Election 2019: Canada Shoots itself in the Head : A Nation Going Down in Flames
« Reply #210 on: 2019-09-22 13:52:27 »
I just have to shake my head in despair.
Cheers Fritz
The Liberal Government Hands $42 Billion in Construction Projects to China at Expense of Canadians
Source: Global News Wire Author: Canadian Institute Of Steel Construction (CISC) Date: 2019.08.20
MARKHAM, Ontario, Aug. 20, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The federal government announced on August 9, 2019, that it will be granting full duty remissions on illegally dumped fabricated steel from China to supply two liquid natural gas (LNG) projects located in British Columbia. Their recent action was announced with their assurance that “trade barriers would not be permitted to stand in the way of these historic private sector investments”.
The two projects involved are LNG Canada and Woodfibre LNG, both located on the coast of B.C. The partners in LNG Canada are made up of a consortium of investors of which include China. These two LNG projects will be modularized, meaning they will be built in smaller shippable pieces with all the equipment and components preinstalled. The modules will be connected on site, requiring very few construction workers. Essentially, in doing so, the largest project ever in the history of Canada will be handed over to Chinese businesses and workers.
“The announcement was very disappointing,” says Ed Whalen, President & CEO of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC). “These two projects, if done in Canada, would have created hundreds of thousands of construction jobs for all trades across the country. Projects like these employ skilled workers from all over Canada and not just in the local area. This is a hundreds-of-thousands-of-jobs-lost kind of mistake.”
The duties on fabricated structural steel have been implemented by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) under the Special Import Measure Act (SIMA) after proof that China, South Korea and Spain were found to be illegally dumping into Canada. An appeal of the CITT’s decision is currently still pending in the Federal Court of Appeal.
“The government has called SIMA and the rulings of the CITT ‘trade barriers’ in their announcement! For the Government of Canada to call their own fair trade process a trade barrier is dumbfounding,” says Whalen. This statement will send shock waves across all Canadian industries contemplating future capital investment and their viability in Canada.”
Last fall, the federal government provided $375 million of taxpayers’ money to LNG Canada to encourage the project to go ahead. Interestingly, the maximum duty on steel from China would have been $375 million in total cost.
“For the Liberal government to double down with a remission was not necessary. They got their duty money last fall and now they get it twice,” says Whalen. “Minister Morneau also stated last fall the government would let the legal process take its course before any further action by government. The Liberal remission appears to be a pre-emptive move to override or influence the courts.”
Modules are custom for each construction project. Canada has been assembling modules for many years with the projects like those in Alberta. The argument that Canada does not or can’t do this work is false. What is true is that international oil and gas companies want the lowest cost, China’s illegal dumping and subsidizing provides that, the government of Canada will offer the legal framework to allow this to happen and Canadian construction workers no longer have access to projects in Canada.
BACKGROUND The CITT levied trade duties against China in June 2017. China was proven to be illegally dumping fabricated steel into Canada at up to 48 per cent, in addition to illegally subsidizing its industry at up to $2,300 per metric tonne. Since then, a number of LNG companies have requested waivers on these duties in order to complete any related projects with the use of illegally dumped Chinese fabricated structural steel and modules.
Election 2019:Canada Shoots itself in the Head : A Nation Going Down in Flames
« Reply #211 on: 2019-09-22 14:12:20 »
This older rant goes a long way to explain where we are today in this "Post National State" Canada.
Seeming looming global governance is certainly something to be aware of as our leaders make policies that may not be in our best interests.
Cheers Fritz
Justin Trudeau and the Dismantling of Canadian Identity
Source: Euro Canadian Author: Paul Bradley Date: 2016.04.22
ustin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, is a man with a vision for his country. What remains unknown, however, is whether or not Canadians share this vision.
Thus far in his tenure, Trudeau has been far more explicit about what he does not want for Canada than he has been regarding the kind of nation he envisions for our future.
One thing he does not want, as publicly stated shortly after taking office, is a Canada based upon "national identity." This bold assertion, in effect, tells us Trudeau does not believe in a Canada defined by a national heritage developed over 148 years of history. From Canada's early pioneer settlers, to our cultural roots as an English and French Canadian society, through to the struggle for an identity independent of American cultural domination — Justin Trudeau has deemed these symbols of our nationhood to be irrelevant.
Up to this point in our political evolution, it was understood that a primary role for a Canadian prime minister was one of nation-building. As a prototype, we can look to the founding of our country, whereby the fathers of confederation envisioned a federalist nation united coast-to-coast by the Canadian Pacific Railway.
At present, however, we find our current prime minister desirous of negating the foundations of our national heritage. It is prudent to keep in mind that when a decision is made to eradicate a nation's historical identity, something concrete will be required to serve as a replacement.
Curiously, rather than unveiling a bold new plan for the society we are to become, Trudeau has been rather obtuse about the subject. Stating early in his four year term that nationalism is not part of Liberal government ideology, Trudeau wants our nation to find its identity by way of a concept of "shared values."
