https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-a-trudeau-puzzler-from-the-cbc
Friday, December 31, 2021
Thursday, December 30, 2021
NDPLiberals Look For More and More Ways to Diminish and Recklessly Facilitating Granting of 401,000 Permanent Residencies: This Time, Medical Exam Exemptions...During a Pandemic
Really? Up to five years ago? "...the have completed a medical exam within the last five years and were found to pose no risk to public health or safety, or complied with a requirement to report to health authorities for monitoring..."
Canada Immigration News: Canada extends medical exam exemption for some immigrants.
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Wednesday, December 22, 2021
If The NDPLiberals Truly Wanted to Cool Canada's Housing Market, They Would Do One Thing That Would Impact Canadians And Foreigners
Canada's hot housing market is a DEMAND problem (not a supply problem). Anyone in the world is allowed to purchase property in Canada. No amount of new houses will stop this. As such, it is very strange to see this NDPLiberal government that is all about inclusiveness, diversity and immigration now speaks of "foreigner" as the bad guy (for Canada's Housing). Must be recent polling numbers on how to win a majority.
If the NDPLiberals were truly serious about housing, rather than tackle the supply problem and build a fairy tale amount of new houses, condos, etc. they would tackle the DEMAND side. Replace the "one year" mandatory period to live in a house in order to claim as a primary residence for tax free status with a mandatory 10 year period (or similar, longer term period) that matches reality of how long a primary residence is used for living purposes (rather than flipping or speculation purposes). Even replace with a declining scale (one year is taxed like a normal capital gain sliding to zero after say 10 years). This would stop speculation and flipping for everyone.
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Is Canada's Level of Economic Stature in the World Really What MP Chrystia Freeland Wanta You to Believe?
"...Specifically, many might not realize the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development forecasts Canada is, at best, expected to achieve real per capita GDP growth of only 0.7 per cent per year during 2020-2030, placing us dead last among advanced countries.
The reason behind Canada’s showing is that our labour productivity and utilization are so poor that they are predicted to rank near the bottom versus our peers over the next 10 years and, even worse, finish in last place in the three decades beyond that. Think about that and then ask yourself if any of this was addressed this week in Finance Minister Chrystia Freelands’s fiscal update?
If the federal government is truly trying to build back better, why is this shockingly poor ranking in productivity and utilization not being explored and addressed? How is the climate-change-dominated agenda going to fix this? What about households who have gone all in on leveraged real estate speculation? We’re now the fourth-highest indebted in the world at 108 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), according to BIS data. How susceptible are we to higher interest rates and how will this impact our currency as other central banks such as the United States Federal Reserve undertake their own policy changes?..."
Monday, December 20, 2021
Overvalued Markets? Here is What's Really Happening
Day trading: A COVID-19 replacement for sports betting that hasn’t gone away.
Short-dated options: A trading boom in securities that have only slightly better odds than a lottery ticket.
Bitcoin: Total euphoria despite being impossible to value and worse for the environment than a 1972 Oldsmobile.
Cannabis stocks: Big valuations (and hopes) on small revenues.
Electric vehicles: A company that’s never sold a car (Rivian Automotive Inc.) is worth more than Daimler AG, Ford Motor Co. or General Motors Co.
Special purpose acquisition companies: Still booming despite being the most abusive financial product ever invented.
Meme stocks: GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. levitating at levels far above fundamental value.
Initial public offerings: Only 25 per cent of companies going public are profitable. It’s been this low once before during the dotcom era of the late 1990s.
Venture capital: Big money pouring into a tiny corner of the capital markets. Even staid, dividend-paying companies are putting up hundreds of millions of dollars to create their own venture funds.
https://financialpost.com/investing/investing-pro/its-hard-not-to-dance-when-everyone-else-is-having-a-great-time-but-investors-beware
Sunday, December 19, 2021
Friday, December 17, 2021
NDPLiberals Addiction To Spending: There Is No Such Thing As Bad Times
"...Reporting on Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s economic update, Bloomberg included this information: “Without new spending, the government projects a near balanced budget by 2026.” It actually made me laugh. I’m sure whoever wrote it wasn’t intending to be funny, but I thought: “Sure, and if all the other teams quit the NHL, the Leafs will win the Stanley Cup.”
Could Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals go five years without new spending promises? If they make it ’til Monday it would be a surprise. I’ve got as much chance of being elected queen of Sweden as this government has of kicking its addiction to billion-dollar expenditures..."
Thursday, December 16, 2021
Jus Soli and Birth Tourism: Half the Non-Resident Births Were Birth Tourism. The Pandemic Numbers Suggests So
Birth Tourism in Canada: with pandemic restricted travel, the magnitude is now somewhat known:
From the National Post Comment (emailed form, no link available) - "ONE VERY SMALL CHEER FOR COVID-19, SORT OF
It's possible that Omicron panic and the holiday season will wash over this interesting news item, so we're inserting it here while it's still warm from the oven. The author and ex-civil servant Andrew Griffith, Canada's closest observer of the contested phenomenon of “birth tourism,” has a new paper in Policy Options today. Birth tourism occurs when non-citizens come to Canada specifically for the purpose of giving birth on Canadian soil (at their own expense) and thereby gaining precious Canadian citizenship for their children.
Birth tourism is something that is obviously happening — the Richmond Hospital in British Columbia seems to be partly organized around facilitating it — but its prevalence has been hard to measure with confidence because some people turning up in the “non-resident self-pay” column in hospital statistics might be Canadian citizens or guest workers. To pin down the amount of genuine birth tourism, it would be helpful if, say, there was a whole year in which mere visitors were largely excluded from Canada, but Canadian citizens, international students and temporary workers were still coming and going.
If something weird like that were ever to happen, the decline in the “non-resident self-pay” births would give us a pretty good idea of how large the ordinary background rate of birth tourism was …
In other words, thanks, SARS-CoV-2! The 2020-21 counts of hospital births from the Canadian Institute of Health Information are now available (CIHI follows fiscal years starting April 1), and Griffith has had at them. The background numbers on things like visitor visas and temporary foreign worker applications show that the pandemic made Griffith's natural experiment almost perfect. With potential birth tourists largely shut out of the country, but citizens and workers free to come and go, the number of non-resident self-funded childbirths in Canadian hospitals nosedived from a peak of 5,968 in 2019-20, to just 2,433 in 2020-21. At the Richmond Hospital, the count went from 502 to 68; dramatic declines are also seen in other hospitals that typically have heavy non-resident caseloads.
Griffith used to say he thought that half the non-resident births were birth tourism. The pandemic numbers suggest that this was, if anything, an underestimate. But it's in the right neighbourhood. We can now say with some confidence that in normal times, roughly one per cent of all childbirths in Canada are foreign visitors exploiting our “jus soli” citizenship (i.e., if you're born here, citizenship is automatic and unconditional). The overall number of non-resident self-funded births was growing fast before COVID-19.
Of course, birth tourists aren't spongers, since they're paying out of pocket, but the happy children born under Canada's sun represent permanent obligations for the Canadian welfare state and its consular establishment. There has been more argument than serious inquiry into the birth tourism phenomenon up until now because no one was certain of its size. That can change now, but will it?
— Colby Cosh
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
How Will Canada/Canadians Pay For $1.2 Trillion in Debt
"...Last year’s deficit was an eye-popping $354.2 billion; this year, thanks to higher than anticipated revenue, $144.5 billion. At some point, the piper will want to be paid, and the money will have to come from somewhere.
Stopping spending is not enough. Economic growth is not enough. Even additional oil and gas revenues are not enough. Unlike the prime minister, most Canadians know from bitter experience that the budget will not balance itself. Which leaves one thing: tax hikes. Not if, but when, for whom, and by how much?.."
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
BQ's Blanchet's Subtlety Shines Through in Liberal Government's First Confidence Vote (That Has Had Five Months Off...Before Going On Christmas Break)
Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet had signalled immediately after the throne speech that his party would support what he called “24 pages of completely empty words.”
Monday, December 13, 2021
What Happened to Canada's Military Might?
"...Long-serving prime minister W.L. Mackenzie King managed the English-French differences of perception of war aims much more successfully than Robert Borden had in the First Word War, and Canada ended the war with the third largest navy and fourth largest air force in the world, and was an undisputed co-founder of the United Nations and four years later of NATO.
For about 20 years after the Second World War, Canada was a somewhat self-confident country, a political junior partner of Britain and a commercial branch plant of the United States, “a middle power,” as John Diefenbaker told the United Nations in 1960. The Québec problem preoccupied the country for the balance of the 20th century. Since then we have become somewhat aimless and unconvincing in our nationalism, and under the present government and its “Ministry of Global Affairs,” an apparent adherent to a fantasy of a post-national world..."
NDPLiberals' Incompetence At The Border
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selley-auditor-general-lays-bare-federal-incompetence-at-the-border
"...You might think it would have been much easier to keep track of arrivals in Canada after hotel quarantine became mandatory in February, but not so much. “(PHAC) had records to verify hotel stays for only 25 per cent of incoming air travellers,” Hogan found.
PHAC did refer more scofflaws to the constabulary in 2021 than in 2020, Hogan reported. Unfortunately, she also found that PHAC “did not know the outcome for 59 per cent of priority referrals.”
"Listen to First Nations, Not the Mob": National Post View
Canadians can be forgiven for getting the Wet’suwet’en pipeline protests so wrong.
Reading much of the media coverage of the renewed protests and blockades looking to disrupt construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia, it would be easy to conclude that this is about First Nations people trying to defend their land against a brutal colonial government. That’s what many activists, academics and left-wing politicians would have you believe.
The truth is far more complex, and unless Canadians can avoid falling into the trap of viewing Canada’s Indigenous peoples as a monolithic group and trying to portray complex issues through simplistic narratives, economic development and reconciliation will continue to elude us.
In a letter published in the National Post on Tuesday, a group of Wet’suwet’en people lamented that their “traditions and way of life are being misrepresented and dishonoured by a small group of protesters, many of whom are neither Gidimt’en nor Wet’suwet’en, but nonetheless claim to be acting in our name to protest natural gas development.”
