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Could a mega project like the Canadian Northern Corridor provide a bold, new approach to unlock the potential of our renewable and non-renewable resource base?


Alberta wants a fair deal from Canada, but can’t seem to get one. Should it build a firewall? Stop trying? Separate? This is one of a series of opinion pieces adapted from the new book, “Moment of Truth: How to Think About Alberta’s Future,” in which some of Canada’s most respected thinkers on the subject debate what the best next steps are for Alberta — and for Canada.

For more than a decade, resource developers and utilities have struggled with all levels of government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to build critical infrastructure. The concept of multi-modal right of way corridors has been raised as a potential solution and given today’s challenges, the idea is worth revisiting, especially given the challenges Alberta is facing in Confederation.

A central Canadian resource and transportation corridor is not a new idea. In 1970, author Richard Rohmer published “The Green North,” which posited a grand plan to settle a “second Canada” below the Arctic. “Mid-Canada” would have new highways, railways and booming resource-based metropolises. Although Rohmer’s dream failed to be actualized, it presents a swath of questions and potential opportunities. Does the current circumstance offer an opportunity to usher in a new era of Canadian public/private infrastructure development? What about enormous, multi-decade infrastructure projects such as the Canadian Northern Corridor?

(more at link)
 
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Nilgiri

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Parliament is officially back in session and Trudeau faces several political challenges coming up, this article summarised the recent throne speech pretty well:


  • Promises major spending and policy initiatives to fight the coronavirus
  • Says will support people and businesses through this crisis "as long as it lasts, whatever it takes"
  • Says it will launch a campaign to create more than 1 million jobs, restoring employment to pre-pandemic levels
  • Will make "significant, long-term sustained investment to create a Canada-wide early learning and childcare system"
  • Will introduce support for for hardest-hit industries, including travel, tourism and hospitality
  • Will use "whatever fiscal firepower is needed"
  • Will address corporate tax avoidance by digital giants
  • Will release fiscal update with projections later this year
  • Will invest in infrastructure, including clean energy and affordable housing
  • Will legislate net-zero emissions goal by 2050
  • Will make zero emissions vehicles more affordable and invest in Canadian charging stations
(short analysis at link)

==============

I agree with the authors short analysis he gives, CAD will strengthen for a while as liquidity pumps in, but the debt generated by it will be a drag long term.

How much will depend on how the recovery of Canada's economy (and US economy) looks like in 2021....i.e how much sustainable fire catches from the sparks given right now by this fiscal stimulus.

The worrying issue is that the balance sheet for Canadian govt already was not looking good for the last few years....but there is little option now but to commit to a stimulus, lets hope its as efficient as possible (a big ask for any bureaucracy).
 

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Parliament is officially back in session and Trudeau faces several political challenges coming up, this article summarised the recent throne speech pretty well:


  • Promises major spending and policy initiatives to fight the coronavirus
  • Says will support people and businesses through this crisis "as long as it lasts, whatever it takes"
  • Says it will launch a campaign to create more than 1 million jobs, restoring employment to pre-pandemic levels
  • Will make "significant, long-term sustained investment to create a Canada-wide early learning and childcare system"
  • Will introduce support for for hardest-hit industries, including travel, tourism and hospitality
  • Will use "whatever fiscal firepower is needed"
  • Will address corporate tax avoidance by digital giants
  • Will release fiscal update with projections later this year
  • Will invest in infrastructure, including clean energy and affordable housing
  • Will legislate net-zero emissions goal by 2050
  • Will make zero emissions vehicles more affordable and invest in Canadian charging stations
(short analysis at link)

==============

I agree with the authors short analysis he gives, CAD will strengthen for a while as liquidity pumps in, but the debt generated by it will be a drag long term.

How much will depend on how the recovery of Canada's economy (and US economy) looks like in 2021....i.e how much sustainable fire catches from the sparks given right now by this fiscal stimulus.