How are Canadians to comprehend this post-modern proclamation? After all, we live in a nation which holds "diversity" to be among its top core values. Indeed, present-day Canada is a composite of some highly divergent communities. For example, it is reasonable to state our LGBT community maintain values largely opposed to those of our fundamentalist religious communities.
How then are we to develop the synergy necessary to create unity among such disparate communities? To employ a biblical allegory, Trudeau's vision is not unlike tearing down a house built upon rock, and rebuilding it upon sand.
Marcus Garvey once stated, and I paraphrase slightly, that "a nation without history is like a tree without roots." Even a six-year old understands that when a tree is severed at its roots, it dies. Are Canadians to be believe this concept is beyond the understanding of the prime minister of our country?
Taking into account the demise of our nation cannot possibly be among Trudeau's intentions, what are we to make of his intangible conception of our identity? Lacking a properly articulated definition from government, Canadians are left to speculate for themselves.
Based upon Trudeau's curious allegiances and alignments, one really has to wonder. For example, since gaining office in late 2015, the Liberals have been an absolute tear regarding the importation of Middle Eastern refugees. One billion dollars spent, 30,000 refugees and counting brought to Canada. Yet, despite the U.S. government's declaration that the murder of Christians in the Middle East constitutes an act of genocide, the Trudeau government has excluded these poor souls by way of a program focused exclusively on Muslim refugees.
Is this an example of shared values? If it is, it is unlikely to be shared among the 85% of our nation raised within the Christian faith. How about the fact that our government refuses to officially declare we are at war with ISIS? Do Canadians share this sentiment, as they sit in their homes wondering if the senseless mass murder which took place recently in Brussels will also occur upon Canadian soil?
Through these developments, we begin to gain insight into the true nature of the Liberal agenda. Indeed, beyond the voting process by which he gained office, Justin Trudeau has little, if any, concern for public opinion or the will of the majority.
In reality, his loyalties lie elsewhere — with the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, Barack Obama, Melinda Gates and other powerful globalist entities. Indeed this is Justin's "sweet spot" — the area where we find his true ambitions.
History may prove otherwise, however, it is unlikely that Justin Trudeau will amount to much more than the man who put the final nail into our nationalist coffin. It appears Trudeau is simply leading Canadians down a path toward a blank slate of a nation.
What shall occur as a result? Considering the history of nations, the situation has every potential to result in a social power struggle of gargantuan proportions. Traditional versus Multicultural Canada. Progressive versus Conservative Canadians. Secularism versus religious fundamentalism. Foreign money versus domestic need. Indeed, it is all rather "Lord Of The Flies" — and most of us educated within Canada's public school system know how that story turned out.
The entire spectacle is incredulous — first, former Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau takes it upon himself to cancel Canada's English and French bi-cultural identity. Now, Liberal PM Justin Trudeau takes it upon himself to cancel our national identity in its entirety.
Such is the state of our nation under Justin Trudeau — a leader unable or unwilling to envision how Canada will move forward in its quest to become a united and harmonious nation.
Re:Canada Shoots itself in the Head : A Nation Going Down in Flames
« Reply #212 on: 2019-09-22 14:20:12 »
Yeah I know it is Rebel media, not a media agent any self respecting 'woke' person would watch but; still good to know that the Liberals are tearing down the basis of the economy of our resource based country.
Cheers Fritz
EXCLUSIVE: Gerald Butts gets $200K Liberal government contract to bad-mouth Canadian oil
Source: The Rebel Author: Sheila Gunn Reid Date: 2019.08.26
The contract, awarded to Eurasia Group, the New York-based company Butts’ joined in May after resigning amidst the SNC-Lavalin scandal, pays $149,940 USD (approximately $198,800 Canadian) to identify “regulatory and policy risks in the context of carbon and environmental policy, supply disruption issues, market access, oil prices, and supply and demand fundamentals in North America and globally.”
The contract specifies that it must be awarded to someone who has:
“...demonstrable expertise in trade and fiscal policy, through an established intelligence network .. comprised of government officials, energy industry CEO’s, executives and industry insiders...”
Butts has a long history of anti-oil rhetoric, dating back to his days at the head of the World Wildlife Fund. When arguing against the now-canceled Northern Gateway pipeline route in 2012, he said “We don’t think there should be a carbon-based energy industry by the middle of this century,” “The real alternative is not an alternative route. It’s an alternative economy.”
He once described the oil and gas sector as cancer in an op-ed in the Toronto Star, writing:
“Keep smoking kids. We need the tax revenue. Trust us, we will cure cancer by the time you get it. So goes our national political leaders’ myopic view of the tar sands.”
Butts has been described as the architect of the Ontario Green Energy Act that resulted in 150% increases in off-peak electricity rates to Ontarians and was part of the prime minister's office when Liberal policies chased away a 30 billion dollars in oil patch investment.
