Justin Trudeau2013-05-24T04:29:31-04:00Justin Trudeauhttp://www.huffingtonpost.ca/author/index.php?author=justin-trudeauCopyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Justin TrudeauGood old fashioned elbow grease.Why the Best Canada Is Built on Educationtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.26973892013-02-16T09:04:05-05:002013-04-18T05:12:01-04:00Justin Trudeauhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/justin-trudeau/
These principles are related and mutually reinforcing. Together, they form a foundation on which to build a truly modern, progressive political movement that will speak to, with and for all Canadians.
The greatest of these principles is equality of opportunity. It is key to all the others. To be successful, we Liberals need to be the voice for the millions of Canadians who share this belief, who believe that in a fair society, hard work should pay off.
While many policy areas influence -- positively or negatively -- equality of opportunity, education is first among equals. Canadians know this. It's what we tell our kids at breakfast tables from St. John's to Victoria: stay in school if you want a good job. It is the question businesses and investors ask: where can we find the most highly skilled workers to compete and grow?
Now, I am well aware that Section 93 of the Constitution allocates responsibility for education to the provinces. I respect and support that division of power.
At the national level, there is a long history of federal efforts to supplement and support provincial policy goals. From the Canada Student Loans program, established in 1964, to the more recently created Research Granting councils, the federal role is well-established. The federal government's responsibility for First Nations education is as unquestioned as it is poorly executed. Overall, given the clear evidence linking educational attainment to personal economic prosperity, there is now a pressing need for national leadership.
It's time we took education more seriously as a driver of economic success and security right across the country. We know that seven out of ten of Canada's future new jobs will require post-secondary education. A Liberal Party led by me would make it the highest national economic priority to raise our post-secondary education rate to 70 per cent of Canadians.
In short, the core of Liberal economic policy should be to make Canada the best educated country on Earth. We will build Canada's competitive advantage around a highly skilled, creative and innovative workforce, because Canadians' ingenuity and work ethic represent the best investment we can make in an era when change is the only constant.
The path was once much more straightforward. A young Canadian studied hard in school, which guaranteed entry into an affordable college, university or an apprenticeship program. Upon completing the program, she was able to find a steady and secure job that allowed her to pay down what little debt she accumulated. That job lasted a long time, perhaps even until retirement.
Well, that world is gone. Competition is fierce for post-secondary education. That education is much more expensive, but also more essential. The cost of post-secondary education has grown significantly at a time when middle-class incomes have stalled.
Today, Canadians can expect to change careers about six times over the course of our working lives. Sometimes these changes are forced upon us by economic dislocation; other times, people choose to seek more meaningful, fulfilling work.
No wonder so many Canadians are feeling anxious, unsure even, about whether we can afford the education our kids will need to secure a better life. We are also concerned about whether we can afford to upgrade our own skills and knowledge, to keep pace with the changing world around us.
The very idea of progress is under real threat in this country, for the first time in generations. The Canadian promise, that if you get educated and work hard, you can guarantee a better life for yourself and for your kids, is being seriously questioned. Canadians are rightly concerned that their leaders have lost focus on the policy that is at the heart of this promise: access to affordable, high quality education.
So what should the federal role look like? It should be principled, specific and targeted at the overall goal of raising our participation rate from just over 50 per cent to 70 per cent. It should respect provincial jurisdiction. It should support the efforts of individual Canadians to achieve post-secondary education, whether university, college or in the skilled trades. It should support Canadians' efforts to continue their education throughout their lives.
There are many specific ideas worth examining closely. For example, we should take a serious look at repaying financial assistance according to the income Canadians earn after graduation. We should also consider establishing a personal RESP program, to ensure working Canadians can also improve their skills.
We should partner with the private and non-profit sectors to increase the amount Canadian workplaces invest in training their employees. The remainder of this campaign, and the two years that follow, should be about examining the effectiveness and affordability of these ideas, and many others.
Leadership is about setting priorities based on principle. I believe that there is no more important principle than equality of opportunity -- and the progress it generates -- for individual Canadians and for Canada. I further believe that guaranteeing Canadians access to affordable, high quality, lifelong education is the single most important policy goal to strive toward.
The economic payoff of an educated citizenry is irrefutable. We live in an era of global uncertainty that will continue for the foreseeable future. Our best insurance against that uncertainty is to invest in each other, to create opportunity for all.
Given the right tools, Canadians will work hard to build a better country, as we always have. Ultimately, this is about more than just economics. If we get this right, we will create a country of high-performing economic actors, yes. But we will also create something far greater: a country of free-thinking, powerful, committed citizens. We need political leadership that is dedicated to making that vision of Canada a reality.
