Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Mid-Week Post

Your middle-of-the-week rain puddle ...

 

The new boss is the same as the old boss:

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When the federal government spends your money — and it is most definitely your money — one of the ways it is held accountable is by presenting an annual budget.

The budget, among other things, details how the government spent your money, how much more of your money it will need in the future, the profligate and useful ways in which your money was spent, and — especially in the Liberals’ case — how much debt the government needs to rack up to pay for its excessive spending.

One of the government’s primary roles — perhaps its most important — is to be stewards of the public purse.

(Sidebar: HA! You wrote that with a straight face!)

Not to have a budget for two years is not only an abdication of that role, it is a slap in the face of all Canadians. Give us your money, says the Liberal government, but accountability? Why, there is no need for that.

The last budget in April 2024 promised “fairness for every generation,” to build more homes, to make life more affordable and to grow the economy.

Then it got blown up in December when Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned, charging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with “political gimmicks” and implying the Liberals were failing to keep their fiscal powder dry in the face of incoming U.S. tariffs.

The whole episode highlighted just how important it is for us all to keep an eye on the nation’s finances.

Shortly thereafter, Parliament was dissolved, then prorogued, and then there was an election. The supposed democracy of Canada hasn’t had a sitting Parliament for five months.

And now our newly minted finance minister, François-Philippe Champagne, says we don’t need a budget this year. Instead, we will get a fall economic statement which isn’t the same thing at all. Often called a mini budget, it is less detailed and more an update on where things stand. Champagne told CTV’s Vassy Kapelos, “My objective is to provide (Canadians) with the best possible picture of the finances of Canada. It is to be prudent.”

Champagne said that after the summer parliamentary break and in the fall, there would be a fiscal update “which is going to be substantive and, like I said, there is going to be no surprises.”

Our finance minister speaks in contradictions: on the one hand he wants to give Canadians the best possible picture, and on the other hand, he will only provide a mere update in the fall.

It is also a wonder that the word prudent didn’t turn to ashes in his mouth considering the Liberals abysmal ten-year economic record in power. A new report by the Fraser Institute reveals total government spending has soared. In 2014, it was 38.4 per cent of the national economy, last year it was 44.7 per cent. Our debt burden now means we are the seventh highest out of 40 advanced economies.

(Sidebar: and how!)

“Simply put, over the last decade, Canada has experienced substantial growth in both the size of government and the overall debt burden that has outpaced virtually every other advanced country. This has translated to a deterioration in the state of Canada’s finances relative to comparable countries, and likely means lower economic growth and reduced living standards for Canadians,” says the report.

 

Budgets are for little people.

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What a maroon:

Canada’s new housing minister Gregor Robertson says that the prices of existing homes shouldn’t go down, lest this negatively impact current homeowners, and that affordable housing should be provided through massive government subsidies instead. His position is economically illiterate and raises concerns about his fitness to lead this portfolio.

Anyone with a cursory understanding of economics knows that, in a regular market, the price of any given commodity will be roughly the same for both the buyer and seller. If you want people to have the option of purchasing $3 coffee, for example, you need cafes that are willing to sell coffee for $3 as well. While these dynamics are sometimes distorted — i.e. through taxes and subsidies — this is, for the most part, how transactions work.

So if you want the Canadian housing market to become more affordable for buyers, it naturally follows that sellers will have to accept lower prices, which, for existing homeowners, means that the value of their properties must decline. This is an obvious point that is well-understood throughout the political spectrum.

 

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And all this time I thought that Carney was going to stand up to Trump:

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Go screw yourself.

Your worthless government and its continuation have destroyed industry in Canada and now you want to punish people who would rather keep their companies running in the US rather than face bankruptcy in Canada.

Go to hell and take your friends with you:

Parliament must “take a stand” against Canadian companies that move jobs to the United States to bypass Trump tariffs, the nation’s largest private sector union said yesterday. “This is the fight of our lives,” Lana Payne, Unifor national president, told reporters. “We must take a stand now.”

**

It's about controlling everything we watch, even the stuff we don't:

"The contribution standard applied to Canadian broadcasters is much greater and reflects their existing obligations," the group said in its opening remarks.

"This difference was intentional as Parliament rejected calls to impose the same standard because 'it is just not realistic' to expect foreign online undertakings operating in a global market to contribute in the same way as Canadian broadcasters."

MPA-Canada said the CRTC shouldn't impose "any mandatory positions, functions or elements of a 'Canadian program"' on global streaming services.

While the hearing is focused on the definition of Canadian content, the CRTC has also heard debate about financial contributions.

 

 

When do we send poorly-armed and trained sixteen year olds to die in Ukraine?:

Prime Minister Mark Carney reaffirmed Canada’s “steadfast and unwavering support” for Ukraine in his first meeting with the country’s president on Saturday in Rome.

His meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy was one of several sitdowns with world leaders taking place in the Italian capital, where Carney -- a devout Catholic -- has travelled to attend the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV. The Prime Minister is making a concerted effort to meet with other G7 leaders ahead of the global summit Canada is hosting in Kananaskis, Alta., next month.

During his meeting with Zelenskyy at Canada’s Official Residence to the Italian Republic, Carney said Canadian support for Ukraine extends to the president’s leadership.

“We admire your commitment to peace, as you’ve demonstrated it again this week,” he said, referring to peace talks between the two sides in Turkey earlier this week. “... There can be no peace without the full support and participation of Ukraine, and that you have our absolute support.”

Zelenskyy, dressed in all black with a short-sleeve collared shirt, thanked Carney for his words and immediately extended an invitation to visit Ukraine.

 

 

A pipeline? In Quebec?:

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says Quebec’s stance on pipelines may be changing, noting that Quebec Premier François Legault is showing greater willingness to pursue development projects in his province.

Smith discussed Legault’s shift in perspective during her weekend morning radio show, “Your Province. Your Premier.,” noting that she has been lobbying the Quebec premier to advance the development of natural gas resources in his province.

“I’ve been very annoying for Premier Legault, because I told him every time I saw him, I was going to lobby him on developing their own substantial natural gas resources,” Smith said during the May 17 show. “And every time I saw him, he said there’s no social acceptability for it, until recently.”

Smith’s comments follow a recent appearance made by Legault on the podcast Contact, hosted by Stéphan Bureau. Legault said there is a growing openness among Quebecers for pipeline projects because of the trade tensions with the United States that intensified when President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods.

“Quebecers are saying, ‘There’s no way Trump is going to control the oil we produce in Alberta.’ So, can we export it to Europe through Quebec instead of being stuck with Trump?” the premier said. “There’s openness. I feel things are shifting.”

He also referred to a prospective project that would extend through the northern region of the province and end at the Port of Sept-Îles.

 

There is NO WAY that Carney will let that happen.

 

 

Some people are special:

  • Since 2015, the federal government has significantly increased spending on Indigenous Peoples.
  • The annual Indigenous budget has almost tripled from 2015 to 2025, growing (in nominal dollars) from roughly $11 billion to more than $32 billion.
  • In addition, class actions have been settled without litigation, with estimated liabilities reaching $76 billion in 2023, while specific claims have been settled at a rate four times higher than by the previous government, leading to a significant transfer of land and money to First Nations.
  • From 2016 to 2021, the gap in Statistics Canada’s Community Well-Being index, which measures the socio-economic well-being for communities across the county, between First Nations and other Canadian communities was reduced from 19 to 16 points. This reduction was due chiefly to an increase in reported income of First Nations people living on Indian reserves.
  • Closer analysis shows that this increase in income was due mainly to the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), introduced in 2016. First Nations people benefit relatively more from this new program because they have lower incomes and more children than other Canadians.
  • First Nations’ Own Source Revenue derived from business activities is increasing less rapidly than government transfers, making First Nations more financially dependent on the federal government.
  • Simply increasing money transfers to First Nations does not necessarily produce improvements in measured well-being.
  • Improvements in well-being 
  • can come from general policies, like the CCB, that are not targeted at First Nations.

 

You handed them welfare. What did you think would happen?

They were kept compliant.

**

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It’s nonsense, from the fiction of pre-contact Eden to their exercising ongoing stewardship of our private property to the “All of Our Relations” nonsense about, presumably, Brother Beaver, Sister Sumac, and Mother-In-Law Mosquito. And the “Haudenosaunee,” a.k.a. Iroquois Confederacy, hated and feared by their neighbours at the time of European contact, sharing with the “Anishinabek” they repeatedly attacked and displaced.

 If you think truth matters, and if not, God save us, British rule put an end to chronic low-scale warfare, complete with torture, enslavement, and cannibalism, and bestowed peace, order, and good government. It was highly imperfect, including bigoted denial of the right to vote. But to portray Sir John A. Macdonald as genocidal and the Mohawks as pacifists cannot lead us anywhere but into darkness. ...

 As G.K. Chesterton wrote, “all feeble spirits naturally live in the future, because it is featureless; it is a soft job… It requires real courage to face the past… full of facts which cannot be got over; of men certainly wiser than we and of things done which we could not do.” But people who preen about unceded land aren’t just claiming if they’d been there in 1867, or 1667, they’d dramatically have outperformed the clods who did stumble onto the historical stage. They’re pretending they did, so brilliantly that aboriginals still own the land we’re sitting on, sneering at them.

