Responding correctly to Ukraine in no way changes the vast collection of poor choices he's made from SNC, to National Indigenous People's Day, or his complete and total failure to address Ottawa's occupation. For me, there's no shine here. For the sake of his party, he needs to go.
I am starting to think this is the Liberal approach and Matt nailed it awhile ago in this publication; keep expectations low. We live in a political era where fumbling major domestic issues and being caught red handed doing things you walk around saying others shouldn't do are swept under the rug with pithy and typically controlled public acts. When he started out as PM it was all about how he wasn't Harper, so the bar was that low, as long as he didn't give the impression of going home each night and sucking marrow out of baby bones he was a great PM and everything Canada needed. During the NAFTA talks it was just to have an agreement, any agreement, in the face of the big bad Trump administration. And now with Ukraine everything that happened during the convoy, the invocation of the Emergencies Act (say nothing of the entire COVID response and messaging pitting Canadians against fellow Canadian since the election, and the blatant turn on mandates that happened from the start of the pandemic, through the election and now to today), is supposed to be swept under the rug because he went to Europe. We didn't offer anything of value, there really was no reason for him to be there (Biden didn't even travel to Europe). But the bar is kept low and well he jumped over it, look, so what a great PM. *swoon*
I don't think any leader of any party has any idea what to do. The economic well the last 50 years have put us in no longer has a ladder to get out. So pretty much everything is a "shiny object" so they don't have to address that reality....as they busily make up new economic terms to make it sound like everything is fine.
We have nothing significant to offer Ukraine. We've practically been economically annexed by the US already.
The only thing I give Trudeau credit for is following and repeating the advice of medical experts on COVID. Too many premiers didn't, and the CPC bounced all over the map in opposition....something that will haunt them, as will their support of the convoy, in the next election.
Biden is watching his country turn into a clone of Russia. He has bigger problems than all of us. Democracy in the US is on the clock....it appears to have about 7.5 months left.
I really hope you're right, but I won't believe it until I see it. Everyone is hiring now, and there are job needs everywhere. But I can't remember the last time a politician balanced the budget without massive manipulation (Chretien downloading costs to the province, Harper underfunded Veterans Affairs) so it's probably Mike Harris provincially, and no idea federally. I know there's lots of money out there...I just think it's in the wrong hands, and the politicians don't have the courage to anger their donors to serve their voters.
I think the difference is minority versus majority. If they don't mind an effective coalition with the NDP for 2 more cycles, keep JT. The CPC is busy shooting itself in the foot ...again. Who the pick as leader will have a huge say in what happens for the next elections. Listening to how blind to reality Candace sounded today...and Pierre any day, I think you're right; they're not likely to form anything for quite a while.
Mr. Trudeau could have committed to increasing Canada's defense spending, the way Germany just did. But no, he will give no targets against which he could be held accountable.
Meanwhile, we have some 500 troops in Latvia and will increase that by 120. In case of real need, we could, perhaps, increase that by 3,500, but I suspect that would stretch our armed forces. By the way, out armed forces number some 65,000. What are the others doing?
When the truckers came to Ottawa, Mr. Trudeau and many of his Liberal MPs went into hiding, quite literally, because, you know, there might have been some "hard men" in the convoy. Contrast with the conduct of Mr. Zelenskyy and countless other Ukrainian leaders.
Bang on regarding your comment about making a commitment to increased defense spending. He could have also committed to removing all obstacles to producing and distributing more oil and gas to help Europe create energy security, and the US for that matter. He could committed to X # of refugees/immigrants.
But it doesn't seem to me the author spent much time evaluating his performance at the pressers because all he offered up was his usual non-answers, platitudes, word salad, etc. As far as any serious person is concerned, basically he offered up nothing.
The only way you could say he performed well is if you compared his performance to Kamala Harris. She was downright pathetic and embarrassing. Yeah - if she's the bar - then he did great.
Terry - you probably have a better grasp on this subject than me based on your comment. What I do know is that we've shirked our commitment to spending the 2% of GDP target on military for NATO members. That's where my comments begin.
Having spent some time speaking to people in the armed forces, there are plenty of areas to invest in and strategic decisions need to be made on where to allocate investments. You could throw in nuclear subs to your list.
I get these things take time. But enough is enough. Look at Germany - in a matter of days they pivoted and they're cranking up the spending and prioritizing security.
