Andrew Coyne (National Post) Says It All: With Changes to House Rules, What Path are the Liberals On?

From Andrew Coyne at the National Post, an article that is on the verbose side but is a necessary read. The  last paragraph will raise eyebrows (see below).

http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/news/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-renewed-attempt-to-rewrite-house-rules-shows-liberals-are-not-to-be-trusted&pubdate=2017-03-28

"...If all this sounds unduly suspicious, recall that there is a context to this. After the prime minister’s insouciant refusal to admit fault in the matter of the cash-for-access fundraisers, after the charade of “open nominations” in ridings that had clearly been fixed to suit the prime minister’s preferences, after the elaborate fraud that was Senate reform, after all the broken promises on everything from the combat mission against ISIL to the open bidding on the CF-18 replacement to — sigh — electoral reform, the Trudeau government has earned no benefit of the doubt. Whatever short-term advantage these and other ruses may have yielded them, they came with a price, and that price is very simple: as they are not to be trusted, so they are not, in fact, trusted..."

Little Justin's little $127,000 family vacation

I hope he had free Wi-Fi and received the equivalent amount of Aeroplan miles....

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/politics/trudeau-agakhan-bahamas-ethics-1.4034413

Well, not quite the "Dudget" as expected, but still smoke and mirrors around the recent 2017 Federal Budget

It appears that Liberal math has taken over again.

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-03-27/trudeau-misses-goal-with-budget-math-canada-economy-watch

Happy March 22nd, 2017: Another Dudget Day

In another of former Minister of Finance Joe Oliver's sobering contributions to the Financial Post, he has outlined the absurdity of even thinking of tinkering with the Capital Gains Tax exemption. This has various repercussion and would impact every Canadian directly in their own portfolios, savings, future pension values and the Canadian dollar...NOT JUST THE RICH (as the Liberals like you to believe in their smoke and mirrors, everything-for-the-middle-class approach).

As Canadians we have only one major tax-free vehicle to attain wealth.  That is, our primary residences. As we scurry under rocks to protect ourselves from further random lightning strikes from the sh!tstorm cloud filled Liberal skies, where will savings and capital go? To the last bastion of tax free relief - the housing market - which will only drive up housing costs even further.

The Liberals have been at the helm now for almost a year and a half with no more clarity on what the final deficit will be (except likely to be higher) nor when will be able to pay off (well, we know the answer is no).

Unfortunately when you mention "Liberals" and "taxation", it has more of a connection like "wine and cheese", not "oil and water"....oh right, the Liberals really don't like oil.

Happy March 22nd...Like Father, Like Son

http://business.financialpost.com/fp-comment/joe-oliver-drunk-on-spending-the-liberal-governments-too-addled-to-see-the-idiocy-of-raising-capital-gains-taxes

Maryam Monsef is Still a Member of Parliament?

...And in other news, after her appalling feedback and handling of the findings from the Special Committee on Electoral Reform and new information about her real birth place - which count as fraud for citizenship purposes (that is, revocable) - somehow, the recently demoted Maryam Monsef is still a MP and a Canadian.

The Liberals have changed the rules in allowing those committing acts of treason and terrorists to maintain Canadian citizenship while highlighting (before Maryam's real birth place was even made public) the only way to have citizenship denied or revoked is by fraud.  Obviously the latter is not enforced.

A Legend: Run In Peace Ed Whitlock

I had the opportunity in past Scotiabank Waterfront and other running events where I saw Ed running with his unmistakable stride and his characteristic white hair bouncing.  I would always run the half marathon while he was not only besting my half marathon time but did it again in completing his full marathon event!  In particular, I remember catching glimpses of him as the marathoners start earlier than the half marathoners, and with typically a turnaround point on the route up ahead, myself and all the other runners would hear the cheers and claps as he would be on his way back, running towards us, then off on his extended marathon route.  Run In Peace Ed.

http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/ed-whitlock-dies-at-86-running-legend-smashed-world-marathon-records-deep-into-his-70s-and-80s

RRSP Season: One Important Thing None of the Media, Banks or Financial Advisors Are Reminding You

Well, the Christmas and New Year's indulgences are finished for another year, the office parties "incidents" have blown over and you are probably due for another visit with your family members...this coming Family Day long weekend.  Of course, that means it is that time of year - RRSP season!

Soon, if not already, you will be bombarded with commercials, calls from your bank, or the annual "Hi [insert client name here] how are you?" from your non-existent financial advisor (yes the one that sends you statements four or 12 times a year and is full of excuses).

Among many of the decisions are RRSP versus TFSA contributions, tax reduction from RRSP versus none from other vehicles, RESPs, do I pay down my mortgage first, do I borrow, etc? So many questions, and yet Canadians only give a tiny amount of time to address these critical issues (due to our illnesses of Twitter diarrhea, Netflix over-consumption and Facebook-itis).  Yup, Canadians would rather wake up everyday and know about the latest trending video of kittens on Youtube rather than take 30 seconds to "look into" their retirement savings accounts - even just to know the number was higher or lower than the day before.

I have my own information and opinions on the aforementioned, some of which I have shared in previous posts (ETFs being the biggest topic of discussion, while fees to another broker are a RETURNS KILLER!).  As such, from the Financial Post yesterday, I never realized the following should be given a much higher priority! 

One of the most important features of an RRSP (that is a Registered Retirement Savings Plan - a previous article that was posted compared this plan to a "toy box" and you put "toys" such as bonds, stocks, ETFs, etc into the toy box or plan) - "RRSPs are one place the creditors will never be able to grab your money".  

There are many methods and outlooks of investing.  I prefer to select stocks/shares with a "cautious optimism", while another method of investing includes complete pessimism and investing for a worst case scenario - that is, bankruptcy. In this case, if you are facing the "do I contribute to my RRSP or TFSA" decision that BNN will over inflate in the coming weeks, keep this very important point in mind. Again, it is not highlighted by our robotic mutual fund representatives at the banks and financial advisors that call clients once a year.  

http://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/retirement/rrsp/rrsps-are-one-place-the-creditors-will-never-be-able-to-grab-your-money