 Which brings me to the issue of hypocrisy. Every time I sit with clenched teeth through one of these land acknowledgements, and by the way, I have discovered that I am far from alone, I want to leap up and shout, “If you think your building belongs to someone else, what’s your plan for immediately giving it back?”

 

 

It was never about a virus:

“The RCMP in [Ottawa] carries out Federal Policing activities which includes, but is not limited to, protective policing and national security investigations.”

“As the police of jurisdiction in Ottawa, Ottawa Police Service has the primary responsibility to manage the police response to all demonstration activity. The RCMP can provide support to Ottawa Police Service when assistance is requested. However, the RCMP cannot assume command and control of the police response to demonstration activity as some officials suggested during the convoy event.”

The RCMP steps in to “assume a lead investigative role” when there is a “suspected threat to national security,” states the report.

“However, the criminal investigation remains separate from the police response to manage the demonstration activity taking place within a police jurisdiction's area of responsibility.”

The report also acknowledges the shaking of public trust in institutions after the invocation of the Act and the need to restore public trust after the freezing of bank accounts of those involved in the protest.

The RCMP maintains donors to the convoy did not have their accounts frozen. The Mounties further distance themselves from the responsibility of financial freezes, asserting the onus was on the financial institutions.

The RCMP’s use of command structure was inconsistent and there were intelligence sharing gaps where information was neither consistently timely or effectively disseminated to frontline officers, states the report.

Further, the report cited training deficiencies, where only 65% of officers were prepared for public order tactics, and critical weapons certifications outdated.

“There is little to no public order and/or tactical training for general duty Regular Members who are not a part of Tactical Support Groups or Public Order Units,” states the report.

The report clarifies that demonstrations alone do not constitute national security threats warranting RCMP lead.

“Various elected officials and senior Government of Canada officials were of the view that it was the RCMP’s responsibility to resolve the blockades in Ottawa,” discloses the review.

 

None of this makes the RCMP look good.

 They are either too incompetent to control a crowd or were willing partners of the government in quelling an embarrassing display of rebellion.

**

This is real pod-people stuff right here:

The deeper Zweig dug, the more his sense of astonishment—and then of outrage—grew. As early as March 2020, it was clear that Covid, unlike influenza, posed little threat to children. Nor were schools major centers of virus transmission, studies showed. In other words, the scientific evidence supporting long-term school shutdowns was weak, the author discovered, while the policy’s negative impacts were potentially devastating.
Zweig pitched his editors at the New York Times: How about an article detailing the scientific case for reopening schools? They weren’t interested. Nor were several other outlets he had worked with. Eventually, the article ran in the tech magazine Wired. The piece had little impact on the national debate over school closures, not because it wasn’t persuasive but because there was no national debate over school closures.
As in other elite communities, Zweig’s neighbors posted “In this House We Believe” signs in their yards stating, “Science Is Real.” Government officials, including New York governor Andrew Cuomo, relentlessly insisted that their policies were based on “data.” But when Zweig and a handful of other researchers convincingly challenged the scientific case for school closings, the blue-state voters and policymakers took little notice. The media, which normally prides itself on curiosity and skepticism, refused to question the overnight consensus. “The narrative was set,” Zweig writes. 
In contrast, European policymakers took the research involving Covid and children seriously. By May, most European countries were beginning to reopen their schools. Liberal Americans usually think European nations are more enlightened on issues of social policy. But U.S. media and public health leaders mostly ignored the European example. When pressed, they waved away the disparity, insisting that European countries had “controlled” the virus prior to reopening schools, unlike the U.S. under the erratic President Trump. It wasn’t true, but it fit the narrative. American schools stayed closed.
Most U.S. schoolchildren wouldn’t return to full-time, in-person school for more than a year. That interregnum, we now know, seriously degraded their social development, educational attainment, and mental and physical health. All too predictably, disadvantaged children suffered the worst declines.
You’d think these facts would have put liberal America in an uproar. Yet, even today, this policy disaster rarely comes up in those circles. When it does, Zweig writes, “Many on the left argue that the prolonged school closures were a fog-of-war decision made on the best available information at the time.” That’s a comforting claim. But, again, it’s simply not true, he argues. The best available information at the start of the pandemic militated against prolonged school closures. The evidence supporting that conclusion only grew stronger as the months went by. So, Zweig wants to know, “What led the U.S. to be if not uniquely, then certainly exceptionally dysfunctional?”

 

Now, now - Canada is backward, too:

A municipal councillor arrested for participating in the 2022 Freedom Convoy yesterday was acquitted of all charges. Harold Jonker of St. Ann’s, Ont. earlier told a public meeting he was proud to be among the first truckers to join the protest on Parliament Hill: “I am humbled that I was able to participate in a protest that brought immense joy and hope to so many Canadians across the country.”

