I was recently asked to research estimated government debt figures for Canada. The size of our collective debt is astounding. For those of us who take pride in keeping personal debt under control, it's disheartening to realize that, even with our efforts, we're still in the red.
It's sobering to understand that we spend (waste?) money when we do things like ignore recycling bylaws, go to the doctor when we're not sick, take more "free" government services than we need and send things to the landfill that can be reused. Everything has a cost, even if it doesn't hit our personal bottom line directly.
So here's one more new year's resolution: in 2011, let's all think about the true cost of our actions. This may help us know when we've had enough.
Federal government: $517.5
Source: http://www.budget.gc.ca/2010/pdf/budget-planbudgetaire-eng.pdf
BC: $41,885 million
Source: http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/OCG/pa/09_10/PA_2010_ProvDebt.pdf
Alberta: $1.092 billion
Source: http://www.finance.alberta.ca/publications/annual_repts/govt/ganrep10/confinst.pdf
Saskatchewan: $4,145.3 million
Source: http://www.finance.gov.sk.ca/default.aspx?DN=1ef17811-55c7-4f06-87e7-67fb4cccb95b
Manitoba: $13,995 million
Source: http://gov.mb.ca/finance/budget10/papers/budget.pdf
Ontario: $212.4 billion
Source: http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/budget/ontariobudgets/2010/ch4.html#c4_debtComposition
Quebec: $129 billion
Source: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/topics/economics/budgets/quebec_2010_budget_EN.aspx
Nova Scotia: $13.01 billion
Source: http://www.gov.ns.ca/finance/en/home/investorrelations/outstandingdebt/default.aspx
New Brunswick: $8.3 billion
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/new-brunswicks-debt-casts-tall-shadow-over-heated-provincial-contest/article1686832/
PEI: 1.7 billion
Source: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Politics/20101226/public-debt-in-maritimes-101226/
Newfoundland: $ 8,457 million
Source: http://www.td.com/economics/budgets/nl10.pdf
Vancouver: $410,630,000
Source: http://vancouver.ca/fs/budgetServices/pdf/09AnuualReport.pdf
Calgary: $2,901.3 million
Source: http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/finance/budget/2009_2011/pdf/08b_capital_analysis.pdf
Toronto: $ 3,829,795,000
Source: http://www.toronto.ca/finance/pdf/2009fr.pdf page 50
Montreal: $4,217 million
Source: http://www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/page/service_fin_en/media/documents/budget-2010-10-global-dette-sit-fin-a.pdf
Halifax: $279 million
Source : http://www.halifax.ca/budget/documents/2010-11OPERATINGBOOKFINAL.pdf
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Lessons Learned from...New Year's Resolutions
In Eat, Pray, Love, Liz Gilbert claims that each of us has one word that effectively sums up our personality and existence. I think mine is "resolve". I love to solve and re-solve plans, constantly changing my path. I am also a very resolved person and no other time of year can this manifest itself more obviously than New Year's.
In preparation for my resolutions, I have joined the site 43things.com, where you can post both what you want to accomplish in your life (long term) and things you hope to do in the upcoming year (short term). I've made about a dozen entries in both categories and hope to chart my progress both in mind and online.
This year, I'm trying to stay away from drastic measures. I know we're supposed to write SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely), but this year I think of my resolutions more as intentions. For me, drastic measures send the signal that what I am doing right now is decidedly wrong. I resolve and change my path so often, but I hope my path is not drastically wrong. I trust that I'm primarily headed in the right direction. That doesn't mean that I don't need to remind myself of my intentions, because I do. And that's just I'm setting out to to in 2011.
In preparation for my resolutions, I have joined the site 43things.com, where you can post both what you want to accomplish in your life (long term) and things you hope to do in the upcoming year (short term). I've made about a dozen entries in both categories and hope to chart my progress both in mind and online.
This year, I'm trying to stay away from drastic measures. I know we're supposed to write SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely), but this year I think of my resolutions more as intentions. For me, drastic measures send the signal that what I am doing right now is decidedly wrong. I resolve and change my path so often, but I hope my path is not drastically wrong. I trust that I'm primarily headed in the right direction. That doesn't mean that I don't need to remind myself of my intentions, because I do. And that's just I'm setting out to to in 2011.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Lessons Learned from...Blogging
I just wrote a very witty (at least I thought so) and philosophical post about working from home. Blogger malfunctioned and deleted it. I can't be arsed to write it again, which probably means the world can't be arsed to read it.