The worrying issue is that the balance sheet for Canadian govt already was not looking good for the last few years....but there is little option now but to commit to a stimulus, lets hope its as efficient as possible (a big ask for any bureaucracy).
Wow,even Canada huh?
 

Nilgiri

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Wow,even Canada huh?

It's not as bad as the average in developed world I would say (debt leverage, given Canada has a massive wealth locked up in retirement plans and insurance plans that it can leverage debt on more readily than most)....but there is definitely tension in the air, because various provincial govts have commited different fiscal/economic strategies for their provinces (both before covid hit and during it too and definitely after it)....this will inevitably add a big political clash with federal govt with quite some finger pointing in all directions (as Liberal party in federal power... controls very few province govts. right now so they are somewhat easy target even in a normal situation).

Trudeau also has lot of political scandals that have materialised this year (adding to ones before it) that were put on backburner by media + opposition due to emergency with covid etc (most places declared public health emergency)....but as the emergency period recedes...and damage is unveiled and persists for long period of time now...from all the measures done during it.... all those scandals will come back and be discussed now.

There could be an election if enough parties get angered or sense enough opportunism together (they will do some polling themselves to see I feel)...given liberal govt is a minority govt right now (i.e cannot defeat no-confidence vote by itself).
 

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Its started:



EDMONTON — The federal government’s speech from the throne represents a “full-frontal attack” on Canadian federalism, the constitution and provincial jurisdiction, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney told reporters at a fiery news conference on Thursday morning.

The premier, speaking one day after Gov. Gen. Julie Payette delivered the throne speech, slammed it for being chock-full of “bright, shiny objects” and “kooky academic theories,” while making promises that impinge on provincial jurisdiction and, he argued, will actively harm Alberta’s resource sector as the province labours under a brutal recession.

(more at link)

====================

The official conservative party response also was fairly strong and disdainful:


All the opposition parties have attacked Trudeau speech and are against his corona-plan in various ways.

All that is except one party (NDP), which seems to be willing to support it for now (funnily enough the Greens who are further left of them are accusing them now of being sellouts because they obviously want an election to see if they gain any more seats).

NDP cautious support:


With that support, there will be enough votes against no-confidence which will prevent an election and keep Trudeau as PM for now.
 

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Sorry but we here in Canada just cannot stand some countries govts now, politicians must understand and respect that.

 

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Recent article by one of my favourite conservatives in Canada (Jamaican-Indian origin, she almost won the conservative party leadership recently, and looks to have strong popular political future ahead).

The tone is alarmist, but she brings up several good points confronting Canada right now.

=====================


Leslyn Lewis: There is a socialist coup unfolding in Canada, and we taxpayers are funding it

Canada is quietly going through a socialist coup.

If I had written these words just one year ago, it would have been deemed conspiratorial. But I have heard from too many Canadians over the past six months about what they have seen taking place. Ever since Justin Trudeau tried to grant himself king-like powers at the beginning of the COVID crisis, what we have been witnessing in Canada is a socialist coup that we, the taxpayers, are funding.


With a $343-billion deficit, Canada has started on a perpetual debt scheme reminiscent of Argentina. Even more concerning is that COVID relief has ballooned into non-health-related issues like favouring “green energy initiatives” (which are rarely actually green) over natural resource development.

The lack of transparency in government has raised concerns about unexplained inconsistencies, including: adding new rules that made it difficult for smaller retail and grocery stores to operate, but allowing larger outlets to function; cracking down on places of worship, but not on protesters; and limitations on family gatherings to which politicians don’t adhere.

(more at link)
 

Nilgiri

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Old school liberal passed away RIP.

He was PM for only a couple months (a benchwarmer for Pierre Trudeau not having guts to take a loss on the jaw and then ole Pierre salted the Earth too with a really dumb patronage move but thats another story)...but politicians like him are very scarce now, they are from the more civilised composed age:

 

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Trudeau also has lot of political scandals that have materialised this year (adding to ones before it) that were put on backburner



"Not long ago, however, the businessman accused of being at the centre of it all was moving in some of Canada’s loftiest business and political circles, partly as an advocate for China.

