My role in Canada's impending demographic mess

$100,000. It is the amount of money the government offers (tax-free) to recent university graduates in long-term committed relationships to help bear the financial burden of having a child. The money is designed to account for the opportunity cost borne by recent graduates who put off entering the workforce (or pursuing further education) when they decide to have children shortly after graduation. And if you do decide to return to school right after having the child, the program will cover and guarantee a child care spot at the university you attend. They might even forgive your student loans.

Obviously, no such program exists. Rather it is the brainchild of my friend KH, who uses it to help demonstrate demographic issues in the high school classes he teaches. The program is full of holes, as any thought experiment designed to promote critical and engaging thinking should. But it will certainly not be the only radical solution proposed to Canada's impending demographic storm. The baby-boomers are hitting retirement age. Health care costs are expected to skyrocket and pension funds are likely to be emptied before my generation can touch it. And the tax base that pays for this stuff is shrinking. Canadians are having less kids and less often. Immigration policies have created a multicultural Canada, but immigration is expensive and sometimes borderline unethical -- see "brain drain".

There are all sorts of reasons young Canadians are not having kids in the same way their parents did. But it is difficult for me to really think about it without first figuring out my own role in all of it. After all, I'm part of that critical demographic wandering through my procreation years trying to balance that desire with other career and life ambitions.

For all intents and purposes, I could have a kid and get along relatively well. I'm 24 years old. I'm healthy. I'm in a serious relationship. I have a supportive family. I'm educated and figure that even in this market I could find a job. My financial situation is comfortable. I like kids and I think I might very well like to have some kids in the future. But why do I not want to have kids right now?

Chris and Chris Cycle Galiano Island

Few welcome 5:30 am with open arms. We are no different.

The morning's light shone on a damp road. Not promising. The Ghost of Optimism climbed on my shoulder and whispered that the wet road was only left over from last night's rain. Pessimism jumped up and pointed out that the rain continued to fall at that moment, but I ignored him. After all, Optimism carried a day-old weather forecast and the possibilities of good tidings.

Chris meandered out of his room, eyes barely open. We had been awake only five hours earlier, packing our bikes tightly despite a night alongside ale. Thank goodness we thought ahead. We snacked down a bowl of cereal apiece and were out the door by 6:00 pm. Right on schedule. The ferry was 40 km away and departed in 3.5 hours. Plenty of time, but we had a few stops to make along the way and one never knows what can go wrong on a bicycle.

The streets were empty as we cruised towards Mt. Douglas Park to grab some equipment from Chris' Aunt and Uncle. Chris is only in Victoria for the summer, so he borrowed my other bike and my bags, as well as a tent from a friend. He still needed a sleeping bag and a helmet. Safety first.

Chris waits for the ferry

We ventured along the water before joining up with the Lochside Trail, the bicycle highway to the ferry terminal in Swartz Bay. It, too, was fairly empty. Unsurprising. Things take a little longer to get going in Victoria, especially on a Saturday morning. A smooth mix of paved path, gravel and peaceful residential streets got us to the ferries with plenty of time. A McD's pit stop supplemented our bowls of cereal.  The rain, as it would all day, switched shifts with sunny skies every thirty minutes or so. Odd.

Ferries, much like trains, can be a blessing. You have no control over the speed, so you are forced to sit and enjoy the trip. Our little island-hopper set off for its two-hour voyage and I went between enjoying the sights and reading my book about a fellow who lived in the Alaskan wilderness by himself for a few decades. Chris, seemingly incapable of staying awake on ferries, spent much of the trip asleep. I got a chance to see my campground from the past weekend on Salt Spring from the water.

Using social media to catch (alleged) criminals...

As I trudged through my Facebook News Feed this morning, I came across the grainy photo of a young boy donned in Maple Leafs and Flames gear staring up at the camera. He looked like Justin Bieber, so I give it little thought until I noticed the caption - "IF YOU SEE THIS GUTLESS LITTLE SHIT BIKING DOWNTOWN, HE JUST STOLE FROM US." Intrigued by the possibility that Justin Bieber had stolen from a trendy clothing store in Peterborough, Ontario, I had to look further.

I will admit that I was disappointed to find out Mr. One Less Lonely Girl wasn't the real culprit, but I was fascinated and a little disturbed by what I did find. A small, independent clothing store in Peterborough had instantly grabbed a photo from its surveillance camera, thrown it onto Instagram and posted it to Facebook. The photo claimed that the kid had just stolen some hats from the store and encouraged anybody who saw the kid to immediately call the store itself.

As social media inherently does, the photo spread like wildfire. I was privy to plenty of comments from shoppers updating everyone else as to the kid's whereabouts. Other store owners were quick to substantiate the claims of theft by pointing out that plenty of young kids had stolen merchandised, including the very kid in the photo. And within an hour of posting the picture, the young man had been apprehended.

