As Anne mentioned in comments on the previous blog post, what is going on with Saudi Arabia and Canada? And where is Justin Trudeau on this? In fact why was he MIA on so many files lately?
I know this guy needs a work-life balance of more “personal” days than work days, but come on! And when most of his so-called work days aren’t a whole lot more than photo-ops one has to wonder who is really in charge?
O.K. we know it isn’t the puppet but that doesn’t instill us with confidence.
Blue Like You2 
When a so-called ‘youth group’ from Saudi Arabia posts to twitter an image depicting an Air Canada plane flying toward the CN Tower with the captions “Sticking one’s nose where it doesn’t belong!” and “As the Arabic saying goes: “He who interferes with what doesn’t concern him finds what doesn’t please him” can that not rightly be interpreted as a threat? A screenshot of the now deleted tweet can be seen here https://twitter.com/tobiaschneider/status/1026473539573100544 Trudeau and his minions are in way over their heads on this and everything else they touch. They should all be back in Ottawa at least looking like they give a damn!
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CBC has posted this article, with no reference whatsoever to Trudeau’s absence: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/saudi-arabian-group-apologizes-for-posting-image-appearing-to-threaten-canada-with-9-11-style-attack-1.4775509
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And this all started with a tweet from the Canadian government apparently. Who authorized it? And why wasn’t this whole thing handled under quieter, more diplomatic channels?
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And therein lies the question for me Joanne. This government thinks it can impose its fluffy agenda anywhere it wants, despite the fact that Saudi Arabia under new government itself has made incremental improvements, even though their human rights record is poor.
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There were two tweets that set this whole dumpster fire off, the first from Foreign Affairs and the second from its minister Chrystia Freeland. The minister attended the Vancouver Pride Parade alongside the PM so he must have been apprised of what had transpired with SA and the expulsion of the Cdn. ambassador. Why was his response so muted to merit only one tweet of acknowledgement and where is Public Safety minister Goodale? Trudeau is MIA again today with private meetings taking up his schedule.
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This Liberal government has been a total disaster when it comes to communications.
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Gerald Butts is we all know is the real leader. That being said in the case of Saudi Arabia, we should stand our ground. Saudi Arabia is a regime that sponsors terrorism (15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers came from there) has an atrocious human rights record (they still force women to wear niqab or burqa or be stoned) so I would actually rather we trade less with them. That being said here is a good opportunity to push selling our oil, otherwise buy oil from a free and democratic country, Canada, not a despotic regime with atrocious human rights, Saudi Arabia.
In terms of schedule, PM can take vacations when they want, but should always be on call and ready to act if something happens not inaccessible. Most CEOs of large companies always have a connection with their work available so if something happens they can take action even when on vacation. At the same time with how disastrous Trudeau is, maybe he should go on a permanent vacation and let someone else take over.
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With Butts also on vacation Trudeau’s instructions face a serious time lag until His Master’s Voice returns to Ottawa to dole out talking points or suspends his Twitter hiatus, whichever comes first. This country faces a major shortage of serious, capable leadership on all fronts, domestic and international.
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Too much cookin’ in the Liberal kitchen, too many fires making it too hot for their front man to stay in the thick of it, he fled. It’s a good thing he has an excuse, it’s summer, the House is not sitting and it’s all about family/personal time. When Butts tells him he needs to come out to reassure his subjects he will show up for the cameras and emote like a student of drama.
That should work for the dopes who support him and his cabal and would do so again, according to some polls he’s top choice for PM.
Oh Canada, where are we headed?
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The campaign ads/videos are writing themselves.
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Excuse my comment..I’m feeling rather silly, I give up.
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I hear you and I share your frustration, Liz!
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The Canadian government under Justin Trudeau donated 50 million dollars to the Palestinians only to have the Palestinian Authority declare their support for Saudi Arabia’s stance against Canada. How’s that for gratitude? This country is being looked at as weak and its leaders as suckers.
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I beg to differ … but can the leaders of ‘democratic’ countries please try to fix their own domestic problems before insisting on telling others what to think & do? Trying to impose our values — there’s an elastic term for you — on other cultures in THEIR OWN countries is verging on utter arrogance & indeed, interference. Our way of doing ‘democracy’ is not a commodity that can be exported and sold, to be transplanted in fertile soil ready to blossom. The Liberal government should stop its virtue signalling – which many conservatives often point to & decry – and use the appropriate forum for raising issues of human rights: the UN, not Twitter. May I point out that the same kind of virtue signallers are outraged by Donald Trump because according to them that’s not the presidential way of doing things?
Just to be clear: I have no connection whatsoever to the Saudis.
Furthermore, the same virtue signallers (‘progressives’) who are denouncing the Saudis & supposedly standing up for human rights & the rights of women are only too pleased to ensure newcomers to this country continue to live practically exactly the same way they lived back home. They’ll go to their places of worship & accept the segregation of women & men. They champion some newcomers’ rights to hide their face behind a veil (I refer to the niqab and the burka, not the hijab nor the chador). They mutely condone the abortion of female babies. They probably look the other way where polygamy may have taken hold. What a way to uphold those precious Canadian values, eh?
Are there not some glaring inconsistencies in ‘progressive’ ranks?
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You are correct in your analysis gabby best understanding and grasp of this mess created by Liberals. Why are MSM grovelling and not stepping up to tell Canadians where Trudeau has been keeping himself. Trudeau needs to be questioned thoroughly on all of this mess.
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Well said Gabby! Bravo. You nailed it.
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You have it all there Gabby, excellent take on the situation.
Given the state of affairs I shudder to think what Trudeau would have to say that would do anything but make matters even worse.
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So true. Terrific column here by Licia Corbella. This Liberal government is a disaster.
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Bang on Gabby! It’s the Liberal hypocrisy in all its glory.
IMO it’s exactly the narrative that the CPC should espouse moving forward.
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I don’t think we do disagree, Gabby. This government, like all others, does nothing without expecting a payoff. Part of that payoff is the expected admiration and adulation of those at home as well as those which are the recipients of Canadian largess. We have recognized that tactic since Trudeau’s “Because it’s 2015” declaration. He scatters money abroad like confetti only to be rebuffed at every turn yet our veterans and homeless go begging. We welcome and subsidize illegal border crossers from the very countries whose governments heap scorn on us. If the payoff is not what you expect the solution is simple: Turn off the taps and virtue signal all you want. The Saudis have signalled their displeasure but have stopped short of defunding their Wahabi mosques in Canada. Why is that, I wonder?
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Good points as well Anne.
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I agree, all good points as well Anne.
But let me explain: my purpose was not to contradict anything in particular said by other commenters here. It’s just that in reading some commentaries it seemed the argumentation veered either towards total condemnation of the Saudis in order to shield the Trudeau government OR towards practically cheering the Saudis because this situation is embarrassing for the Trudeau government.
Perhaps by opening with “I beg to differ” I created the wrong impression.
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I have to add that some of the language the usual suspect MSM and softballers for the Trudeau government “spat” is what I’m hearing most, but a few other really fluffy terms for a very, VERY serious international blunder by Trudeau.
It’s getting much worse. Read this https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/canada-needs-to-fix-its-big-mistake-saudi-minister-says-as-diplomatic-spat-worsens/ar-BBLF9Bt?ocid=ob-fb-enca-651
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“The Financial Times reported Wednesday that the country’s rulers also have asked asset managers to sell Saudi-owned stakes in Canadian enterprises. The country also will stop purchasing Canadian wheat and barley — a trade move that is not expected to be all that damaging, since Canada hasn’t sold any wheat or barley to the kingdom this year.”
The other thing this issue does for me is reminds me once again of the charade being played by this government. The one that tries to get us to believe that they are in charge and have a plan. The don’t for this and they haven’t for at least a half dozen other major issues over this past few months.
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We’ll see what happens with Trudeau’s quest for a seat on the UN Security Council. The Saudis will probably mount a campaign to oppose Canada’s candidacy. But why pursue such a seat?
According to this column
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-remind-us-why-does-canada-want-a-seat-on-the-un-security-council/
“What is the agenda Canada wants to pursue through membership on the council? The absence of a rationale leaves the impression that for Canada a seat on the Security Council is an end in itself, rather than a means to an end. A more cynical interpretation is that this is motivated by a Canadian conceit and sanctimony that the world – and hence the Security Council – simply needs more Canada as its Moralizer-in-Chief. …”
If successful, I’m sure Trudeau will strut, saying that HE was successful whereas Stephen Harper failed.
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So true. Trudeau is doing this for his own selfish glory.
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If nothing else, this dust-up with Saudi Arabia should highlight the incompetence of the Trudeau government. It is escalating and the PM is on still on vacation. Maybe someone should check the Deifenbunker outside Ottawa, he may have taken refuge there.