Wei met at least twice in 2016 with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, including at a controversial Liberal fundraiser in the home of another wealthy entrepreneur.

Wei also was among a delegation of four representing a Chinese government-endorsed industry group that met separately with Trudeau. Another member of the delegation donated $1 million to the Trudeau Foundation and the erection of a statue honoring the prime minister’s father."


(more at link)
 

Nilgiri

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Ironic given current PM is (Pierre) Trudeau's son....


Canada conjures images of tranquility. Its image is pastoral and its system is democratic. But 50 years ago this month, Canada's tranquility was rocked and democracy had to take a back seat.

The incident came to be known as the October Crisis. The militant Front for the Liberation of Quebec (FLQ) had been haunting Canada, especially the French speaking province of Quebec, since the early 60's. Matters came to a head when the FLQ kidnapped British diplomat James Cross in Montreal on Oct. 5, 1970. Five days later, the FLQ kidnapped Pierre Laporte, the deputy premier of Quebec.

Cross was eventually released on Dec. 4, 1970. In the bargain for his release, the five kidnappers were allowed safe passage to Cuba. Laporte wasn't so lucky. The FLQ murdered Laporte execution style and stuffed his body in the trunk of a car. He was found dead (strangled) on Oct. 17, 1970.


The blatant acts of terrorism induced panic in Quebec. But Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau stayed cool during the crisis, executing his duties regardless of critics. When asked by a reporter in Ottawa how far he was willing to go to curb FLQ terror, Trudeau's response on Oct. 13, 1970, became part of his legend: Just watch me.

Two days later, the government of Canada invoked the National Defense Act, deploying the Royal Canadian Army on the streets of Montreal and Quebec City. The following day, Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act, the only time in Canada's history when the act was implemented during peacetime.

The basic effect of the War Measures Act was to suspend habeas corpus. In Montreal alone, 497 people were arrested and held without charges, some up to three weeks. And of the 497 arrested, only 62 were ever charged (and it was only a handful of these 62 who were convicted of anything).

For the most part, Trudeau had public support. Robert Bourassa and Jean Drapeau, respectively the premier of Quebec and mayor of Montreal, supported the measure. Bourassa even made an explicit appeal to Trudeau to implement the measure.

But support began to wane. And Trudeau was not able to carry out his agenda absent severe criticism. Provincial Minister Rene Levesque of the Parti Quebecois (who would become premier of Quebec in 1976) at first supported the War Measures Act but withdrew his support days later, insisting FLQ membership was minimal.


Though FLQ membership was minimal, its support was by no means marginal. Students at the University of Montreal boycotted classes in solidarity with the FLQ and the university was host to 3000 demonstrators in favor of the FLQ.

Kidnapping a foreign diplomat and a provincial minister (who would later be murdered) was intolerable. There was (and is) no getting around it: Trudeau was faced with a national emergency requiring a swift and unambiguous response.

By the way, there were prosecutions and convictions regarding the murder of Laporte. FLQ members Paul Rose and Frances Simard were convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison. Bernard Lortie was convicted in the kidnapping of Laporte and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Jacques Rose (the brother of Paul Rose) was convicted as an accessory after the fact and sentenced to 8 years in prison.

Though the incident is referred to as the October Crisis, the crisis state of mind lasted beyond October. It was not until Dec. 23, 1970, when Trudeau announced that troops in Quebec would be withdrawn by Jan. 5, 1971.

The resolution of the October Crisis marked the end of the FLQ and all forms of militant Quebec nationalism. The movement then worked within the political system as Levesque led his separatist Parti Quebecois to power in Quebec in 1976. Though Levesque's sovereignty referendum suffered a convincing defeat in 1980 (60 to 40 percent), the Parti Quebecois returned with another referendum in 1995 which almost passed (defeated by a bare 50.6 percent majority).