However, according to this Federal government contract, “only one person is capable of performing the work” - and he just happens to the best friend and former chief advisor to the Prime Minister who recently quietly joined the Liberal election war room.
What a happy coincidence for Butts!
While Canadian veterans are asking for more than the Liberals can give them, the Liberals can find a way to give their friends $200,000 contracts.
(UPDATE: Eurasia Group has contacted us to advise that they have received other grants from the Trudeau government when Butts worked there, before Butts joined their firm. They claim he was not involved with this grant. We have asked the Eurasia Group if Butts was involved in steering those earlier funds to them, and we will let you know of their reply.)
Upon graduating from McGill University, his first job was working as a research assistant in the Senate office of Allan MacEachen. There, he organized MacEachen's past work for the purposes of his future memoirs. It has been stated that although the MacEachen biography was never published, Butts had a thorough understanding of MacEachen's longstanding political career.
In 1999, Butts became a policy director within the Government of Ontario.[8] He was the policy secretary, and later the principal secretary, in the office of the then premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, in Toronto.[13] Prior to the 2007 election, Butts was a McGuinty insider. After the election, he became McGuinty's principal adviser. As one of his biographical notes describes it, Butts "was intimately involved in all of the government’s significant environmental initiatives, from the Greenbelt and Boreal Conservation plan to the coal phase-out and toxic reduction strategy".[14]
Butts had previously worked with Senator Allan MacEachen and with George Smitherman.[8]
Butts advised the campaigns that led to the Ontario Liberal Party's election victories in 2003 and 2007.[11]
On June 25, 2008, Butts was announced as the president and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund Canada. He officially took up the position on September 2, 2008,[15] succeeding Mike Russill.
On October 16, 2012,[16] Butts left WWF Canada to become the political advisor to Justin Trudeau.[17] His position at WWF Canada was filled by David Miller, a former mayor of Toronto.
On December 13, 2012, Butts was interviewed by Steve Paikin for The Agenda on the topic of "The Best Way to Clean Up the Environment".[18][19] Butts has published articles in the Boston Book Review, the Literary Review of Canada, and Gravitas. He has also appeared on television programs such as W5 and TSN's Off the Record.
2015 Canadian election and premiership of Justin Trudeau
“ If the Liberals were to win the 2015 election, Gerald Butts could become one of the most powerful people in Canada. ” — Lee Berthiaume[8]
“ ... it's hard to picture Trudeau running for prime minister without [Gerald Butts]. ” — A fellow political aide[20]
In 2012, stemming from a two-decade-long friendship, Butts became the senior political adviser to Justin Trudeau [20] and one of the few people with whom Trudeau consulted regularly.[11] During Trudeau's initial time as Liberal party leader, Butts advised on such decisions and issues as the legalizing of marijuana, the expulsion of the entire Liberal senate caucus,[20] and Trudeau's position on the Northern Gateway pipeline.[8] He also assisted on the vast majority of policies on which Trudeau campaigned.[11] He was appointed Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister on November 4, 2015.[2]
On September 21, 2016, it was reported by The Globe and Mail that Butts charged $126,669.56 in moving expenses to Canadian taxpayers to relocate his residence from Toronto to Ottawa.[21] In the wake of the controversy, he apologized and said he would repay $41,618.62.[22]
On February 18, 2019, Butts stepped down as Trudeau's principal secretary stating it was in order to defend himself against allegations made against him in relation to the SNC-Lavalin Affair and to avoid drawing attention away from the work the prime minister is doing.[4] In a statement released on Twitter, Butts denied influencing the Attorney General, noting that he specifically recruited Jody Wilson-Raybould to join the Liberal Party and was an avid supporter during both her candidacy and her tenure as a minister.[23] Butts reiterated these claims in testimony to the House Judiciary Committee on March 6, 2019.[24] At the time of Butts' resignation, Trudeau had responded by thanking him for his service, while acknowledging the integrity, guidance, and devotion that Butts had provided him.
The return of Gerald Butts and the question for Canadian voters
Gerald Butts is back as a key Liberal strategist heading into the Fall election.
As surmised in the February 22, 2019 Niagara Independent column, “There’s much more to this Gerald Butts story.” And it now appears, perhaps, the puppet master never truly left the Liberal Party’s backrooms.
Liberal Party “insiders” recently leaked that the former PMO Principal Secretary and Justin Trudeau’s best friend Gerald Butts is back and ensconced on the PM’s campaign team in an attempt to guide the Liberals to victory in the October federal election. Butts has returned as a senior political strategist and it is learned he has been advising the Liberal campaign for several weeks.
For Butts, the insiders’ whispers of his return were inauspicious given his flash and dash exit of mid-February; recall his dramatic resignation at the height of the SNC-Lavalin scandal to effectively take the spotlight off the PM. The insiders shared with the press corps that Butts is not leading the team and there is no certainty of whether his is a paid position (that is, beyond his generous severance pay that he is receiving after resigning from his PMO post). Apart from the vagueness of the news, the expressed takeaway for Canadians is that Gerald Butts is back in service within the Liberal fold.