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A little off topic, but was wondering what others here think will happen if the Tories win the most seats in 2019 but fall short of a majority. Do you think we are in a majority or bust situation or if the Tories manage to win a minority, would they be able to govern like Harper did. My thinking is with the Liberals having veered quite a bit to the left and not have to worry about relying on the BQ (I think relying on the BQ is what made the 2008 failed coalition attempt so toxic), if the Liberals + NDP + Greens get over 170 seats, Trudeau remains as prime-minister even if Tories win more seats than Liberals, sort of like BC. The only thing though is depending on how close, there might be a backlash for this and one of the two parties might blink or it will just seal the deal for a majority next time around. I don’t think Harper would have won his majority in 2011 if it weren’t for the ill fated 2008 attempt, I think people were fine with him being a PM of a minority, but once they realized a Tory minority meant a Liberal government propped up by the NDP and BQ enough swung over to give the Tories a majority. Either way as daunting as the challenge is to get a majority, it is not insurmountable. Look at it this way.
2016 – Liberals have a lead of 20 points most of the year. For the Tories much of the thinking was just trying to survive the red tsunami in 2019 and form a decent size opposition.
2017 – Things tighten up, but Liberals still ahead. The idea of reducing the Liberals to a minority and thus returning to power by 2021 now seems plausible, but beating the Liberals outright still seems a bridge too far.
2018 – Things are very tight suggesting the election could go either way.
2019 – ? but notice the trend and if it continues maybe it will be Tories win most seats, just whether it is a majority or minority at least we can hope that is.
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could be the “Carbon Tax” election or maybe enough of the blue liberals (are there any left?) may be tired of Trudeau’s gender, guilt trip & identity politicking.
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According to a story by Mia Rabson of The Canadian Press, “Conservative foreign affairs critic Erin O’Toole says he’s been told that the tweet included language that’s considered improper and condescending when translated into Arabic.” Surely the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Omar Alghabra, who was raised in Saudi Arabia, would have been aware of the possible misinterpretation of the wording of said tweet, would he not? It appears that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2018/08/08/nothing-to-mediate-in-dispute-with-canada-says-saudi-foreign-minister-3/#.W2tGn5MnZy2
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Apparently Trudeau’s come out of hiding to dig-in and continue to defend his gov’t’s stand and by extension that Tweet.
You’re right Anne. Someone in that Minister’s office should have checked that the interpretation of the that tweet was not offensive.
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If Trudeau was more principled on foreign policy, I probably would be more praiseworthy of calling out Saudi Arabia on their atrocious human rights, but considering how badly he has fumbled the ball so many times, don’t trust him here. Nonetheless, perhaps this is time to promote Canadian oil as ethical oil and that would mean building the pipeline. Otherwise no reason we cannot step up and help fill the demand Saudi Arabia currently fills.
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What is really galling is the fact that Saudi Arabia sits on the UN Human Rights Commission and on the UN Women’s Rights Commission. To refer to the UN as a joke disparages jokes. So why is this government so determined to court this abomination for the purpose of securing a spot on the Security Council?
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Agreed that makes a real mockery of the UN and on women’s rights commission that is beyond ridiculous. It should be renamed the UN Chauvinism commission if that is the case as Saudi Arabia probably has the worst woman’s rights on earth.
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Twitter democracy needs to stop. It’s as wrong for Trump as it is for Trudeau.
So far, almost everything the Trudeau government has touched has turned into a nightmare for our country.
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The Saudis might have found the criticism particularly objectionable in that it was expressed publicly by a woman, and we all know how women are regarded in some parts of the world. Perhaps it wasn’t merely the message but the messenger.
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Freeland is the architect of this, she just had to virtue signal in public instead of doing it privately. Now because of her ineptitude, it has become much more likely that no one is going to be released. Her list of failures and gaffes is growing and I really can’t understand her “star” status. Maybe it’s her supposedly “standing up” to Trump or the fact that there are so many third stringers in the liberal cabinet . Her only win so far was mostly set up by the Harper gang, and she marred even that up with her little hissy fit. After being outflanked by the Mexicans and now this fiasco, she needs to get her head out of her ass and get something done
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Interesting discussion here https://watch.cbc.ca/media/media/power-politics/aug-7-one-tweet-unravelling-relations/44b8224-00f26a71c23 on the Saudi/Canada situation, beginning at the 1:16 mark. Even if it’s CBC & with 3 commercials leading into it, it’s worth a listen.
And the same interviewee (Shuvaloy Majumdar) here https://edmontonsun.com/opinion/columnists/furey-saudi-arabia-wants-to-nix-all-human-rights-criticism-and-theres-no-way-we-can-agree-to-that/wcm/f68890cb-7a6f-4b66-8cc1-d9ba396178de (via Jack’s Newswatch).
IMO, Shuvaloy Majumdar makes a valid point, in that the new ruler of SA has been trying to introduce reforms in his country, albeit not at the fast pace some westerners would like. I understand perfectly anyone whose feathers are ruffled when told what to do in his own house. Mine would be as well.
I don’t however agree with what Furey wrote in that column (link above). For example:
“The whole thing is a bunch of nonsense. And the Saudis know it.
There is nothing exceptional about Freeland’s Tweet. ….
Saudi Arabia’s reaction to Canada is deliberately disproportionate. It’s also absurdly self-centred and flies in the face of typical diplomacy. …”
As Anne rightly pointed out in her August 8, 2018 at 3:49 pm comment “Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Omar Alghabra, who was raised in Saudi Arabia, would have been aware of the possible misinterpretation of the wording of said tweet …”
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Delicate sensibilities can certainly cause a multitude of missteps. The migrant influx is one area where all political leaders fear to tread. There’s a very simple solution to the crisis-that-needn’t-have-been but it requires bold, decisive leadership to implement such a plan which is described in the following must read article by James Bissett, who headed Canada’s Immigration Service from 1985 to 1990. https://nationalpost.com/opinion/how-canada-can-actually-fix-the-migration-mess-on-its-borders
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Excellent column. Thanks for the link. I especially appreciated this part:
“First, we must understand what our obligations under the UN Refugee Convention actually are. The Convention, established in 1951 as a follow up of to the mass displacement of people after the Second World War, was carefully worded to ensure that it would not in any way infringe upon the principle of national sovereignty and the sanctity of borders.“
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Unfortunately that “bold, decisive leadership” are not attributes I would assign to the Trudeau government.
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“Conservative senator apologizing over ‘shameful’ tweet questioning Liberal MP’s Saudi Arabia ties”
https://globalnews.ca/news/4378489/senator-denise-batters-omar-alghabra-saudi-arabia-dispute/
Why did the senator need to apologize for such an innocuous comment?
I am so sick & tired of apologies being extracted from people, primarily conservatives.
READ & REVISE your darn tweets before you hit the “enter” button.
And don’t be cowed, grovelling before the mob, deleting your tweet. What does that accomplish?
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Indeed! Think first. Own it second. It’s going to be the sound news of the day today.
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A little off topic, but being from Quebec, I was wondering how their upcoming election is going and what that means. My understanding is the CAQ who is a small c conservative party but nationalist although not separatist is favoured to win. The Quebec Liberals are trailing and only somewhat competitive due to big lead amongst Non-Francophones. Do you think the CAQ is likely to win or do you think Couillard can still come back? Also would a CAQ win cause more headaches for Trudeau (i.e. Legault would be like Ford and Moe and Kenney) or will he be more cooperative (sort of like Brian Pallister in Manitoba is?). The PQ it seems has totally imploded so do you think we could be seeing the end of the BQ both federally and PQ provincially or do you think they still have a chance at coming back in the future. I have thought looking at recent polls Quebec will become like Ontario with Liberals at both levels as centre-left (Yes I know PLQ is more centre-right at the moment, but I suspect if CAQ wins their next leader will be more left leaning) and Tories federally and CAQ provincially as centre-right. It seems unlike other provinces Quebec was largely fought along separatist vs. federalist as opposed to left vs. right but that might be changing. I would love to hear your thoughts on the upcoming Quebec election in terms of what you are seeing on the ground or hearing in the media (Yes I know they are terribly biased, but it still has an impact on voter intention).
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I follow provincial (Quebec) politics to a lesser degree than federal politics, so my opinion is more of a snapshot than an analysis. So here goes:
° The Liberals have been in power for about 15 yrs, so voter fatigue has set in. Voters are looking for a different choice.
° According to what I hear on one of the leading Anglo radio stations, the Liberals have lost ground with Anglos because the English community feels it’s been taken for granted for many years. They claim they will look around for other options. Also, many current Liberals are quitting politics, so there’s the optic of a sinking ship. Personally, I’m fine with Philippe Couillard, despite the fact he did not support Energy East — a major mistake, IMO, especially now given the Saudi/Canada kerfuffle.