Trudeau could have said: "Canada realizes it needs to recommit to supporting NATO through military spending and initiatives. Starting in our next budget in April, Canada will commit to increasing our defense budget by 50% to exceed the NATO targets. We have identified 3 priority areas: increased personnel, modernizing our weaponry and beefing up cyber security. We've fast tracking production of jets and ships already on the books. But we're going to reassess where we can make the greatest contribution as a NATO member. We'll have a plan finalized in 45 days. That's Canada's commitment."
If Trudeau can pass a $300 billion COVID budget in a week, including $1B for the scandalous WE group, we can fast track a path to increased defense spending from $20B to $30B for a high priority dept. for our country and contribution to global security.
Then he could get his ass back to Canada and get to work.
My comment on budget was based on 2020 - 2021 Defense Budget of $21.9B. I didn't dive into specifics on capital items. That was lazy. But my point wasn't to be precise but to illustrate what a statement that demonstrates commitment could look like. JT didn't do anything of the sort.
As far as my comment about JT getting "his ass back to Canada", it was an informal, pointy comment along the lines of the style of writing by the Line and many commenters. If that makes me a low life in your mind that's unfortunate. It's just you misreading the spirit of the room and my comment.
The Ottawa Police has 3000 officers, and they refused to confront the protesters until after its chief stepped down. The RCMP has about 2000 officers in Ontario (mostly HQ staff), the OPP has over 9000. What were you expecting Trudeau to do? Federalize the Ottawa and Ontario police while the premier was away snowmobiling?
We're living in the most effective COVID mitigation in the Americas. According to a tally of death certificates, our death rate is less than 1/3 of America's, yet everybody is complaining.
The more stupid accusations Trudeau faces, the more I want to vote for him.
I expected Mr. Trudeau to listen to the truckers and their grievances, or at least meet with some of their representatives. Instead, he hid and from his hiding place, demonized them, calling them racists, misogynists and nazis. In other words, he showed fear and contempt. The truckers were non-violent, and Mr. Trudeau could have built on that.
Vote for whom you want, it's a free country. But beware politicians who play identity politics, dividing us and setting us against each other.
These are the stories that drive sane people nuts. (Ok. Maybe just me). Polls indicate that his numbers have bounced back with his version of crisis management. Who gets polled? Drama students? He has done little more than pose and glad-hand with our troops in Europe. Who could possibly fail at that? The contributions made were more or less in line with pretty much all of our allies. Did everyone polled forget just how ineffective he has been before this crisis? In a crisis that would directly affect Canada his leadership history has shown him to be completely incapable of rendering a positive outcome. Was the pollsters question “which Canadian political leader with great hair exhibits the best leadership abilities while wearing cool socks?”
There is a link in Matt's article that will take you to Maru's Polling, a 3 page pdf of their key findings. On the 2nd and 3rd pages is the info of who is polled. A "random selection of 1523 Canadian adults who are Maru Voice Canada panelists." and other important bits about the polling. There is another link to explain it all in more detail.
I hate polls. They usually are garbled by others who think they prove there own point. As folk wisdom would have it, the only poll that matters is the election.
I'm not a member of Maru or Ipsos or any other pollsters. Maybe if we all still had landlines they would ask us.
Polls are pretty beastly. I do online polls for one company if the questions are not insanely biased (and if I find the issue sufficiently compelling). Some companies, like Mainstreet are truly something to behold.
Trudeau isn’t shining; he’s basking in his own reflection, as usual. This time he’s playing the part of serious, concerned prime minister, defender of democracy. Ha! If his ego and his ideology didn’t make him so dangerous he’d be a joke. I agree that at this point there’s not much we can do, but perhaps if this government hadn’t made such a concerted effort to cripple the oil and gas industry (not to mention pipelines), we’d be in a better position to help Europe at least.
Not foolish. Or untrue. Trudeau has made no secret of the fact that he’d like to see the end of the oil and gas industry in Canada. He cancelled the Northern Gateway pipeline in 2016. Energy East was effectively cancelled after a handful of protesters interrupted hearings into the project in Montreal, and when costs for complying with the ever changing regulatory requirements became impossible. Which is, by the way, why taxpayers were saddled with the costs of buying TMX. That pipeline could have been built at no cost to Canadians. Carbon taxes. Caps on GHG emissions. A 30% office vacancy rate in downtown Calgary.