Why do we blog anyway? My boss recently started a blog which is essentially a venue to promote her cats and extrapolate on the many loads of laundry she manages to do on a Sunday morning. Surely that's not the point. So what is?
C.S. Lewis said "we read to know we are not alone". Is that why we write too? Tomorrow I'm attending a symposium (I love that word) at the local journalism school. The topic is "Truth: Fact and Fiction". Perhaps that will provide me some insight into our compulsive need to share the minutiae of our lives with the world.
Why do we blog anyway? My boss recently started a blog which is essentially a venue to promote her cats and extrapolate on the many loads of laundry she manages to do on a Sunday morning. Surely that's not the point. So what is?
C.S. Lewis said "we read to know we are not alone". Is that why we write too? Tomorrow I'm attending a symposium (I love that word) at the local journalism school. The topic is "Truth: Fact and Fiction". Perhaps that will provide me some insight into our compulsive need to share the minutiae of our lives with the world.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Lessons Learned from...Athletes
I've never been a huge sports fan.I enjoy staying active, but can't tell left from right and have limited hand-eye coordination. However, after recently hearing two Olympians speak about their journey and love affair with sport, I'm almost converted. Within the span of a week, I was inspired by both Shelley-Ann Brown and Catriona Le May Doan.
Now I understand that sport is more than external competition. It's about being the best that YOU can be, believing in yourself and your teammates and picking yourself up when you fall. Sport allows you to hear "it's never been done" or "it can't be done" and say "why the hell not?" Brown and Le May Doan have different, yet remarkably similar, stories.
Consider Shelley-Ann's mantra: "There is no coincidence. There is only preparation and opportunity meeting together with passion." When pressured to be the best in the world, she decided instead to press herself to be the best Shelley-Ann Brown. When tempted to ignore her training regimen, she decided instead to adhere to her own internal standard of excellence, not anyone else's. Then, when the moment arrived to finally start her Olympic race, she knew she had done all she could to be the best she could be. And nothing else seemed to matter much. (Although she did end up winning a silver medal!)
Catriona Le May Doan explained how hard it was for her to get back up again after her famous fall in the 1994 Lillehammer Games. But despite her anger, Catriona got back up to win (and then defend) Olympic Gold.
Now I understand that sport is more than external competition. It's about being the best that YOU can be, believing in yourself and your teammates and picking yourself up when you fall. Sport allows you to hear "it's never been done" or "it can't be done" and say "why the hell not?" Brown and Le May Doan have different, yet remarkably similar, stories.
Consider Shelley-Ann's mantra: "There is no coincidence. There is only preparation and opportunity meeting together with passion." When pressured to be the best in the world, she decided instead to press herself to be the best Shelley-Ann Brown. When tempted to ignore her training regimen, she decided instead to adhere to her own internal standard of excellence, not anyone else's. Then, when the moment arrived to finally start her Olympic race, she knew she had done all she could to be the best she could be. And nothing else seemed to matter much. (Although she did end up winning a silver medal!)
Catriona Le May Doan explained how hard it was for her to get back up again after her famous fall in the 1994 Lillehammer Games. But despite her anger, Catriona got back up to win (and then defend) Olympic Gold.
So maybe I'm not an Oymypic athlete; maybe I still don't really like sports. But I like what it stands for: pushing yourself as far as you know you need to go and not giving up when you know you can do it.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Lessons Learned from...Temporary Moments of Insanity
The Phoenix has always been my favourite mythological character: the quintessential symbol of self-reinvention and the idea that the trials of life allow us to reemerge as new versions of ourselves. During a moment of insanity this past weekend, I got a glimpse of what the legendary Phoenix must feel like.
Yet again, I rushed into a recipe. Julia Child, who claimed that one must always read a recipe completely before beginning, must be getting quite frustrated with me. I attempted to make bran muffins, except in my haste used the similarly branded wheat germ in lieu of its wheat bran cousin. The result, while still visually appealing, was horrifying to the palate. There was nothing I could do but have a mad fit.
