Trust, they say, is the coin of the realm. But, according to the CanTrust Index, trust in Canada has taken a beating. Susan Delacourt writes:
For the first three years that this index was conducted, [Justin] Trudeau’s trust numbers hovered around 46 per cent. But that dropped to 40 per cent this year, accompanied by similar plunges for the news media and large corporations. In 2018, a reasonably healthy 51 per cent of people expressed trust in the media, while 28 per cent said they trusted big business. In 2019, it’s just 40 per cent for the media and 20 per cent for large corporations.
If these results are correct, we’ve become a very skeptical nation — not even sure whether we should trust each other. Only two out of every five Canadians agreed with the statement that “most people can be trusted” and three out of five endorsed the idea that “you cannot be too careful in dealing with people.”
Alberta looks to be ground zero for crumbling trust, and Edmonton in particular, where only one in five respondents from that city said people could be trusted. “Only 22 per cent of Albertans trust governments, compared to 36 per cent of Canadians overall and 39 per cent of Ontarians,” Proof reported in the release accompanying the study.
Trust is now a partisan matter, too. Only 21 per cent of Conservatives said that overall, people could be trusted, compared to 50 per cent among Liberals. Only 21 per cent of Conservatives said they trusted governments, compared to 63 per cent of Liberals.
Oh, and how are Canadians feeling about the immigration and refugee system? Forget those heady days of late 2015, when a newly elected Trudeau government opened its arms to Syrian refugees and proclaimed Canada a haven for newcomers. Only 43 per cent of respondents to this online poll agreed that the immigration system was fair and a scant 36 per cent said the refugee system balanced “the plight of refugees with the needs of the country.”
The same disease that has infected Europe and the United States has arrived on our shores. That's not good news. The problems we face require collective action. And when you can't trust your neighbours, you stay inside your own cramped house.
Image: Facebook
8 comments:
Its hard to find a safe path out of our crumbling house when so many toxic weeds are springing up in the garden that is (was?) our democracy Owen.
Every good gardener knows that it's hard to keep ahead of the weeds, Rural.
"As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden."
Chauncey Gardener, Being There
Obviously trust has to be earned. Trust can't be given to those who would deceive us. Politicians it goes without saying and corporations have no respect for employees and instead honour their share holders. As to trust for your neighbours, well it is hard in a society divided, to trusted in one that shows so much stupidity and blind trust in those that would lead us. Colour me a misanthrope.
Most of us are becoming misanthropes, zoombats. The problem is that, in that condition, it's hard to accomplish great things.
This appears to be a universal problem, Owen. Two days ago the Washington Post had an item about a Gallup survey, conducted across 142 countries, that found a general rise in anxiety and anger. Hard times make people skeptical and increasingly less trusting, even hostile. On one or more levels many realize we're, not falling perhaps, but settling into a more dangerous but still puzzling world unlike what we've known in the past.
https://the-mound-of-sound.blogspot.com/2019/04/its-becoming-tense-angrier-world.html
"Negative Experience" is as common as dirt, Mound. Given the trajectory of things, I suppose that's quite understandable. But, rather than serving as a catalyst for change, it appesars that we are increasingly defeated by our experience.
.. zoombats hits a great point.. and no surprise, your post is timely.. bullseye..
'the Trust thingy' .. so here's a quick anology.. and I'm sure you will encounter my related comments in the comments section of some of the 'usual suspects' of Canadian Indy blogging.. you know.. those 'discontent' or 'disaffected' types..
I have been hit by a car.. once, when I was very young.. 7 or 8
I failed to look right or left.. twice. Now there are laws aginst 'running the red light' and I trusted the green light shining upon little me. So the government had 'protected' little me.. with laws and penalties, driver examinations.. there are police, the courts blah blah
I can only 'trust' me to cross the street safely.. even a one way street, I check twice - both ways - always - I became an expert level pedestrian - I''m an expert level cyclist, hell I'm an expert level roller blader - and I'm a highly attuned driver of vehicles large & small & huge (with 18 wheels or more). I 'get it' - if I want to survive or thrive.. I need to 'have my shit in one bag' - an old military term..
So back to the 'trust factor' .. my fuel tanks are low.. Do I trust 'our' governments' - yes.. as far as I can throw them or spit or piss.. or fall straight forward upon my forehead in disbelief.. I think more Canadians need to realize.. we are in this together.. must demand responsive, responsible candidates to vote for.. the issues and realities are DIRE .. as consequential as being hit by a car.. even when I was 'in the right' .. had a green light
BTW .. I was unscathed.. I heard the shrieking bias ply tires, leapt, rolled across the hood, up the windshield and bounced to the other side.. blink of an eye event.. the big Pontiac slid through the intersection sideways.. I glanced back for a micro-sec.. I did get a close look at the hood ornament mid-flight.. but I was off to play 'work-ups' at school.. never have or ever will .. be hit again. Its my responsibility.. I raised my son with the same views.. and not a single person ever.. trusted to my care.. has not been branded with the same message -- 'if you don't know - you don't go' - so be in the know eh.. !
Point well taken, sal. I was never a fan of Ronald Reagan. But he did ennunciate one principle which, to me at least, seems solid. "Trust but verify," he said. It's a good rule when dealing with governments -- or with life in general.
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