Is Rob Ford the epitome of the malaise in Canada's political class?

Just a quick follow-up to my post last week on youth culture and the malaise in Canada's political class. Today Rob Ford, the Mayor of Toronto, came out swinging against Occupy Toronto barking that "We are going to be asking them to leave the park and take it from there." This underscores the point that I made about how there's been little discussion with Canada's political class about the prevailing social conditions that are driving the Occupy movement. Ford's comments are similar to those of Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and Federal Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty who both acknowledged the protests as constructive; however, neither addressed the underlying factors behind the protests such as: surging income inequality, the anti-worker policies adopted over the last three decades as a result of neoliberalism or the rusting of the workplace laws that has left most workers in Canada without viable form of protection from employers. 

This lack of discourse on these profound problems is problematic and borders on demagoguery. Without a national debate about the implications of constructing a society predicated on haves and have-nots and how to stem this alarming development the country is going to be in for a rough ride as the very fabric of society to frays to an even larger degree. What's needed is action on addressing the changes that are occurring to Canada's economy, how public policy can be utilized to secure a sustainable future and the government's role in providing for the next generation of citizens. These are fundamental issues that go to the heart of the Canadian State; it's time that politicians drop the showboating and begin responding to the actual needs of the population.