° One possible other option is the CAQ, led by François Legault, a former PQ minister. Although he’s trying to appeal to the English community, some are not willing to forget his PQ past.
° Although the PQ seems to have lost some supporters, those “deserters” have the Quebec Solidaire option, which is to the left of the PQ. It is led by a young firebrand (Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois) who was very prominent in the 2012 student strike protesting higher tuition fees brought in by then-premier Charest’s Liberals.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/quebec-s-student-tuition-protest-who-really-won-the-dispute-1.1327562
° Finally, there is the Conservative Party of Quebec https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Party_of_Quebec which I doubt will get much traction.
And here’s the list of all the parties apparently fielding candidates in this year’s election: https://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/english/provincial/rapeq/political-parties.php including the Parti culinaire du Québec (Quebec Culinary Party!) and the Parti nul (Party Null!)
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Interesting take. Even though the PLQ has only been in for one term, the hiatus in opposition was pretty short so in some ways that is the one positive about Trudeau getting a majority rather than minority as at least if Tories win in 2019 they have a better chance of staying in for a while whereas if they came back in say 2017, the fatigue from the last Conservative government would have lingered on thus probably only one term. Sort of the like the federal Liberals in 1984 as the only spent nine months in opposition in 1979 so by 1984 people were ready to turf them.
On the PQ and QS, my guess is the QS will largely be confined to the East end of Montreal, otherwise where you have lots of younger social activist types but will do poorly elsewhere in the province. For PQ, I think the North shore and Gaspe peninsula is really there only strongholds left. I don’t think the Tories or NDP will get many votes and I suspect most federal Tories will either go CAQ if Francophone while PLQ amongst Anglophones and Allophones (PLQ strength here is one reason they won’t face a wipeout like the Wynne Liberals did even if they do lose) while for NDP I am guessing what is left of their support in Quebec will go mostly to Quebec Solidaire. That being said at a federal level, at the moment I think the Liberals have a big lead there, but the Conservatives are clearly the main alternative to the Liberals with NDP and BQ being on life support in Quebec. That’s not to say Scheer cannot win a lot of seats in Quebec as the province is known to shift en masse at a moment’s notice, after all his poll numbers are higher than what Jack Layton had in Quebec going into the 2011 election.
I was wondering if you know much about the media in the Quebec City region? I have heard it is quite conservative compared to Montreal which is very left wing so perhaps maybe that is a reason Conservatives tend to do well there but less so elsewhere in the province?
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An interesting take and accurate in my opinion. It parallels what I’m hearing from various regions in my discussions with politicos and political hobbyists, like the folks here.
I believe that Scheer is placed very well in a few regions of Quebec and he and his team have been working it there for months gradually building themselves as alternatives.
There’s a lot to be confident about.
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Though technically right in saying Premier Couillard has only been in power for 1 term, in actual fact the Liberals have been in power for a number of years, from 2003 to 2012 and again from 2014 to the present, except for the brief 2-yr. “interregnum” of the PQ under Pauline Marois.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_Liberal_Party#General_election_results_(since_1867)
In any event, the siren’s sing-song has begun, according to some. i.e. “throw the bums out”. I don’t have a crystal ball. All I know is that Quebecers like a winner. If polls show the provincial Liberals ahead, some voters may jump on the bandwagon. But who knows?
As for the Quebec City area, no, I don’t follow that media. I have enough with the federal & now the US media!
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In terms of the Montreal area for the Quebec election, I suspect regardless of how they do provincewide, the Liberals will dominate the island of Montreal as they always do, the one noticeable exception is the East end which I think will go Quebec Solidaire. That being said not all PQ support will flow to them, I think the CAQ will dominate most of the off island suburbs with only a few like Brossard, Chateauguay, Vaudreuil etc. which have large Anglophone and/or Allophone populations going Liberal. I think there is a possibility the PQ will win no seats in the Greater Montreal area. 125qc.com which is sort of the Quebec version of Eric Grenier’s 308 is showing the PQ only winning in the very eastern sections of the province near the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Laval will be interesting as I could see the CAQ picking up seats here, but also Liberals still sweeping it.
As for national numbers in Quebec, at this point I think the Chaudiere-Appalaches region is fairly solidly Tory (went Tory even in 2011 when Tories only one 5 seats) and Capitale Nationale probably would go Tory as well. Lac Saint Jean-Saguenay region was competitive from 2006 to 2011, but Tories didn’t do so well in 2015 there and lost Lac Saint Jean in a by-election, but recent gain of Chicoutimi-Le Fjord shows maybe the party is rebounding. It is the Mauricie and Centre du Quebec that I think are the next regions the party needs to expand to and don’t think they are there yet. The problem is BQ and NDP have tanked in Quebec and its true the Tories have picked up a lot of the BQ vote, but most of the NDP vote has gone over to the Liberals thus making things awash. I do think though in Quebec it will probably be Liberals first, Tories second, while NDP and BQ only winning a handful of seats with popular MPs and perhaps even being shut out. One former BQ leader, Michel Gauthier has joined the Conservatives so I think a lot of the rural nationalist realizing their dreams of a sovereign Quebec are dead are ripe for picking up by the Conservatives. However breaking into the Montreal off island suburbs like the CAQ has will be a challenge, but not impossible, although definitely not there yet.
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When it comes to apologies nobody does it with more dramatic effect than our Prime Minister. He is the consummate actor, the tears flow like rain.
How the Liberal Party handles this diplomatic spat with SA over the next few days will be interesting. Whose court is the ball in?
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Here’s a hint Liz. The ball has never been in this government’s court. They and their media friendlies are very good at making it appear that they’re in charge and handling things. I’m reminded of the scene in the Wizard of Oz where the curtain is pulled back on the great and power Wizard only to reveal a small man with lots of props at his disposal.
The PM’s charade continues, and puppet master Butt’s is firmly in charge.
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Spotted this little known fact on Twitter. Someone needs to explain how this travesty came about and how long it has been countenanced by those in the know/in charge?
“PRIVATE HEALTHCARE IN CANADA TO TRUDEAU’S CHOSEN NON-CANADIANS WHILE CONSIDERED ILLEGAL FOR CANADIANS
Even Canadian doctors were not aware of this. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, please explain to us and Canadian taxpayers how your government granted itself the authority to selectively violate the Canada Health Act and give Saudia Arabia citizens priority to our hospitals and public Canadian healthcare system? Who else is jumping the queue ahead of Canadian patients forced to wait months to years for essential medical care as you continue to ration the healthcare of Canadians? And yet Trudeau’s government continues to deny the simple use of closed operating rooms overnight by Canadian provinces for elective surgeries via medical tourism for all foreign patients to help directly fund our public healthcare system – something which would dramatically shorten wait times for Canadian patients without queue jumping.”
https://www.facebook.com/pg/concernedontariodoctors/posts/?ref=page_internal
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Actually there are places depending on which province you live in where you can go private. I paid for the MRI and shoulder surgery this past year here in Vancouver although the NDP government is cracking down on these type of clinics. The Canada Health Act is very vague so a lot depends on interpretation of the minister at the time. Nonetheless BC and Quebec have several private clinics where you can pay for faster service and if the government tried to shut them all down or pay for all the procedures it would cause havoc in longer line ups in the former, while huge amount in tax dollars in the latter. Basically as long as you don’t end up on the front page of the Toronto Star, you can get away with this.
Technically most provincial laws don’t forbid private payment, but they make it unprofitable as doctors who wish to charge patients must completely opt out of medicare and work exclusively in the private sector, they cannot work in both systems and there isn’t enough demand to just work in the private sector. Also most provinces except some of the smaller ones make it illegal to buy private health insurance for medically necessary services so by limiting it to doctors working exclusively in the private sector and must be paid in cash, it essentially makes it unprofitable although in Quebec over 300 doctors (1.5% of all physicians there) have opted out and are able to legally charge patients but outside Quebec few doctors opt out. In BC, most are skirting the law, but the previous BC Liberal government planned to crack down on it, but when they saw the problems it would create they backed down.
Saskatchewan also has an interesting idea which the feds threatened them over which is allow private MRI clinics and for every paid scan, one must be offered free of charge and I think with private surgeries this is definitely an idea worth considering and would be a win-win. Trying to make everyone equal just means bringing everyone down to the lowest common denominator which is why the idea of everyone being equal is just plain silly.
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Doesn’t this sound as though it’s being done behind closed doors where the doctors concerned aren’t told that there’s an option of opting out? I think we’re talking about two different scenarios here. Doctors are concerned that these ‘special’ cases are taking up their time and expertise at the expense of tax-paying patients who must suffer through intolerable wait times. Apples and oranges. What’s being given to the privileged set is not on offer to others. There’s the problem.
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I agree and it is a bit hypocritical, but not totally surprised.
