And the Rest of It

This country has decimated its major industries, chased away investment, piled tax upon tax and is poised to do it again:

Yet the economy grew by just 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, its worst performance in four years. Since then, we have had railway strikes, global trade tensions, Indigenous blockades and coronavirus. A source who works for Apple in the U.S. said the virus is the cause of the worst supply chain crisis in the company’s history, reflected in a share price that’s down 16 per cent in the last week.

If Canada were a corporate entity, its share price would also be under heavy pressure.

As the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Yves Giroux, pointed out last December, only additional spending restraint, revenue increases or faster economic growth will save the government’s debt-to-GDP ratio promise. ...

The election platform actually proposed savings of up to $3 billion a year from 2023-24 from “efficiencies” and a review of “tax measures that disproportionately benefit Canada’s wealthiest individuals”.

The government has also signalled its intention to end favoured tax treatment for executives earning employee stock options at large companies. Morneau said last June that 2,300 people earning more $1 million a year claimed $1.3 billion in tax deductions – two-thirds of the cost of the entire stock option expenditure. That is certain to end. But that might not be enough new money.

The rumour floating around Ottawa is that Morneau might not be able to resist the temptation to raise the capital gains inclusion rate in his spring budget.

 Canadians deserve the poverty they have coming their way. They really do.




Pierre Trudeau sought to destroy any element of surprise Joe Clark had in the plan to rescue American diplomats in Iran and now his son has made the imbecile a special envoy in his quest for a seat at the UN:

Trudeau has appointed former prime minister Joe Clark as his special envoy to persuade foreign governments to support Canada’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

They don't like you anyway. Stop playing their games:

By banning Decarie from their leadership race, the Conservatives are demonstrating they only stand for freedom of conscience when Trudeau and the Liberals are attacking it, but it’s fine when Conservatives do the same.

All these archives will prove is what has been said for ages - that Pope Pius XII did what he could do under difficult circumstances and that people would rather believe a communist than people who survived the Holocaust:

The Vatican today opened archives relating to Pope Pius XII’s pontificate, and as historians and researchers begin to scour some 2 million documents for information, most attention will be paid to what they reveal about Pius’ actions and attitudes toward the Jews and the Nazis during the Second World War.

Also - not newsworthy, apparently:

Brownback said he is concerned the situation in Nigeria will spread to nearby countries if nothing is done to crack down on religious persecution. 

“There's a lot of people getting killed in Nigeria, and we're afraid it is going to spread a great deal in that region,” he told CNA. “It is one that's really popped up on my radar screens -- in the last couple of years, but particularly this past year.”