]]>L'éducation pour tous, un pilier du Canada de demaintag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.26978572013-02-16T07:29:30-05:002013-04-18T05:12:01-04:00Justin Trudeauhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/justin-trudeau/
Ces principes s'imbriquent les uns dans les autres et se renforcent mutuellement. Réunis, ils sont la fondation sur laquelle nous pourrons bâtir un mouvement politique profondément moderne et progressiste, qui trouvera résonance auprès des Canadiens et qui parlera en leur nom.
Parmi ces principes, l'égalité des chances revêt une importance particulière. Elle est garante de tous les autres. Pour réussir, nous devons, en tant que libéraux, nous faire la voix des milliers de Canadiens qui partagent cette valeur, qui croient que dans une société juste, le travail acharné devrait rapporter.
Même si de nombreuses politiques ont une influence - positive ou négative - sur l'égalité des chances, l'éducation joue un rôle particulièrement central. Les Canadiens le savent. C'est ce que nous disons à nos enfants autour de la table, de St. John's à Victoria: restez à l'école si vous voulez un bon emploi. C'est ce que les entreprises et les investisseurs recherchent: où peut-on trouver les travailleurs les plus qualifiés qui nous permettront d'être compétitifs et de prendre de l'expansion?
Je suis très conscient que l'article 93 de la Constitution stipule que l'éducation est la responsabilité des gouvernements provinciaux. C'est un fait que nous ne devons jamais oublier.
Au niveau national, toutefois, on note un long historique en termes d'efforts déployés par le gouvernement fédéral pour soutenir et bonifier les objectifs des provinces en matière de politiques publiques. Du Programme canadien de prêts aux étudiants, établi en 1964, aux conseils subventionnaires canadiens pour la recherche, le rôle du gouvernement fédéral est bien établi. Autant la responsabilité du gouvernement fédéral en matière d'éducation des Premières nations n'est plus à prouver, autant elle est piètrement exécutée. En un mot, la corrélation entre le niveau de diplomation et la prospérité économique est évidente. Le besoin d'un leadership national est criant.
Il est temps de considérer plus sérieusement l'éducation comme un moteur de succès et de sécurité économiques au niveau national. Nous savons que, dans le Canada de demain, sept emplois sur dix nécessiteront un diplôme d'études postsecondaires. La principale priorité en matière économique du Parti libéral que je dirigerais sera d'accroître le taux de diplomation postsecondaire des Canadiens à 70 %.
Faire du Canada le pays le mieux instruit au monde devrait être la pierre angulaire des nouvelles politiques économiques libérales. Nous bâtirons l'avantage compétitif du Canada autour d'une main-d'œuvre hautement qualifiée, créative et innovatrice, parce que l'ingéniosité et l'éthique de travail des Canadiens sont l'investissement le plus rentable que nous pouvons faire à une ère où le changement est devenu la seule constante.
La voie vers le succès était jadis beaucoup plus claire. Si un jeune Canadien travaillait fort à l'école, cela lui garantissait un accès abordable à un collège, une université ou un programme de formation professionnelle. Après avoir complété son programme, il était en mesure de se trouver un emploi stable et sûr qui lui permettrait de rembourser la petite dette qu'il avait accumulée. Cet emploi était stable et à long terme, peut-être même jusqu'à la retraite.
Cette réalité n'existe plus. La compétition est beaucoup plus féroce pour accéder à l'éducation postsecondaire. Si elle est beaucoup plus onéreuse, elle est néanmoins encore plus essentielle. Au même moment où les revenus de la classe moyenne ont stagné au cours des dernières années, les coûts liés à l'éducation postsecondaire ont continué d'augmenter.
De nos jours, les Canadiens peuvent s'attendre à changer d'emploi environ six fois au cours de leur carrière. Parfois, ces changements sont le résultat forcé d'une dislocation économique; d'autres fois, les gens décident de chercher un travail plus valorisant et stimulant.
Ce n'est donc pas étonnant que tant de Canadiens ressentent une certaine anxiété face à leur avenir et se demandent s'ils seront en mesure de payer pour l'éducation dont leurs enfants auront besoin. Ils sont aussi inquiets de savoir s'ils pourront parfaire leurs propres compétences et connaissances dans un monde en évolution constante.