I threw the muffins on the floor and watched the berries ooze onto the linoleum, then I scooped the mutilated muffins off the ground and dumped them into the green bin. On top I added every bit of wheat germ, bran, seed and flour we had in the house. I felt like one of the witches of Macbeth around their cauldron. It was extremely cathartic.
Sometimes we need to give into our basic urges to appreciate the pretense of sanity that everyday life takes.
Yet again, I rushed into a recipe. Julia Child, who claimed that one must always read a recipe completely before beginning, must be getting quite frustrated with me. I attempted to make bran muffins, except in my haste used the similarly branded wheat germ in lieu of its wheat bran cousin. The result, while still visually appealing, was horrifying to the palate. There was nothing I could do but have a mad fit.
I threw the muffins on the floor and watched the berries ooze onto the linoleum, then I scooped the mutilated muffins off the ground and dumped them into the green bin. On top I added every bit of wheat germ, bran, seed and flour we had in the house. I felt like one of the witches of Macbeth around their cauldron. It was extremely cathartic.
Sometimes we need to give into our basic urges to appreciate the pretense of sanity that everyday life takes.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Lessons Learned from...Riding my Bike to Work
If you've been reading this blog, it will come as no surprise that I am constantly on some kind of self-improvement mission. Often my missions are aborted before completion, but I've refused to believe that they are impossible or flawed...until now.
I recently asked my family: "if you could live any other life, what would it be?". While I had grandiose visions of myself living as a lesbian journalist in Paris, most of them wouldn't actually change much about their lives. So why am I eternally trying to improve myself by metamorphosis instead of accepting myself for who/where/how/what I am and working with that? Not that self-improvement missions are inherently evil, but I am now convinced that they should follow the course of "minor tweaks" (as my sister-in-law puts in) rather than complete and utter personality overhauls.
For example, I've recently moved into a new house and starting to ride my bike to work. I had visions of myself cruising through the city in a perfectly-placed straw hat and cotton tunic, bottle of wine perched jauntily in my basket. Reality, naturally, is a lot more precarious. When I went to buy wine, I ended up buying snacks too, thus my basket broke from the extra weight and I had to hold it to the handlebars manually. It was unseasonably cold, so I had to augment my cotton tunic with leggings, which ripped during my managing of the basket-to-handlebar ratio. I actually don't own a straw hat, and wouldn't be able to wear one anyway since helmets are mandatory in Halifax. So in lieu of my chosen accessory, I donned a CCM black bicycle helmet (the type quite popular with 8-year-old boys).
The result: less polished, less coordinated, but definitely more ME. So what if I'm not the kind of person who is perennially smooth and coordinated? I should rejoice that I AM the kind of person who rides my bike to work and doesn't let things like helmet hair or lacerated leggings get her down. I still made it to work on time. Tomorrow, I'll even have a smile on my face.
I recently asked my family: "if you could live any other life, what would it be?". While I had grandiose visions of myself living as a lesbian journalist in Paris, most of them wouldn't actually change much about their lives. So why am I eternally trying to improve myself by metamorphosis instead of accepting myself for who/where/how/what I am and working with that? Not that self-improvement missions are inherently evil, but I am now convinced that they should follow the course of "minor tweaks" (as my sister-in-law puts in) rather than complete and utter personality overhauls.
For example, I've recently moved into a new house and starting to ride my bike to work. I had visions of myself cruising through the city in a perfectly-placed straw hat and cotton tunic, bottle of wine perched jauntily in my basket. Reality, naturally, is a lot more precarious. When I went to buy wine, I ended up buying snacks too, thus my basket broke from the extra weight and I had to hold it to the handlebars manually. It was unseasonably cold, so I had to augment my cotton tunic with leggings, which ripped during my managing of the basket-to-handlebar ratio. I actually don't own a straw hat, and wouldn't be able to wear one anyway since helmets are mandatory in Halifax. So in lieu of my chosen accessory, I donned a CCM black bicycle helmet (the type quite popular with 8-year-old boys).
