Logical Liberal Heads Must Prevail: Chinese Gold Producer Bidding for TMAC Resources, Allowing Shandong To Run Amok, Unobserved, in Canada's North

https://business.financialpost.com/commodities/ottawa-to-scrutinize-chinese-acquisition-of-gold-miner-as-huawei-case-reaches-crucial-stage#comments-area

Although below the threshold for automatic review, given the recent comments by China after yesterday's Meng court decision, surely this transaction will be scrutinized to a very high degree.  If not, the (state-owned) Chinese gold producer, Shandong Gold, will be able to run amok and do as it wishes in the remote north with regards to enviornment, security, 5G networks/communications and crossing Canadian borders. 

Navdeep Bains FINALLY Has Something To Do - Shandong Gold Bidding for Canada's Most Northerly Gold Producer

According the Canada Investment Act, "...With respect to all investments except those that fall within a prescribed type of business activity as set out in Schedule IV of the Regulations, the Department responsible for the administration of the Act is Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada...".  Wakey wakey Navdeep. @navdeepsbains

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-21.8/page-2.html#h-278375

https://business.financialpost.com/commodities/ottawa-to-scrutinize-chinese-acquisition-of-gold-miner-as-huawei-case-reaches-crucial-stage#comments-area

https://nationalpost.com/news/it-just-doesnt-process-china-refuses-to-believe-canadas-legal-system-is-independent-experts-say#comments-area

What!? Are Not All Canadian Houses and Real Estate Purchased (By Foreign Buyers) With Well-Earned, After-Tax, Clean Money?

Sarcasm aside, it is about time Canadians wake up to what is happening under their noses. and realize that despite all the complaining from potential buyers, government measures, increased taxes on foreign buyers, mortgage changes and FINTRAC regulations to ease real estate and housing price inflation - IT IS OUR OWN PROBLEM that Canadians have IMPORTED due to a lack of restrictions between domestic and foreign buyers as well as a lack of checks and balances on where those funds are sourced (not just geographically, but legally versus illegally). 

https://business.financialpost.com/real-estate/toronto-housing-has-become-magnet-for-money-launderers-with-28-billion-in-real-estate-bought-by-anonymous-owners-study

"...Toronto’s housing market has become a target for money laundering or “snow washing,” thanks to anonymous property ownership, weak regulation and lax enforcement, according to a new study.

Since 2008, $28.4 billion worth of housing was acquired in the Toronto region largely through private entities where owners can remain anonymous, according to a report released Thursday by Transparency International Canada, Canadians for Tax Fairness and Publish What You Pay Canada.

In that period, $9.8 billion of housing was bought by companies through cash purchases, largely bypassing anti-money laundering checks on fund sources and beneficial owners, according to the study, which analyzed more than 1.4 million residential sales dating back to 2008..."

Budget Day for Canada: Let's See What Tricks The Liberals Have Up Their Sleeve to Deflect Attention from SNC, Shipbuilding scandals

With no timeline to pay back Canada's billions of debt, no doubt the Liberals will take today's occasion to promise everything to all Canadians and run up more deficits.  The question is only how much and how patronizing will this budget be.

Minister of Imagination: MP Navdeep Bains

Can anyone tell me what MP Bains does everyday or what a Minister of Innovation is supposed to be doing? Bains is less visible than Polkaroo ("Imagine, imagine, you can imagine..."). 

This "innovation" file has resulted in nothing for Canada except hundreds of millions of tax dollars being spent on the Liberal pipe dream of Canada moving away from resources and becoming a global tech giant? In a world where Silicon Valley and Asia have light years of a head start with etsablished tech cultures and industries, tax focused regimes, risk taking private capital groups, entrepreneurs, etc?

http://business.financialpost.com/technology/tech-ceos-say-liberal-innovation-agenda-does-little-to-help-firms-scale-up-poll

Infrastructure Promises, Promises: Remember the Campaign and the Setting Up of an Infrastructure Bank? Well, Nothing Done Yet

$35.5 billion tied up and nothing to show for it.  Much like the Liberals track record thus far. 

https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/what-has-trudeaus-infrastructure-bank-achieved-a-recycled-loan-and-millions-in-expenses

Bank of Canada Rates Unchanged: Thank The Liberals For Bungling Canada's Energy Industry and its Contribution to Economic Growth That May be “Materially Weaker”

In the USA, the unemployment rate is closer to 4%, and is not complacent about it.  Here in Canada we are supposed to jump for joy at 6%.  The impacts of pipelines lacking is finally resulting in the rose colour coming off economists' and BoC's glasses.

