WE THE (CANADIAN) PEOPLE

It’s time to challenge the narrative that government ownership of resources, services, and infrastructure is somehow wrong or outdated.

Let’s be clear about this: WE are the government. We are the ones who own 90% of our country’s land, we pool our resources to fund healthcare and education, and we are the collective power behind policies and decisions that shape our future. So why is it that, time and again, we’ve allowed essential assets to be taken out of our hands and sold off to private interests?

Take Highway 407, for instance. It was sold off in 1999 under the Progressive Conservative government of Ontario, and with it, we lost control of a vital piece of infrastructure that generates over a billion dollars in annual profits. That’s a billion dollars that should be supporting public goods and services—money that could have gone to better roads, better transit, or even more funding for healthcare. But instead, a private company now controls that revenue, and we’re stuck paying the price.

Then there’s Petro-Canada, once a government-run entity that could have been a cornerstone of our energy policy. Instead, the federal government sold it off piece by piece until it was fully privatized in 2004. In doing so, we lost not only control over our own energy resources but also trillions in potential profits. The revenue from Petro-Canada could have been invested back into the country, funding everything from green energy projects to healthcare, but now it’s a private corporation, concerned more with profit margins than national interest.

Let’s not forget about Canadian National Railway (CNR). This one’s a bit of a tragedy. Once publicly owned, CNR was sold off in 1995. In doing so, we lost control of our national transportation system, and with it, billions in potential revenue. The privatization of the railway hurt communities across Canada—particularly rural ones—and it led to an explosion in road transportation costs. That’s not even to mention the environmental cost: the increased reliance on trucks means more emissions, more waste, and a transportation future that’s much more carbon-intensive than it needed to be.

What about Air Canada? Privatized in 1988, the airline became another casualty of the push toward privatization. We lost an airline that could have been a source of national pride, that could have been used to promote both domestic and international travel at affordable rates. Instead, we’re left with the whims of corporate decision-makers, driving up costs for Canadians and undermining our national mobility. And don’t get me started on the role Air Canada’s privatization played in compromising our national security—having a reliable, publicly-owned airline is a matter of more than just convenience; it’s about ensuring Canadians have access to travel when they need it, both within the country and beyond. Just because it’s been privatized doesn’t mean that we the people haven’t had to bail them out, every time they have had an issue. All of the responsibility with none of the benefits. Good deal!

And then there’s telecom services. The Conservative governments under Stephen Harper made it easier for private companies to monopolize our telecom sector, auctioning off public spectrum licenses that could have been used for a public service. As a result, we now have some of the highest communications costs in the world. Our access to affordable internet, cell service, and data lags behind many other nations, and the privatization of our spectrum has led to serious concerns about net neutrality—something Canadians should have full control over.

The bottom line is this: WE are the government. All of these privatizations have led to an erosion of our collective wealth, resources, and infrastructure. We’ve been convinced that giving our assets to private companies is somehow better for the economy. But what it’s really done is line the pockets of corporations while leaving us, the people, to pick up the pieces. We’ve sold off our future prosperity, all in the name of capitalism, which somehow convinced us that a few individuals might one day get rich at the expense of the public good.

The people who could benefit the most from a prosperous, equitable society are often the ones most adamantly opposed to the idea. They’ve been led to believe that wealth is a lottery and that being part of a thriving nation that serves its citizens is somehow less appealing.

But there is hope. Mark Carney has a plan to restore Canada’s prosperity. He understands that if we take back control of our resources and infrastructure, we can ensure a better future for all Canadians. It’s time to stop believing that privatization is the only way forward. It’s time to rebuild a Canada where the wealth we create is shared by all of us, not just a select few.

~Wayne