The result: less polished, less coordinated, but definitely more ME. So what if I'm not the kind of person who is perennially smooth and coordinated? I should rejoice that I AM the kind of person who rides my bike to work and doesn't let things like helmet hair or lacerated leggings get her down. I still made it to work on time. Tomorrow, I'll even have a smile on my face.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Poetic Interlude: Forth and Back
Mary Oliver was born on September 10, 1935 in Cleveland, Ohio. Oliver once told an interviewer that she "was very careful never to take an interesting job. Not an interesting one. I took lots of jobs. But if you have an interesting job you get interested in it." For Oliver, the only worthy interest was writing. Oliver led a very solitary life as a writer. But that didn't bother her: "I decided very early that I wanted to write," she says. "But I didn't think of it as a career. I didn't even think of it as a profession...It was the most exciting thing, the most powerful thing, the most wonderful thing to do with my life. And I didn't question if I should - I just kept sharpening the pencils!"
Oliver’s work reflects a deep communion with the natural world, a phenomenon she also finds innate: "I don't know why I felt such affinity with the natural world," she says, "except that it was available to me, that's the first thing. It was right there."
Oliver’s work reflects a deep communion with the natural world, a phenomenon she also finds innate: "I don't know why I felt such affinity with the natural world," she says, "except that it was available to me, that's the first thing. It was right there."
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
- “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver
We are like a seasaw, a heavy-duty circular saw
Cutting into the emerald water, perhaps killing a fish.
That fish is the only record we have of progress.
I want to say I love you.
Not only say it, but mean it.
Gravity prevents me, but inertia compels me.
I want to defy gravity, be a grasshopper
And spring away from urges that plague my senses.
You question my motives, but I swear I do,
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
After getting backup. This swing does not forget
the motion it must make.
The swing remembers to go back and forth, up and down,
It’s that continual motion that distracts us
from the frivolous imperative that was once our life.
What happened to the sweetness you used to eat
Out of my hand? Have I fed you wrong?
Have a fed you astray?
You wonder how to continue, now that I’ve led you
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
Without me? You’ll find a way
Away from me. You’ll just need a plan,
A just plan you’ll need. You can’t just float away
Which is what you’ve been doing all your life.
It’s fine for a day, but you need to do more
With your precious life. Be wild. Be free.
I think I have a plan, and although I’ll help you with yours,
You’ll need to do most of it on your own.
You’ll need to learn how to be on your own,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
With no Guide. I know I’m not perfect.
I know I have things in my life which are
Enormous and complicated; enormously complicated, even
I myself can recognize this. I am trying to improve
In between life’s metaphors and malapropisms
I am trying to make sense of why I’m here,
Who made me. Why?
But besides finding my Purpose in Life,
I must also try to find Happiness,
which is what I have been doing all day.
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
- “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver
We are like a seasaw, a heavy-duty circular saw
Cutting into the emerald water, perhaps killing a fish.
That fish is the only record we have of progress.
I want to say I love you.
Not only say it, but mean it.
Gravity prevents me, but inertia compels me.
I want to defy gravity, be a grasshopper
And spring away from urges that plague my senses.
You question my motives, but I swear I do,
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
After getting backup. This swing does not forget
the motion it must make.
The swing remembers to go back and forth, up and down,
It’s that continual motion that distracts us
from the frivolous imperative that was once our life.
What happened to the sweetness you used to eat
Out of my hand? Have I fed you wrong?
Have a fed you astray?
You wonder how to continue, now that I’ve led you
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
Without me? You’ll find a way
Away from me. You’ll just need a plan,
A just plan you’ll need. You can’t just float away
Which is what you’ve been doing all your life.
It’s fine for a day, but you need to do more
With your precious life. Be wild. Be free.
I think I have a plan, and although I’ll help you with yours,
You’ll need to do most of it on your own.
You’ll need to learn how to be on your own,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
With no Guide. I know I’m not perfect.
I know I have things in my life which are
Enormous and complicated; enormously complicated, even
I myself can recognize this. I am trying to improve
In between life’s metaphors and malapropisms
I am trying to make sense of why I’m here,
Who made me. Why?
But besides finding my Purpose in Life,
I must also try to find Happiness,
which is what I have been doing all day.
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