In some ways, this was very cool. Shoplifters can be the bane of retailers, particularly those selling high-priced fashion in a relatively small city. When it comes to kids, it can be especially difficult to nab them. There was a time where photos of shoplifters would only be thrown up behind the store's cash register to remind employees, but with social media, the photo gets around very quickly. There is no need to wait the for the relatively slow response of the police, who have plenty of other things to deal with. For independent store owners, social media can provide a great tool to take matters into their own hands and protect themselves from shoplifters.

A take on the Quebec student protests...

Many post-secondary students in Quebec have been taking to the streets for the last while, officially striking from the classroom in protest of proposed tuition hikes. They have attracted widespread criticism from folks across Canada, chastising them as spoiled brats and denouncing what has occasionally erupted into violent action. Even other students across the country oppose the protests, typically citing the already low tuition rates Quebec students pay compared to the rest of us.

Quebec students protesting (Image: Montreal Gazette)

Personally, the entire issue has me sitting on the fence. In many ways, I support the students. I think the demand to keep tuition rates low and even moving towards free education is, for the most part, justified. I have a lot of trouble buying the argument put forward that these students should shut their yap because tuition is already expensive everywhere else. That kind of argument seems to encourage a race-to-the-bottom mentality: we pay more than we should for our schooling, so you should, too. By the same logic, we could look to the United States - where tuition rates exponentially eclipse Canadian rates - and say, hey, we've got it pretty good. But that doesn't make it right. I firmly believe that education is one of the best investments a government can make, especially because of the positive benefits that come to society as a whole. 

Moreover, sometimes people lose sight of the realities facing young people these days. Rob Carrick did a job good highlighting the incredible rise in cost of living since the 1980s, including rises in tuition and real estate prices - the average cost of a house in Toronto these days is over $500,000, but was less than $100,000 in 1984. Tuition was less than $1,000 per year - now it's over $5,000. Far too many students are and will be stuck with huge amounts of student debt to pay. Add to that an ailing job market and yes, life is not as easy for the young adult as it was decades ago - notwithstanding the sure costs we will have bear for climate change, environmental damage, a glut in health care costs, social security and everything else our elders have left us, but I digress.  

Why BC decided it might have to lower its climate change goals

British Columbia's much-maligned Premier, Christy Clark, is spending some time in Japan this week to talk about energy exports. According to the Globe and Mail, prior to her departure, she acknowledged that BC's strict climate change emissions targets might have to be bent a little in the coming years.

Why would BC - the land of drum-circling hippies, organic co-ops and majestic natural lands - have to alter its goals? Are they too lofty? Maybe, but probably not. By 2020, the province is supposed to decrease its emissions by 33% at 2007 levels. This doesn't seem outrageous, and BC has an arsenal of emissions-curbing policies in place, including Canada's only carbon tax and a carbon trust program.

The reason is natural gas. Alberta has long been known as a natural gas giant, but BC is not that far behind, particularly in the northern part of the province. Reserves are ramping up as producers have started exploiting shale gas, the natural gas locked inside shale rock formations. Shale gas is the type associated with fracking, a highly controversial process that breaks up the rock and can have serious detrimental effects on water and other natural resources. At the same time, shale gas reserves are being exploited all over the United States at exceptional rates.

The sudden glut of natural gas on the North American market has driven down prices to the lowest they have been in a decade. This is great for Canadian consumers of the stuff, but terrible for the producers. In an effort to get better prices for the gas, producers and governments are seeking buyers in Asia - that's why Clark is making the rounds in Japan. The Indian and Chinese economies are booming and need as much energy as they can get their hands on, particularly something that isn't as harmful as coal. Japan is desperate for natural gas after having moved away from nuclear energy following the devastating tsunami of 2011. These countries will pay a lot more for gas than we will in Canada.

Riding for valour, changing your name to T-Rex and other silly things on the internet...

A daily dose of the Harper Government's desire to seemingly overhaul the democratic process can lead one astray from the mainstream news and in search of greener pastures. Here are some lighter things I came across in the news this week.

For those of us wondering whether Game of Thrones could become anything more than a Sunday evening in front of the TV, the CBC managed to find a young knight crossing Canada by horseback. Vincent Gabriel Kirouac embarked several months ago on his journey from Quebec atop his trusty steed, Lionheart, in an effort to show that true valour still exists. Now, the CBC only credited him with "dressing" like a knight, but I suspect a true knighthood is on the horizon, albeit a difficult title to attain. Just ask Sir Nils Olav, Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian King's Guard.

Metta World Peace readies for T-Rex (Image: TheFaster Times)

Falling into the category of "damn it, why didn't I think of that?" comes the totally awesome news out of York, Nebraska, where a young man has legally changed his name to Tyrannosaurus Rex. Tyrannosaurus Rex Joseph Gold felt the name was a lot "cooler" than Tyler and figured it might help him stand out as a budding entrepreneur. The judge, satisfied that this name change had nothing to do with evading creditors or law enforcement, agreed with Tyler's - oops, sorry, T-Rex's - assessment of the name change. I imagine the judge replaced his gavel with a high-five. I just hope he doesn't bother people in the same way that I'm irked every time basketball announcers manage to say Metta World Peace (the man formerly known as Ron Artest) without cracking a smile.  