 

Imagine being dragged through the mud because you said no to the village idiot.

 

 

We don't have to trade with China: 

China has emerged as the top customer for Canadian oil shipped on the expanded Trans Mountain Pipeline, ship tracking data shows, as a U.S. trade war has shifted crude flows in the year since the pipeline started operating.

China's new interest in Canadian oil comes as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war has strained relations between longtime allies Washington and Ottawa. It also reflects the impact of U.S. sanctions on crude from countries like Russia and Venezuela.

 

No, China is protecting its North American interests.

Perhaps that is why Trump is insisting that Canada be include under the Golden Dome plan.

One cannot siphon anything from Canada if the Americans are watching.

**

Unlike in 2016, Chinese sellers no longer rely on U.S. retailers’ purchase orders. They ship container loads of goods directly to consumers, systematically undervaluing them on customs declarations.

Chinese e-commerce companies exploit U.S. customs through sophisticated tactics centered on non-resident importer (NRI) structures and delivered duty paid (DDP) clearance. These methods, often facilitated by logistics firms and customs brokers, shield sellers’ identities and minimize duties.

Here’s how it works: Brokers register NRI entities and post bonds for Chinese sellers, clearing goods and delivering them to Amazon fulfillment warehouses. They declare low container values to avoid scrutiny and sometimes misclassify goods as other items to secure a lower tariff rate. Many brokers are Amazon-affiliated (SPN, Send, Ship Track). Platforms like AMZ123.com list hundreds of such providers. Large sellers register multiple NRIs, splitting shipments among them. If one NRI is flagged, only that bond is lost — a minor business expense.

These tactics let Chinese sellers sidestep tariffs, keep prices low, and dominate visibility. As tariffs rise, so does their competitive edge.

 

 

Culture matters:

Bukhari 7.62.88 says, “The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years.” Muhammad was reportedly 54 at the time.

Hence, some Muslim scholars and Sharia experts say there is no minimum age for a girl to be married. And of course rape and concubinage are also allowed in Islam. There’s no mystery as to why many European cities with large Muslim migrant populations suddenly see an increase in sexual crimes.

 

 

No country for anyone:

You know Toronto is not a safe place for Jews when the streets are akin to Kristallnacht pogroms of 1938 Germany and Austria. When pro-Palestine protesters burn coloured smoke grenades that emit noxious substances, you have a city in which Hamas is in charge.

 **

 

 

How is that tackling crime issue coming along, Liberals?:

Canadian drivers are increasingly worried about vehicle theft, a concern heightened by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and the emergence of more sophisticated tactics used by thieves, a new survey suggests.

 Nearly half of Canadians say they’re more concerned than ever about car theft, while 36 percent report feeling unsafe due to the ongoing risk of having their vehicle stolen, a new survey from The Co-operators found.

 Sixty-three percent of those polled identified lasting emotional distress and a sense of violation as key impacts of vehicle theft. But car theft doesn’t just take an emotional toll, it takes a financial one too, respondents said.

**

It is alleged that on April 15, Peterhans Nungu, 34, randomly attacked a tourist from Toronto, who later posted on TikTok about the incident, describing it as life threatening.

Nungu was arrested close to the scene and was charged with assault. He was detained until April 23, then transferred to a secure medical facility.

Vancouver Police Department Sgt. Steve Addison said Nungu has now been released from the facility and is living at an undisclosed location in the city.

While out on bail, Nungu must not possess any weapons or consume alcohol or non-prescriptions drugs.

 

 

Yes, she certainly was:

Patterson, an outspoken Donald Trump supporter, said he was warned from the get-go that Hillary Clinton was the most daunting figure in the White House, not her president husband. 

'When I first arrived to work in the White House, my predecessor warned me: 'You can get away with pissing off Bill but if you make her mad, she’ll rip your heart out,'' he wrote. 

'I heeded those words. I did make him mad a few times, but I never really pissed her off. I knew the ramifications.' 

In a response to an X user asking what he did that 'pissed off' Clinton, Patterson said he once didn't let him go to a restaurant when he was hungry because the Secret Service hadn't swept it. 

He said while these small issues could be brushed over by Bill, Patterson 'realized there were different rules for Hillary.' 

'She instructed the senior staff, including me, that she didn’t want to be forced to encounter us,' he said, adding that staff were seen scrambling to avoid her 'no matter their position in the building.' 

'Many a time, I’d see mature, professional adults, working in the most important building in the world, scurrying into office doorways to escape Hillary’s line of sight,' he wrote. 

'She was the Nazi schoolmarm and the rest of us were expected to hide as though we were kids in trouble.'


 

 

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. George Wendt:


 



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