L'idée même de progrès est menacée dans ce pays, pour la première fois depuis des générations. La promesse canadienne, bâtie sur la prémisse selon laquelle le travail et l'effort sont garants de résultats probants, n'est plus automatique. Les Canadiens veulent avoir accès à une éducation de qualité, à un coût abordable.
Alors, à quoi pourrait ressembler le rôle du gouvernement fédéral? Il devra être basé sur des principes, être bien circonscrit et orienté vers l'objectif global d'augmenter le taux de participation, qui est d'un peu plus de 50 %, à 70 %. Il devra respecter la compétence constitutionnelle des provinces en matière d'éducation. Il devra soutenir les efforts des Canadiens qui veulent accéder à des études postsecondaires, que ce soit à l'université, au collège ou dans des écoles de main-d'œuvre. Il devra soutenir les efforts des Canadiens qui désirent poursuivre leur éducation tout au long de leur vie.
Il y a plusieurs idées spécifiques qui méritent d'être étudiées de près. Par exemple, nous devrions nous pencher sérieusement sur un remboursement de l'aide financière proportionnel au revenu des Canadiens après la graduation. Nous devrions aussi songer à établir un programme personnel de Régime enregistré d'épargne étude pour nous assurer que les travailleurs canadiens puissent parfaire leurs compétences. Nous devrions nous associer au secteur privé et aux organismes sans but lucratif pour faire augmenter le montant que les entreprises canadiennes investissent dans la formation de leurs employés. Le reste de cette campagne, et les deux prochaines années, devront être utilisées à étudier l'efficacité et la faisabilité de ces idées, et de beaucoup d'autres.
Le leadership consiste à établir des priorités basées sur des principes. Je ne crois pas qu'il y ait un principe plus important que l'égalité des chances - et le progrès qu'elle sous-tend - pour les Canadiens, et pour le Canada. Je crois aussi que de garantir aux Canadiens l'accès à une éducation continue, de qualité et à un coût abordable est l'objectif le plus important en matière de politique publique vers lequel nous devons nous diriger.
Le rendement économique que garantit une population éduquée est irréfutable. Nous sommes entrés dans une ère d'incertitude globale qui ne se résorbera pas aisément dans les années à venir. Notre meilleure assurance contre cette incertitude est d'investir les uns dans les autres pour créer des opportunités pour tous.
Si on leur donne les bons outils, les Canadiens travailleront fort pour bâtir un meilleur pays, comme ils ont toujours fait jusqu'ici. Ultimement, ce n'est pas seulement une question économique. Si nous réussissons à mettre en œuvre cette politique, nous créerons un pays peuplé d'individus économiquement performants. Mais nous créerons aussi quelque chose de beaucoup plus grand: un pays de citoyens instruits et engagés. Nous avons besoin d'un leadership politique qui s'engage à faire de cette vision du Canada une réalité.
À VOIR AUSSI
Le classement des écoliers qui lisent le plus, selon le Programme international de recherche en lecture scolaire (PIRLS)
]]>On the Occasion of the Annual Reviving the Islamic Spirit Conferencetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.23542432012-12-23T08:29:50-05:002013-02-22T05:12:01-05:00Justin Trudeauhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/justin-trudeau/What follows is the text of a speech I delivered at the Reviving Islamic Spirit Conference in Toronto on December 22.
As-salamu Alaykum.
I am here today because I believe in freedom of expression.
I am here today because I believe in freedom of peaceful assembly.
I am here today because I believe in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees those sacred things to you, to me, and to all people with whom we share this land.
But mostly, I am here today because I believe in you.
I believe in the contributions you have made to our country. And I know that together we will make even greater contributions in the future.
Let me begin with a story. A story from your history. One that I hope will stay in your minds as you think about our common future.
Many generations ago, a young man was confronted by traditional religious elders. The kind of folks that today we might call fundamentalists or even extremists.
You see, a centuries-old conflict was raging. Prominent people on each side were convinced of their rightness. And loudly proclaimed that the other side was not only wrong, but wrong because of their religious beliefs, their culture, and their identity.
And as is far too often the case, these leaders reserved special scorn for those within their ranks who sought common ground with others. They understood the threat that moderation and compromise present to those who preach rigid doctrine.
This young man was struggling at the time. He was just starting out in the world. He was facing many of the same issues that, I suspect, you are facing today. How do I remain true to my values, to my culture, while I serve the interests of the society to which I belong?
He knew who he was, and what he believed. He was proud of his heritage, his culture, his religion. But he parted ways, decisively, with those within his community who would use these things to build walls.
But then, he was granted a remarkable opportunity, to address a distinguished audience of political, religious, and business leaders.