What's that I hear? I think I hear a sigh of relief from real estate agents and mortgage brokers.

https://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/bank-of-canada-holds-interest-rate-at-1-75-per-cent

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-04/falling-car-sales-are-latest-sign-of-rate-hikes-hitting-canada?srnd=premium-canada

Latest Jobs Numbers in Canada: Remember That Bank of Canada Interest Rate Hike? Get Ready For a Plateau of Interest Rakes...or a Decrease...That's How Bad Things May Be

At the time of its July 11, 2018 overnight rate hike to 1.5% it almost seemed The Bank of Canada was giving itself a tool in order to decrease rates in the future as NAFTA uncertainty was ongoing, oil was rising.  Now we have unattractive jobs numbers, a 5.8% unemployment rate that reporters and economists would like us to jump and down for (meanwhile in the big bad USA...~4.0%) and a Saudi political spat probably resulting in oil supply impacts to the refineries in Eastern Canada if it lasts beyond three months.

Not only is Trudeau silent on the whole affair, but no support from USA or UK proving how childish and needless this human rights hounding of a contry that will likely not change.  With no economic benefits to score, only possible poll results to gain, Canadians now face the brunt of needlessly poking a holder of Canadian equities (130 points drop on the TSX the Monday after it was announced) that has claimed to be selling everything Canadian and likely will cut off oil supplies (yes Canada - oil from Saudi Arabia and such countries comes to Canada and flows down the St. Lawrence!).

"...Across the provinces, Ontario gained 60,600 jobs — all in part-time work — and the unemployment rate dropped 0.5 percentage points to 5.4 per cent for its lowest reading since July 2000..."

https://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/newsalert-canada-adds-54100-jobs-in-july-unemployment-rate-falls-to-5-8-2

"Trade Wars: A New Dope" - Trudeau Now Using Canada's Military History In Response to US Tariffs and "Security Threat"; Stoke the Patriotic Fires Now Justin, But Still No Substance in Your Arguments

http://business.financialpost.com/opinion/lawrence-solomon-trudeau-starts-a-trade-war-for-political-points-were-the-casualties

http://business.financialpost.com/opinion/trudeau-after-bungling-it-on-trade-and-pipelines-needs-better-advice-fast#comments-area

"..If Canada’s negotiators want to do what’s best for Canada, they should stop posturing before they do more damage to our industries. For starters, they should stop misrepresenting the U.S. position on steel and aluminum tariffs. The U.S. never claimed that Canada represents a national security threat, as Trudeau keeps repeating. To the contrary, the U.S. has specifically said these tariffs are not aimed at any one country: without tariffs to protect American steel and aluminum from foreign suppliers, these industries, which America needs for national defence, would go bankrupt..."
.
"...A decade ago, Canada had a US$78 billion trade surplus with the U.S. That surplus was more than halved to US$32 billion five years ago and it was halved again to US$17 billion last year. Five years from now, our ever-shrinking surplus with the U.S. may start to become an ever-growing deficit, particularly since the U.S. has blown past us as a producer of energy — our main exports to the U.S. We are not only at risk of losing this financial mainstay, with the U.S. no longer needing us for energy security, we are also at risk of becoming strategically unimportant..."

What Do You Do With A Pipeline Project That Has All Legal, Environmental, Governmental Wherewithal to be Built, Yet the Liberal Government Won't Step Up to Allow It - You Buy It

In another head shaking move on behalf of this Canadian Federal Government only 2.5 years into its apologetic, economically reckless, ethically challenged, over (carbon) taxed, stifling political correctness filled term, the "best" option that was decided with regards to a provincially and federally approved pipeline that would have sufficed all tests, approvals, permits and economic analysis is to (drumroll please...) buy it from the owner rather than invoke the government's fiduciary and legal duties of allowing this pipeline to be built.  Huh?