This begs an important question. Is this acceptable in Canadian politics today, or is Gerald Butts’ return an affront to a common decency in our country? The answer to that question depends on whether Canadians believe backroom political operatives should be held to account for their actions.
Gerald Butts resigned as a result of the testimony from former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould that he was pressuring her and her staff to assist the Quebec engineering firm SNC-Lavalin. When he was confronted by the Justice Minister’s Chief of Staff that his actions were a travesty of justice, Butts is said to have stated: “There is no solution here that does not involve some interference.” From his own statements before the parliamentary committee, we understand that Butts believes that he, the PM, and PMO did nothing wrong in advancing the interests of SNC-Lavalin.
Yet, at the time, Canadians were feeling queasy about the unfolding LavScam scandal and, so, Butts staged an exit. The links between the PMO and LavScam were removed from media headlines and there is still the hope amongst Liberals that this sordid scandal is forgotten. However, as Sun Media observes in a lead editorial entitled “The return of Butts speaks volumes”: “The legal repercussions never surfaced. But that doesn’t mean the players were formally cleared of wrongdoing. It just meant there was no investigation. The stench lingers to this day.”
LavScam aside, for Liberals, Butts’ return is reassuring. He is credited with defining the Trudeau Liberal message and its 2015 campaign narrative. Hope springs eternal that this “modern-day rainmaker” will be able to manage the PM’s triumphant reelection bid. Gerald Butts himself said of his resurfacing, “It’s no secret that I have a lot of friends who are still actively involved, whom I care about very deeply, and I care about my country very deeply… we’re at a really important moment, in particular on the issues that I care most about, like climate change. We’re at a turning point and it’s important for people who care about those issues to get involved and try and make positive change happen.”
(Some background context on this statement: Butts is an unapologetic globalist. He is formerly CEO of World Wildlife Fund Canada. As chief to Premier Dalton McGuinty he was responsible for creating Ontario’s Green Energy Act and implementing its renewable energy contracts. Since 2015, he is the architect of the federal carbon tax, as well as the Trudeau Government’s approach to resource development and pipeline projects.)
The condemnation from the Liberals’ political opponents was as expected. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer tweeted: “And just like that, the Trudeau team that brought Canadians the SNC Lavalin scandal is right back together.” Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre stated, “This week’s news tells us a lot about Justin Trudeau. The LavScam bully is in and the principled women who spoke truth to power are out. That’s everything you need to know about Justin Trudeau’s ethics.” Poilievre went on to say about Butts’ resignation, “Now we know that that was just a big phony act to cover for the boss.”
Ottawa’s political pundits seem to agree that announcing Butts’ return mid-summer will make it a non-story in the minds of Canadian voters during the Fall race. Liberal strategist Jonathan Scott was on the news circuit spinning the opinion that Canadians will not be “particularly animated one way or the other about who is staffing the Liberal campaign.” Then there are pundits like Warren Kinsella who excuses Butts’ reemergence as politics as usual for “Canada’s Natural Governing Party”: “Liberal arrogance has felled many a Liberal government. It is the greatest Grit weakness. And the return of Gerald Butts signals its unfortunate return, in marquee lights.”
So, the question remains whether Gerald Butts will be viewed in the annals of Canadian political history as some shadowy Svengali figure or the reincarnation of rainmaker Allan J. MacEachen. And this Fall, Canadian voters will have a say on whether this man and his best friend are to be held to account.
Re:Canada Shoots itself in the Head : A Nation Going Down in Flames
« Reply #214 on: 2019-09-23 22:59:27 »
Latest numbers.
Cheers Fritz
Polls: Beware the daily noise.
Source: Macleans Author: Philippe J. Fournier Date: 2019.09.22
Philippe J. Fournier: It’s too soon to see the full effect of Trudeau’s crisis, with a still very tight race and much uncertainty in the model. Beware the daily noise.
Popular Vote:
Seats:
<snip> And here are the polls whose field date were after Trudeau’s pictures came out:
Campaign Research: On Friday night, Campaign Research released its latest Ontario federal numbers, with the Conservatives leading in the province by four points.
Nanos Research / CTV News / The Globe and Mail: Nanos’ daily tracker shows the Conservatives in the lead, and has detected a small Liberal drop since Wednesday (detailed numbers are available behind a paywall, therefore they are not shown here. You can subscribe to the Nanos tracker here)
Mainstreet Research / iPolitics / Groupe Capitales Médias: as of this morning still showed the main parties tied on top of voting intentions. Mainstreet regional numbers, as was the case with other pollsters, still give a small edge to the Liberals seat-wise. <snip>
A really quick history of Canada’s federal debt — March 9, 2016
With the federal government poised to table a budget in two weeks and embark on a new era of deficit financing and debt accumulation, it’s useful to take a quick long-term look at the finances of the federal government from a more historical perspective. Using data from the Canada Yearbook for the period 1867 to 1965 and the Federal Fiscal Reference Tables for 1966 to 2014 and the 2015 federal budget for 2015, Figure 1 (below) plots the total federal net debt in billions of dollars from 1867 to 2015.
