Critics of Canada’s lax defence spending keep piling on, most recently Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan who, during a hearing on the new commander for Norad, said, “Americans are frustrated when our allies don’t pull their weight. With regard to NATO, Canada is not even close.”
… So what we’ll get is more of the same demand-side tweaking, like a TFSA that lets first-time homeowners save money for down payments on absurdly priced homes. Governments at all levels will throw nominal amounts of cash around for the odd affordable townhouse or apartment block; these will provide more opportunities for more photo-ops with yet more blunt press conferences.
Meanwhile, the dwindling pool of solvent young people who wish to get on the property ladder without massive infusions of intergenerational wealth will fight for these spots like food rations thrown to the impoverished districts in The Hunger Games. Perhaps we can get the poors to compete for their affordable homes with a reality television show, while we’re at it.
And with all of this happening at a moment of worsening social trust, declining quality of life, an exploding opioid crisis and the growth of slums and tent cities around the country, Mr. Trudeau would like to remind us that these are all provincial responsibilities, actually, as he retreats slowly back into the shrubbery.
China is behind many money-laundering transactions and other fraudulent financial activity in Canada, according to a July report from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).
The report identified students, homemakers, lawyers, and business owners as some of the occupations involved in receiving funds from China.
Due to a dearth of common sense in government policy across the country, but particularly in Ottawa, Canadians are paying a high price in terms of living standards, an increased burden of government and diminished economic prospects for the future. To reverse these trends, governments must make a dramatic U-turn based on common sense and real-world evidence.
Consider, for instance, one of the top issues worrying Canadians right now — housing affordability. Every politician from coast to coast pays lip service to the need to improve housing affordability. And yet some of the actions being taken not only will fail to increase affordability but will worsen it markedly.
What do Canadians think of carbon taxes? We know what the federal government thinks: Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is a huge fan, as he has been a vocal proponent of his government’s imposition of a minimum price of $65 per tonne of carbon, which has raised the price at the pump by 14 cents per litre in much of the country.
Canada plans new temporary foreign workers program to give ‘trusted’ employers quicker access
The federal government is rolling out a “trusted employer program” that is meant to reduce red tape and make it easier for Canadian employers to bring in temporary foreign workers to address labour and skills shortages.
In a news release Tuesday, officials said the Recognized Employer Pilot program will open for application as soon as September, first available to employers in agriculture and then to all others, starting in January.
Threats of legal action have recently been made targeting journalists who are focused on exposing foreign interference by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Canada
In June, Sen. Victor Oh proposed to create a national Chinese foundation to collect donations for launching lawsuits “against those unreasonable journalists, news outlets, and politicians who slander and defame Chinese people.”
William Watson: In 2023 is it possible to have a reasoned discussion of immigration?
Marc Miller just finished five years as a federal minister working on Indigenous issues. Now, ironically, he’s minister of immigration, encouraging an influx of new Canadians many Indigenous Canadians think hasn’t served them so well.
He’s better off than the person he’s replacing, however, rising Liberal star Sean Fraser. After 21 months at immigration, Fraser is off to housing, infrastructure and communities to work on the big headaches caused for, ahem, housing, infrastructure and communities by the record number of immigrants he let in. It’s just desserts of a sort you don’t often see in politics — even if the prime minister’s recent disavowal of federal responsibility for housing, motivated more by hot-potato politics than respectful regard for the constitutional division of powers, may let Fraser off the sharpest of those three hooks.
Over half of Canadians, 53 percent, say the federal carbon tax is ineffective at combating climate change, according to a new poll by Nanos Research, with most saying it’s also badly timed.
The poll, commissioned by CTV News and released Aug. 6, reported that two-thirds (67 percent) of Canadians said it was either “poor timing” (21 percent),or “very poor timing” (46 percent) to increase the carbon tax.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing a serious blow black for the July 26 cabinet shuffle from some passed-over Liberal MPs who believe the promotions of seven backbench colleagues to the front bench were not merit-based, and the PMO “misjudged and misplayed the whole thing completely.”
The Canadian elite has engineered a perfect storm
When Canada’s population hit the 40 million mark earlier this summer, it was celebrated as a milestone and a “signal that Canada remains a dynamic and welcoming country”, in the words of the country’s chief statistician. The Washington Post, among other foreign observers, cited this as evidence that “Canada is booming like it never has before”. It failed to mention, however, the recent closure of Roxham Road on the New York-Quebec border, an entry point for many thousands of irregular refugee border crossings since 2017.
Another day, another revelation that the People’s Republic of China is engaged in political warfare against the West.
Last week, Canada arrested and charged a former officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, William Majcher, for aiding “the Chinese government’s efforts to identify and intimidate an individual outside the scope of Canadian law.” Worse, it appears that Mr. Majcher did not act alone, as he was granted bail “on conditions that include not communicating with another former Mountie with whom he is alleged to have conspired.”
If Justin Trudeau wants to curb extremism in politics, he should start here
As Justin Trudeau prepares his cabinet ministers’ marching orders, he should consider putting a new item on the list — resurrecting the per-vote subsidy for federal political parties.
Currently, parties are financially dependent on donors, who are often moved to give in response to emotional messaging. That’s why the parties focus on identity politics — why we hear so much about abortion rights, gun laws and “Liberal censorship.” It’s why we see fundraising notes from the Conservatives warning “Canada’s democracy is in danger.”
… Changing the way parties are financed by adopting a per-vote subsidy — and reducing contribution limits for political donations — could be part of the solution.
We’re beginning to wonder what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau believes he is responsible for in Canada, as opposed to things he says are not his fault.
According to Trudeau, he’s not responsible for Canadians being divided because that’s the fault of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Two-thirds of Canadians now say it a poor time to increase the price on carbon, with a majority saying they believe raising prices on gas is an ineffective approach for curbing fuel emissions.
This is according to a survey conducted by Nanos Research and commissioned by CTV News intended to better understand Canadian perception towards combating climate change through increasing prices on fuel. The survey involved 1,081 Canadians surveyed between July 30 and Aug. 2 and results were evaluated with the latest census information, weighted by age and gender, and the sample of respondents was geographically stratified.
