I watched a documentary on rats once. Rats live to reproduce and thrive on garbage. The greatest economic myth of our age is that economies must also grow year by year. Canada’s government protects this myth while signing off on endangered species and human rights.

I recently spoke at World Environment Day in the Craik Eco-Centre. This sustainable living project proves building design can answer many ecological problems.

Why flush good water down the toilet when you can use a composting toilet? I went into the washroom sniffing for outhouse odour but there was no smell or deodorizer. In fact no public washroom I’ve ever used smelled as clean as this one.

I listened as Dr. Lynn Oliphant described how world population is growing faster than any known food and resource base on our planet. We brainstormed possible solutions. It was sobering.

Contributors to the book ‘Food Sovereignty in Canada – Creating a Just and Sustainable Food System’ described how small farmers are being forced out of business.

My message to both adults and children included asking who’s in charge of coordinating land, insects, plants, animals and water systems.

One girl offered: “The government!” Adults in attendance roared in laughter.

I teach my kids to respect officials and schools introduce the parliamentary system, but as we examine rights of corporations vs. Farmer Joe, the cost of living and rising food prices, the disconnect is apparent.

Government isn’t in charge. Large corporate interests run the show. Free enterprise and economic growth are fictions ensuring corporate interests expand and everyone benefits, right?

The Conservative government recently refuted a United Nations assessment of food security in Canada. Increasingly more of us rely on food banks or credit cards to buy food. Government isn’t in charge of our wellbeing and won’t open soup kitchens any time soon.

Your charity dollars fund cancer research, but what causes cancer? And how does government scrutinize the long list of carcinogens in our food and personal products so that prevention is a front line issue? Government silences scientists and won’t interfere with “the economy” so we live in a rat race.

But we’re struggling to meet financial obligations. People are broke while working full tilt in Saskatchewan’s “thriving” economy.

As I write this the feds are ramming a Bill C-38 through parliament in an all night session that will gut Canada.

Debt and hunger aren’t progress.