In 1867, the net debt of the Government of Canada was $75.7 million. During the nation-building phase of the Canadian economy from 1867 to 1913, which entailed the subsidized construction of transcontinental railways and the settlement of the West, the net debt grew from $75.7 million to $314.3 million. As a result of the First World War and the Great Depression, the net debt grew to reach $3.1 billion by 1938. The Second World War saw the net debt climb further to reach $11.3 billion by 1945. Growth of the public debt continued and the 25 years between 1945 and 1970 saw the debt reach $20.3 billion.
The period since 1970 witnessed enormous growth in the federal net debt as successive deficits combined with high interest rates saw the net debt rise from $20.3 billion to reach a peak of $609 billion in 1996—the era of the federal fiscal crisis. The period of federal restraint that followed combined by relatively robust economic growth saw balanced budgets and a reduction in the federal net debt to $516.3 billion by 2007. With the financial crisis and recession of 2008-09, federal net debt began to rise again and by 2015 had reached a new all-time high of $692 billion.
The current net public debt of Canada represents the accumulation of all the deficits plus interest over the 149 years since Confederation. Put another way, $672 billion—or 97 per cent of the current debt—has been acquired in the 46 years since 1970. Between 1867 and 2014, the average annual rate of growth of the federal net public debt comes in at 6.8 per cent. Compare that to population, with an annual average growth rate of 1.6 per cent, and inflation at 2.4 per cent as measured by the annual average growth rate of the GDP deflator. Real per capita federal net debt (in 2015 dollars) grew from $577 in 1870 and reached $19,302 in 2015.
As Figure 2 shows, our real per capita federal net debt peaked not during the eras of war or depression but in 1996 at $30,394. Even after recovering from the federal fiscal crisis of the 1990s, our real per capita debt remains higher than it was during the Second World War.
While as a share of GDP, the federal net public debt was highest during the era of the Second World War, on a real per capita basis we currently owe more than what we accumulated to help fight a global war with the Allies to save the world from totalitarianism.
Not sure what we have to show for our current level of per capita federal debt.
State of federal finances worse than previously thought — May 7, 2018
The latest federal budget showed that public finances are in poor shape and Ottawa is ill-prepared for a possible economic recession. But a recent Parliamentary Budget Office report suggests the situation may be worse than the government claims. According to the PBO, the government’s operating deficits are likely to be higher than the government expects.
For this year (2018/19), the PBO projects a deficit of $22.1 billion—$4 billion more than the $18.1 billion deficit projected by the government. Next year (2019/20), which is notable because it’s the year Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to balance the budget during the 2015 election, the PBO projects a $21.4 billion deficit for 2019/20 compared to a $17.5 billion deficit projected by the government.
Overall, the PBO projects a cumulative deficit of $85.6 billion over the next five years (2018/19-2022/23)—$7 billion more than the cumulative deficit projected by the government ($78.6 billion).
Critically, however, the PBO’s revised deficit estimates assume the Canadian economy continues to grow. This may not happen. There’s a very real possibility of an economic recession in the coming years given the last one was nearly a decade ago. A recession would result in even larger deficits by causing revenues to fall and certain types of spending (such as employment insurance) to automatically increase.
This could spur a vicious cycle characterized by persistent and growing deficits, increasing government debt, and rising interest payments—something Canada experienced in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. In other words, prolonged deficits during periods of economic growth expose federal finances to significant risk, if an economic recession occurs.
The PBO also identifies a self-inflected drag on Canada’s economy created by federally-imposed carbon-pricing. The PBO estimates the economy will lose out on $10 billion of growth by 2022 due to carbon-pricing—that’s 0.5 per cent of GDP. The potential reduction in economic growth would be even larger over a longer period.
The federal budget tabled in February made it clear the government is not prepared for a recession; the PBO’s recent projections make matters even worse.
Prime Minister Trudeau has launched a cross-country listening tour to reconnect with Canadians. Given the tumultuous times, the prime minister’s time might be best spent in Ottawa leading the government, but since he’s listening, here are a few questions.
First, the Liberal Party ran on, and is now governing with, an over-arching goal of improving economic growth, particularly for the middle class. The plan for improving growth is to increase government spending substantially and finance almost all of the new spending through borrowing (i.e. deficits).
The 2016 Budget called for federal spending to increase by nearly $70 billion between 2014-15 and 2020-21, a 27.3 per cent increase in government spending.