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Wonder what the government considers a drain on our health care system across the board? We need to hear more squawking from Canadian doctors and force the government to give straight answers. It’s system in crisis for a long time now and seems to be escalating.
We still have a shortage of doctors, people without family doctors and have only emergency room services when in need of care.
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New Brunswick has an election coming up on September 24th and here is a question and answer video with Blaine Higgs who is PC leader https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZj6o_QO3vs . I hope he wins as Brian Gallant is almost a carbon copy of Justin Trudeau on policies who seems to think more government spending not making New Brunswick more hospitable for private sector investment is the way to grow the economy. I would be nice after seeing Wynne get defeated, we could see another Trudeau ally defeated. As for Quebec, I actually like Philippe Couillard so I am okay if he gets re-elected as he is fairly fiscally conservative, mind you I will not be upset if the CAQ wins either. Both seem like decent choices to me.
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Saudi medical students are funded by the Saudi government and funding is now being denied forcing those students to heed the call to leave Canada. Are Saudi patients also funded by their government which would force them to abandon treatment in Canada? Of course the fees charged to usurpers would be higher, wouldn’t they? Sounds like Saudi money talks louder than Canadian taxpayer money. To borrow Trudeau’s phrase, “That’s disgusting!”
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Anne,
Here’s a good column by Brian Lilley. I like it because he neatly lays out Justin Trudeau’s laundry list of international screw ups, and hypocrisies.
https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/lilley-what-is-justin-trudeaus-real-agenda-with-the-saudis
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Thanks, Cara, this article should be on every voter’s reading list.
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Why do we not yet know the name of the Fredericton shooter? Is there some legal reason or is it something else?
When will Trudeau come out tearfully assuring us we are safe and put his heart out to the victims and their families?
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He did that last night when he urged us to send our “best love” (whatever that means) to those in Fredericton. You can’t help but notice how quick on the uptake Trudeau is in commenting on this tragedy compared with his relative silence during the early days following the Danforth shootings. I may be cynical in wondering whether the ethnicity suggested in the names of the two shooters has any bearing on such a discrepancy.
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It matters little about ethnicity, none of us are safe anywhere when our armed law enforcers are not safe themselves. They cannot know who “out there” is armed, mentally messed up on drugs or programmed to kill by the scum of this earth in the name of a religion.
We cannot hear the truth or speak the truth, we might inflame delicate sensibilities. It’s an impossible situation. Until we can deal with honesty, when common sense overrides political correctness we are doomed to live in more and more dangerous times.
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So true, Liz. More and more I get the feeling that a lot of information is deliberately being kept from us.
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Here is an exceptional piece on the Saudi Arabia issue. Well balanced and hits exactly the right points IMO. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-saudis-deliver-a-sobering-lesson-in-diplomacy-words-do-matter/
“We seem to be doing far more talking than listening, favouring a form of megaphone diplomacy that only seems to work with smaller countries that need our diplomatic support or our aid dollars. Yet we stubbornly favour broadcast mode even when it comes to major powers, something that contributed to our recent diplomatic debacles with China and India. We’re strangely reluctant to believe that our “values-based” foreign policy can come across as preachy, insensitive and interfering.”
Yes!
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Wow. David Mulroney totally nails it there!!
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Why haven’t we heard the word “dilettante” as a descriptor of the Trudeau government before now? Thank you, David Mulroney, your article rivals those of Rex Murphy.
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Aha! Speaking of Rex Murphy… https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-the-badawis-will-probably-be-in-saudi-prisons-longer-now-thanks-to-canada?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1534093354
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We can always count on Rex. Another good column!
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David Mulroney was also the Liberal candidate in Saanich-Gulf Islands in the 2004 and 2006 elections, so even some Liberals are being critical of Trudeau.
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Yes, Rex is right on the mark as usual.
I cringe when I hear Trudeau and his disastrous cabal utter the words “diversity is our strength”.
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Max Bernier has issued a series of tweets cautioning against ever-increasing/endless diversity which he fears could lead to the loss of a Canadian core identity. If we lose that then what is there to define us? Count on Max being hauled over the coals for daring to put into words what so many of us are feeling. Disappointingly Michelle Rempel has already weighed in with a thinly-veiled criticism of Bernier’s warning. Will Andrew Scheer weigh in on this debate? Trudeau has already declared in a Dec. 8, 2015 NYT interview, ‘‘There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada,’’ he claimed. ‘‘There are shared values — openness, respect, compassion, willingness to work hard, to be there for each other, to search for equality and justice. Those qualities are what make us the first postnational state.’’ https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/diversity-will-destroy-what-makes-canada-great-conservative-mp-bernier-1.4050494
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I disagree with Bernier’s tweets. It is important to have a core identity, but that belongs to the people not the state and it is something that evolves over time. Lets remember Canada has always had a large immigrant population and every new wave, some have complained it would undermine our culture yet it has not. Erin O’Toole had a good article on it from a year ago and I generally share the same sentiments https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/erin-otoole/anti-immigration-intolerance_b_14530982.html .
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Trudeau is an embarrassment, the less I see of him the better. I actually can’t stand the sight of him.
It’s very troubling to watch as our history is being erased, taking down statues, changing names of places named after the people who built the country. Never thought I’d see the day when a statue of Sir John A would be taken down before an assembled cheering crowd. Shame on all of them.
Apparently our history is now offending too many people. This could be the beginning of the end of Canada as we have known it.
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Trudeau is an embarrassment for sure, even my 9 year old asks if he’s going to cry when she sees him on TV
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Smart 9 year old!
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Read Maxime Bernier’s tweets in this article: https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/more-diversity-will-destroy-what-makes-canada-great-conservative-mp-bernier-1.4050494 titled
“”More diversity’ will ‘destroy’ what makes Canada great: Conservative MP Bernier”
Makes sense to me … an immigrant who easily adapted to the Canadian way of life.
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Forgot to mention the source of the CTV article: via National Newswatch.
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Great minds think alike, Gabby. We’ll just ignore the second part of that saying, shall we? lol
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Agreed. 😉
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Indeed Gabby. As a child of immigrant parents who worked hard because they accepted that they’d have to adapt to their new country and not expect it to a mirror of the country they fled, I have no issue with what Max tweeted.
By the way. What IS the definition of being a Canadian?
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A diversity of answers:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-radio-and-tv-18086952
What does it mean to be Canadian?
Click to access 9-1-3b.pdf
What Canadian Identity? Which Canadian Values?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_identity
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Ford government is coming under fire for putting three safe injection sites on hold. I understand scientific literature says they work, but that doesn’t mean we need them in every community. I certainly wouldn’t want one next to my home or business. In somewhere like the Downtown Eastside where the first one opened, it made sense as this area had a real drug problem, but not sure I like the idea of them springing up in every community. If all applications get approved Canada will surpass Netherlands is having the most safe injection sites and hardly something to be proud of. I think a better solution which the former Montreal mayor Applebaum recommended is to allow hospitals in major cities to operate them. That would be a reasonable compromise I could support.
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https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/canadas-first-safe-injection-site-struggles-with-the-rise-of-fentanyl/
“Despite its controversies and a sense that illicit drug use in and around the DTES has never been more pervasive, many still consider Insite a model for harm reduction, a kind of centre of excellence for shooting up safely. It’s something that authorities in other Canadian cities seem eager to emulate.”
IMO, “shooting up safely” is akin to making a morbidly obese person sit before a banquet. Rather than trying to wean addicts off their drug, the ‘inSiters’ become ‘inCiters’.
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I was impressed with Christine Elliott’s scrum yesterday on this topic. She’s insisting that the government will spend time really looking at the science and facts supporting, or disproving the necessity of safe injection sites.
She mentioned that the Ford government would rather see more effort and money getting people OFF their addictions and into rehab than continuing to go down the path the Wynne Liberals forged.
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The science generally says safe injection sites save lives thus why those for it want them all over the place, but I feel what is being ignored is what is the impact on local businesses and does it mean more crime in the immediate vicinity. Most have to steal or beg to support their habit. Otherwise it may benefit a large city like Toronto to have one, but its bad news for whatever neighbourhood it is put in. Only if you have a neighbourhood like the Downtown Eastside is that less of an issue (Being from Vancouver, I’ve seen it and pretty much all it is, is cops and junkies, no business would want to locate there). Ironically Chinatown and Gastown are both just a block over and you wouldn’t going through either think you were near a bad area, but take a wrong turn and you are. In fact Gastown is only three blocks from Chinatown, but the two blocks in between are drug infested ones. In terms of their use globally, while most of the 100 safe injection sites globally are in Europe, not every Western European country has them; Sweden, Finland, Belgium, UK, Austria, Portugal (who decriminalized drugs and its worked well so maybe this is the better route), Italy, and Greece do not have safe injection sites. In Germany and Spain, it is up to sub national levels to decide so some places like Catalonia in Spain and North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany have multiple safe injection sites, but others like Andalusia in Spain and Bavaria in Germany have none. The only country I can think of where just about every city has a safe injection site is Netherlands and I would be interested to see how proliferation of them there has worked out.
