Who Did You Vote for, Canada?

Did you vote for trained economists or people who can't be trusted with Monopoly money?:

Most Canadians believe the country is in a recession and that prices are going to continue to rise for the foreseeable future, according to a new poll.

A wide-ranging survey by Leger asked Canadians and Americans about issues including travel plans, airport delays and inflation.

More than 80 per cent of Canadian respondents said they believe prices will keep going up, and 59 per cent say they think Canada is in an economic recession.

 

And it's going to get worse.

This worse:

The Government of Canada has announced an “aspirational” goal of 30 per cent absolute emissions reduction target for on-farm fertilizer use by the year 2030. While the government has not announced that the reduction will be achieved through regulatory restrictions on fertilizer use, MNP’s report explores what the potential outcome would be to the farm economy if it did.

Karen Proud, president and CEO of Fertilizer Canada, explains that MNP used European regulations — a 20 per cent reduction in fertilizer use to achieve a 30 per cent reduction in emissions —as the basis for a model on how Canadian rules may work.

The result is a staggering total income loss of $48 billion by 2030, and a significant shift in how much product Canada would have available to fulfill its domestic needs or sell on the international marketplace.

 

More:

Farmers across the Netherlands are protesting rules that will require them to reduce nitrous oxide emissions by 50% by 2030. It’s a move to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also one that could see them lose money, have lower crop yields or force some farms to close for good.

In Canada, the Trudeau government is moving forward with a plan to reduce emissions from fertilizer by 30% to help meet Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions targets. For most farmers, that means reducing fertilizer usage by 30%, which means lower crop yields, lower income for farm families and higher prices for families at the grocery store.

There are fertilizers that have a smaller GHG footprint, but they cost more, don’t increase crop yields in the same way and, in some cases, see plastics injected into the soil as part of the slow release formulation. Industry groups say they were not consulted before the Trudeau government pulled the 30% reduction target out of thin air and that there has been no analysis and no modeling provided to farmers or industry groups.

 

Yes, about all of that: 

Dutch farmers are protesting because of a new law that plans to reduce nitrogen oxide and ammonia emissions by 50% by 2030. These gases are produced by livestock, and some estimates say that 30% of livestock farms will close under the new plan. The Dutch government is saying emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia must be drastically reduced close to nature areas that are part of a network of protected habitats for endangered plants and wildlife stretching across the 27-nation European Union. Livestock produce ammonia in their urine and feces. The government in the past has called on farmers to use feed for their animals that contains less protein as a way of reducing ammonia emissions.

 

(Sidebar: these Dutch.)

**

NOW - Protesters storm the presidential palace in Sri Lanka's capital.pic.twitter.com/Wv6oQ10kBQ

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) July 9, 2022

 

(Sidebar: the Sri Lanka government has fallen. China thinks that it owns a piece of Sri Lanka and might just try to weasel in. India will not like that one bit.)

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Polish farmers also rise up in Warsaw: "That's enough! We won't let ourselves be robbed!" They accuse the political class of destabilizing production by raising interest rates, which does not stop inflation: "We workers cannot pay for the crisis created by the politicians!" pic.twitter.com/waEUoO5zrs

— RadioGenova (@RadioGenova) July 7, 2022

 

Farmers feed cities:

Without the farmers and truckers, the world runs out of supply. They have the real power.pic.twitter.com/RLbs2fslEU

— James Melville (@JamesMelville) July 9, 2022

Moving on ...

 

Taxpayers have lost millions in benefits paid to undeserving claimants under a Canada Pension Plan program, says a federal audit. Management of payments appeared to be a “continuous shuffling of files,” wrote auditors: “Reassessment is very complex work.”

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The Department of Social Development spent more than $660,000 preserving French in the Yukon, records show. The territory is home to 85 unilingual francophones, according to Census data: “I understand the importance of being able to grow up, work and live in one’s own language.”

 

There are no financial liberals in foxholes:

Delegates at the Assembly of First Nations have agreed to a forensic review of its finances dating back at least a decade in a resolution that says a serious problem exists within the assembly that is causing “reputational harm.”

It comes after National Chief RoseAnne Archibald claimed she was suspended last month for trying to investigate corruption within the organization.

 

Also:

I will add in here an example: Marten Falls water treatment plant. I was there, as a sub. And, there was not a complete and accurate set of drawings issued to the subs that detailed all of the above. SO SIMPLE - accurate drawings. 12/

 

In Marten Falls, there was improper sizing of motors to the available voltage of electricity. Come on folks - this is basic stuff. No indication of all piping needed for flow, no accurate P&I, no verification during shop drawings that voltage matched mechanical motors 13/

 

In Marten Falls, which just declared a state of emergency on a new upgrade completed in 2019, the operator had to run the plant in manual because the SCADA from the old side, didn't communicate effectively with the new side.... 14/

 

Now, lets move to Manitoba. In 2016, another FN took a hit on a project that was never started off correctly. In this case, accurate geotechnical was never done. Borrow locations (for clay) were botched in design phase, ground water missed 15/

 

The result was a massive claim, and change order. And, it directly involved the spilling of sewage into groundwater between the school and only well site for the community water treatment plant. How far apart? Less than 100 ft each side. Well casing was also cracked 16/

 

Detailed water tests showed that our excavation in high ground water conditions was impacting the turbidity results on the water treatment plant. And, when I put this all in writing - the reply? It is ok, nothing to see here ...

In 2016 - I personally shared information regarding this project with the PMOs office, Carolyn Bennett, Environment Canada, Health Canada, MB Conservation, MB office of drinking water... the response? Nothing. BTW - I kept those comms.

 

 

What a quiet summer it will be: 

Flight cancellations, delays and long lineups have 53 per cent of Canadian respondents concerned about airport travel, while 43 per cent said they’re not concerned and only three per cent said they were unaware of the problems.

A similarly small proportion, four per cent, said they weren’t aware of long lineups and delays in getting passports — likely evidence of how prominent both issues have been in the news in recent months.

A wide-ranging survey by Leger asked Canadians and Americans about issues including travel plans, airport delays and inflation. The online survey was completed by 1,538 Canadians and 1,002 Americans between July 8 and 10. It cannot be assigned a margin of error because online polls are not considered truly random samples.

Despite the many news stories about passport delays, less than half of Canadians polled said they were concerned about the issue, while 50 per cent said it’s not concerning.

“I think to be really sort of seized by that issue, you have to either have a trip coming up and probably also need to be looking at your passport expiration date,” said Leger vice-president Andrew Enns.

More than half of Canadians who took the survey said they plan to travel within their own province, and another 28 per cent said they will travel within Canada. Just over a quarter said they’ll be heading abroad, with 16 per cent of travellers going to the U.S.

American respondents weren’t asked about the passport issue, but 45 per cent of them said they were concerned about travel issues. Another 13 per cent said they weren’t aware of the problem.

 

Remember - these people had no problem with being locked down for two years.

So there's that.

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The federal government threatened travelers on Thursday with fines if they don’t the ArriveCAN app prior to boarding a plane as airports throughout Canada struggle with ongoing delays and extended lineups.

In a tweet by the official Health Canada and Public Health Agency of Canada Twitter account, the department warned that travelers who have not completed their ArriveCAN screening could be charged and face other consequences. 

**

Via Rail says services across Canada could be suspended next week, after it received a 72-hour strike notice from the union representing approximately 2,400 of its employees.

Just in time to be locked down for the fall.