And so he challenged them to think beyond the narrow confines of the present and to look towards the future.
He said "Providence has united together on this corner of Earth populations of different origins and creeds. Is it not manifest that these populations must have together common and identical interests?"
That young man is a very important part of your history, as I said. But he would not go on to become an Imam, a holy man, or a Caliph.
He would, however, go on to become, among many more important things, my second-favourite Prime Minister.
The year was 1877. The place was Quebec City. And the brave young man's name was Wilfrid Laurier.
He was 35 years old, with barely three years of service in Parliament to recommend him.
And he had made a difficult choice.
Rather than fall in line with his elders and marshal his already prodigious talents in exclusive service of what he called his race, he chose an improbable new path.
One that honoured what was good and noble about his own culture, yes. But one that used those very things to serve a higher purpose: to find common ground between people of differing beliefs.
Laurier saw something clearly, perhaps more clearly than any other Canadian; he saw that here, in this place, a new idea was taking shape. A new way of living together just might be possible.
He knew that his was a country founded and built by people who had warred against one another for centuries on their home continent: English vs. French, Catholic vs. Protestant. Early on, these murderous conflicts crossed the Atlantic Ocean with them.
But then a unique thing happened. Despite the fact that the English were victorious on the battlefield, the same measure of freedom was gained by each side.
In one of the most moving passages of that speech, speaking about the obelisk on the Plains of Abraham, Laurier said:
"In what other country under the sun, can you find a similar monument reared to the memory of the conquered as well as of the conqueror? In what other country under the sun, will you find the names of the conquered and the conqueror equally honored and occupying the same place in respect of the population? Where is the Canadian who, comparing his country even with the freest countries, would not feel proud of the institutions that protect him?"
Now, the point of this story is not that remarkable moment in our history. The point is everything that has happened since.
This is our inheritance. One that has been renewed by successive generations to this very day.
That two peoples who had been enemies came together to build institutions -- and a Constitution -- that guaranteed freedom not only for one another, but for all who would come after them.
They were joined in this great project over the years by people of every conceivable culture, religion and ethnicity.
Waves and waves of young men and women who chose to emphasize what was kind-hearted about their own traditions. Free people who chose to use the generosity of spirit that is the root of all faith, to find common ground with those whose beliefs differed from their own.
As it is written in the Holy Qur'an:
'The true servants of the Most Merciful are those who behave gently and with humility on earth, and whenever the foolish quarrel with them, they reply with [words of] peace.'
(al-Furqan 25: 63)
It has never been easy. This road has never been smooth or straight. Generations of Canadians had to overcome deep differences. They made a deliberate choice to turn their backs on rancour and conflict.
But today, because of them, we are all blessed to live in the most diverse country in the history of the world. One of the most peaceful and most prosperous.
One that has now moved beyond the goal of mere tolerance. Because saying "I tolerate you" is to grudgingly allow you to breathe the same air, to walk the same earth. And while there are many places in the world where tolerance is still just a far-off dream, in Canada, we are beyond that. So let us not use the word tolerance. Let us speak instead of acceptance, understanding, respect, and friendship.
Here, we have come to a new realization, together: that a country can be great not in spite of its diversity, but because of its diversity.
This is our story now, yours and mine. The story of our country, Canada.
So as you reflect this weekend about the future, take heart. Know that the struggles we are facing have been faced down before. Know that the conflicting feelings in our hearts have been felt before. Know that compromise and moderation are not the path of weakness, but of courage and strength. That there is always a positive path in this country for all who seek common ground.
Most important, remember this: our inheritance must be constantly renewed by those who share Laurier's vision.
When people come together to create opportunities for one another, the dreams we hold in common will crowd out the fears that would divide us.
For it is not the political class, but the middle class, that unites this country. Open to all, our broad and diverse middle class is Canada's centre of gravity. Good people. People with common hopes and common challenges, coming together to find common ground.
There are already too many forces in the world that drive us into separate camps, that isolate us, and make us suspicious of one another.
Yesterday, protesters tried to prevent me from speaking at a school because of my stance defending gay marriage and women's rights.
And as you know, some conservatives tried to stir up controversy about my appearance here today. They tried to appeal to people's fears and prejudices, the very things that this gathering was founded to overcome.
Now, I respect and defend their right to express their opinions.
But, I want you to know that I will always stand up to the politics of division and fear. It is short-sighted to pit groups of Canadians against one another. It may make some feel good for a little while, or even work politically in the short-term.
But it is no way to build a country. Least of all this country. It is not who we are.