These protesters, and their supporters, have used intimidation tactics to silence their opponents, which has served to “overshadow the voices of the Gidimt’en and Wet’suwet’en,” and left many of the actual stakeholders “afraid to speak up because of bullying and alienation by aggressive and confrontational people on social media.”
Indeed, even referring to the protesters as “land defenders,” as some media outlets have chosen to do, is biased and misleading, because they often don’t represent the majority of the communities for which they claim to speak. The fact is that the elected council of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, along with the 19 other First Nations along the route, signed an agreement in support of the pipeline, which promises to bring economic benefits to their communities.
It is the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs who have been opposed to the project. As Melissa Mbarki, an Indigenous policy analyst with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI), explained in these pages, “The elected chief and council and the majority of their community members agreed to this pipeline,” but somewhere “in the Wet’suwet’en band structure, a divide occurred.”
This divide has been exploited by environmental groups and protesters to frame the issue as one of land rights, rather than economic opportunity. As B.C. MLA Ellis Ross wrote, also in the Post, “by saying yes to natural gas development, my northern British Columbia community was able to lift itself out of poverty.”
Other First Nations are looking for similar opportunities, but are being subverted by a small minority of people who are trying to over-rule infrastructure projects that have obtained all the necessary approvals from governments and landowners.
Writing in the Globe and Mail this week, JP Gladu, the executive director of the Indigenous Resource Network, questioned “why our communities need 100 per cent support for any project to be deemed credible. We are not a monolith; of course as in any culture, we too have disagreements. Why are we held to an unreasonable and quite frankly unattainable standard when our current federal system can see a government make decisions on behalf of our entire country with often sub 50 per cent support?”
The only possible answer is that we have given into mob rule. And by doing so, we are doing a disservice to Indigenous people.
“We were not invited to the table in the past. We fought for over 160 years to take back that seat and now we are pushing for equity ownership in the projects that extract resources from, or run through, our territories,” wrote Chris Sankey, a former elected councillor for the Lax Kw’ Alaams Band and a senior fellow at MLI, in Thursday’s Post. “Yet the protesters threaten to take all of that away. They are hindering our ability to move our communities out of poverty.”
Rather than giving credence to the sensationalized rhetoric espoused by radical extremists, it is incumbent upon media, governments and the general public to ensure that the voices of the majority of Indigenous people don’t get drowned out by a vocal minority, and to recognize that only through civil dialogue can we come to agreements over the big issues this country faces.
An open letter signed by hundreds of academics, including familiar left-wing voices such as Naomi Klein, characterizes Canadian law as “a weapon against Indigenous jurisdiction” and “a tool for Indigenous genocide.” The signatories try to undermine the rule of law by claiming that the “provincial government’s authorization of permits for construction of Coastal GasLink arises from a racist anthropology of discovery and claims to underlying title to lands that have never been the province’s to grant,” and therefore the court’s injunction was based on “false presumptions.”
Lost in this heated rhetoric are the voices of many members of the Wet’suwet’en and other First Nations, who have been lamenting the fact that their rights to speak freely and to forge a better economic future for themselves and their children are increasingly being stymied by outside protesters and environmental interest groups.
Do Protesters Even Listen to the People They Think They Are Trying To Help or Just Using as a Guise For Their Own Disobedient Agenda? National Post's Opinion on the Gidimt’en Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation
We are members of the Gidimt’en Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, together with extended family members from other Wet’suwet’en house groups and communities, both on- and off-reserve. Our clan territories include the area where the Coastal GasLink pipeline crosses the river we call Wedzin Kwa. We are deeply hurt and angered by the conduct and statements of some of our community members and others who claim to be defending our lands and laws against the pipeline.
Our concerns are not about the pipeline itself. Some of us support it, some of us do not and some are neutral. Our issue is that our traditions and way of life are being misrepresented and dishonoured by a small group of protesters, many of whom are neither Gidimt’en nor Wet’suwet’en, but nonetheless claim to be acting in our name to protest natural gas development. On Nov. 20 and 21, we convened a virtual meeting to discuss these issues and the recent RCMP raid that was carried out on our ancestral lands.
The first thing to understand is that the collective rights of the Wet’suwet’en people to use the land and resources within Wet’suwet’en territory have for hundreds of years been managed through a system of five family based clans led by a hierarchy of leaders who hold hereditary names that have existed since time immemorial. These names are connected to specific areas within our territorial lands, called “nowh yintah,” and have been handed down for generations in a complex governing system we call “Bahlats,” or “the feast hall.”
The names and the powers of those who hold them are conferred on the basis of merit and recognition and, in our Wet’suwet’en law, follow hereditary lines. Traditionally, leaders are groomed for many years by those holding higher rank in the feast hall before progressing to greater responsibilities. Proper conduct and “wiggus” (respect) are among the many valuable lessons passed on during the grooming.
This process and the conduct of other business in our traditional system is governed by strict laws and protocols that the leaders are expected to uphold. It is very sad that so many Wet’suwet’en women who supported the pipeline were stripped of their hereditary titles to which they were entitled and the names were passed on to those who oppose the pipeline. Unfortunately, the hereditary system has been disrupted due to disagreements over the pipeline. We hope we can move past this and come together in unity and peace. After all, whether hereditary or elected, the care and concern for the collective is central to everyone involved, even though they take different approaches.
The second important thing to understand is that our internal laws are based on a foundational principle of respect that we call “wiggus.” This basically means respect for all things: respect for ourselves and for each other, respect for other people, respect for the feast system, respect for our territorial land and clan boundaries, and respect for all the resources of the land. We reserve the highest levels of respect for our matriarchs, the wise older women who hold a special place in our affairs, as well as for the integrity of lands and resources that are held by other clans.
We regret to say that nearly everything the so-called Wet’suwet’en land defenders and their supporters have been doing is in direct conflict with these traditional laws and protocols. Their main public spokesperson holds a minor name and is very new to our feast hall. She cannot claim expert knowledge about our culture, yintah and feast hall. She is new to our nation and is not in any way a matriarch, as some have claimed. Nor has she, her supporters or any supporting head chief ever consulted any of us about what they are doing and saying on our behalf.
This rift originally stems from an internal dispute that took place in the feast hall and, although we do not wish to discuss clan business publicly, we will say that our matriarchs have been disrespected, bullied, marginalized and mistreated by those who are enabling the spokesperson’s influence on nowh yintah.
The protesters have also taken it upon themselves to invite violent people into our territories. We are not violent people. We settle our issues with dialogue and respect. We do not need “warriors” from other First Nations or non-Wet’suwet’en protesters to protect us or speak for us, especially when so many Gidimt’en and so many Wet’suwet’en do not support them. This adversarial approach places our community members at risk, and increases the risk to Wet’suwet’en women, including those who are hereditary chiefs. Remember, we live along the “Highway of Tears.”
Many are also afraid to speak up because of bullying and alienation by aggressive and confrontational people on social media, who do not know the facts. While we understand that many strive to support our perceived struggles through social media, the fact is that many of them have no idea about the history, culture and dynamics at play here, and are doing a grave disservice to many grassroots Gidimt’en, whose ancestors have thrived on nowh yintah since time immemorial.
The multitude of outside voices on social media has also served to overshadow the voices of the Gidimt’en and Wet’suwet’en. It has left a majority of Gidimt’en matriarchs, Gidimt’en clan members and Wet’suwet’en voices overlooked, marginalized and disrespected. We are hopeful that those on social media will consider these points and allow all Gidimt’en and Wet’suwet’en to work through these issues in a peaceful and respectful manner that does not put anyone in danger.
It is very unfortunate that the conflict has escalated the way it has. Even though we strongly disagree with the militant actions of those claiming to act and speak on our behalf, we seek a peaceful resolution, and we sincerely hope that nobody gets hurt or killed.
There are other issues with these protests. Their campsites are environmentally disgraceful and the road that they excavated did not just block pipeline workers, it also blocked our members who use it to access territory and resources to which they are entitled.
We also very much understand climate change and the importance of caring for our communities and future generations, but we do not support the conduct of those who are harming the Canadian economy and encouraging supporters to “shut down Canada” during this time of pandemic and crises throughout British Columbia. This is not our way.
Then, there is the money. In our culture, money that is raised in the clan’s name is accounted for through the feast system. However, we have received no accounting for the many thousands dollars in donations that are being collected by protesters in our name.
Worst of all, and what causes us to come forward at this time, is that the protesters who claim to respect Wet’suwet’en law showed no respect whatsoever for two of our leading matriarchs who died in recent weeks, or for their families. It is a basic rule in our culture that non-essential activities must cease during a period of mourning; however, protests and public activities carried on as if nothing had happened.
The daughter of one of the late matriarchs stated that, “While we brought mom home on Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, a concert was held at Bovill Square in Smithers by an acquaintance who assists with activities at Gidimt’en Checkpoint. Two of the protesting head chiefs also marched down Main Street in Smithers on the same day.”
The grieving families are devastated by this cruel and shameful misconduct toward their own people and feel marginalized from their ancestral lands, language and oral histories.
Clan chiefs are responsible to their clan members, but their current governance model makes it impossible for hereditary chiefs to fulfill their cultural responsibilities. To make things worse, these hereditary chiefs and some others are secretly negotiating agreements about our rights and title with the federal and provincial governments, according to a memorandum of understanding that was signed to end last year’s protests over the pipeline. All of these circumstances leave us questioning how we can move beyond the conflict and take a more unified approach for the good of all Wet’suwet’en.
We want the protesters to cease their blockades and for them to stop misleading people and making false claims about our laws. This letter arises from the voices and concerns of a number of Wet’suwet’en matriarchs, Gidimt’en matriarchs, Gidimt’en clan members and members of other clans. We have the right to share our thoughts and concerns about our territory without backlash from those within our nation, but also from non-Wet’suwet’en people who have little or no understanding of our culture, our history, our internal dynamics or our ancestral ways.