The conventional wisdom in Canada today is that Quebec nationalism has ceased to exist. This is a careless assertion. Quebec nationalism is a light sleeper and the fact that it is dormant does not reduce it to irrelevance.

But getting back to the October Crisis, the 1970 incident highlighted the need for swift action in the face of upheaval. Trudeau (who is not one of my favorite people in history) exercised exemplary leadership in the face of a national emergency. Unfortunately, it's a lesson seldom grasped by the leadership of today.

John O'Neill is an Allen Park freelance writer. He has a degree in history from Wayne State University.
 

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We have a long history of home-grown, politically motivated attacks. Equally uncomfortable might be the overtly violent manner in which Canadian politicians have sometimes responded.

Canadian public reaction to the recent news about a foiled kidnapping of Michigan’s Democratic governor by right-wing extremists has been somewhat predictable.

How can they (the United States) allow such ideological extremism to fester at such a potentially explosive level, such as kidnapping one of their own democratically elected politicians? How can such ideologically motivated terrorism fester in the U.S.? We ask these questions with veiled condescending scorn, under the assumption that acts of domestic terrorism are not part of the Canadian fabric.

Time for an historical reality check.

As uncomfortable and as unCanadian it might seem, given our placid, mythological “peacekeeping nation” self-image, we have a rich and storied history of home-grown, politically motivated bombings, shootings, armed insurrection and, yes, kidnappings and assassination, all in the name of political extremism. Equally uncomfortable to some might be the overtly violent and sometimes arbitrary manner in which Canadian politicians have responded to home-grown acts of politically motivated violence.

Indeed, the Michigan plot comes on the 50th anniversary of Canada’s FLQ crisis, which relative to the Michigan saga, proved far more successful at attacking and disrupting democratic government. Although the October Crisis has been largely sanitized of its terrorism profile, the reality is that home-grown, armed, Canadian ideological (Marxist-separatist) extremists from Quebec kidnapped British diplomat James Cross, then subsequently kidnapped and murdered of prominent Quebec politician Pierre Laporte. These actions came at the end of an almost decade-long streak of high-profile bombings of public institutions, bank robberies, and raids on defence installations. Among the most prominent of these FLQ terrorist attacks was the February 1969 bombing of the Montreal Stock Exchange and the May 1963 mailbox bombings in Westmount, which seriously disabled a Canadian Army bomb disposal expert, Sgt.-Maj. Walter Leja.

Meanwhile, some might remember the attemptedbombing of Parliament in 1966by an angry westerner (Paul Joseph Chartier )who wanted to get back at politicians but ended up accidentally blowing himself up in the parliamentary washroom.

We shouldn’t forget the foiled terrorist plot of in 2006 by the so-called “Toronto 18,” who were training and plotting to murder our then-prime minister among other public figures.

More recently, there was the October 2014 rifle attack on the military guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa by radicalized Canadian Muslim extremist Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who then attacked the Centre Block on Parliament Hill and was eventually gunned down inside. (This took place only a short walking distance from the spot where, in 1868, the popular Canadian politician and Father of Confederation Thomas D’Arcy McGee was assassinated, execution-style, allegedly by Irish republican nationalist.)

And there is the May 2020 attempted armed incursion onto the grounds of Rideau Hall by a heavily armed Canadian reserve army member with known ultra right-wing sympathies. The outcome of that case is not yet determined.

These are known acts aimed at our federal government and Parliament.

At the provincial level, we could include the 1984 sub-machine gun attack on the Quebec National Assembly by Canadian Forces Master-Cpl. Denis Lortie whose anti-Parti Québécois rampage with his Canadian Army-issue weapon resulted in the deaths of three civil servants and injured 13.

Less costly in terms of human life would be the 1995 bombing of the Prince Edward Island Legislature by Roger Bell who, like the 1966 would-be terrorist, wanted to get back at government.

