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Jack Mintz: Canada risks losing sight of western values

Identity politics, Marxist-driven oppression theories and antisemitism are at odds with Enlightenment principles and Canadian values

The following is excerpted from a speech delivered by economist Jack Mintz upon accepting the Gordon Gibson Memorial Citizenship Award from the Aristotle Foundation at an event in Calgary on Wednesday.

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I am deeply honoured by the Aristotle Foundation’s awarding me the Gordon Gibson Memorial Citizenship Award. Over the years, I enjoyed many interactions with Gordon, especially when I was president and CEO of the C. D. Howe Institute, whose events he regularly attended. Gordon’s steadfast support for democratic reform in Canada led to better governance and national unity — and, I daresay, deeper support for Canadian values. This is consistent with the objectives of the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy, which reminds us we should appreciate Canada as a country like no other, with its unique tradition and history.

Tonight, I want to explore what those Canadian values mean and how at times we stray from them — at our peril.

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Let me be clear: Canadian values are not European values. They are not American values. They are our own. True, liberal Western societies have been deeply influenced by the classical Enlightenment philosophies, with their emphasis on inherent individual rights as a reaction to the despotism that was common until then. Today, Western societies share common Enlightenment ideals, including democracy,........

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