We ask the media to respect our privacy and security while we grieve for our late matriarchs. Due to COVID-19 and our responsibility to observe a mourning period for our deceased community members and female hereditary chiefs, we will not be granting further interviews at this time.
National Post
Sunday, December 12, 2021
CFL: On Grey Cup Weekend, What Is The Elephant In The Room In Order to Have Full Stadiums?
Winning is usually the best way. But drilling down further and addressing the elephant in the room, Toronto does not have the same demographic breakdown as say smaller cities in the west. A much higher population and higher competition for sports dollars? Yes to both, absolutely. However, it is often asked in a GTA of up to say 4.0 million people - how can a stadium of 25,000 still have empty seats? That would assume all 4.0 million are Canadians in the GTA, having grown up with CFL. In reality, in Toronto there is a much, much higher proportion of international students, (un)permanent residents, visa workers, express entry, provincial nominee programs, Canadian Experience Class immigrants and about 97 other entry programs to Canada (in addition to Canadians drawn from other parts of the country), etc. The NBA and MLB are an easy draw for this large group of Toronto, as the size of the city offers seeing their long dreamed about teams from the USA playing here, without much regard for highly valuing any Canadian talent/Canadiana. Bluntly and frankly, this group of non-CFL fans or have not heard of the CFL, are probably working and living with similar circumstanced people and will never be introduced or allow themselves to appreciate Canadian talent, rules, or being in an outdoor stadium in November. That code will have to be cracked in Toronto. And when it is...
Saturday, December 11, 2021
The Result From 5G, Kovrig/Spavor, Political Boycott of Olympics...Canada Housing?
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/china-envoy-says-kovrig-spavor-confessed-to-crimes-warns-against-rejecting-huawei
It's finally been said and in print. Yes Virginia, China does have that influence over money leaving China and Hong Kong.
"...Much of China’s investments in Canada has gone into energy that China craves, but too much has also gone into real estate as a way for Chinese elite to funnel money outside of the country,” said Momani.
“This latter investment could be curtailed further as a Chinese countermeasure, but which may not be a bad thing for homeowners seeing skyrocketing prices...”
Friday, December 10, 2021
Brainwashed MP Melanie Joly Believes Spavir and Kovrig Are "On Bail" Afyer Due Process in China's Courts
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/carson-jerema-melanie-joly-parrots-beijing-lie-about-the-two-michaels-being-on-bail
"...Joly, who said she spoke to the former detainees, was asked about their reaction to Canada’s diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. She avoided the question and explained there are issues related to the case that “have not been settled yet.” When pressed by interviewer David Common, Joly elaborated that, “Of course the two Michaels are on bail according to the criminal law in China, and so we want to make sure we work that out with the Chinese government.”
This is of course the fiction that Beijing would have everyone believe — that the arrest and nearly three-year detention of Spavor and Kovrig was justified as part of the routine operations of a normally functioning justice system, and completely unrelated to the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in B.C. on an American warrant. The notion that Spavor and Kovrig are out “on bail” — words that left Joly’s lips as if she truly believed them — is part of the lie that their release in September had nothing to do with Meng’s American plea deal...."
More of Your "Transparent" Liberals: After More Than Two Years, We Will Not Know For Years to Come What Happened at the Winnipeg Microbiology Lab Ahead of Covid
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/order-to-produce-docs-on-fired-scientists-ended-with-dissolution-of-parliament-rota
More than two years later, this information and activity will now never be known, at least for years to come. For National security reasons? Meaning disguisng how bad Canada's national security really is? Your "transparent" Liberals.
"...The documents opposition parties want to see involve PHAC’s decision to fire scientists Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, from their jobs at Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Laboratory last January.
Their demand for unredacted documents includes material related to the transfer, overseen by Qiu, of deadly Ebola and Henipah viruses to China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology in March 2019..."
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Should Accepting Refugees be Warranted out Of Circumstance and Compassion or Just an Annual, Numbered Election Goal?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/immigration-refugees-canada-1.6258067
Does this look like a family of persecuted,
scorned, tortured individusls that urgently need to leave the country?
Canada's Immigration System is Officially Broken, Overwhelmed by Virtuous and Short Sighted Election Goals: Needs to Be an Independent Body Using Data, Economic Models, Labour Forecasts, Impacts in Housing, Healthcare, Pensions
1.8 million backlog? Canada's "sacred" institution of immigration is broken. More reasons why the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and (lastly) Citizenship should be an independent body and NOT subject to a government over promising whimsical, reckless, virtuous and short sighted election goals with no knowledge of the resources needed to perform these amounts. 401,000 here, 50,000 there, 20,000 from yet another unfortunate war torn country, ongoing federal programs, ongoing provincial nominee programs, economic class entrants, student visas, temporary visas, family reunifications, parents and grand parents reunification lotteries...
1.8 million?! By the numbers
"548,195 permanent residence applications, including 112,392 refugee applications.
775,741 temporary residence applications (study permits, work permits, temporary resident visas and visitor extensions).
468,000 Canadian citizenship applications"
CBC.ca: Ongoing immigration-processing delays leave many in limbo in Canada and overseas.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/delays-across-immigration-streams-leave-many-in-limbo-in-canada-and-overseas-1.6275084
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Stop the Press! NDPLiberals Only Understand Good Times Or Will Look For Excuses to Spend
Stop the press!
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/john-ivison-pbo-report-reveals-soaring-government-spending-under-the-liberals
"...The estimates suggest that while the Liberals are not seeking to appropriate as much as the $459 billion they asked for in 2020/21, spending in this fiscal year is likely to be far higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The PBO said the government is seeking budgetary authorities for $379.9 billion this fiscal year to date. That is 28 percent higher in real 2021 dollars than the federal government sought a decade ago and 16 percent more than the year before COVID hit. (The Estimates do not cover costs related to the wage and rent subsidies, the Canada Child Benefit, tax expenditures or Employment Insurance, for which Parliament does not authorize annual spending.)
We will get a much clearer view of the government’s total spending when Chrystia Freeland tables her fall fiscal update next week. (As an aside, we should treat its projections with caution – the PBO report reveals that the last fiscal update forecast COVID recovery benefits would cost $10.3 billion this year; the reality will be closer to $18 billion.)
But it is already apparent that the Liberals have used the pandemic as an opportunity to expand the reach of government..."
Turning Backs on Canadian Veterans, "De-Funding" The Military: Your NDPLiberals
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-when-justin-trudeau-turned-his-back-on-veterans
In 2018, "...Because they are asking for more than we are able to give right now.”
Let us now jump forward to December 2021, in the midst of the COVID pandemic. Over $500 billion have gushed with cataract force and Niagara volume from this same government. Flights to the sand and surf of Tofino, B.C., have been booked for the prime minister. Hundreds of flights, hotels and expenses have been paid for to attend climate conferences. And, just as a side note, a needless election, birthed in sheer political opportunism, wasted $600 million, a sum that could have purchased a lot of supports for wounded soldiers.
The cash has poured out of the Liberal treasury during COVID in sublime aggregates that only a prime minister who has no idea about “monetary policy” would ever authorize..."
Monday, December 6, 2021
Probably the Last Great Leader Canada Has Ever Had: Mulroney Receives Churchill Award
Thr last time Canada was respected in the world and by the US was when Mulroney and Reagan sharing the stage and singing when Irish Eyes Are Smiling. Never again have US relations and world relations peaked as such. Unwavering in free trade initiatives ans other unpopular decisions
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/conrad-black-brian-mulroneys-well-deserved-churchill-society-honours
Saturday, December 4, 2021
401,000 Per Year To Canada Of Not the Best and Brightest; Scores of 18.8% of Threshold Are Being Accepted
No science, no data, no evidence from "transparent" NDPLiberals supporting "401,000 permanent residents per year" but...
"... IRCC has not been inviting the highest-ranking candidates among the entire Express Entry pool, as it did prior to the pandemic, but rather it has invited the highest-ranking CEC and PNP candidates. This has caused overall CRS cut-off scores to decline as the department aimed to invite as many CEC candidates as possible to support its immigration target for this year. The most notable draw of the year came on February 13 when IRCC invited 27,332 CEC candidates to apply for permanent residence, a feat it achieved by setting the CRS cut-off score at just 75. To put this into perspective, this draw was almost six times larger than the previous record (Express Entry has existed since 2015), and the cut-off score was nearly 400 points lower than what it usually was prior to the pandemic..."
https://www.cicnews.com/2021/12/express-entry-ircc-finalizing-over-14000-cec-applications-and-under-600-fswp-applications-per-month-1219746.html
Friday, December 3, 2021
Canada's Housing Policy
https://financialpost.com/real-estate/mortgages/policymakers-should-examine-new-housing-data-before-proposing-solutions
"Nothing to See Here": Liberals Open Up a Crack of Information Hoping Chinese Canadian Scientists Walked Out of National Lab Just Before Covud Erupted (An Important Piece to the Pandemic)
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/compromise-proposed-to-allow-opposition-mps-to-see-documents-on-fired-scientists
Hello Liberal Virtuous Environmental Anti-Development Crusaders - You Are Winning! You Are Destroying Canada's Economy and Prosperity!
"...He found for the first time on record, there was an absolute contraction in our capital stock, as new investment did not cover depreciation – a calamity for a small trading economy like Canada...."
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/john-ivison-we-are-bleeding-capital-and-that-spells-big-trouble-report-warns
Thursday, December 2, 2021
Canada's CF-18 Fighter Jet Replacement: And Then There Were Two (After Pissing Off All the Others)...
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/canadian-press-newsalert-boeing-officially-out-of-canadian-fighter-jet-competition
Wednesday, December 1, 2021
The Hybrid House of Commons
The Hybrid House Of Commons until June 30, 2022?
And for Canada's " most important election", no rush to get back to work after five months away and on the eve of a Christmas break
"...That chastening experience has not stopped the government from trying to do another end run around the opposition parties when it comes to avoiding scrutiny in the House of Commons – incredibly with the support of the NDP. The motion that sanctions what O’Toole called “ministers hiding in their basements on Zoom” expires on June 23, 2022. But who would bet against it being renewed, particularly given the enthusiasm of New Democrats like the party’s House leader Lindsay Mathyssen, who said a hybrid House would be more “equitable,” allowing parents with young children to participate?..."