Joanna, I'd ignore Terry. He resorted to an insult when i critiqued JT just like his petulant outburst to your post. As i read more of his comments i came to the same conclusion as you. Hes a liberal shill and JT fanboy and limited depth about energy as illustrated by his comments. Your commments are good ones.
He just creates a lot of noise on the board and is a waste of energy.
I can’t imagine being proud to be part of any of the parties at the moment. There is a frightening dearth of political leadership in this country. But your obvious anger with people who don’t believe what you do doesn’t serve you well.
Ah yes, Prime Minister Bobblehead. Ok so what has he actually done beyond taking photo-ops and bobbing his head in tune with the NATO song? What kind of arms can we be sending that are useful? We can't even arm our own troops properly.
Where are the Ukrainian refugees? What is the government doing to help farmers grow more wheat? Does he realize how much Natgas is used to make the fertilizer that the world won't be getting from Russia or Ukraine?
Which do you think can happen faster -- us becoming an gas/oil exporter to Europe and Asia or getting all our energy from renewables? When asked about helping with oil and gas Trudeau lectured on renewables. Sure that would be great (eventually) and we couldn't export in the short term but we could make it happen faster than renewables. And trading Russian oil for Saudi oil for our domestic consumption is just stupid.
Shine is the wrong word. He talks in platitudes and sounds like a robot. However he will come up short as he did with the rail blockades and the trucker protests. His weak cabinet is incapable of seeing ahead and making good policy because he has a simplistic view of any issue and he got rid of people who could think. What he is doing is only theatre.
This is not my idea of “shining”. We abandoned Afghans to whom we made guarantees - until I see some serious movement in our increasingly sclerotic system which assists refugees I remain unimpressed. He also refused to commit to increasing our defense spending (most of his answers to any questions put to him were the evasions we’ve come to expect here at home). Our military has pistols from the Second World War, and our PM is an unserious person in a serious situation.
The photo of him pretending to cry for the people of Ukraine made me want to hurl. It was classic Trudeau. Fake emotion with no substance. He literally makes my skin crawl. As to Canada’s military might - we couldn’t stop the Vietnamese navy from sailing up the St Lawrence let alone the Chinese. But I am sure progressives will take all the wrong lessons from this. The Great Green Military EV Reset or something.
I am amazed at the sheer hypocrisy of our Prime Minister after listening to his speech abroad. Him citing Thomas Mann, "The infinite dignity of each "individual" means no one should get left out of society." I almost laughed until I cried after his rant against the unvaccinated and his divisive and horrific behavior he created for his entirety of being in office. He only survives with group think.
To hear him say "This is also true for people who hold different political views." "We all need to commit to more listening and less shouting. Diversity of ideas helps us learn from one another.Talking with people who think differently than us is how we challenge ourselves, and challenging is how we grow." Thank god Garnett Genius has put forth a bill to add that there should be no Political discrimination held against Canadians in this country. We seem to be in need of protection due to his last attack on the "fringe minority" with "unacceptable views"! We are to all be treated equal unless you disagree with him and his ideology. Then prepare to be handled with full force attacks to bring you down.
For him to spew forth words that were created from his own utter failures, was the epitome of hypocrisy and his true need to the rule over his kingdom. How any Canadian can think him any form of a hero is beyond me. He is a crass and devout liar who feeds off his own hypocrisy and seeds fertile grounds to create civil war in his own country by pitting Canadians against Canadians. Vaccinated against unvaccinated, East against West, Liberals against Conservatives, victims against perpetrators, working class against the Laptop class. He is the king of division. Unbelievable! Yet his approval is rising for feeding into a war in Ukraine while aiding to have it continue. Diplomacy is all he can offer as we have little else but his pathetic words to send to Ukraine due to his lack of attention on protecting Canadians, let alone aiding any other country.
Marylou, you quote the Prime Idiot as saying, "We all need to commit to more listening and less shouting. Diversity of ideas helps us learn from one another. Talking with people who think differently than us is how we challenge ourselves and challenging is how we grow?"
Fine words. Unless, of course, the folks with the diverse ideas are truckers in Ottawa.
Your assessment of JT is accurate. But the convoy was a "fringe minority" with "unacceptable views". Not a public health among them, and not a single alternative solution to the issue proposed. "Selfish whiners" would also be an acceptable description.