Canada, a peaceful, non-terrorism-prone nation? You decide.

Equally defiling to our gentle, peacemaker self-image is the response by government to violent threats to our institutions. As an eight-year-old boy growing up in a suburb of Montreal, my most vivid memory of the 1970 October Crisis was the Canadian Army coming into our neighbourhood and searching homes while soldiers stood by with rifles and machine-guns at the ready. Almost concurrent with the deployment of the military in Quebec was then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s invocation of the War Measures Act, 50 years ago today, which temporarily suspended civil liberties.

The FLQ’s actions, and Trudeau’s response, were only one in a long line of swift and arbitrary reactions on the part of Canadian government to internal threats. Going further into our past, we can include the army’s indiscriminate shooting of anti-conscription protesters in Quebec City in April of 1918, killing four civilians (including a 14-year-old boy) and wounding many more. Go even further back and there is John A. Macdonald’s government violently suppressing the Métis/Indigenous uprising in the Northwest in 1885 and subsequently executing leader Louis Riel.

The Michigan kidnapping plot, from an American perspective, might be a lesson that acts of domestic terrorism and political violence like those that have happened in Canada can happen south of the border too!

Likewise, just as the legacies of Macdonald and Trudeau are tarnished by the severity of their responses to violent internal threats, American politicians should be wary of how their wholesale responses might be perceived when the history books are written.

Robert Smol served for more than 20 years in the Canadian Armed Forces and is currently studying law. Reach him at: [email protected].
 

Nilgiri

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Trudeau+Libs are playing with fire by making a (proposed by opposition) commitee to look into alleged corruption by govt + its spending patterns during covid as a no-confidence issue.

It now depends on whether NDP decide to support them or not.

If NDP do not support liberals (and liberals do not back off from the threat they are making of having it as no-confidence issue), we are headed to election.


Key synopsis in article:

Such opposition day motions are not typically confidence matters, but Rodriguez said the very nature of the committee suggests that if it was passed then the House of Commons would have lost confidence in the government.

“They’re saying that the government is corrupt. That means they don’t have confidence in the government.”

O’Toole rejected the suggestion that creating a new committee could possibly be a confidence vote.

He offered amendments to his own motion to change the name of the committee, which was initially called the “anti-corruption committee” and he offered a specific amendment that made clear there was no need if the motion passed to call an election.

“I think Canadians see what’s going on here,” he said. “The Liberal Party would rather send people to the polls during the second wave of a pandemic, then answer a few reasonable questions and Canadians should be concerned by that.”


(More at link)
 

Nilgiri

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NDP helped liberals to defeat the no-confidence vote...but they made the support sound as one to simply prevent election that they accuse Trudeau of trying to instigate.... (rather than the underlying issue libs decided to bring the vote for):

 
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How has the US border closures affect Canadian views towards the US and in their politics
 

Nilgiri

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How has the US border closures affect Canadian views towards the US and in their politics

More or less unaffected...given the severe economic lockdowns that Canada did internally too with same rationale. Of course the business folks and workers that have huge reliance on US market/logistics/travel have reacted negatively given severe punches they had to take on the chin.

In fact US wants to open the border more or less now, but its Canada that is driving keeping it closed for some more time:


There is greater worry/tension regarding perceived callousness of US administration + local state govts in handling it and the long term repercussions on the economy and society at large.

US - Canada security relationship and overall close relationship in general will of course persevere and continue with the lessons learned.
 

Nilgiri

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The topic is appearing in the news again lately:


The Bloc Québécois is demanding that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologize on behalf of the federal government for the implementation of the War Measures Act during the October Crisis in 1970 and the detention of hundreds of Quebecers.
 

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Leftist separatism was big in the 60s and 70s. PLO, IRA, Basque separatism, Vietcong.

Today's dynamic is different. Right wing nationalism veering towards fascism is in vogue today a la the 1930s and 1940s.
 

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