We are here today to do what we Canadians have been doing together for generations. We are honouring our diversity through friendship and understanding, so that we can build from it a common, positive future.
So I join you in your commitment to that more hopeful future. Let us pledge ourselves to building a country that brings people together; that finds the highest virtue in compromise, moderation, and common ground.
Nearly 30 years after that first speech, then in his third term as our Prime Minister, Laurier put it this way to an audience in Edmonton.
"We do not want or wish that any individual should forget the land of his origin. Let them look to the past, but let them still more look to the future. Let them look to the land of their ancestors, but let them look also to the land of their children. Let them become Canadians and give their heart, their soul, their energy, and all their power to Canada"
That was Laurier's wish for us. And it is mine for you. Be hopeful and positive, my friends.
Your country needs you.
May peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you.]]>We Need a New Generation of Canadian Leadershiptag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.21298932012-11-14T10:55:23-05:002013-01-14T05:12:01-05:00Justin Trudeauhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/justin-trudeau/To mark the official start of the federal Liberal leadership race, The Huffington Post Canada asked all the declared candidates to tell us, in their words, why they decided to run. Justin Trudeau, the Member of Parliament for the Montreal riding of Papineau, announced his bid for the Liberal leadership on October 2, 2012.
Our Canadian promise has never been too complicated. Work hard, we tell our kids, and you will have a better future than we did.
Today, for too many, that promise rings hollow. Youth unemployment last month stood at nearly 15 per cent, a higher rate than this spring, and double the national average. Fewer young Canadians are employed now than were a year ago.
Most post-secondary students expect to leave school with more than $20,000 in debt, and more of them worry about paying for their classes than passing them. After graduation, unemployment and underemployment await, as housing prices rise and household debt levels continue to hit record highs.
Our challenge, simply put, is to restore the simple promise of Canadian society: to reward hard work, to restore the strength of our middle class, and to remove the barriers to success that too often stand between our people and our potential.
Because when students from low-income backgrounds are three times more likely to drop out of school, when more than 60 percent of 20- to 24-year-olds on our First Nations reserves have no high-school diploma, and when one-in-five Canadian teenagers, ages 15 to 19, never went back to school this fall, then our work as a country is far from finished -- and the future that our children deserve is far from secure.
I want to lead the Liberal Party of Canada because I want to bring a new generation of Canadian leadership to bear on the challenges that we face. By empowering new Canadian voices, by inspiring public service and awakening public purpose, we can move our country forward together.
Our future demands leadership that answers to the middle class, not the political class, and that puts the public interest ahead of self-interest.
We need leaders who understand that our prosperity is only sustainable when it is shared. The taxes we pay must neither be an impediment to growth, nor a penalty for success; they are a commitment to one another, and the price we pay for a free society -- free from the fear of destitution, secure in times of sickness and economic strain, with a government that fills the breach when markets fail.
That kind of leadership demands a new commitment to rise above the petty rivalries of our politics, and the short-term cynicism of divide-and-conquer tactics.
The success of our major industries -- productive and extractive -- is in our common interest, but so is their sustainability. To choose among them, as some would, is to choose an economy that is less robust and less fair for all of us.
Economic growth in different regions and population growth in our cities and suburbs will make our whole country stronger, but not if our small and remote communities struggle to survive.
We can attract investment from abroad, open new markets for our exports, and create jobs across Canada, but not without a coherent strategy; the current government's scattershot approach and last-minute improvisations have made Canada a less attractive place for the world to do business. If we look past partisanship and ideology, and bet on evidence and sound public policy, only then can we protect our national interests without compromising our competitiveness.
We are a global society. Our diversity is our strength. The families, cultures, and languages that enrich our own communities also connect us to the world's most exciting emerging markets. Celebrating difference has never been a sign of weakness; it is a sign of success in a shrinking world.
Canadians, and especially young Canadians, understand these opportunities instinctively. More than anyone, young people are invested in our country's success; more than anyone, they bear the risk of failure.
Our task now is to give voice to their aspirations, to summon a new generation of leaders to give life to the Canadian promise, and to make the Liberal Party of Canada the vehicle for fresh new ideas and bold new dreams. That is the party that I want to lead.
To lead Canada is to make the kinds of hard choices that other countries can only imagine. My commitment is to decide based on evidence, not prejudice, to discard out-dated dogma and comfortable old assumptions, and to confront new challenges with new leadership.
It will not be easy. Real change never is. But together, we can begin -- and we must begin today.
Learn more about my campaign and sign up as a supporter on my website justin.ca.