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/john-ivison-trudeau-liberals-attempt-another-end-run-around-accountability
Political Correctness and 1984isms: Who's At the Heart Of It - Of Course, The English CBC
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/jesse-kline-cbcs-18-words-you-cant-say-is-the-dumbest-thing-ive-ever-heard
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/words-and-phrases-commonly-used-offensive-english-language-1.6252274
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Wokeness and the Last Bastion of Free Speech...Comedy Clubs?
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/a-trans-person-a-christian-and-a-feminist-walk-into-a-comedy-bar-full-comment-with-anthony-furey
Canada Once Was a Widely Respected, Revered Military Force; Now Under NDPLiberal Rule and Apathy Our Peace Keeping Missions Alone Have Become This...
"...Meanwhile, Canada’s total contribution to the UN has sunk to historic lows.
Canada had 57 soldiers and police officers on peacekeeping missions at the end of September, according to the UN. While that was up from the record low of 34 in August 2020, it was still less than half the number when the Liberals took power in 2015.
Richard Gowan, who serves as UN director for the International Crisis Group, an independent organization, said there has long been disgruntlement at United Nations headquarters over the pace of Canada’s contributions — particularly after it lost its bid for a seat on the Security Council.
“Canada made a lot of quite big pledges and then started to slow-walk them,” he said..."
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/u-s-presses-canada-to-make-good-on-promised-200-soldier-peacekeeping-force
Political Correctness Never Ceases To Amaze: Naming of Next Corona Viruses
https://nationalpost.com/news/who-skipped-over-nu-and-xi-to-avoid-causing-cultural-offence-in-naming-new-variant
Monday, November 29, 2021
Environmental Terrorism: Only in Canada You Say?
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/np-view-inciting-lawless-environmental-activists-is-something-david-suzuki-may-come-to-regret
Perhaps the Liberals Are Capable of Learning From Pandemic Mistakes: Canada Shuts Border to Southern Africa Fkights/Travel
Or maybe the same case of optics versus flying in from another country or more connections.
"....For once, on border policy, we’re not miles behind the rest of the world.
Alghabra elicited groans of derision from the opposition benches when he claimed the government, “from day one, took decisive action at our borders to protect Canadians.” The groans were entirely appropriate. For many days in early 2020, after much of the rest of the world had declared “day one” and closed their borders, the Liberals rolled their eyes at the very notion: it wouldn’t work; it was against World Health Organization rules; it was probably racist; certainly it was terribly, terribly un-fancy...."
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selley-for-once-the-federal-government-acts-decisively-at-the-border
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Canadian Immigration Up, Canadian Wages Not So Much
As Immigrants Pour In, Wages Stagnate in Surging Canadian Economy https://assets.bwbx.io/s3/readings/R2FCSVDWLU6A1637825914974.mp3
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
Wokeness, Mandated Equity and Diversity Are Killing Merit and Innovation
Finally..."Kambhampati said he didn’t go public after the first grant was rejected but decided to speak out now because the increasing use by the government of equity, diversity and inclusion, aka “EDI,” provisions, as well as woke culture, are killing innovation, harming science and disrupting society."
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/minority-professor-denied-grants-because-he-hires-on-merit-people-are-afraid-to-think
It's Not China's "One Belt, One Road" Initiative; It's Also an "Infrastructure War" To Gain Toeholds in Resource Countries
Offers to build airports? Wants to buy an abandoned naval base? Who else could do this?
https://www.mining.com/web/greenland-strips-chinese-mining-firm-of-licence-to-iron-ore-deposit/
Things Are Becoming "Normal", Canada's Illegal Border Crossings Are "Officially" Open Again
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/first-reading-at-least-the-illegal-border-is-open-again
"...While Canada’s legal border crossings remain a quagmire of weird and contradictory COVID-19 restrictions, the process is much smoother at Canada’s most popular illegal border crossing, which officially reopened this week. Under Canada’s Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States, refugee claimants are denied entry to Canada if they try to cross from the United States — the reasoning being that they’re already in a “safe country.” Since 2017, however, thousands of people have sidestepped this measure by first illegally crossing into Canada and then making their refugee claim within Canadian borders. One of the most well-trafficked of these crossings, Roxham Road, reopened this week after it was shut down in early 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns. (A note on terminology: It is indeed illegal to enter Canada at Roxham Road, but the infraction is waived if it eventually turns out that the crosser is a legitimate refugee, which is why the Immigration and Refugee Board refers to Roxham Road entries as “irregular” border crossings.)..."
And More Reasons Why The "Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship" Should Be An Independent Body With "Data and Science" To Determine Its Path Rather Than a Whimsical, Reckless Government Platform
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/sabrina-maddeaux-lacklustre-liberal-throne-speech-promises-to-worsen-economic-problem
And more reasons why the " Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship" (yes, Citizenship is last in that lengthy official title) should be an independent body with "data and science" to determine its path rather than a whimsical, reckless government platform trying ever so hard for a one-time majority government.
"..Simon also confirmed the government plan to continue its ambitious immigration plans, no matter how unsustainable those may be. “The Government will continue increasing immigration levels and reducing wait times, while supporting family reunification and delivering a world-leading refugee program,” she read.
It’s clear Canada doesn’t currently have the infrastructure, whether it be healthcare or housing, to support the large targets set by the Liberals. Population growth has been definitively tied to the country’s housing shortage, particularly in major cities. While family reunification sounds lovely in theory, it risks flooding the country with senior-age immigrants we have little ability to support. Unbalanced immigration also results in poor outcomes for immigrants themselves, and too often exploitation.
That the Liberals have no inclination to put in the work and funding needed to properly support their immigration goals reveals a lack of seriousness and foresight that should worry Canadians and those considering a move here alike. There’s still no sign their lofty ambitions are backed by adequate planning...."
Throne Speech: This Is What Liberals Were So Zealous About Voting For During A Pandemic?
"...It’s difficult to imagine a less-inspiring throne speech. By their very nature, these occasions aren’t exactly the most lively of events, but Governor General Mary May Simon’s version was downright painful. Delivered in a stilted monotone, with her nose in a binder, it was almost as though Simon was reading the speech for the first time. She barely made it through the acronym “LGBTQ” when speaking to the long-awaited ban on conversion therapy. Fifth graders regularly deliver more engaging, articulate presentations..."
"... Now, to those promises. The 32-minute speech was more or less a retread of the Liberals’ major platform promises. There was a large focus on reconciliation, climate change, and ending the pandemic. There hasn’t been much change on any of these files since the election, and so there wasn’t an expectation to hear anything new.
...Ultimately, the throne speech’s lacklustre delivery suited its content, making it hard to feel optimistic about what lies ahead and our government’s ability to fix the problems at hand. It was a missed opportunity to justify the summer election and re-energize Canadians and Parliament at a crucial time. Rather, it was pretty darn depressing..."
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/sabrina-maddeaux-lacklustre-liberal-throne-speech-promises-to-worsen-economic-problems
The New Terrorist: David Suzuki Fans the Flames of Bringing Deliberate Pipeline Vandalism...To Fight For Climate Change With Terrorism
"...It’s official: David Suzuki has jumped the shark. At a protest by the extremist anti-fossil fuels group Extinction Rebellion and a subsequent interview with CHEK News, Suzuki said “We’re in deep, deep doo-doo … This is what we’re come to. The next stage after this, there are going to be pipelines blown up if our leaders don’t pay attention to what’s going on.”..."
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/tasha-kheiriddin-david-suzukis-blown-up-pipelines-comment-is-a-winking-incitement-to-eco-terrorism
David Suzuki, Now Environmental Kamakazi: "Pipelines Will be Blown Up” If Political Leaders Do Not Act On Climate Change
And this individual five years ago was thought to be a potential Governor General candidate at one point? Now his threatening approach is: government of Canada, fix the environment otherwise we will blow up pipelines...to fix the environment...what the...????
https://nationalpost.com/news/david-suzuki-foundation-disavows-suzukis-warning-that-pipelines-will-be-blown-up-if-there-is-no-climate-change-action
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
The Nonsensical Justification of Canada's US Border Policy When it Comes to Refugees Versus Tourists
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/canada-ends-covid-19-policy-turning-back-asylum-seekers-between-border-crossings
"...Canada turned at least 544 would-be refugees back to the Unites States between March 2020 and mid-October. The government did not immediately respond to questions regarding why it was ending the policy now and what if any quarantine rules would apply to asylum-seekers who are not vaccinated.
...Silcoff said it did not make sense to allow tourists entry, as Canada has begun to do, while barring people seeking protection..."
Friday, November 19, 2021
More Reasons Why The Ministry of Immigration Should Be An Independent Body and Whimsical Control Taken Away From the Government Of The Day (And How Thr NDPLiberals Are Reducing Canadians' Wage Growth)
http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/canada-open-to-ramping-up-record-immigration-new-minister-says-1.1684120
More reasons why the ministry of immigration should be an independent body and whimsical control taken away from the government of the day. An ill thought, reckless election target of 401,000 in 2021, (mostly permanent residents), not full citizenship) with no regard for the 6.7% unemployment rate (4.6% in US as a comparison, or 50% higher in Canada), the tens of thousands of small businesses that have and will go bankrupt, a health care system currently operating beyond capacity, 20 yr high inflation nevermind among the hottest, most speculative, the most inflated housing markets in the world....but at least "high levels of foreign-born workers, for example, have helped to mitigate wage pressures in Canada.". How do Canadian workers put up with the NDPLiberals?
Meanwhile, for such a significant institution and portfolio, heading into December 2021, there is NO TARGET yet for 2022 and beyond !
"...As flows slowed during the pandemic because of travel restrictions, the government adapted by turning more temporary foreign workers and students already in the country into permanent residents, giving them a path to citizenship. There are more than 1 million people in the country with neither citizenship or immigrant status..."