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The PMO sends out emails announcing the daily activities of the PM. Here are some of the announcements:
“Canada further strengthens trade enforcement to protect steel and aluminum workers and industries”
“Canada further strengthens trade enforcement to protect steel and aluminum workers and industries”
“Canada’s investment in Toyota supports thousands of jobs in Ontario”
“Prime Minister welcomes fourth report from Canada-United States Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders”
“Prime Minister announces new project to create jobs and improve training in Canada’s aerospace and healthcare sectors”
“Prime Minister highlights support for seniors in Prince Edward Island?
My computer is quite discerning. It classified all those announcements by Trudeau’s PMO as JUNK mail.
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Haha! Gabby you have a very smart computer!!
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Re: the kerfuffle over the diversity issue I would like to ask one question of the multi culti pushers: After how many generations can we immigrants and naturalized citizens divest ourselves of the offensive ethnic qualifiers assigned to us by the elder Trudeau? How long does it take for our kind to be accepted as Canadians without a prefix eg. Polish-Canadian, Arab-Canadian, etc.?
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My view is it is up to each individual to make that decision. Personally I just consider myself Canadian as do my parents and did/do my Grandparents. It was my Great-Grandparents who immigrated to Canada. Otherwise how people feel in their heart and what they identify with is not something we can control. I can say having lived in Vancouver and Toronto all my life, I’ve found most immigrants are very grateful to be in Canada and many appreciate just how lucky we are. The SJW ones you see in the Toronto Star complaining about how awful Canada is for immigrants do not represent most immigrants and certainly not the ones I know. While this was many years ago, when they decided to ban singing Christmas Carols that referenced Jesus Christ out of political correctness, a survey found the overwhelming majority of immigrants thought it was stupid so actually it is not immigrants who are pushing political correctness. That being said as someone who likes learning about other cultures, I actually enjoy cultural festivals as well as trying to different ethnic cuisines so I don’t feel threatened or it undermines us to have different cultures present. When it comes to cuisine, I enjoy Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and in some cases Indian and I am not of any of those ethnic groups, but certainly like the fact we have restaurants that serve food from those countries and many others.
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That’s my feeling, too”… it is up to each individual to make that decision.” If only the government respected that, Miles. Instead they choose to divide and subdivide in the name of diversity. We Canadians may come from different countries, have different mother tongues and display dissimilar physical features, but for the most of us, we have determined that we want to become Canadians, just Canadians. It’s as simple as that. Stop focusing on what makes us different and start focusing on what unites us. If only the government would get rid of their divisive mantra.
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Well said.
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Yes! Indeed!
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We’ve been hearing rumours about this before. I think it’s more likely now. After all Justin’s campaigning every day already. Must be ramping up to an early election call.
Things are going downhill for Justin and he’s more beatable by the day.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2018/08/13/heres-why-canadians-deserve-a-federal-election-this-fall.html
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I don’t think it will happen as when early opportunistic elections have been called in the past be it in UK 2017, Alberta 2015, and Ontario 1990, it has tended to backfire and I suspect Trudeau’s advisors are aware of this so would caution against this. I suspect the election will happen on October 21, 2019. For all Trudeau’s flaws, I think most of his insiders think they can win 2019 by painting the Conservatives as too extreme. Whether it works or not is another question, but I think Liberals at this point are only worried about losing their majority not losing outright. He certainly gets more beatable by the day, agreed, but not sure Liberals are panicked yet, nor at this point do they need to be. Worried yes, panicked no.
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Look for a late November, early December election call.
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We shall see, my guess is Trudeau won’t do it. Certainly it would have to be then to avoid overlap with municipal elections in multiple provinces and provincial elections in Quebec and New Brunswick.
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It’s rather long and it’s Paul Wells. Make of this what you will.
https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/if-justin-trudeau-loses-it-will-be-because-of-andrew-scheers-secret-weapon/
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Definitely interesting. I think the main challenge for Scheer is not beating Trudeau seat wise, which is definitely doable although still a tough hill to climb, but certainly not impossible; but rather winning a majority outright. Not totally impossible but needs a Blue wave in Quebec and also a strong showing in English Canada. Doing what Harper did in 2011 is probably tough to repeat as it will take a few election cycles before we are competitive again in Atlantic Canada (I think Tories will win seats here, but only a handful), Ontario had perfect splits on the left, and British Columbia seems to have drifted a bit leftward since then. With the BQ pretty much dead, I believe it is majority or bust, otherwise if the Tories win a plurality of seats, the Liberals and NDP will gang up to keep them out much like the Greens and NDP did with the BC Liberals. Still as tough as it may be, its not impossible and certainly the party should go for it, after all I’ve seen even bigger political shocks than what this would be.
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You guys are doing such a good job here keeping us all up to date! What a great crew we have here. It makes having a blog such a pleasure.
I’m going to try to get away from social media again for a while soon starting on the weekend for a while. Again I have to make a decision about keeping the comment form open. I’ll let you know in a few days what I decide.
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Here’s a very good CBC report of an under reported attack on a journalist over the weekend.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/toronto-sun-rally-1.4783933
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This will infuriate the CPC base and Harper champions, AND in the lead up to a federal election set the silent majority seething. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/internet-history-of-harper-pmo-deleted-from-google-results-at-ottawas-request/article30493213/
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The LPC has deep ties to several digital giants which stretch back to the time of Ignatieff and perhaps even before as the linked article shows. Also, remember the discussion we had re: Patrick Pichette and his ties to Google, Bombardier, the Trudeau Foundation and the LPC. We’re living in precarious times where history can be difficult to track down when it’s not systematically slotted to disappear down the memory hole. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/prior-relationships-between-lobbyists-and-senior-federal-staffers-raises-ethical-questions
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Anthony Furey supplies the context to Max Bernier’s tweet flurry re: diversity but not until the fourth paragraph from the end of his commentary. Max wasn’t trying to stir up controversy or cause trouble for his party leadership. But there are plenty of others, media included, who would like to do just that. https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/furey-relax-theres-nothing-wrong-about-debating-multiculturalism-in-fact-its-healthy?video_autoplay=true
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Good column!
Two more columns suggesting a snap federal election is in our near future, and a piece on Trudeau declaring a national holiday as part of his reconciliation and rememberence of the travesty of indigenous school scoops.
Necessary or vote-getter?
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The Trudeau government is preparing to declare a statutory holiday commemorate the “painful residential school legacy”. There, all fixed. /sarc
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*to commemorate
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Yes, that should end it, no apologies forevermore.
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Government good will apologies have become so plentiful they’ve lost their impact. This one simply means another paid federal holiday courtesy of the taxpayer and small business owners.
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Here’s more a the proposed new national holiday.
I wonder if there will be a national holiday for those interned in work camps in Canada, like my grandfather was when he stepped off the boat to his newly chosen country?
Will Japanese Canadians warrant a national holiday?
I’m really not sure about this whole national holiday proposal,
Another sure fire vote grab?
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawa-negotiating-to-create-new-statutory-holiday-marking-brutal/#.W3RDHDgBfHg.twitter
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maybe but the incessant victimhood/identity politics, virtue signaling and grovelling will no doubt continue from Silly Boy Trudeau and his lackeys
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Appeasement politics at its best: “The minister responsible for Parks Canada (Catherine McKenna) says tearing down statues is not the solution when it comes to addressing the darker side of Canadian history.” But changing the name of a government building is? Oh, the hypocrisy! Her solution? “She says one option may be to erect a second statue or monument next to a controversial figure to represent Indigenous history at a particular site.”
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Catherine McKenna, oh, forget it, I don’t know where to start!
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Read an article on her Supreme Highness Beverley McLachlin, apparently she’s going to be writing more books in retirement. Good for her, keeps the wolf from the door but I’ll take a pass !
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Just wondering if the Conservatives are using another tactic to get more donations and faster speculating about the Liberals calling an early election?
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Now we have Arif Virani and Jagmeet Singh calling for the ouster of Max Bernier. I don’t know about any of the others on this site but that both infuriates and scares me. Neither one is willing to call out and condemn the extremists in their own cultures but they’re more than willing to stick it to Bernier. M-103 is just the thin edge of the wedge and Max is right. Sides are already being drawn up.
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I am a proud Canadian! https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=62&v=znzhabhYzgg
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Good one Anne.
Here’s Lorrie Goldstien’s column on the National holiday issue.
https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/goldstein-more-crocodile-tears-from-trudeau
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Great article!
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More good stuff from Lorrie. In all my life I can’t recall a leader shedding tears, they run down his face, his voice quivers. Give him an A+ for dramatics.
