringe on people’s liberties to do so.
Decision time has arrived for all those involved in the Olympics. Do they want to provide real sustainability for the area alongside the manufactured gloss? There is a nagging feeling that it is already too late for the games to have a real effect on the community and, in turn, on world opinion of Vancouver’s legacy.
While the route that the Olympics will take may well have already been cast, the possibilities of the G8 and G20 summits are still there to be taken advantage of. With Stephen Harper as the host of the events, unlike Copenhagen, he will not be on the defensive from the offset. As well as playing the host, Canada has also assumed the presidency of the group of eight industrialized nations for 2010. The meeting in Ontario in June is expected to focus on free trade, democracy and human rights. These topics are all ones in which Canada should be able lead the way. It will also be hoped by the time of the meetings that Harper will have produced a template of several policies for the environment, that while probably not being totally satisfactory, will at least placate some of the summit’s members into believing that Canada has real intentions of environmental reform.
Come the end of 2010, the Canadian public and the rest of the world could see two completely contrasting outcomes. If VANOC and Stephen Harper are smart and adroit enough to manipulate these unrivalled and rare opportunities of the entire world focusing its attention on Canada, we could see a country and government’s image rehabilitated by constructive bargaining over the environment while lending a sympathetic hand to world leaders in order to jostle for power in international politics. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Olympics could unite the Canadian people in common celebration of their country and simultaneously provide communal resources for years to come in British Columbia. This is not to mention the global audience reflecting on a job well done.
However, this is all conjecture unless the correct path to these goals is taken. For the opportunity to be seized, the Olympic pillar of Sustainability must be considered and respected. It would be foolish to waste such a year of possible reward for the country with a vacuous attempt at self-promotion that runs only skin-deep.
Related posts:
- Exclusion of Women’s Ski Jumping from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics is a Supreme Court of Canada Cop-Out On December 22nd, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to...
- Canada’s ‘Own the Podium’ Program Yields Golden Dividends at Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games The Vancouver 2010 Olympics are now over, with the nation...
- Vancouver First Nations Resisting 2010 Winter Olympic Games While many aboriginals in Canada are joining in the celebrations...
- The Canadian Identity… One thing that seems to come up when the...
- The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games Endure Despite Tragedy and Criticism After years of painstaking planning, construction, advertising and anticipation, the...
Loading ...