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The constant debacle of our efforts to build a pipeline for our energy exports, it hardly need be said, also figures prominently in the report. And the report covers many other issues; uncompetitive, economy-sacrificing (and we’d add, predominantly symbolic and pointless) carbon taxes rightly come in for particular scorn. But the overall picture is unmistakable. Canadians spent generations building this nation’s great wealth and wonderful standard of living, but our governments have taken to foolishly resting on their laurels. Our politicians forget that Canadians must compete, hard, every day, against the best in the world. Allowing them to is essential not just to provide opportunities for future generations but also just to preserve the standard of living and level of services that we already enjoy.

Photo by Larry MacDougal/CP

The Senate’s report makes for sobering reading, but it could not come at a better time. The global economy has never been more competitive. Those countries that can and do compete stand to grow more prosperous. But the world does not owe Canada a natural place in that order. The primary duty of any government is to provide for the common security and prosperity of the people. Everything else it aims to do hinges on getting those two critical, related fundamentals right. A country that lacks security or prosperity cannot focus on much beyond those shortfalls.

Canada has had a very long run of prosperity, but clearly too many of us have become complacent about our good fortune. Most of humanity does not enjoy the standard of living we do and is working hard to catch up. Let this report be a wake-up call that, unlike those countries that have kept their eyes on their goals, we are now in serious danger of taking what we have achieved for granted and forgetting that none of it is guaranteed to last. This is not meant to be alarmist or even pessimistic: Our country is blessed with many natural advantages, and Canadians have undeniable talents; we can certainly make the necessary adjustments to ensure we maintain our prosperity.