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Definitely not a confidence builder for the nation that’s for sure.
I do think though that there are so many who buy into the theatrics and support him as being akin to someone like Michael Landon. Remember how that guy could cry on cue? I get the same feeling when Trudeau musters up the tears.
You don’t suppose in his talking points and script Butts has “look sad and think of the puppy from your childhood that ran away and never came back.”
From here on in it’s all campaign mode for Justin and he’s going to do anything to try to snag votes.
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Seems kind of a silly idea, but hey, who doesn’t like another holiday if it means a day off work. Although I think when it comes to reconciliation, virtue signaling is not going to resolve that, it is going to be hard work. I’ve actually often said we need to find ways so First Nations can be more self sufficient. One thing I’ve been a huge proponent of is revenue sharing for resource extraction on Native land as this would be a win-win, creating more jobs for their community, more revenue to improve their communities, and also good for our economy. And in fact some First Nation’s communities are doing this. Contrary to what the media claims, many First Nations, particularly in the interior are for the pipeline. Likewise with a higher birth rate, getting more First Nations into the workforce could help in providing a stronger tax base to deal with an aging population.
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Andrew Scheer needs not to be drawn into demands to censure Bernier by acceding to calls to oust him from caucus. To do that is to destroy the party so carefully pieced together by Stephen Harper. If the CPC is to continue existing as the Big Blue Tent it needs to accept that there are varying opinions within that tent. Bernier’s opinion is merely one amongst the others.
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Exactly. If Scheer ousts Bernier he can say goodbye to a lot of supporters along with him.
This is not the time for infighting among Conservatives over differing opinions, the people they represent also have a differing of opinions.
If he does oust him, they will not get any more money from me.
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It’s a tough to call, but I would say while not risk free, letting him go would do more good than harm. My reason for this is, the risk of a splinter right wing party starting like with the Reform Party in the 90s is much less today due to campaign finance reform laws Chretien brought in; in 2003 which bans corporate and union donations while limits personal donations to $1,500. Starting up a new party in terms of creating infrastructure costs a lot of money so with big money banned from politics, it is a lot harder to do as opposed to when it was allowed. In terms of votes, most evidence I’ve seen is majority of Canadian voters are close to the middle with some leaning a little to the right and some a little to the left but those furthest from the centre are relatively small in numbers so you fish where the votes are.
In addition from a purely mathematical aspect, maybe some of the base will stay home if he is kicked out, but that is only one less vote for the Conservatives, it is not an additional vote for another party. But continue to allow him to push what he is saying and scare away some moderate voters and that is not just one less vote for the Conservatives, that is one additional vote for the Liberals so twice the damage. In the long run we should work towards the idea of less party discipline thus it would be less of an issue, but because party discipline is so entrenched, I don’t think holding onto him is worth losing an election over. And lets be clear, the 905 belt and Lower Mainland suburbs are the two key areas that determine who will form government and those are very diverse areas. Harper in 2011 and Ford in 2018 both won respectively by doing well in those areas.
In fact I would argue a big reason Wynne Liberals lost as badly as they did is they swung too far to the left. Trudeau has moved the party leftward and a lot in the centre or centre-right are unhappy with that, so we need to go after those voters instead of worrying about the more ideological right wing ones who will either vote for us most likely or at worse stay home, but certainly won’t vote Liberal. That doesn’t mean we cannot debate immigration and multiculturalism, we can, but we need to be careful to not sound like we are hostile to certain groups. The Conservatives need to be a party where any Canadian who shares the view of smaller government, lower taxes, balanced budgets, free trade, accountable government, and a strong economy can feel comfortable regardless of their religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, age etc. Identity politics as Scheer correctly stated just divides people and is not a policy any party on either the left or the right should follow as it just turns off the groups being targeted. When Liberals play it, best thing to do is ignore it and focus on the big issues. In 2014 in Quebec, PQ tried to play identity politics and rather than go along with it, the Quebec Liberals focused on the economy and argued it was a distraction to the bigger issues and that is what I think Conservatives should do.
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Any party/politician who underestimates the possible impact of this current mass migration on Canadians’ understanding of our culture does so at great risk. We’ve been told from day one by this current government that Canada has no cultural identity. More and more of us are waking up to the fact that our culture is in peril and that it is systematically being stripped from us a little at a time. Things have changed since 2014 in Quebec and across Canada. The two most populous provinces are the ones paying the biggest price and thus have the most to lose. I think the Liberals are looking a little scared.Evidence? Look at all the msm stories about Bernier they’re pushing.
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From the polls I’ve seen, I have actually seen the opposite. Lets remember Canada is quite urban and most urban areas are fairly diverse as well as its not just about the next election but remaining viable for years to come. Most millennials grew up in an interconnected world so tend to be more internationalist and less parochial in their thinking and my worry is if the party just panders to its base, it will in the long run go the way of the Social Credit in Alberta and Union Nationale, both who didn’t adjust to changing times and thus no longer exist today. That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t have a fiscally conservative party, probably eventually it would become like BC where you have a pro free enterprise coalition vs. socialist, but considering in the 90s it meant ten years of NDP hell until the switch happened, I would prefer to avoid this federally. I think John Ibbitson’s article on this recently was bang on. The Liberals refusal to take border crossings seriously could hurt them, but Conservatives must be careful to make clear they are against illegal immigration, not immigration overall. The 905 belt and Lower Mainland suburbs are where elections are won and lost and coming across as anti-immigrant will ensure the party doesn’t win there. Rural Ontario, BC Interior, and most of the Prairies will go Tory no matter what, while Quebec is always a big gamble that occasionally pays off but usually doesn’t. My advice to the party would be focus on the economy and let Liberals play identity politics.
I actually think Trudeau’s virtue signaling and identity politics is a trap Gerald Butts has suggested as he is hoping to get some Tories to make intolerant remarks and then they can use that as their attack in the next election since they don’t have a good record to run on. So we need to avoid taking the bait on this.
I personally don’t think our culture is threatened we are a young country and most immigrants by and large after the second generation do assimilate. People have said this about the Irish, Ukrainians, Greeks, Italians, Chinese, East Indians, Vietnamese etc., on how each of those groups would undermine our culture yet that never materialized. In the 80s here in Vancouver, many were complaining about the Asian invasion and how Vancouver would become the Hong Kong of Canada. A generation has now past and Vancouver is every bit as Canadian and in fact the Chinese community has very much enriched the culture in our city and most of their children have assimilated quite well and in fact intermarriage between Asians and whites is very common here in Vancouver. I have a number of white friends who have Asian spouses and vice versa. Likewise after the Air India bombing in 1985, there was a lot of concern about the Sikh community, yet today it has been largely positive. While many Sikh immigrants worked in blue collar jobs, a lot of their children today are doctors, lawyers, and in the tech industry thus greatly contributing to our economy. I am not sure what the stats are in Canada, but in the US, 1/3 of all new businesses are started by immigrants even though only 12% of the population so I see immigration as a positive for our country especially considering we have a low birth rate. Japan has taken the view of trying to maintain ethnic homogeneity and yes they have a high standard of living and a fairly peaceful society, but they’ve also had only 1% growth per year in the past 20 years and 1/3 will be seniors by 2030 so it has come at a great economic cost. I don’t want bigger deficits or higher taxes yet that is what will happen unless either we can increase our birth rate or immigration, we need one or the other or both to avoid this.
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Miles, this has nothing to do with internationalist or parochialist thinking. The implication is just a little patronizing. Whether we’re urban or rural dwellers we’ve all experienced other cultures to some degree. My father hailed from Poland, my best friend is from South Korea and my niece is married to a Filipino. These are not the cultures that threaten our own. They adapt and integrate determinedly. The only one that does threaten to water down and eventually replace our culture is the one protected by M-103. Don’t for one second discount that fact. It’s a fear shared by an increasing number of people.
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I agree with you Anne.
Here’s a column that contains within it some very good points that way too many are missing.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-whos-playing-identity-politics-everyone/
This in particular “Personally, I think Mr. Bernier has a point about Justin Trudeau and identity politics. “Inclusion” is all very well, but I often wish he’d spend a bit more time on “integration.” And Mr. Trudeau’s claim that “diversity is our strength” is fatuous drivel. Diversity is not our strength. Unity is our strength. What makes Canada strong is our ability to unite people of diverse backgrounds with a shared set of goals and values. That is what we’re good at.”
And this “But his views are also popular because mainstream politicians have been reluctant to allow an outlet for legitimate concerns over immigration and refugee policy. “There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada,” Mr. Trudeau has said. A lot of Canadians disagree.”
And finally this, which is where I believe we find ourselves today. “The Liberals also have a serious case of white man’s guilt – an irritating tendency to apologize and atone for every sin of the past committed against Indigenous or ethnic minorities. This can create resentment among people who feel it’s not their fault, or their ancestors’ either for that matter.”