To finance this spending, the government will rely on borrowing, increasing the national debt (specifically net debt), by $132.1 billion from $687.0 billion in 2014-15 to a projected $819.1 billion in 2020-21.
The key question for the prime minister is: where is the improvement in economic growth given all the spending?
The Liberal plan provided detailed estimates of the additional economic growth and job-creation that would flow from the increased spending. The reality, however, has been a reduction, not an increase in expected economic growth. In other words, economic growth has declined while federal spending has increased.
Back in November 2015, just weeks after being elected, the Liberals released the 2015 Fall Update of Economic and Fiscal Projections, which forecasted average economic growth (in real terms) of 2.1 per cent over the next five years. In March, the Liberals delivered their first budget, which cut average growth to 1.9 per cent. The 2016 Economic Statement cut average growth again to 1.7 per cent over the next five years.
As we noted previously, the decline in growth rates will lead to a material reduction in expected national income (GDP) in each of the next five years. Over the past year, for example, expected GDP for 2016 has dropped by $58 billion or $1,590 per Canadian. Add up the reduced GDP expected over the next five years and the result is a staggering $403 billion or nearly $11,100 per Canadian.
Another important question for the prime minister—when will his government balance the budget? Contrary to the Liberal campaign commitment, there’s no balanced budget in the foreseeable future. Indeed, the Department of Finance now expects deficits every year through to at least 2055 and the national debt will reach $1.5 trillion by 2045 (or so).
Ironically, one of the main reasons for the deterioration in the long-term projections is that prospects for economic growth have declined. The department estimates that the economy will grow by an average of 1.8 per cent until 2021, and then decline to 1.6 per cent through to 2030. This compares with average economic growth of 2.8 per cent between 1970 and 2015.
A logical question is whether the prime minister will reconsider his government’s approach to deficits and debt given the lack of improved economic growth. If not, the increased spending seems more like the financing of Liberal pet projects than it does sound economic and financial policy.
Next, it’s clear that the federal government is replicating some of Ontario’s policy playbook (including massive, deficit-financed spending). Indeed, key members of the Ontario Liberal government are now central figures in the Prime Minister’s Office. Another question, then is why the prime minister favours policies implemented in Ontario that have failed so badly?
The heavy-handed economic interventions by the Ontario government over the last decade, particularly in energy markets, have been disastrous for the province—skyrocketing electricity prices coupled with a dearth of private-sector investment. Simply put, Ontario has become an inhospitable place to do business and the Prime Minister Trudeau seems intent to follow Ontario’s lead on key policy issues.
As the prime minister tours the country, there’s a real opportunity for him to reconnect with the reality of his government’s policies and how they are making things worse rather than better. If that creates the foundation for a change in policy, then the listening tour will be well worth the costs. One suspects, however, that the tour is more about changing the policy conversation, from the reality of the federal government’s approach to the charisma and personal charm of the prime minister.
Canada Shoots itself in the Head : Election Oct 21st 2019
« Reply #216 on: 2019-10-19 17:18:08 »
Well as Monday 21st approaches: polls suggest
Liberals: 136.6 +/- 55.2 popular vote 31.2% Conservative" 122.6 +/- 46.6 popular vote 31.9%
I am just gob smacked: -Convicted of Corruption -Slagging an Aboriginal women, are Justice minister, for doing her job well and removing her from her position. -Publicly embarrassing Canada with cultural appropriation not befitting a Prime Ministry there by compromising the office. -Putting legislation into effect that reduces freedom of speech -Raising our deficit to new highs with a recession looming -Saying Canada has no culture identity -Denying we are a resource based economy while pandering to the 'Woke Climate' propaganda.
From coast to coast, tonight, Canadians rejected division and negativity. They rejected cuts and austerity, and they voted in favour of a progressive agenda and strong action on climate change. I have heard you, my friends. You are sending our Liberal team back to work; back to Ottawa with a clear mandate. We will make life more affordable. We will continue to fight climate change. We will get guns off our streets and we will keep investing in Canadians.
Canadians have entrusted us with the responsibility of continuing to govern. But none of that would have been possible without the efforts and sacrifices of many, many people. I have so many people to thank. And I know I’m going to be spending a lot of time on the phone in the coming days. But tonight, there are a few people in particular that I have to thank.
First of all, my Sophie. We began this political adventure together ten years ago because we believed in a better future, because we knew that it was worthwhile fighting for a better, more prosperous Canada. Sophie, I love you.
And to my children, Xavier, Ella-Grace, and Hadrien, every single day you inspire me to do more and do better. And everything I do, I do for you and for your generation. You remind me every single day that I have to take some time to appreciate the life we have and how lucky we are. Of the roles that I have, the one I have is the one I like most.
And to the very best campaign team ever assembled in Canada are incredible candidates, staff and volunteers. None of this would have been possible without you. Thank you for the early mornings and the late nights. You’ve sacrificed a lot. Taking time away from your families and friends to move Canada forward. And I cannot thank you enough. So instead, I’ll simply say this: You did it, my friends, congratulations. To the leaders of the other parties and their families, thank you for being a part of this essential exercise in democracy. You have chosen to serve. Thank you for stepping up in this campaign and in this political life.