Maybe one day there will be an apology over this too...

http://business.financialpost.com/commodities/energy/ottawa-buys-trans-mountain-pipeline-for-4-5-billion-but-can-it-sell-it

@bill_morneau, @jimcarr_wpg, @jjhorgan,

Bombardier's Two New Luxury Aircraft Due Towards end of 2019, That Can Only Mean One Thing - Liberal Handout Come Federal Election Time

http://business.financialpost.com/transportation/airlines/bombardier-to-build-two-new-luxury-aircraft-amid-growing-demand

And no mention of Mr. Innovation, MP Navdeep Bains @NavdeepSBains, for Canada's contributions to the aerospace world. I thought he was on a roll there after wondering for two and a half years what a Minister of Innovation does all day - kills Chinese acquisitions of key Canadian construction companies.

Oh, and by the way, MP Maryam Monsef @MaryamMonsef is somehow still a Canadian (even according to Liberal rules and regulations) and still a sitting MP.

Brian Lilley Covering thé Border Where 60,000 are Forecasted to make the Illegal Trip From the USA

Forecasts are saying 60,000 illegal entrants into Canada, and this is Justin's answer....

http://brianlilley.com/the-truth-on-roxham-road-and-the-border-crisis/

Kathleen, Your Party's Throne Speech Has Just Ended; What are you Doing About Foreign Students In Canadian Universities?

http://business.financialpost.com/diane-francis/why-publicly-funded-universities-should-stop-pursuing-the-international-student-bonanza

The Fallout From the 2018 Federal Budget - Let The World Markets Speak....

C$ in freefall this morning...

Another Year, Another Liberal "Dudget" - This Time Even More Uber Left

http://business.financialpost.com/opinion/philip-cross-the-trudeau-governments-third-federal-budget-is-another-triumph-of-symbolism-over-substance

followed by the new Gender Bases Analysis Plus ("GBA+") regime whereby all government decisions must be filtered.  As if completing and concluding things in government was not slow enough.  Not to mention another layer to stop the passive-aggressive approach to pipelines in Canada. 

http://nationalpost.com/news/what-is-gba-the-federal-intersectional-doctrine-that-governs-everything-now

Yours To Discover (In Ontarioooooooooo): Apparently More Surprise Over Increased Minimum Wage and Results on Price Increases...For Everyone!

http://business.financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/minimum-wage-hike-lifts-ontario-restaurant-prices-most-since-91

Even the CBC Reporting Trudeau's "Trade Mission" Trip As Negative And A Bust

How much worse can it become? Even the CBC "broke" this story (claimed to break) "thanks to the CBC's Terry Milewski" who has been the only one over there to approach and question such topics as a certain airline bombing.  

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-india-atwal-controversy-1.4546502

Veterans, Verdicts and Vocabulary - While Trudeau Continues Foot in Mouth Disease, We Have Yet to See Conclusion To Canada's Constrution Leader by a Chinese Firm

Aecon Group. Inc. has extended the timeline of its proposed takeover by a Chinese buyer, saying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet is reviewing the deal on national security grounds.  With so many topics (bait?) happening for the Canadian media to be distracted, the acquisition of Aecon by a Chinese company continues to be reviewed by the Liberal government with little attention - until today.  With Chinese governemental links with the parent company it is more than a curiosity that this has only escalated to this level now.  Regardless of any uncompleted trade deal the Liberals have tried with China. We are about to find out what the Investment Canada Act means to the Liberals.

And where are our fearless Minister of Finance Morneau and "what does a Minister of Innovation do anyway?" Navdeep Bains on this file? Invisible. Crickets.  

As per Bloomberg "CCCC International Holding Limited is the financing platform for overseas business of China Communications Construction Company Limited. It focuses on merger and acquisition, and restructuring and management of overseas assets; and investment, building, and operation of transportation infrastructure in overseas markets. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Wan Chai, Hong Kong."