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Anne SWON – Not suggesting anyone here is racist, more mine was what direction I think the party should take. It’s true the Liberals with identity politics as Cara mentioned seem to go to the other extreme. Trying to play the white guilt I think works well in your downtown cores, but doesn’t sell well in the suburbs or rural areas including even amongst minorities (Otherwise if you look at the last Ontario election, sells well in the areas that went NDP, but not PC and off course more PC than NDP ridings).
As for the issue of Muslims, I have myself been to six majority Muslim countries although no Arab ones (Albania, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Indonesia, Kosovo, Malaysia, and Turkey) and none of them seemed extreme to me, mind you again three are European so very western, one bordering the Middle East and Europe and the other two in Southeast Asia so conservative but hardly radical. Likewise here in Vancouver on the North Shore, we have a large Iranian community and most are educated types who came to Canada precisely because they oppose Sharia Law and want to live in a secular country. In fact unlike in Toronto, very few Muslims even wear the hijab (headscarf), never mind the full veil (niqab). Also 90% of new immigrants to Canada are not Muslim so I understand your concerns with radical Islam, but there are ways to deal with it, without the party being accused of being intolerant. I think with campaigns being decided on 10 second soundbytes, it is important to be careful as I have seen stupid comments sink a party and sort of that is what I want to avoid. I remember in 2004 how the Tories were on track to win, but then the Randy White type came out and killed their chances so that is what we need to avoid next campaign. Canadians for good or ill seem to be cautious rather than risk takers and so if unsure they often go with the devil they know so its important the Tories don’t seem too scary. There is no campaign now, but Maxime Bernier not just on this issue, but in general seems too willing to mouth off whatever thoughts he has and this can be risky. Lets remember if Stephen Harper were still leader he would have come down a lot harder as after the Randy White tape that cost him the 2004 election, he quite understandably didn’t want that to happen again so had zero tolerance for that kind of stuff.
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Thanks for clarifying, Miles, and I apologize for my false assumption re: the intention of your post. You see, my son returned from the Big City some years ago so I’ve lost my ability to discern the nuances of urbanite conversation. lol
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Well, there we have it, the media didn’t get what they wanted from interview with Scheer, they tried desperately.
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Trudeau’s reaction was exactly what I expected and was issued with that same inappropriate, half-assed grin we’ve all come to recognize. That facial expression is commonly referred to as a wry grin defined as an expression “produced by a distortion or lopsidedness of the facial features: a wry grin. abnormally bent or turned to one side; twisted; crooked: a wry mouth. devious in course or purpose; misdirected”.
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Indeed Anne. That smarmy smirk, squinty-eye thing drives me nuts! It’s something he does every time he’s asked a question, even in QP. Makes him look arrogant and smug.
Here’s something to think about that Michelle Rempel is cautioning about. https://ipolitics.ca/2018/08/16/rempel-accuses-liberals-of-deploying-experts-in-canadian-press-article/
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Here’s a good column by Christie Blatchford https://vancouversun.com/opinion/christie-blatchford-sorry-but-ive-had-enough-of-saying-sorry/wcm/2412f40b-d011-4db2-90af-7975fb3f0588
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Where’s ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not’ when you need them? The Canadian military has a shortage of sleeping bags and rucksacks and is still waiting for new planes but by cracky they have a gender advisor! Thank you, Catherine McKenna for insisting that a gender analysis be done hither and yon. Defending the country is so obviously not a priority for the military these days. http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/article-template-standard.page?doc=rcaf-member-deploys-as-gender-advisor/jdoodflc (h/t Ezra)
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Funny thing is all the virtue signaling on gender has not helped Trudeau amongst female voters, but hurt him amongst male voters. Most women care deeply about equal rights, but equality means having the same opportunities as men, not seeing every policy through a gender lens. In fact a good PM would focus what is best for the country as policies that are good for the country benefit both men and women.
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Check out this series of tweets. Can you believe the evil being attributed to Max?
Maxime Bernier: Whether or not I give interviews, your job is to report facts, not unfounded and calumnious speculation. You admit you have no idea if there was a connection. I tweet almost every day and was not even aware of this event in the US. You are biased and unprofessional.
Rosemary Barton: How do we you didn’t time to coincide with that anniversary given you won’t give any interviews to anyone about anything you tweet? How about you answer some questions and defend your position in front of people then we can talk about what is fake. Thanks for watching. #realnews …
Maxime Bernier: Just saw this report which implies a “timing” between my tweets last Sunday and some violent demonstration in the US. How do you know that I “chose to send (my) messages on the first anniversary of the riots in Charlottesville” @CBCTheNational ? This is despicable. #fakenews
Maxime Bernier added,
https://youtu.be/OnwnjU3dnog via @YouTube
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Unbelievable. A new low for CBC.
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Sounds like desperation as well as really, REALLY bad journalism on the part of the CBC but what’s new.
All of that fake news we’ve heard tell about? On full display with those tweets.
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Hi Gang. I’ve decided to shut down comments for the next week in order to give myself a full rest from politics and social media. I apologize to the regulars here but if I don’t do that it will be lurking in the back of my mind. I’m looking forward to getting back to it with a sense of renewed enthusiasm and perspective.
So I’ll be removing the comment form towards the end of the day. Thanks for your understanding.
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Enjoy a rest Joanne. We all should take more breaks!
In a week we should know the fate of Max…will he be turfed or will he be allowed free speech as a Conservative MP? Place your bets!
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Fair enough, enjoy the rest, we all deserve a break. It seems mostly to be just regulars and I haven’t seen any trolls here, but understandable you don’t want this at the back of your mind and also perhaps maybe they are some trolls who have tried to post but are getting blocked and that I am not seeing so fair enough. For regulars here, I will try to post something on my blog soon, so feel free to come over and comment there and continue the discussions.
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The CBC is proving they are the media arm of the LPC. They are jumping on Bernier, making stuff up to complete a story. Saying he timed his tweets to coincide with the anniversary of riots in Charlottesville is beyond the beyond……how can they even dream this stuff up? It may be time for litigation.
I say let Bernier have his opinion, many share it and many more are enlightened.
For Conservatives I say don’t fall into the trap, refuse to discuss it with the media, let Max speak for himself. The Liberals and media are salivating, don’t toss them any more fodder.
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I don’t think Scheer and co. will fall for it Liz. I think the’ve got their nose to the grindstone and it’s the Liberals up on their hind legs playing defense these days.
Have a nice time off Joanne.
We’re all going to need it.
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Think these mass migrations are just happenstance? Think again. Remember that Mr. Harper turned his back on the mighty UN. The following is from the ‘vaunted’ UN and includes links for further reading. We need to be aware of how we, and especially our governments, are being manipulated. It may already be too late for certain European nations. It’s not too late for us.
Replacement Migration:
Is It a Solution to Declining and Ageing Populations?
United Nations projections indicate that over the next 50 years, the populations of virtually all countries of Europe as well as Japan will face population decline and population ageing. The new challenges of declining and ageing populations will require comprehensive reassessments of many established policies and programmes, including those relating to international migration.
Focusing on these two striking and critical population trends, the report considers replacement migration for eight low-fertility countries (France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States) and two regions (Europe and the European Union). Replacement migration refers to the international migration that a country would need to offset population decline and population ageing resulting from low fertility and mortality rates. http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/migration/migration.htm
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What are your thoughts on trying to find ways to increase birth rates as I sort of see it those countries to sustain their standard of living and programs can do two things: increase immigration or increase birth rates. Some have suggested more generous maternity leave and better funding for childcare which is quite expensive and often associated with the left. I am more on the immigration side as cheaper fiscally, but I could see some conservatives maybe favouring the other. I actually think lots of couples would like to have more children, but the reason for low birth rates is having children is very expensive especially if you live in a large city where both parents have to work. If either childcare was more affordable or you only needed one parent to work to support the family, I think our birth rate would increase
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There are no quick, easy answers. We’ve taken decades of so-called ‘progress’ to get to where we are. The jumping off point would be to stop pushing women into the work force to prove their equality but that opens too many cans of worms and requires too many to take personal responsibility of the things they’ve allowed to fall under the aegis of big government.
Immigration needs a serious overhaul, not so much in numbers, but in ability to be self-sufficient and to integrate seamlessly. I give up for now. My brain is sore.
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I was hearing that the widow of one of the civilians killed in the Fredericton shooting https://globalnews.ca/news/4392057/fredericton-widow-justin-trudeau/ swore at Justin Trudeau. This cannot look good although I admit some of us here I am sure would be very tempted to say the same thing if we ever spoke to Trudeau.
