These Shoes are Made for Money

March 5, 2010

Today is budget day. A 5-year budget plan has been tabled that plans to bring the federal deficit down from $53.8-billion to $1.8-billion by 2015 through targeting cuts in the public service, freezing foreign aid, limiting growth in military spending and instituting higher Employment Insurance premiums.
I find the budget extremely interesting, however today’s question is is only loosely based on the budget. You see, a few days ago, Jim Flaherty, The Finance Minister, bought himself a new pair of shoes. Now, you may say to yourself “yeah, so what?” but apparently this is a tradition – Finance Ministers buy themselves new shoes to deliver the budget. So, today’s question is: where and when did the tradition of new budget day shoes start?



A: There is a common misconception that this tradition was started in the British parliament, however Westminster tradition allows the Chancellor of the Exchequer to carry into the House a despatch box (or Red Box) and to take any liquid refreshment of his own choosing while delivering his budget speech.

The new budget shoes is strictly a Canadian tradition, which likely began as a prank played on Mitchell Sharp, the Liberal Finance Minister of 1966. In 1991, Sharp explained to the Toronto Star that someone told him that Finance Ministers traditionally wear new shoes when presenting the budget. So he accepted the statement and bought a good pair of shoes that he wore on budget day in 1966 and donned another new pair in 1967. "Later, I learned there was no tradition behind it at all," he said.

The practice was not continued again until 1978 when Jean Chrétien wore new shoes to deliver the new budget. John Crosbie, the Conservative Finance Minister, pulled on a pair of mukluks in 1979. Marc Lalonde continued the tradition for two years, beginning in 1982 and Conservative Michael Wilson followed, opting for a new pair for four of the six budgets he brought down.
In 1994, Paul Martin's inaugural year as Finance Minister, he wore a pair of work boots, a gift from Mr. Chrétien, however to show frugality Mr. Martin did not buy new shoes for the following six budgets that he tabled as Finance Minister. Ralph Goodale laced up two pairs of new shoes and in subsequent years Mr. Flaherty has been inconsistent with the tradition. Yet in 2007, he bought his son skates as a variation on the theme. Perhaps that reflects the notion that minority governments are always skating on thin ice when they bring down a budget.

More on the the 2010 Budget: CBC News - Money - Federal budget 2010

Sources:
The Minister of Finance’s New Shoes
The National Post. Budget 2010: A Second Year of Stimulus Spending. Paul Vieira. March 4, 2010
The Ottawa Citizen. Why do finance ministers wear new shoes to deliver a budget? March 25, 2007.

Nelson Mandela

February 11, 2010

Today marks the 20-year anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. Mr. Mandela had been in jail for 27-years for his actions in protest of the apartheid system in South Africa.

I can remember being ten years old on the day the nation and the world rejoiced as the instrumental leader in changing the South African segregation policies was set free. I remember writing a story that outlined why Nelson Mandela was my hero; although at the time I don’t think I grasped the magnitude of what apartheid was or why his release from imprisonment was such an important event. Today’s question is: how long was the apartheid policy in place?

A: Apartheid is the Afrikaans word for ‘apartness’ and was used in the 1930’s as a political slogan of the South African National Party. The social customs of apartheid had been in practice since the colonial times of the 1650’s, however became systemized under law in 1948 when the Afrikaner Nationalists came into power. The new legislation segregated people into racial groups, the segregation extended to residential areas, medical care, education and other government services providing inferior services to non-whites.

The apartheid policies were met with much internal and international resistance. A number of black political groups opposed apartheid by using a variety of tactics, including violence, strikes, demonstrations, and sabotage strategies that were often met with severe reprisals by the government. In 1961 South Africa was forced to withdraw from the British Commonwealth and in 1985 the US and UK governments imposed selective economic sanction on South Africa due to opposition of apartheid.

In 1990, President Fredrik Willem de Klerk, under external anti-apartheid pressure, began dismantling the apartheid policies. De Klerk cultivated a National Party government dedicated to reform and saw the legalization of formerly banned black congresses and the release of imprisoned black leaders.

After the 42-years of apartheid, the policies had been abolished – although, there is debate on whether the vestiges of the system still play a role in South African politics and society.

Sources:
African Encyclopedia: Apartheid
BBC News: Nelson Mandela’s 1990 release celebrated in South Africa
Wikipedia: South Africa under apartheid

Al Qaeda vs. Taliban

February 3, 2010

I have been reading on my commute to work recently and I am nearly done Three Cups of Tea. It is a non-fiction novel that details the founder of the Central Asian Institute; which is an organization that has built schools in the rural areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Greg Mortenson, the Director of the CAI, was in that part of the world on 9/11 and had his fair share of dealing with the Taliban. Although, he also mentions Al Qaeda which had me very confused, I don't know the difference between the two groups. So, today's question is: what is the difference between Al Qaeda and the Taliban?

A: Both Al Qaeda and the Taliban, originated in areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan and both operate under fundamental Islamic ideals, but that is where the similarities end. The Taliban is an authoritarian-religious government that ruled Afghanistan between 1996-2001. The Taliban have a localized agenda and sought to create a pure Islamic state. Much of the Taliban leadership is comprised of local Afghanis that were educated in religious boarding schools called madrassas. Under the Taliban, who interpreted Islamic law, Afghanis were forbidden to access any media and suppressed women's freedom including education for girls.

Al Qaeda is a militant group that operate with under a globalized anti-imperialist movement with Islam as its ideology. Many of Al Qaeda's members are highly specialized, university educated, who were drawn from all over the Islamic world. Al Qaeda has been branded an international terrorist organization by the UN Security Council as they are known to use suicide bombing and coordinated bombing to achieve its objectives.


Sources:
http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1054493.html
http://www.tressugar.com/979598