A New Year is upon us again, and it is perhaps time to take stock and measure of the year we have just passed through.
While believing in the need to renew our outlook every year, a fresh chance to start over as it were, it is also important to cast our eyes back, to ensure that we can repeat in the coming year that which was of benefit, and so we can avoid the pitfalls which led to disaster the year previous.
This is a truism I hold close to my heart, and the eve and day of the New Year are also pretty inflective times for me as a result.
Whether social or political, personal or at work, many times through the year you can find celebrations of victories small and large, and laments of defeat in a similar vein.
In the broadest sense, 2010 was a big year for Canada as a state, though in typical and humble Canadian fashion, we seem to have already forgotten.
It was Jan. 12, 2010, that Haiti, that long-suffering and impoverished nation, was hit with a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, leaving more than 230,000 dead, making it one of the deadliest earthquakes on record.
In short order, Canada was involved sending food, medical, and other aid to that country, in an effort that dwarfed that of any other nation, relative to size and population.
Within a blink of an eye, the world came a-knockin' with the kick off of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, BC, on Feb 12, 2010.
The Olympics, which proved to be a very successful one for Canada (14 gold medals, a record for any country in the Winter Olympics,) took place in and around Vancouver, BC.
Costing somewhere shy of $2 billion once all was said and done, the Olympics, despite protests and so forth, did manage to do more than just improve the Canadian national ego (thanks to the wonderful performances by our athletes.)
It managed to turn a profit as well.
A recent report stated that the Olympics brought in close to $2.5 billion in revenue, and had created labour positions for 45,000 persons, a nice number to see while the lasting effects of the recession were continuing to cause problems elsewhere in the world.
Canadians had little time to rest on their laurels though, as the G-8 and G-20 Leader's Summit was rolling towards our shores, scheduled for early summer.
With national leaders coming from all over the globe, Canadian security services were out in force, and hastily written legislation in Ontario was passed to help keep a steady hand on what would undoubtedly be a focus of protest over the days of June 25 to June 27.
While the cost of security is still being debated (estimates range to about the $850 million mark or so,) and the courts are still fighting out several cases involved with police enforcement at the many rallies and marches held in protest at the summits, Canada was again in the world eye.
While these events alone were more than enough to put Canada on the global stage more than it has been in several years, the year was not yet over, as two events in November proved.
First, after a period of lobbying, Canada was defeated in its election bid to claim one of the non-permanent member seats in the United Nation's Security Council.
The Security Council, which had five permanent members (each with an absolute veto,) contains 16 seats that rotate, and are filled by election when the terms expire.
Canada had never in the past lost a bid for one of those seats, and the stunning loss in November started a national dialogue about what had changed internationally about the perception of Canada that would lead to such a loss.
Then, also in November, after the prompting of NATO allies, Canada agreed to extend our Afghanistan military mission out beyond the promised 2011 pull out date, though the mission would be shifted from patrol/enforcement to training, and away from hot conflict zones.
Also the total troop commitment would be about halved.
As we approach the end of 2010, and the beginning of 2011, Canada can look back at a banner year for our proud nation on the international stage.
Now all we need to do is hope that what lessons can be teased from our experiences this last year will be well learned by our federal government.