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The linked thread is a perspicacious insight into the traits of Scheer and Bernier and is well worth reading. https://twitter.com/ezralevant/status/1030472664274690048
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Jo enjoy your time away from your blog. Your blog continues to be the best. The contributions by your followers are always the best. I will look forward to your return.
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Thanks for the kind words, Florence and others.
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Enjoy your time away, Joanne. It’s a pleasure to be able to vent alongside kindred spirits. It makes the wait until we can oust this government a bit more tolerable. Thank you for your patience.
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Thank you everyone Anne and everyone! This is certainly a community effort and I love how we all get along and respect each other’s opinions.
Miles will still be active on his blog as he mentioned earlier so you can join in there if you’re feeling any political withdrawal. For me I need to gain a fresh perspective. Looking forward to catching up in a week or so. Cheers!
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And we’re back! I have been away from most news sources so please enlighten me. I did hear about Mad Max though!! Yikes.
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I was very disappointed that Max made his choice to abandon the Conservative Party and call Scheer and the Conservative Party those nasty names.
Hope you had a good holiday Jo.
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Thanks Florence. Yes it certainly isn’t helpful. Hopefully Max will see who his real opponent should be.
Nice to get away from news for a while that’s for sure.
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Mad Max showed he cared more about his own ego than the party. In any big tent party there will be some disagreements and I have no problem with those even being more open, but going and quitting when you cannot get your way seems quite selfish. Anyways I suspect his party will have as much success as the Trillium Party in Ontario or BC Conservatives. That being said I am concerned the Conservatives will move rightward to try and stop the split when in fact it is the Blue Liberal/Red Tory swing voters we need to appeal to. Maybe not be quite that centrist, but moderate enough they feel comfortable voting Conservative as which way that group goes is what will decide the election. I am glad we didn’t choose Maxime Bernier as leader as I suspect things would have been a disaster. He even said before the vote he would keep track of whom supported him and more or less those who supported him would get the highest positions while those opposed would be marginalized so first hints he was not a team player. In any leadership race you always try to find ways to include your opponents which Scheer tried to do, not marginalize them as Bernier suggested.
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Also in other sad news, John McCain passed away today. Whether one agreed with his politics or not, he served his country honourably and was definitely the type we need more of in politics.
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I suspect most of us here have lived through one split in our party and don’t want to see another one, especially not now. I would have chosen Bernier over Scheer as leader at one time but not now. The logistics of developing a new party to be competitive in the 2019 election are impossible. As Miles frequently points out there are only so many conservatives in our left leaning society so we need to work together. Bernier needs to go away and think deeply about what he is doing to the country. It’s not all about him. It’s about much, much more. It’s about salvaging what’s left of this nation after Trudeau and his cabal have finished dismantling it.
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Yes indeed. As Miles mentioned, Bernier cares more about his own ego. What a shame.
I hope conservative voters look at the big picture here. Infighting is the last thing we need right now.
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You are so right Joanne and there sure is a lot of infighting going on. I’ve been reading that the Liberals will have to give in on SM to get a NAFTA deal so I can see why it was hushed up and not debated on. Wait on the Liberals to make their decision first and take the heat for it. If it’s before the courts with the US, then we just wait and see what happens and hope Max keeps a low profile too but his ego is too big for that.
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Ruth, yes hard to see how that will go down politically but one thing for sure is that Trudeau will have to wear whatever happens with NAFTA.
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If Twitter is anything to go by the rift for conservatives is widening at an alarming rate. There are many who feel that the CPC has moved so far left that important conservative principles have been abandoned. THEY feel abandoned. It’s ironic that opposition to Trudeau’s insistence that “diversity is our strength” is the one principle that illustrates the division. If Scheer wants to pull the party together he needs to develop a spine and stop being so liberal-lite. He’s too eager to have the msm like him. They don’t and they won’t. The sad fact is that the top story for the Globe and Mail was Laura Stone’s gossipy revelation that Hamish Marshall was spotted talking to a member of the right wing Rebel Media. How pathetic is that! When the left wing media can dictate who you’re allowed to talk to or be seen with and you abide by their rules you’ve already lost. Get rid of the constant smile. develop a stern tone and stand up to the bullying of the leftists.
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I am not sure I would say Scheer is liberal lite, if you compare to past Conservative leaders he is to the right of every former Progressive Conservative leader right up to 2003 although more centrist than each Reform Party leader and that makes sense as it should be a merger of equals not a Reform Party takeover. In fact coming from the other side, I know many Blue Liberals/Red Tories who feel the party is too right wing and would like a conservative alternative but feel the party still is too right wing. Certainly it is a challenge but at the end of the day I’ve always said those more right wing need to realize Canada is not a right wing country, more are on the left than right so we have to focus on what is realistic not ideal since if we focus on ideal we will be in opposition forever whereas if we focus on what is realistic we can at least get rid of Trudeau.
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The way things are going I fear another term of Liberals. However if it became a more precarious situation for Trudeau I would at least see that as some kind of improvement. Hard to see how this will all work out but personally I think the best approach is to ignore Bernier if possible.
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And I don’t necessarily mean here but perhaps on Twitter. I unfollowed him and it gave me great pleasure.
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Absolutely ignore Bernier! Also don’t take the bait being tossed out by media/Liberal hacks. Get on with business, push what’s important to the people of this country and that means beyond Ontario and Quebec.
Conservatives will lose if they keep slagging their leader and vow not to vote for the party…this feeds the monster called defeat. The thought of looking at the sneering Liberals for another term is enough for me.
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Yeah I just can’t stand their arrogance.
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The following link is to pages from the Dairy Farmers of Canada briefing book left behind accidentally(?) after the CPC convention. Their influence within the CPC is undeniable. via @SheilaGunnReid https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uxyjc5kaxa0hmgs/AAA1wa3e2C5yR0Azujcn3lH6a?dl=0
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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-dairy-lobbys-claim-about-a-deal-with-andrew-scheer-is-false/
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Manny Montenegrino is a very knowledgeable insider with very cogent thought processes who puts things in perspective for me. He has worked with conservative leaders from Preston Manning to Stephen Harper. I think his commentaries are worth checking out. https://twitter.com/manny_ottawa
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Manny is very insightful. I have followed him on Twitter for years.
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Looks like US and Mexico have reached a deal will be interesting to see where that goes. I am no fan of Trump, but it does seem Trudeau on international trade is too caught up with all the progressive chapters forgetting about what trade deals are really for.
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I’m getting the feeling Trudeau doesn’t want a Nafta deal. His strategy, as well as that of the msm, seems to be the chronic demonization of Trump and how his government refuses to be bullied. It’s all Canada vs. Trump. Trade takes a back seat. The msm is following that lead and it seems to be working very well for the LPC as this chart put out by Abacus Data shows: https://twitter.com/manny_ottawa/status/1033892516414668800
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If an election were held this Fall, perhaps that might help the Liberals, but if this triggers a recession, it could blow up in their face. Say what you want about Chretien but he had a good antennae and gut instincts which is why he lasted as long as he did. Trudeau doesn’t seem to have good instincts while Gerald Butts seems to go on the idea most Canadians are either conservatives or progressives and since progressives outnumber conservatives try and polarize the electorate when in fact the number of people who are neither firmly progressive or firmly conservative is larger than most think and which side they swing towards wins the election. They backed the Liberals in 2015, but went PC in the last Ontario election and went Tory in 2011.
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The Canadian government insisted it would not agree to a deal without the inclusion of Mexico in the talks. Mexico had no such compunction and has supposedly made a deal that does not include Canada. Result? Nafta is dead and Canada is on the outside looking in. And where is Freeland? She’s in Germany meeting with fellow diplomats we’re told. So why aren’t the msm demanding answers from Trudeau? Oh, that’s right, he’s not available. Friday – private meetings, Saturday – personal, Sunday – personal, Monday – private meetings. If Stephen Harper disappeared like that there’d be outrage from the press. The Canadian voters need to wake up.
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People don’t realize that farmers in the US are heavily subsidized so if SM has to go that helps our farmers in Canada, then their subsidies should go too, which won’t happen. From everything I’ve read, the price of milk will not change in Canada….and when we see eggs selling for 27 cents or some ridiculous price across the border, that doesn’t even pay for the carton. It’s a loss leader to get people in the store. Farmers can’t produce without first spending millions to buy quota. They have paid so much money to buy their quotas, it will take an enormous amount to compensate them. All we hear about is Quebec, but Ontario has many dairy and chicken farms too.
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I don’t think the government should relent on supply management, but they should drop the virtue signaling. Things like indigenous rights and gender equality are important but they are not trade related so it seems to be an issue where Trudeau believes certain issues need to be discussed everywhere rather than realizing with every issue there is a place where appropriate and where not, something Trudeau fails to appreciate.
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yes, exactly. Gender equality has nothing to do with trade issues just because Trudeau thinks it will get votes, lets get rid of that nonsense for NAFTA.
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