"...High levels of foreign-born workers, for example, have helped to mitigate wage pressures in Canada in recent months at a time when inflation has been surging..."
"...As flows slowed during the pandemic because of travel restrictions, the government adapted by turning more temporary foreign workers and students already in the country into permanent residents, giving them a path to citizenship. There are more than 1 million people in the country with neither citizenship or immigrant status..."
Thursday, November 18, 2021
The Congo (and China) Will Rule the Battery World, As It Relates to Cobalt
https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/electric-vehicles/first-cobalt-reinvents-itself-as-battery-metal-middle-man
Canada's Housing Market: Inflation Up and Talk of Interest Rate Hikes On Again; If Interest Rates Won't Get You Then (Carbon) Taxes, BC Flooding Disaster, No Growth AND Inflation Will Anyway
Maybe the Bank of Canada does not have to do anything...?
https://financialpost.com/news/economy/canadas-annual-inflation-rate-hits-4-7-in-oct-highest-since-feb-2003
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Canada's Housing Market: These Two Articles Appeared Consecutively In the Financial Post This Morning
What does this say? Real Estate investors (Canadian, permanent resident or not even in Canada) are presently buying property (ies) ahead of interest rate hikes and locking in rates ? Or have we have had a record sales and speculation level just in time for those who recently purchased and are on the verge of financial instability with higher rates, to be knocked out of the housing market entirely and forced to sell?
In the meantime, inflation will be significant without the demonstration of growth. A dangerous place to be.
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Liberals' Energy Policy: Take Down Alberta and Its Oil amd Gas Industry, Yet the "Plan" (or Lack of One) Is To Be "Determined By The Market"
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/liberals-leaving-nuclears-future-to-the-market-while-other-countries-bet-big
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Thanks to Liberal Voters, a NDP Government Has Been Voted In: Another NDP-Liberal Government?
"...The Liberal-NDP coalition would be a disaster for the Canadian economy and cause devastating financial impacts for workers and communities from coast to coast to coast,” he said..."
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/a-liberal-ndp-pact-liberals-searching-for-common-ground-with-parties
Buy the Banks...2
http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/canada-s-banks-cleared-to-hike-dividends-repurchase-shares-1.1677118
Central Bank Speak: Inflation is "Transitory But Not Short Lived" Or In Other Words, Temporsry But Not....(???)
Now that US Fed J. Powell (last week) and BOC Governor Macklem this week creating their own definitions of what temporary inflation means to fit their definition, inflation will always "be under control". Just like US Fed's 1.6% inflation estimate, the markets' 2.6% inflation estimate and in reality higher actual inflation rates.
But the real scary part - if there is no economic growth behind it no matter the inflation number.
http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/transitory-but-not-short-lived-macklem-maintains-boc-has-inflation-under-control-1.1678767
Monday, November 8, 2021
The Most Wasteful of Resources: A Study on Inflation And....Climate Change?
http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/bank-of-canada-to-monitor-how-climate-change-impacts-inflation-1.1676556
Of all the other factors the Bank of Canada could focus on that are more immediate and impactful - chip shortages, housing, pandemics, logistics and supply chain issues, subsidized industries like dairy, hiring practices of trucking companies, port capacities, energy and pipeline shortages to heat homes and run factories...
This independent body, supposedly taking no cues or influence from government and other bodies, looking more and more like a Trudeau Liberal caucus.
Canada's Arctic Continues to Be Overlooked Militarily
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/jeffrey-f-collins-without-plan-for-new-submarines-canada-faces-defence-gap-in-the-arctic
Saturday, November 6, 2021
Now We Know Why An Election Was Called In September
Ahead of Glasgow COP26, Parliament would not be sitting until the end of November. As such, lacking all public House of Commons debate, lacking consultation with Alberta and other provinces/Territories, lacking public disclosure of caucas meetings or committees (there were none) thoroughly discussing such policies of current energy versus a plan for future renewables, lacking an overly priced consultant study usually held up high from a podium. Trudeau knew that and (as they say "in the dead of night") was allowed (ie. could not pass the opportunity) to make the most reckless, whimsical, dictator-like policy statements uncontested, problem-free, unilaterally and with no obstacles in trying to further out-Green, out-NDP the opposition in solidifying his majority government, no matter the costs (for Alberta and before the ensuing energy fallout...see "Europe") in probably two years. Your "transparent" Liberal Party (oh wait, that was two elections ago). Thanks Rex
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-on-flags-and-climate-trudeau-rules-by-fiat
What Does A Flag Mean to Canadians Versus Others
National Post platformed Nov 5 2021
"...THE ESCAPE HATCH OPENS
This morning the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) made its much-anticipated move in the chess game that has developed over the display of the Canadian flag on federal government buildings. As you will recall, the flags on all these buildings, including those abroad, were lowered to half-mast in May, when unmarked graves were discovered on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., and have stayed there ever since. The prime minister said then that, although the lowering of the flags is his exclusive responsibility, he wouldn't allow them to be flown normally again until “Indigenous communities and leadership” agreed that they could go back up.
Was this elliptical, confounding phrase intended to refer to the AFN? We wondered at the time who was capable of giving the necessary permission, if not the AFN: it appears, quite naturally, to have accepted the position, which is bound to be controversial if made explicit, that it is the exclusive political instrument for Indigenous communities.
In any case the AFN announced its solution to the stalemate this morning. Its executive committee, after consulting with elders, suggests raising the Maple Leaf on Sunday alongside an orange “Every Child Matters” banner. Both flags would go to half-mast on Monday, Nov. 8, this being Indigenous Veterans Day. The flags then go back up, and the Canadian one comes down again on Nov. 11, according to the usual tradition. From then on, both flags fly until “all of our children are recovered, named and symbolically or physically returned to their homelands with proper ceremony.”
There are Canadians who have no use for a national flag; some, no doubt, dream of carrying national self-abnegation to the point of having a fully transparent flag. But even these progressives would have to admit that it is hard to imagine a sequence of events allowing some future prime minister and some future AFN executive to get together and say, “Great job, everybody, the orange one can come down now.” This is a proposed permanent adoption of two national flags (and who is to say it won’t catch on among private citizens?). Yet it could still be argued that the AFN is letting the prime minister off the hook lightly, in exchange for a symbolic political victory of its own.
With the approach of Remembrance Day, the flag flying at half-mast was becoming a symbol, not of Canadian remorse, but of one politician's daft impulsiveness and inability to act with even the immediate future in mind. As much as some approved of the original gesture, the prime minister should never have been allowed to treat the flag as personal property or as a subject for political negotiation.
In what other country would this be contemplated? Where else could a head of government do something like this without being warned or grimaced at or, outside the pages of the National Post, castigated very much? Indeed, how was this particular power of jerking the flag up and down on government buildings ever assigned to a prime minister in the first place? It is a little anomalous that this file doesn't belong to the Governor General, who wrangles other flag-like symbols like medals and heraldry.
This isn't really about First Nations, and nobody should criticize the AFN for exploiting the political opportunity that the prime minister handed it. (Its right to represent First Nations as a single collectivity is a separate question.) NP Platformed would call attention to the constantly growing number of occasions on which the flag is lowered, including annual fixed dates in honour of firefighters, police, victims of violence against women, victims of terrorism and “persons killed or injured in the workplace.”
Each one of these exceptions was carved out by some politician creeping around for votes: these were small insults to the permanence and status of the flag made in exchange for temporary goodwill long since expended. Now the AFN is making its own withdrawal from the fund. Who would dare tell them that their bona fides might command less in compensation than those of cops or injured workers? How can the rule that the flag should normally be flown as other countries' are be retrieved or re-established when we abandoned it through apathy long ago?
(Last-minute update: As we were preparing to attach winglets to this newsletter so that it can make its way to your inbox, CBC’s Olivia Stefanovich inconveniently reported the next move in the chess match. If Stefanovich’s information is correct, the flags will do the up-down-up-down shimmy that the AFN requested between now and Remembrance Day, and will go back up for good on the 12th. But the prime minister is not surrendering altogether; he has apparently undertaken to “find a place in the parliamentary precincts” for permanent display of a “survivors’ flag” endorsed by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. This falls short of the AFN’s condition, so all we can do for now is await another chess move. Don’t you love government by impulse?..."
Rex Murphy To The Rescue of Sober And Questioning Thought Yet Again
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-on-flags-and-climate-trudeau-rules-by-fiat
Why did we have an election again ? So Trudeau could in the dead of night without Parliament sitting, without consultation to provinces and without debate go to Glasgow and announce such dictator like, baseless, whimsical policies.
Covid Recovey: A Tale of Two Countries
In the US, unemployment is down further to 4.6% and 520,000 jobs added.
Meanwhile in Canada we are supposed to be happy about 6.7% and jobs before covid being recovered. With spending continuing at a drunken sailor rate.
https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/stories/2021/11/05/the-labor-market-s-recovery-in-one-chart
https://tradingeconomics.com/canada/unemployment-rate
Friday, November 5, 2021
Once Again, English Canada Does Not Understand Quebec: If The Tables Were Turned...
What if a unilingual, French only speaking CEO running BCE, RBC, Shopify, Canadian Tire spoke to a Vancouver crowd only in French?
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selley-air-canadas-ceo-just-made-quebecs-french-language-crusade-even-weirder
Remember the Cineplex Takeover Proposal? The Saga Continues...In The Courts
http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/cineplex-decision-will-be-one-to-watch-for-companies-eyeing-covid-litigation-experts-1.1677216
Hello Higher Interest Rates
The Fed has begun Tapering. The Fed has also redefined what "transitory" means and it is not good for inflation. Monthly bond purchases will decline. Bank of Canada has forecasted sooner hikes in 2022.
https://financialpost.com/news/economy/higher-interest-rates-are-coming-are-canadian-households-ready
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Quebec's Domestic Energy Supply and Demand Irony
Ironic that "no domestic pipelines/flow of energy in our backyard" Québec is more interested in powering the US with its cheap power...
