Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Mid-Week Post

Your middle-of-the-week thumb-in-the-eye ...



Just to remind one:
 

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U.S. President Donald Trump hinted that he may revive an old pipeline project that would export oil from Canada to the U.S. as part of a pending trade deal.

In a Truth Social post shared Tuesday night, Trump said he had suspended the 50 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods for three days, two hours before they were set to take place on Wednesday.

The deal, he stated, may include revitalizing the Keystone XL pipeline, a long hotly-contested project that has been in the works for almost a decade.

Trump had attempted to revive the project during his first presidency as part of his then-campaign promises, but the pipeline was quashed by Joe Biden in the first year of his term.

“The great Keystone XL Pipeline, long ago killed by Sleepy Joe Biden, may be awoken from the grave!” Trump’s social media post reads.

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Opposition parties yesterday demanded Prime Minister Mark Carney disclose to Parliament the secret terms of a cross-border trade pact. A draft agreement outlined by U.S. authorities would end 61 years of tariff-free Canadian auto exports to the U.S. and grant unprecedented Canadian market access for American farmers: “We have the right to know what concessions are being granted to Donald Trump.”




No worries.


Cabinet will do “whatever it takes for as long as it takes” to compensate Canadians for losses in a widening trade war, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said yesterday. His remarks came five months after Champagne promised to control deficit spending: “How are you going to bring your spending under control?”


An expanded trade war has cabinet “constantly looking at our tax system,” Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters Saturday. The Budget Office had warned of larger-than-forecast deficits even before the shock of 50 percent tariffs: “We will borrow.”




It's just your money:

One of the biggest federal spenders on consultants increased expenditures 10 percent above average last year, records show. The Department of Employment spent $998.5 million even as Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to cut spending on consultants by 20 percent: “I have a simple rule: spend less, invest more.”
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A bill to develop a national framework for a guaranteed basic income in Canada will be a focal point at an international basic income gathering happening in Toronto this week.

Bill S-206, which is currently being studied by a Senate committee, would direct the Minister of Finance to develop a national framework to give every person over age 17 in Canada access to a guaranteed livable basic income without work requirements. 

It's set to be discussed at length on Wednesday at the Basic Income Earth Network Congress (BIEN), which is holding its 25th annual international gathering at Toronto Metropolitan University this year. 

A basic income policy like the one outlined in S-206 "isn't some crazy radical idea," said BIEN chair Sheila Regehr. 

"In essence, what it is asking for is to provide a similar kind of economic support and security to people 18 to 64 years old that we already provide to families with children and to seniors."







Cabinet says it has no plans to mandate national digital identification despite budgeting billions to develop and test a digital ID system. The pledge came in reply to a Commons petition sponsored by Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis (Haldimand-Norfolk, Ont.): “Testing in stages, first in controlled environments, then in real world pilots, is standard practice.”





The Privy Council spent $34,291 to poll the public on whether they fear Canada will run out of fresh water due to climate change. It followed earlier research on whether Canadians should be afraid of running out of food, though the country is self-sufficient in both: “Please rate your level of agreement or disagreement with the following statement: Canada will not have enough fresh water to meet its needs in the future.”






Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Duffy said it was “foolish” for Canada to start a trade war with the United States, in part, because America’s northern neighbor “doesn’t have a military.” Canada does have a military, though it is much smaller than the U.S. military.



Canada’s experiment in recruiting non-citizens to the military while lowering entrance standards has been wrought with problems, if a January internal report is anything to go by.

Recruits have been failing at greater rates since changes to recruitment practices were made in late 2024, according to the document, which was obtained by the Post last weekend. Instructors are also having to deal with cultural clashes, illiteracy problems, and a lack of respect for female officers, among other problems.




Some people are special:

Turnout by Indigenous voters was far below the national average in 2025 and as low as 30 percent among Inuit, says new Elections Canada research. Analysts attributed the low turnout to younger demographics in Indigenous communities: “Younger electors tend to vote less.”

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Federal programs in a single year paid for more than 280,000 hours of counseling for Indigenous people, says an Access To Information note. The Department of Indigenous Services blamed “colonial sources of trauma.”




Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Dolly Parton:




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