A Summer Outside the Law

My compatriots have found themselves in new places and in unfamiliar circumstances. My summer situation is far less exciting. Rather than traveling great distances and directly applying the legal knowledge I paid $10,000 for, I find myself back where I was before I started law school: working as an academic researcher looking at the controversies of hydro development - just this time, in BC.

Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty happy with what I've got going on. I work as flexible hours as I'd like, where I'd like, and work with some very cool people. The work is interesting and something I am very comfortable with. And I get paid well enough. Moreover, it allows me the long-term flexibility to leave for southern Ontario in the middle of the summer to work at a summer program for super-smart high school kids - they are far smarter than I will ever be.

But for all the advantages of this summer set up, there is a lingering feeling that I am missing out and falling behind. I found a remarkable and implied pressure during the first year of law school that we should pursue summer positions in the legal field. It needn't be limited to law firms and we were encouraged to seek out positions with the government and with non-profits. But it should still fall within the legal purview. Indeed, many of us were lucky enough to get into UVic's renowned law co-op program, which is designed to place students in four-month legal work terms. While many in our class were able to find positions in the co-op program, lots of us were unable to do so. The reasons are many and varied, but a less-than-stellar job market is largely to blame.

Getting Investors to Pay for Social Programs

Government wallets are a little light these days. 

Deficits are sitting at the highest levels in decades and public officials need to pay the piper. And given the political risks of raising taxes, most governments are instead looking to cut spending. Although most areas of public spending are being trimmed, social programs aren't having the easiest go of it - in particular, those experimental pilot programs.

Harper isn't rolling in it anymore (Image: CityTV)

Experimental social programs are especially susceptible to the austerity axe. The benefits they produce are generally difficult to measure economically and are thus externalized. As a result, they can seem relatively more expensive than their internalized brethren and even given the title of unnecessary luxuries. Moreover, unproven programs are a tad risky, especially for a government counting every penny. Environmental programs share the same characteristics. The trouble, of course, is that just because something is difficult to measure doesn't mean it isn't valuable. In many cases they may actually save the government money. For example, relatively cheap anti-smoking campaigns could save the health care system quite a bit by preventing the public from smoking.    

When governments don't pony up the cash or resources, the slack is usually picked up by non-profits, charities, churches or corporations looking to do a good deed. But these are far from reliable sources. Much of the trouble is financial. As the economy struggles, there is less money to go around. And those with money to spend are less likely to put it towards something that doesn't pay direct financial dividends.

So what is an answer? Enter Social Impact Bonds.

Law on the Sports Field - Bountygate and Beyond

Sports fans and athletes are oft to invoke the old adage 'what happens on the field, stays on the field'. But some actions are so egregious that the criminal law is inevitably thrown into the mix.

Gregg Williams, the man at the centre of Bountygate (Image: USA Today

Take the recently uncovered 'Bountygate' scandal in the National Football League. The NFL has begun a serious investigation into allegations that over the past few seasons coaches for the New Orleans Saints have employed a bounty system, rewarding thousand-dollar sums for hits that cause significant injury to opposing players. For example, "knockouts" were worth $1500, while "cartoffs" were valued at $1000, with premiums added during playoff games. The Defensive Coordinator in charge of the bounty system has since admitted to and apologized for the bounties.

The League, as one would hope, will undoubtedly charge significant fines and apply lengthy suspensions to any players, coaches and management caught up in the scandal. Considering the League's recent focus on head injuries, these penalties may be especially punishing. But the penalties may come from beyond the league.

Officer Chris: A Ride-Along with Vic PD

I spent my Friday night running after a police dog, holding the keys to a cop car in my pocket and meeting some of Victoria's most colourful characters.

Beyond more free pizza lunches than your body can rightly handle, being a law student affords you interesting opportunities every once in awhile. I was quick to sign up when a colleague of mine organized a series of ride-alongs with the Victoria Police Department.

I had little idea what to expect. Given Victoria's aged population and sleepy reputation, I had difficulty fathoming a very busy night. But as I came to learn very quickly, Victoria has got its fair share of problems.

Image: 49th-parallel.blogspot.com

My night began around 7:00 pm. After my initial placement left the station on an important call, I was placed with a veteran officer -- for the sake of anonymity, Officer Q. He was very pleasant and seemed happy to have me on, but was nonetheless a tad reluctant. And with good reason. Having a civilian in the passenger seat certainly doesn't make an already stressful job any easier. It's just one extra thing to have to worry about. With that in mind, I was especially appreciative.

As Q started listing a couple basic precautions, he handed me a set of keys to our cop car. It suddenly dawned on me that I was about to embark on something inherently dangerous. I managed to shake from my mind any scenarios in which I would need to use the car keys, but it did serve to remind me to stay out of harm's (and the officer's) way.