"Tuesday night, voters in the state of Maine held a referendum on a ballot proposition to prohibit the construction of the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC), a joint project to run a heavy transmission line from Hydro-Quebec’s dams to the New England electrical grid through the forests of the state’s western half. At the moment, with close to 90 per cent of Maine’s precincts reporting, the “Yes” vote on the proposition — a vote to stop work on the line, which is already underway — is winning nearly 60-40."
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/colby-cosh-americans-dont-want-quebec-hydropower-excuse-me-while-i-wipe-away-tears-of-laughter
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Canada's Flags Have Been Half Mast For Months and Remembrance Day Is Around the Corner: The One Time a Year Where Flags Are Scheduled to be Lowered To Half Mast For Those That Died in the Various Wars...Including Indigenous
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selley-fracas-over-our-flag-is-a-distraction-entirely-of-trudeaus-making
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/pm-says-talks-may-offer-solution-to-raising-then-lowering-flag-to-honour-war-dead
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-trudeau-too-busy-saving-the-planet-to-raise-the-flag
Monday, November 1, 2021
In thr First Half of Its Fiscal Year Canada Bkew Through $57 Billion Deficit
http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/federal-deficit-hits-57b-nearing-halfway-of-fiscal-year-1.1674097
Sunday, October 31, 2021
New Environment Minister Guilbault's "Da Proof Is In Da Proof" Moment and a NDP Wolf in Liberal Sheep's Clothing
On Friday, he was more expansive about how the process is likely to work. He downplayed his opposition to the TMX and Line 5 pipelines. On the latter, he said: “My government has announced in the past that we support the continued operation of Line 5. Being part of the government, I support my government’s position”.
He also helped the Albertan NDP party, further adding to the view NDPs are running thr Liberal Party
"...the model established by the Notley government to bring in its Climate Leadership Plan in 2015 (an effort in which Guilbeault was involved, before entering politics)..."
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/john-ivison-guilbeault-loses-his-swagger-as-liberals-start-to-sound-more-consensual
Canada's New Environment Minister Is Crazier Than First Thought: We Have Moved From Catherine McKenna to This?
From Catherine McKenna to this:
"...Guilbeault went on to study political science and theology at the Université de Montréal.
He’s pointed to the link between environmentalism and religion in interviews, talking about how prophets thousands of years ago called for humanity to protect the environment around them..."
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/steven-guilbeaults-long-climb-from-tree-hugger-to-liberal-environment-minister
Friday, October 29, 2021
Others Are Waking Up to the NDPLiberals as John Ivison, National Post Wrote
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/ivison-is-justin-trudeau-the-first-ndp-prime-minister
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
The New Team Trudeau Unveiled
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/in-trudeau-cabinet-shake-up-harjit-sajjan-removed-as-defence-minister-replaced-by-a-woman
Canada's Housing
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/sabrina-maddeaux-cabinet-shuffle-shows-liberals-dont-care-about-soaring-housing-prices
The Liberal Party - dictated by the NDP and now (ex)Greenpeace. Inflation...without growth? A very bad place to be for Canada
The Liberal Party - dictated by the NDP and now (ex)Greenpeace. Inflation...without growth? A very bad place to be for Canada
"...Those conversations have not yet happened and there are realistic fears that heavy-handed government intervention will simply transfer market-share to Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
As a non-driver, he is probably delighted that gas prices are now averaging 146¢ a litre across the country, up from 100¢ a year ago. But he will be less enamoured that high oil and gas prices have increased investment and drilling in the oilpatch.
Even these prices are a fraction of what they could be if the federal government was an enthusiastic partner. Canada has no export terminal so gas ships to the U.S. for $5-6 a gigajoule and is then exported to Europe and China for three times that price..."
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/john-ivison-putting-an-activist-in-charge-of-a-government-department-is-always-dangerous
Radical Environmentalist Becomes Minister of Envirinment in Trudeau's Government
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/jesse-kline-guilbeaults-move-to-environment-shows-trudeau-plans-to-sacrifice-prosperity
"...It is somewhat apropos that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his new cabinet less than a week after Alberta released its “Report of the Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns.” As detailed in that report, a central figure in the crusade to shut down oilsands development was Trudeau’s new environment minister, Steven Guilbeault, which exposes the prime minister’s past rhetoric about the need to strike a balance between the economy and the environment as meaningless.
Guilbeault has been involved in the environmental movement since the early 1990s, which, on first blush, may make him seem like a natural choice for environment minister. But unlike his predecessor, Jonathan Wilkinson, who had a background in green energy companies, Guilbeault was a radical environmentalist who has spent his career trying to shut down the oilsands and derail Canadian energy projects.
He is perhaps best known for scaling the CN Tower in 2001, while working for Greenpeace, and unfurling a banner reading, “Canada and Bush Climate Killers,” a stunt for which he was later convicted of public mischief..."
Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Insult to Injury: Meng's Welcome Back By Huawei
http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/huawei-employees-sing-and-dance-to-welcome-back-cfo-from-exile-1.1671328
The Loonie Dichotomy Battling Inflation With Higher Forecasted Rates in 2022 as Well as Benefitting From Higher Oil Prices That Help the Loonie...and Inflation
https://financialpost.com/executive/executive-summary/posthaste-the-loonie-is-beating-forecasts-and-after-wednesday-could-fly-even-higher
When Will the Climate Cruaders Realize We Have Had Or Having More Immediate and Real Health, Financial and Energy Crises Before a "Temperature Crisis"
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/derek-h-burney-the-fallout-from-the-global-energy-crisis-demands-a-reality-check-in-canada
Trudeau Liberals Want 40,000 Afghan Refugees in Canada
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canada-promised-to-take-in-20000-40000-afghan-refugees-where-are-they
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/thousands-of-canadas-allies-and-their-families-still-stranded-in-afghanistan-ngos
"...An estimated 3,750 Afghans are on their way to beginning life in Canada through a special immigration program, according to Alexander Cohen, press secretary at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The program was set up this summer to assist interpreters who worked with the Canadian armed forces and Afghan employees of the Canadian embassy. Individuals who qualify, and their families, have been able to apply directly for it..."
Yet, "...Jawad is among those who have already arrived. (Last names of refugees have been withheld for their privacy and security.) He worked for the Canadian embassy in Kabul for eleven years. He landed in Canada at the end of August with his wife and their three children via Kuwait and Germany..."
A Recent Bankrupt Car Rental Company and an Insanely Overvalued Electric Vehicle Company Walk Into a Bar...
Amazing how the US and global world of finance is easily fooled...
The Power of Elon Musk, the Meme-Stock Lord https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-10-25/elon-musk-makes-tesla-hertz-and-bitcoin-memes-go-up
Canadians Pay Huge Carbon Taxes to "Save The Planet" But Who Are The Big Emitters and by How Much?
China’s Role in Climate Change: The Biggest Carbon Emissions Polluters https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-china-climate-change-biggest-carbon-polluters/?cmpid=BBD102521_BIZ
Saturday, October 23, 2021
CFL Week 11: Can Anyone Stop the Bombers? Nope
A short week with three teams enjoying a bye week.
Winnipeg at Edmonton: Blue Bombers Win 26 - 16
The situation in the Edmonton locker room deteriorates with the decions to bench original starting QB, Trevor Harris and likely on the trading block. Suprised at the decision, Harris showed class and continues to be a member of the Elks' team while providing a positive presence to the understudy Cornelius and the rest of the team while on the sidelines. After a 3-2 first quarter, Edmonton's woes appeared to be ending after a close game at 16-16 leading into the 4th quarter, with even a Bombers' touchdown taken away early in the 1st quarter by an Edmonton interception in Elks' own end zone. Edmonton appeared to be destined to end their losing streak (and end Winnipeg's winning streak!) on a certain interception in the 4th with no one in front (for a guaranteed "pick six"); however, dropped immediately. Afterwards, Winnipeg made Elks pay on the ensuing play and drive and stretched the lead to 23-16, closing out with a field goal and a late interception playing the final seconds in a victory formation. Playoff spot secured. Curious to see where Harris ends up - Montreal to replace Adams Jr? Ottawa to add to all the other quarterbacks they have, with the ex-NFL Hodges yet to play? Trade Nichols for Harris? A proven back up to Reilly (BC), Masoli (Hamilton)?
Montreal at Ottawa: Alouettes Win 27 - 16
The last place Redblacks were looking for a break to turn things around with at least one win. Ottawa has suffered from quarterback injuries, unexperienced starting quarterbacks and games being grasped out of the hands of victory by late opposing drives (as in the week prior against Montreal). Even trying for a scheduling break has been difficult playing its third game in 10 days this October. In a rematch with Montreal after the Turkey Bowl, things did not go well again. Although hanging tough in most of the game Ottawa shot themselves in the foot again with momentum drives stopped on interceptions. Rookie quarterback Evans replaced by rookie Christion late in the 4th; however, on his first drive, went down with an ankle injury and carried off the field.
Calgary at BC: Stampeders win 39 - 10
With Calgary pressing in the standings and nipping at a secured playoff spot (despite Edmonton's woes), and a game in hand for BC, the playoff race is an unfamiliar one in the CFL West. Off to a quick scoring drive, BC started with a touchdown but failed at the two point convert. Calgary's Bo Levi replied quickly with his own touchdown pass. The exclamation pont was from Calgary's #32 Roc Thomas returning the ball from hi sown 10 yd line for a touchdown. The "Most Loved Name" award goes to Luther Hakunavanhu.of Calgary.
Magically, The Elections Ridings Have Been Adjusted (Conducted Every Decade) AFTER Liberal Election Win and BEFORE The House of Commons Returns to Sitting
Justin makes his bed again and now has given Québec another reason to vote BQ or non Liberal
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/bloc-quebecois-says-quebecs-status-as-a-nation-means-it-must-not-lose-a-seat
Friday, October 22, 2021
Canada's Misunderstood Energy/Oil and Gas Sector and the (Worse) Options Available Without It
"...In 2019, Canada’s $102 billion in energy exports represented 17 per cent of all Canada’s exports, one of the highest years on record. Both the International Energy Agency and U.S. Energy Information Agency project strong growth in oil and gas over the next decade, followed by a static supply and demand to 2050. Even static levels that high will still produce hundreds of billions in tax payments and require continued levels of investment as reservoirs dry up.