This review is not arbitrary and usually raised during most significant foreing takeovers of Canadian businesses.  The Investment Canada Act (ICA) provides: 

"the framework for conducting reviews of acquisitions of control of existing Canadian businesses, as well as reviews of the establishment of new Canadian businesses, by non-Canadians in Canada....Furthermore, for a foreign acquisition to be approved, significant benefit to Canada resulting from the transaction had to be demonstrated...

...The ICA narrowed both the range of foreign acquisitions that are reviewable and the scope of the “benefit to Canada” test to which these transactions must be submitted in order to receive approval from the federal government. The purpose of the ICA, as set out in section 2 of the Act, is:3

to provide for the review of significant investments in Canada by non-Canadians in a manner that encourages investment, economic growth and employment opportunities in Canada and to provide for the review of investments in Canada by non-Canadians that could be injurious to national security.

...Under the ICA, foreign investments are classified into two categories: investments that are subject to notification, and investments that are reviewable."

"Policy-Based Evidence Making": How the Liberals Portray Circumstances to Achieve an Ideal (ie, "The Liberal Solution")

Never short on a study, or a scenario the Liberal spin machine is at it again, and this time in full view of the international Davos forum.  Shockingly, with another "damn Canada" type speech to his political and business peers (cronies), The Justin has managed to manufacture an oppressive state of being in the Great White North to the point that such an elected official would not be expected to the leader of said country (Canada) but someone comparable to the likes of Stalin, Hussein, Mussolini, Mugabe, Kim Jong-Un, Castro (oh right, Justin likes him!).  Selected quotes are below.  All of this to portray The Justin as the "feminist saviour" that will lead all gender based discrimination out of the country as he merrily skips and plays his magical flute.

In relation to this article, a simple addendum to the Canadian Business and Corporations Act woud have sufficed, but no.  Bill C-25 is now before the Senate.  While no one should be discriminated against based on being a man, woman or, I have to now use "gender" to capture all, neither should this many resources, time and pay for our legislators be allocated to bring this justice.

As mentioned in the article, this is our Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains initiative and it reminded me, from several past posts, what does an Innovation Minister (@NavdeepSBains) do anyway? No one has been able to tell me.

Hats off to Terence Corcoraon (author) for his coining of the term "policy-based evidence making".  It is bang on for this new Liberal regime.

http://business.financialpost.com/opinion/terence-corcoran-the-dodgy-studies-behind-trudeaus-radical-experiment-to-socially-engineer-canadian-businesses

Select quotes that The Justin has chosen to focus on (whether he believes the "science" or "facts" or Liberal math behind them)...

"Among women who were newly appointed to the boards of Fortune 500 companies, 77 per cent of them were white. Race, religion, sexuality, socioeconomic status — these are just a few of the ways that women are even further discriminated against.”

“Too many corporations have put the pursuit of profit before the wellbeing of their workers. The gap between the rich and the poor is staggering. All the while, companies avoid taxes and boast record profits with one hand, while slashing benefits with the other. But that approach can’t and won’t cut it anymore.”

When quoting McKinsey and Peterson Institute for International Economics reports, "“narrowing the gender gap in Canada would add $150 billion to our economy by 2026” and increasing the number of women in leadership positions from zero to 30 per cent “translates into a 15-per-cent boost in profitability.”

When You Do Not Recieve The Results You Want, Then Change the Rules...And Again

Once again, appeasing and bowing to the climate change "crusaders" and enviro-mental-ists, the Liberals are looking at ways to changing the approval regimes and processes...again.  Even though the Liberals have technically "approved" certain pipelines, they can now wipe their hands clean of all party responsibilty as the approval rules down the road have alrady changed once.

In the name of "stakeholders" and "independence", the Liberals in fact have their fingers all over the pipeline approval processes (and other large infratstructure industries), meanwhile appearing squeaky clean to those who only read the nearest copy of 24 or Metro for their "news" fix (their converted).

Similar to a street busking musician enticing his passers-by with a quick handed game of "where's the peanut", both domestic and foreign investment are left bewildered as to how this country wants to manage, monetize and heaven forbid extract the resources it has been blessed with.

http://business.financialpost.com/commodities/energy/big-moment-for-energy-sector-as-trudeau-set-to-unveil-sweeping-regulatory-reforms-within-days