And of course I have to thank the people of Papineau. For more than 10 years you have entrusted me with your confidence, and it’s a great privilege for me to continue to represent you and to continue to be a strong voice for you. Thank you, thank you so much.
And of course, to my fellow Canadians. It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve you for these past four years. And tonight, you’re sending us back to work for you. We take this responsibility seriously and we will work hard for you, for your families and for your future.
To those who voted for our party, thank you for putting your trust in our team. Thank you for having faith in us to move this country in the right direction.
And to those and to those who did not vote for us, knowing that we will work every single day for you. We will govern for everyone. Regardless of how you cast your ballot, ours is a team that will fight for all Canadians.
Dear Quebeckers, I heard your message tonight. You want to continue to go forward with us, but you also want to ensure that the voice of Quebec can be heard even more in Ottawa. And I can tell you that my team and I will be there for you.
And to Canadians in Alberta and Saskatchewan, know that you are an essential part of our great country. I’ve heard your frustration and I want to be there to support you. Let us all work hard to bring our country together.
For four years, we have done everything we could to improve people’s lives. And that is what we will continue to do in the coming years. Friends, you are sending us to Ottawa with a clear mandate. Continue to go forward and to move this country forward. You asked us to invest in Canadians, to make reconciliation with the Indigenous peoples a priority. To show even greater vision and ambition as we tackle the greatest challenge of our times—climate change. And that is exactly what we will do. We know that there is a lot of work still to be done. But I swear to you that we will continue what we have begun. Because Liberals know, like all Canadians know, that it is always possible to do better.
One of my favourite prime ministers, Wilfrid Laurier, often talked about patriotism and the unifying power of common goals and aspirations. And I’ve thought about that a lot since getting into politics. In my conversations with Canadians right across the country, I’ve seen firsthand that there is so much more that unites us than divides us. Canadians expect us all to focus on our shared vision of a stronger Canada, and I intend to work hard to make that a reality. We all want safer communities, a cleaner planet, and a good quality of life. We want this for ourselves, for our neighbours and for our kids and grandkids. We seek hardship for none and prosperity for all. That is the world we’re working toward. And if we unite around these common goals, I know we can achieve them.
In the years ahead, our team will work hard to build on the progress made by the Canadians who came before us. We will champion Canada in all its diversity. We will give voice to the voiceless. And in every decision we make as your government, we will always put this country and its people first. We will help the widow who has lost her partner after 48 years of common life. We will help those students who are marching for climate change action. And we will help the mother with three children that needs a little bit more help at the end of the month.
We will fight for all people, including people like Dean. These last few days, I’ve done rallies across the country and at a few of them, I’ve told Dean’s story. Dean had voted Conservative his entire life. But this time around he decided to vote Liberal on behalf of his daughter. You see, he understood that this election was about so much more than just the next four years. This election is about the next 40 years. It’s about the kind of Canada that his daughter and her kids will grow up in. But tonight, I want to say this to Dean. I need to earn your vote. Not just your daughter’s. And over the coming years, I plan on doing exactly that. My friends, this election was about you, about the world your kids will inherit. And tonight, we chose to move Canada forward. Tonight, Canadians have charted a path for the future, and I know we will walk it together. Nous allons avancer ensemble, we will go forward together to a better future. Thank you very much, everyone. Thank you, Montreal.
Re:Canada Shoots itself in the Head : A Nation Going Down in Flames
« Reply #219 on: 2019-10-27 18:11:12 »
Bill 21 and why Quebec says not so much in our backyard in the Federal 2019 election.
Cheers Fritz
What does the new Bloc wave really represent?
Source: Macleans Author: Stephen Maher Date: 2019.10.22
Blanchet speaks to supporters on election night in Montreal (Graham Hughes/CP)
Serge Savard, who played for the Montreal Canadiens for 17 seasons, winning eight Stanley Cups as a player and two more as a general manager, had a friendly chat with Quebec Premier Francois Legault this month, in which both of them agreed that there should be more francophones on the Canadiens bench.
Savard joked at one point that his father used to vote for the Union Nationale.
“Now that’s called CAQ,” joked Legault, and the two men laughed.
He was joking, but it’s true.
Coalition Avenir Québec takes up the same space that used to be occupied by Union Nationale, a conservative, nationalist party, a dominant political force in Quebec from 1935 until 1973, when René Lévesque’s sovereignist Parti Quebecois displaced it with the promise of an independent Quebec.
Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet referenced Lévesque in his post-election speech in Montreal Monday night in front of a small, passionate and not very diverse crowd of sovereignists who interrupted him to chant “we want a country.” But it would be a mistake to think that the Bloc wave of yesterday is the result of a yearning for Quebec, un pays.