Should Canada, with the third-largest proven reserves in the world, and the largest by far of those open to independent producers, step aside to let Russia, Saudi Arabia, and other unjust regimes meet the steadily growing demand?..."
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/bill-bewick-lets-be-clear-canada-should-not-move-past-oil-and-gas
Thursday, October 21, 2021
Could Bank of Canada Rates Rise Sooner Than 2022 Year End? The Inflation Numbers Say So
http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/statistics-canada-scheduled-to-reveal-september-inflation-figure-1.1668893
Buy the Canadian Banks, Just Buy Them!
http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/canadian-bank-dividends-could-rise-25-when-restrictions-lifted-1.1668682
Liberal Behaviours When Caught and Faced With Consequences...
The play book...
"...Chahal hopes “we can move forward,” a locution that suggests he will fit right into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet in due course. (He forgot the part of the Trudeau formula where he says his foul-up is an opportunity for us all to reflect, but he is still new to the federal scene.)..."
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/colby-cosh-the-bizarre-mail-tampering-scandal-threatening-the-political-career-of-calgarys-new-liberal-mp
Canadians' Smugness About Healthcare May Change If They Only Knew...
And NO! It's not FREE!
"...Smart says staffing questions have fallen through the cracks because health care straddles multiple levels of government: Ottawa pays while the provinces manage. Everyone realizes you can’t solve a doctor shortage without first knowing the scope of the problem. But no one seems to agree on who should do the work.
And while the governing Liberals promised during the fall federal election campaign to hire 7,500 family doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners over four years, Smart says Canada remains without a human health-resource plan..."
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canada-doesnt-know-how-bad-its-doctor-shortage-is-let-alone-how-to-fix-it
CBC Crossing Its Journalistic Integrity Boundaries? Say It Aint So!
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-on-climate-change-the-cbc-has-crossed-the-line-from-news-agency-to-pmo-mouthpiece
"...if it cannot be distinguished from the government’s own position, if it could very easily be seen as a bulletin from any activist, global warming advocacy or activist group, how can it seriously be considered a statement about “journalism” or proper news coverage? Indeed it is so intimately close to the current government’s position, and the government the source of CBC funding, it could without much stress of mind be said to be, at least, an apparent conflict of interest..."
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Russia Has Been "Turning Down the Gas" on Europe Since August, Now Look Where Europe Is...And Where North America Coukd Be Also For the Winter
"...As surging fuel costs have caused increasing economic havoc, pressure has grown on Russia, Europe’s largest supplier, to pump more. Extra Russian gas is seen as the main way to avoid an even deeper supply crunch in the middle of the winter.
But with relations with Europe in the deep freeze after years of sanctions and other tensions, there’s no appetite in the Kremlin to do any favors. Although exports to Europe are up this year from last year’s depressed levels, they lag those seen in 2019, according to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Daily flows have dropped in October and Gazprom has been slow to refill storage facilities it owns in Europe, adding to upward pressure on prices. Russia has blamed an overly hasty shift to relying on spot markets and alternative energy sources for the crisis..."
http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/russia-signals-europe-won-t-get-extra-gas-without-nord-stream-2-1.1668341
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Just as the 35,000 Carbon Cruasaders Descend Upon Glasgow While Britain Nears a Complete Energy Crisis Heading Into Winter, Russia Has A Message: No Extra Gas For Europe if No Nordstream 2 Pipeline
https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/russia-signals-europe-wont-get-extra-gas-without-nord-stream-2
Referendum? But Not In Quebec
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/why-alberta-is-holding-a-referendum-on-equalization-and-what-it-could-mean-for-other-provinces
Monday, October 18, 2021
Although the Liberals in Cohorts Have Let His Tofino Reconciliation Vacation Blow Over, The Heat Must Be Kept On
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/matt-gurney-the-prime-ministers-tofino-vacation-was-a-very-trudeau-kind-of-scandal
When Will Canada's Flags Be Raised Again and What Does It Say About our Leader?
"...If Canada’s collective project, if “achieving our country” as symbolized by the flag, is to be defined first and foremost by how to do right by Indigenous peoples, that’s probably not a bad thing at all. But if so, it is a project that absolutely must not be left to the whims and fancies and political calculations of one man, especially one whose government’s policies, and his own personal behaviour, have consistently failed so badly on this score.
It is up to Parliament to set this right. Thankfully, Canadians had the sense to return a minority government to Ottawa, which means our elected representatives have the ability to take control of this shambolic situation. When the House of Commons finally meets this fall, this must be its first order of business..."
The Globe and Mail: When will Canada raise its flags again?.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-when-will-canada-raise-its-flags-again/
Ontario Liberals Have Reached a New Level of Fantasy For Its View of Reality: Four Day Work Weeks ans Proportional Representation
CTV News Toronto: Ontario Liberals propose four-day work-week pilot project if elected in 2022.
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-liberals-propose-four-day-work-week-pilot-project-if-elected-in-2022-1.5626664
Sunday, October 17, 2021
Before Gas Prices Neared C$1.50 in Ontario (Higher in BC), Across the Pond This Was Alreqdy Happening....
https://financialpost.com/opinion/opinion-europe-made-its-energy-bed-and-now-must-sleep-in-it-shivering
Saturday, October 16, 2021
Is Anyone in Canada Counting? 80,000 Sponsored Permanent Redidenrs of...Permanent Residents
"...Canada looks to welcome around 80,000 immigrants through this category each year...". Not the best and brightest, just because someone is lucky enough to have a partner or spouse here in Canada already.
Canada Immigration News: Can I sponsor my spouse or partner for Canadian immigration?
https://www.cicnews.com/2021/10/can-i-sponsor-my-spouse-or-partner-for-canadian-immigration-1019360.html
Friday, October 15, 2021
Of 401,000 Entrants to Canada This Year Who Is Keeping Track? Are These PGP (Parents, Grand Parents) Programs (30,000) Included or Not?
More "lotteries" determining Canada's social and immigration make up
"...Exceptionally, this year, IRCC invited a record number of people to apply for the 2021 Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP), giving more Canadians and permanent residents than ever the opportunity to bring their loved ones to Canada. This is an extraordinary opportunity that must not be jeopardized in any way.
The way Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is receiving applications for the 2021 PGP is different from previous years. IRCC randomly selected and sent invitations to individuals who were already in the pool of potential sponsors and had submitted an interest to sponsor form in 2020. These invitations were sent by email or, if that was not possible, by mail between September 23 and October 4, 2021..."
Thursday, October 14, 2021
Some Cold Hard Facts for the "Renewable Energy At All Costs" Climate Crusaders
"...Ontario’s power generation sector is a curious target for environmentalists, given that it is 94 per cent emissions free and produces only three per cent of the province’s greenhouse gas emissions. Ontario produces 81 per cent fewer carbon emissions per kilowatt hour than the rest of Canada. That’s due to the phase-out of coal plants under the former Liberal government. That move reduced the power sector’s emissions from 21 per cent of the overall amount, even if Ontarians did pay a steep premium for every part of it.
Some of that progress will be lost over this decade because the aging Pickering nuclear reactor is being phased out, reducing generation capacity by 14 per cent. Other reactors are up for refurbishment, meaning the province will have to rely more on natural gas for power generation. As a result, electricity system emissions will rise from an average of 4.4 megatonnes to between 10.9 and 12.2 megatonnes in 2030, the province’s Independent Electricity System operator estimates. That’s still only one-third what they were in 2005..."
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
$80 Oil - Why Is Everyone Surprised?
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-this-energy-crisis-has-been-30-years-in-the-making-why-is-anyone-surprised
"...For as is it written in the Book of Climate Change: “Thou climate warriors, ye who assemble in fine hotels, and ye who squat on the highways and superglue your bottoms to the asphalt thereon, yea, all who vote Green — cold and want shall never visit ye. And much golden press coverage will be yours.”..."
Tuesday, October 12, 2021
David Rosenberg: Beware Stagflation from Energy Price Increases and Supply Chain Inflation Along With No Economic Griwth, The Worst of All Worlds
"...It’s certainly evident that transitory is not weeks, it's not even months,” he said. “It’s going to last so long as the pandemic is still with us. The two are hitched together.”..."
http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/recession-virtually-guaranteed-amid-energy-squeeze-rosenberg-1.1663214
Canada's MP Pensions: Read It and Weep
Toronto Sun: BONOKOSKI: Gold-plated pensions of our diligent MPs.
https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/bonokoski-gold-plated-pensions-of-our-diligent-mps
Friday, October 8, 2021
Rising Oil and Gas Prices, Record Pace of Home Price Increases, Logistical Supply Issues, Refuced Liquidity by Central Banks and Supports by Government - Who Cares If Inflation is Transitory or Not, Now Recession Is All But Guaranteed (David Rosenberg)
Might as well throw in a herd of locust to this confluence of factors
http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/recession-virtually-guaranteed-amid-energy-squeeze-rosenberg-1.1663214
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
Mendicino, the Biggest Yes Man in Liberal Government, Sends Nearly $2B For Immigration Services - For Most That Are Already Here (Immigration Will Be How Trudeau Acquires Majority Status)
$1.7 billion of which almost a quarter goes to Ontario (surprise, surprise). A signicant amount of those that were awarded permanent residencies and legal entry in Canada during the latest pandemic year were living/working in Canada anyway. What is $2 billion for?
