Overview
Canada’s greatest risk is not choosing the wrong path, but failing to choose any path at all. Chronic indecision, which is driven by fear, polarization, and oversimplified debates, has allowed division to deepen. Moving forward requires courage: honest conversations about trade-offs, respect for difference, and the willingness to act decisively even without perfect consensus. By reimagining old binaries, such as economy versus environment, and committing to shared, forward-looking solutions, Canada can break paralysis, restore trust, and choose a future that works for all of us.
Define
- Consensus
- Political Courage
- Polarization
- Public Discourse
- Zero Sum Thinking
- Incremental Change
- False Binary
- Natural Capital
- Ecosystem Services
- Environmental Degradation
- Nature-Positive
- Civic Responsibility
- Social Cohesion
- Kaleidoscope Thinking
- Moral Courage
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Think about it
- What does the chapter suggest is Canada’s biggest problem right now: making the wrong decisions or not making decisions at all? Why?
- Why can indecision sometimes be more harmful than choosing a controversial path?
- What does the chapter mean when it says consensus is not the same as everyone getting what they want?
- Why is it important for citizens, not just politicians, to take responsibility for how decisions are made?
- Why do major policy decisions almost always create both “winners” and “losers”?
- Is it ever acceptable to move forward with a policy knowing some communities or values may be negatively affected? Why or why not?
- What are the risks of avoiding hard decisions just to prevent conflict?
- Why might valuing nature as an economic asset change how governments and businesses make decisions?
- Why is listening to people with different experiences and viewpoints essential for good decision-making?
- What can happen when communities feel decisions are being imposed on them rather than made with them?
- How might ignoring certain voices lead to anger, apathy, or polarization?
- Why does the chapter argue that both urgency and patience are needed for meaningful change?
- What does it mean to reimagine a problem instead of accepting traditional solutions?
- What is one issue you care about where indecision has caused harm?
- What would choosing a path forward look like for that issue, even if the solution isn’t perfect?
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