Invariably, this is the slippery slope you slide down when you put ideologues in charge. Just ask Venezuelans. Sooner or later, reality always comes back to bite you in the ass.
Are Canadians out of touch with reality? These are strong words. But dire situations call for tough talk.
In Monday’s Post John Ivison quoted, without naming, the CEO of “a large Canadian company” warning that foreign investment was plunging because “There is a real, genuine, honest, non-partisan concern that Canada is so completely out of touch with the real world.” And here let me insert two caveats that aren’t remotely reassuring.
First, not all Canadians are equally out of touch. Some have a pretty good idea what’s going on, while others hold senior government posts. Second “the real world” is problematic shorthand because policy debates generally turn on how we interpret the evidence, that is, how we see reality.