Ontario: $407.2 million
Alberta: $124.1 million
British Columbia: $119 million
Manitoba: $46.6 million
Saskatchewan: $41.3 million
Nova Scotia: $17.2 million
New Brunswick: $14.6 million
Prince Edward Island: $6.2 million
Newfoundland and Labrador: $5.2 million
Yukon: $1.3 million
Northwest Territories: $1.1 million
Nunavut: $608,000
Sub total: $784.4 million
Other allocations: $46 million
Dedicated IRCC Initiatives: $46.2 million
Quebec (Not included in the memo): $650.3 million via the separate annual grant it receives from IRCC
Resettlement services (Not included in the memo): $145.7 million
Grand total (Not included in the memo): $1,672.6 billion
Canada Immigration News: IRCC’s immigrant settlement funding by province/territory for 2021-22.
Sunday, October 3, 2021
Mortgage Rates Increasing?
Better Dwelling: A Canadian Bank Hiked Its Mortgage Rates, and Others Are Expected To Follow Soon.
Trudeau's First Apology of His Third Term?...Only 13 Days
Even this author never thought the over/under on Trudeau's "first apology of his term" would take only 13 days.
CFL Week 9: Phenomenal Finishes and Unexpected Underdog
The craziest week so far in the shortened season, with Otttawa pulling off a win with a rookie QB's first appearance in a CFL game (and his backup also lacking any CFL game experience) followed by a Saturday night of crazy finishes.
Edmonton at Ottawa: RedBlacks Win 34-24
With two starting quarterbacks already injured, Ottawa brought in two quarterbacks without any CFL game experience in a desperate attempt to field a team. The TSN team unanimously picked Edmonton to win this one, but were proven wrong in the open minutes as Ottawa commenced with "guns a blazin'" and never looked back. New hires including Duck Hodges (ex-Steelers quarterback) and others expected to show up against Toronto next week. We will see what QB competitions there will be for Ottawa.
Winnipeg at BC: Blue Bombers Win 30-9
Despite the duel between the two best quarterbacks in the league (arguably), not a touchdown from BC's Michael Reilly. Winnipeg trounces BC and makes people wonder whether the Bombers will repeat after a pandemic year.
Montreal at Hamilton: Alouettes Win 23-20
A snooze fest to begin with, the last quarter, in particular, last five minutes were the ones to watch. Down 17-6 the Als scored two quick touchdowns to take the lead, followed by a 55 yard field goal that barely made it across the posts for Hamilton, tying up the game in the last second of play. To overtime, and with Hamilton pressing, they fumbled the ball and the Als take posession. An easy field goal is all that is needed in OT rules to seal the deal. Amazing comeback by Montreal, and ends the 11 game home victories streak in Hamilton.
Saskatchewan at Calgary: Stampeders Win 23-17
In a low scoring affair with only the kickers making points in the first half, again, this game resulted in a thriller. Heading into the dying minutes down by 6, Rougriders attempt an onside kick - successfully, but with a penalty. The kickoff was repeated; however, Calgary calls a cheeky time out. Then on the third attempt, Lauther kicks the ball 10 yards ahead and recovers it! Setting up Saskatchewan's chances to put this away. After some scrambling by Fajardo on the next play to gain further yards and the clock running out, the last throw was a Hail Mary pass and...intercepted.
Saturday, October 2, 2021
After All the Build Up, Enacting This First Day Of Reconciliation, Justin is Where?
Justin takes off to Tofino? After all that lead up to this day of Truth and Reconciliation, enacting a national day for it and being the inaugural annual one, he's not even around for it? Combined with the last six years of ethics challenges and scandals I continue to be baffled and bewildered why Liberal voters are absolutely enamoured with this "leader". Canadian apathy reigns I suppose.
Thursday, September 30, 2021
Is Inflation Transitory? Not Just Food, Gas
https://financialpost.com/news/economy/container-crunch-could-eventually-add-to-price-pressures-port-of-vancouver-warns
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Trudeau's First Days in Office
US/Australia alliance inked over submarine deal to combat China (snubbing France and Canada at same time) while coincidentally Canada's Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor are released from China and on a government of Canada plane within an hour of Huawei's Meng cutting a deal with USA and being released from her oppressive shackles of having to stay in her Vancouver mansion. Is she allowed to return to Canada? Does she keep her mansion? Justin right there on tarmac in Calgary for the photo opportunity thanks to the USA dealmaking.
On housing, the Liberals never addressed GST nor land transfer taxes in top of increasing housing unaffordability. What do they do? Raise the $1M limit for insured mortgages to $1.25M.
On immigration, Justin ramped up the partisanship of this institution and has given direct orders to +300 immigration gate keepers to automatically allow free stay in Canada if "intersectional" - impacted by two of ethnicity, religion, sexuality, political beliefs, etc. This is how the Liberals will get their majority.
http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/aurora-cannabis-posts-45-drop-in-q4-consumer-sales-1.1658192
https://torontosun.com/news/national/gunter-liberals-plan-to-make-immigration-to-canada-much-easier
Monday, September 27, 2021
CFL Week 8: Emergency and Third String QBs Continue, Fans a Big Part of Week in Ottawa and BC
Tiger Cats at REDBlacks: Hamilton Wins 24 - 7
A dismal outing for the fans of Ottawa watching through the worst downpour in years of any gameamong with a one win team on the field and the first day of vaccination receipts to show for entry. As well, thr government web site to issue thr receipts was down during the day. Ottawa dug itself a hole again but had some momentum going when Nichols returned to the field securing a momentous drive late in game yet left the field immediately clutching his wrist on his last play. As Nichols replaced Davis it came down to Canadian #80 Behar to close out the game as emergency QB. Unfortunately thr Ottawa fans showed more heart (and also voiced their displeasure) than the team by braving and facing the conditions and circumstance thrown at them.
Alouettes at Argonauts: Toronto Wins 30 - 27
Not quite the Hamilton rivalry but always a great match when these two inrer provincial rivals face each other. A tight game, at times Argos looking like they might run away with it. Bethel-Thomson had the start, sitting Nichols out, with some sparing plays by Pipkin facing his old team. Exciting finish as Montreal scored on a well deserved drive from deep in their own end and went for an inside kick in the last minute of play. Toronto takes control of the East.
R
Roughriders at Lions: Saskatchewan wins 31 - 24
Pension Plan Context: If You Have One Or If You Are a Public Servant
As an example outlined in the article: $221B ÷ 311,000 Ontario teachers in the plan = $710,000 for ALL retired AND working teachers in Ontario.
For the CPP, 519.6B for say 37M Canadians (whether contributing or receiving benefits) = $14,043. Say only half of Canadians will contribute and appropriately receive CPP, that equates to $28,086 per Canadian. Of which public servants ALSO participate in.
Friday, September 24, 2021
The Liberals Are In Fact Increasing Housing Prices Not Tackling Affordability
"...Canada plans to increase credit access for the country’s riskiest borrowers in the years to come. A re-elected government may not seem like change, but they promised a big one — larger insured mortgages. High-ratio borrowers will see an increase of up to 25% of their maximum mortgage size. Expansion of credit during a low inventory market is one of the fastest ways to increase prices. It was one of the primary drivers of growth during the US real estate bubble, prior to the Great Recession. It’s an odd policy to embrace, and likely to push prices higher, or at least prevent them from falling.
Canada is planning to increase the maximum that can be borrowed on a high ratio mortgage. High ratio mortgages are those where the buyer puts less than 20% down on the purchase price. Currently, buyers are limited to home prices of less than $1 million. If the proposed changes go through, this will increase by 25% to $1.25 million.
Further, the high ratio maximum will no longer help to slow growth for cheaper housing. It will be indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as well. This is somewhat ironic, since shelter costs are nearly a third of the CPI index. Bubbles will now self-adjust as they push the credit boundary higher. It’s the human centipede of mortgage plans.
High-ratio mortgages were originally designed for low-income households to break into the market. It makes sense for taxpayers to take on that sort of risk, since it helps build the middle class. That’s not what’s happening here. To take advantage of a $1.25 million maximum mortgage, a household needs at least $155,000 per year in income. In addition, they would need at least another $250,000 for the down payment..."
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Post-Election and Trudeau's Non-Win: Unfortunately, This Characterization of Canada and Trudeau is the Most True and Succinct I Have Read
"...There is now no longer any way we can doubt this. Canada simply isn’t a serious country.
We don’t take our fiscal future seriously.
We don’t take our reputation seriously.
We don’t take our responsibility to our allies seriously.
Canada re-elected someone who has repeatedly worn blackface, who talks about things like ‘she-cessions,’ who lies rampantly, who is a cringe-fest of political correctness, and who clearly has no interest in the actual governing of a country (“I don’t think about monetary policy”)
Canada is a nation that increasingly lacks any coherent or unifying identity, lacks pride in our history or respect for our past, and lacks the ability to defend either our freedoms, or our national interest..."
https://spencerfernando.com/2021/09/23/what-justin-trudeau-staying-in-power-says-about-canada/
Issues That Never Made the Recent Election: Foreign Policy (A Perfect Opportunity to Change Canada's Passive Stance Towards China...But No)
On Day 1 of his government, Canada's 44th, Liberals found blind sided and left out of any opportunity to stave off its passive stance against China or to step up defense spending.
"...Last week, the United States, United Kingdom and Australia announced a new defence and security partnership, dubbed AUKUS, which is intended to present a unified front toward an increasingly aggressive China, and demonstrate to other countries that the U.S. intends to remain engaged in the Asia-Pacific region for decades to come. Not only was Canada not included in the agreement, but the federal government seemed to be completely blind-sided by the announcement — a reflection of our diminished stature on the world stage.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau immediately downplayed the importance of the agreement, saying it was merely a way for the U.S. to sell nuclear submarine technology to Canberra (which is indeed a central element of the deal). But Trudeau’s comments suggest that he does not appreciate the significance, or the long-term implications, of the new alliance.
The first issue to consider, then, is what the new alliance says about the relationship between the U.S. and Canada.
Unfortunately, the answer is clear: it represents an unmistakable sign that Washington has largely given up on Ottawa as a serious defence partner, having concluded that this country has absolutely no intention of living up to its NATO commitment to spend two per cent of gross domestic product on defence (Trudeau largely acknowledged this a few years back). The lack of spending severely limits what this country can do militarily, and no amount of defence sleight-of-hand or political spin can change that...."
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