The hard core sovereignists—les pur et dur—are tenacious and passionate about their dream but the voters who sent 32 MPs to Ottawa do not appear to have been animated by Levesque’s dream. In the two French-language debates where Blanchet won the support of francophone Quebecers, he spoke not of Levesque but of Legault, and not of separatism but of Bill 21, the law that Legault passed to stop Sikhs, Muslims and Jews from working as teachers, police or lawyers unless they leave their religious headgear at home.
READ MORE: The 338Canada post-election report: We called it
Blanchet is an impressive character, and neither he nor Legault have behaved like demagogues, but the public debate over Bill 21 is undeniably populist. In my opinion, there is no persuasive argument for overriding the religious liberty of individuals in the way Bill 21 does, which is why Legault found it necessary to invoke the notwithstanding clause of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
What there is, though, is a political argument for it: Quebecers want this. In the manner of populist nationalism anyplace, this argument gains strength when it is opposed because it allows populists to say: Look! There are those who want to stand in the way of the will of the People! See how they disdain your legitimate desires!
In Tuesday’s Journal de Montreal, columnist Richard Martineau, likely the most important nationalist commentator in Quebec, gave credit for the Bloc victory to “the English-Canadian political-media elite who spent the last few months treating Quebecers as racist, xenophobic and intolerant.”
Martineau and the Bloc made much of a question from Huffington Post’s Althia Raj during the second French language debate, when she referred to Bill 21 as discriminatory. This, Martineau writes, “was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
All I can say is that the camel must have had a weak back when it arrived. This is the eternal emotional logic of the populist nationalist, and it should be treated with care because trying to extinguish it is like trying to put out a fire by blowing on it. Better to deny it fuel.
Some Toronto-based commentators have chided Justin Trudeau for not speaking out more stridently against Bill 21, but I think he has handled this wisely, failing to rise to the bait of the Bloc in a way that might have helped him with voters in Montreal and Toronto while giving the Bloc more fuel. Trudeau quietly refused to rule out eventually challenging the bill in court, unlike Andrew Scheer, whose did rule it out, and Jagmeet Singh, who first ruled it out and then seemed not to.
I would not judge Scheer harshly, though, because the Quebec voters he was courting, mostly unsuccessfully, thanks in large part to his weak French, were the same white francophones outside Montreal that the more eloquent Blanchet was wooing.
These voters are the baby boomers who sang and wept with Levesque and fumed with Jacques Parizeau. They dreamed for decades of a Quebec libre and now that they are receiving their pension cheques, they have had to put those dreams to rest and have embraced the pre-Levesque nationalism of Legault.
But it is important for Quebec, a distinct society, to do distinct things, to demonstrate to itself and others that it is capable of making decisions and acting on them. Bill 21 has a symbolic value, totally disconnected from any street-level necessity, which is obvious when you consider that the strongest support comes from the areas with the fewest immigrants, not the neighbourhoods of Montreal where francophones live side-by-side with immigrants from Haiti, the Middle East and North Africa.
Martineau has a point, though, when he complains about English Canadians carelessly accusing Quebecers of racism.
Consider the vast northern riding of Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, which last night elected Bloc MP Sylvie Bérubé. From 2011 until last night, the riding was represented by Cree leader Romeo Saganash, who, sadly, did not reoffer this time. The same voters who elected Bérubé used to vote for Saganash. They don’t want to vote for someone who wears a turban.
Parsing this—the distinction between racism and intolerance of religious differences—is work for sociologists, not political journalists, but virtue-signalling English Canadian critics of Quebec nationalism would be wise to keep in mind that it is more complicated that it seems from Queen Street West.
Legault may be walking in the footsteps of Union Nationale leader Maurice Duplessis, but Quebec was vastly transformed by the quiet revolution, and no bill will turn back the clock.
In 1946, Duplessis locked up hundreds of Jehovahs Witnesses, telling the Montreal Gazette, “the communists, Nazis as well as those who are the propagandists for the Witnesses of Jehovah, have been treated and will continue to be treated by the Union Nationale government as they deserve for trying to infiltrate themselves and their seditious ideas in the Province of Quebec.”
There is a vast difference between what Duplessis did and what Legault is doing—denying jobs to hijabis—but in the end, I suspect the result will be the same, and the Supreme Court of Canada will eventually rule that the state cannot roll over the rights of law-abiding individuals because there is the political will to do so.
In the meantime, the Bloc is back, with a clear mandate to stand up for Bill 21.
Martineau sees this as a challenge for Trudeau. “If he contests Bill 21, he will put flame to the powder in Quebec. If he doesn’t contest it, he will never be forgiven by English Canadians. Get the popcorn ready. The fun is about to begin.”
I am afraid Martineau will be disappointed. Trudeau, who needs to worry about Alberta at least as much as Quebec, can say very little about Bill 21 and wait for judges to do his talking for him.