opinions // 20

Harper government's brand management cheapens us

» The world knows what Canada stands for

Patrick Vaillancourt Senior Columnist

brand management. Asa

writer, managing the very brand of writing I bring toa publication, employers, and clients is of vital importance. While such an exercise is worthy for a company ora freelancer, I’m not convinced that the same could be applied for national governments.

That is what the Harper government seems to be trying to do, and in some cases, it has made Canada a laugh- ingstock. In late October, the Economist caught us “boast- ing”—in space of all places. Images of the Canadarmz2,

the robotic limb of the International Space Station, displayed a large logo of Canada. The logo was Photoshopped. The images, however, appeared on federal government websites until they were taken down. The Canadian Space Agency claims that the doctored images were

l ‘ma big proponent of solid

ment websites and caching on Google images was “a mistake.”

The journalist who dis-

: covered the doctored images, : Kenneth Cukier, wrote that

: the “tactic of fairly ham-fisted : airbrushing used here seems

: more reminiscent of North

: Korean propaganda posters

: than of Western democra-

: cies’ typical PR efforts.”

As someone who has

: also spent time on the

: Korean peninsula, I say that : Cukier’s criticism is a very

: big blow to Canada. Yet, I

: agree with the sentiment.

: This is not the first instance : : of the Harper government’s

: attempts at the brand man-

: agement of this country.

: Two instances, which have

: also resulted in controversy,

: occurred in 2006 (after Harper : formed his first minority

: government), which replaced

: “Government of Canada”

: on official stationery with

: “Canada’s New Government.”

: Another rebranding of

: government stationery took

: place between 2010 until the

: 200 election, which branded

: our national government as

a : “The Harper Government.” for “internal purposes” and that :

their widespread use on govern- would simply like to call it

“Government of Canada.” : Should they wish to bea

I, like most Canadians,

There’s no need to boast, nor is there a need for us to rebrand ourselves.

little more formal, Pll accept : “Her Majesty’s Canadian : Government” as a substitute.

I understand the economic

: need to get Canada’s name

: out there, but while the gov-

: ernment seems to think that

: weare still a junior playerina

: global economy, I beg to differ. : Canada isa world-class society, : leading the world ina variety

: of different metrics. Canada

: remains a beacon of freedom

: for those who wish to live here. : Canadians are the envy of citi-

: zens from all around the globe

: and Canadian values have been : made clear to everyone through : former diplomatic, military,

: and business endeavours.

There’s no need to boast,

: nor is there a need for us to

: rebrand ourselves. Doing so

: opens us up to the kinds of

: criticisms offered by Cukier and : those who are of like mind.

theotherpress.ca

Keep your dogs off the ledge

» Dog owners should have pets on leash in urban areas

Elliot Chan Opinions Editor M opinions @theotherpress.ca

ff-leash dogs in urban

areas are not only dangerous to the animal, but also to commuters and pedestrians.

Will the third canine death as a result of jumping over a three-foot-high ledge overlooking Expo Boulevard at BC Place Stadium teach dog owners to keep their pet restrained? I sincerely doubt it. As long as there are dogs, there will be defiant dog owners who believe their “well-trained” animal will never do anything

stupid like run into traffic, jump

ona child, or—God forbid ever again—leap over a barrier and fall 25 feet.

Now, some can blame the infrastructure for being dangerous, but the area around

BC Place Stadium is not an

: off-leash area and the barrier

: clearly states that there is a

: steep drop below. Granted, the : dog probably couldn't read the

: sign. Now it’s not my intention to sound insensitive, but there : is nobody to blame except the

: owner. Sorry. Learn from the

: mistake and keep your dog on

: its leash, especially in urban : areas.

Dogs are naturally curious,

: energetic animals. They are

: also unpredictable. Dogs have

: jumped in front of my vehicle

: more than once while I was

: driving, causing me to brake

: hard, narrowly avoiding killing : it. The owners run out onto the : road, grab the dog, and yank it : back onto the sidewalk. They

: wave, smile apologetically,

: and I drive off with a sinking

: feeling in my stomach. When

: I get upset at pet owners for

: not keeping their dog on leash, : they regard me as someone

: who hates animals. I don’t hate : animals; I’m not a pet person,

: but I don’t hate animals.

Should an off-leash animal

get injured or killed in a public

: area, it’s not the infrastructure’s : fault and it’s not an unfortunate : bystander’s fault. It’s the pet

; owner's fault. I would hate to

: kill someone’s pet. Nobody

: wakes up in the morning and

: anticipates killing someone's

: best friend, but that is what

: happens when stubborn, lazy : owners are negligent. In the

: States, cars kill approximately : one million dogs every year.

Refusing to keep your dog

: ona leash in public areas is

: as bad as feeding the animal

: chocolate. And even though BC : Place has agreed to take actions : to prevent future incidents

: involving the dangerous ledge,

: the real change in thinking

: needs to be communicated to

: pet owners. It doesn’t matter

: how much your dog deserves

: freedom. For its own safety it

: should be restrained.

Stop your dog from running

into traffic, stop your dog

: from attacking other dogs,

: stop your dog from bugging

: pedestrians—not everybody

: likes dogs—and finally, stop

: your dog from running rampant : and endangering itself and

: other people.