Now who here is being selfish. The laptop cronies that gathered their raises and never missed a days pay or left their homes in Ottawa. Or the fringe who sacrificed everything to ensure they could have their meals brought to their door as they were to frightened to go outside without a vaccine. They had the right solution and that was to end all mandates. They were not necessary and were only put in by cowards and tyrants. Period.
There is no way in which I could not disagree more. If you're going to have a protest, you should know what you're talking about, and have a plan that addresses it. Their solution, at best, was to pretend COVID didn't exist. Their original complaint made the protest moot since the US had the same law. So they decided they were public health experts. They aren't. They're a fringe minority with ignorant selfish views. They should have been kicked out the first weekend. They gave up nothing...but did demand food from a homeless shelter. What a bunch of complete losers.
Well sir since most of the truckers were vaccinated and they did not like the mandates hence the reason for the protest. It was to stop people from dividing , demonizing, and firing those who would not accept the vaccine. As it stands now, if you are paying attention, is that the vaccines were mandated without giving people enough information to give an informed consent. Saying they are ok and good to keep you from getting sick, may be fine for those who believe everything the government and Health care Experts tell them. It is not giving enough information for anyone to give conformed consent. The truth is now coming out and many questions are being asked as Pfizer is putting out information we should have had before we were forced to take their jab. That is if Trudeau and his media allow people in Canada to see it. That is why everything has been forgotten already. You have not seen in your mainstream news now have you? You won’t either. God forbid they actually give you information that would be useful. You keep right on believing. That’s what they hope for and if you don’t see the complete corruption in media and the Government and the polarization of the entire pandemic and the vaccines then you will always believe they have your best interest in mind. Many do not and it is their right to distrust all their “experts”. Putting in lockdowns by polls.
Well, since 90% were already vaccinated, why would they care? They'd already done the right thing. And the US had the same law. Then they joined up with Bauder and his MOU, which ended any shred of credibility they might have had.
Employers decide if their staff needs to be vaccinated; not the government so that was also pointless.
I'm not paying attention at all. When this all started removing vaccine mandates was already being discussed. Look what has happened since. It has nothing to do with the protest...although in Ontario, it's entirely political related to the election; not the protest. And no, I'm not paying attention to them at all. I thought they were fools on day 1, and nothing has changed.
"Saying they are ok and good to keep you from getting sick, may be fine for those who believe everything the government and Health care Experts tell them". yes, ignore the health experts...which should also mean you won't go to the hospital if you get sick. But wait, where do they show up? And how does that affect everyone else?
There is no "truth" coming out now. If it's true, Trudeau does not have the power to stop it from becoming public unless it's a cabinet only document. It won't be. We got the information that was useful. 10 billion shots issued to date and how many serious reactions? fractions of a fraction of a percentage point.
But your interest in conspiracies could not be more clearly laid out than Many do not and it is their right to distrust all their “experts”. I guess they did their own research. Have a nice day.
Yes and that was a speech he had the audacity to give in Europe. Think about that. He was speaking of Russia and Ukraine! Imagine him and his utter hypocrisy after his actions right here in Canada. Actions many Canadians took the brunt of. I will tell you that the danger of nuclear war may be something to worry about but one thing that should be more horrific to you is civil war right here in Canada. If you are not aware how divided your own country is how can you even try to save other countries? Unless your blind our own country is on the verge of disintegration and the dissection of east from west. Your worried about something we have no control over while our own leader pushes for the dividing Canadian against Canadian! Wake up. Worry about something you can control and stop worrying about what you can not. If Trudeau aids Ukraine he is only prolonging the inevitable and it may be his aid that starts the nukes flying.
Martin: I do think that your work with a thesaurus is admirable. And properly descriptive of the Prime Idiot and his government.
I, like you, find the lack of helpful suggestions or words a matter of despair. Having said that, I believe that in this instance there are no helpful suggestions or words. Any realistic words or suggestions are degrees of despair as there are no good words or good suggestions.
We are subject to the limitations of a) geography - we are simply (and, truthfully, luckily) much too far from battle front to be able to respond in an effective military way (as if we could!) and b) worry about the nuclear capabilities and willingness to use same of and by one V. Putin.
Therefore, we are in an untenable place where we can but a) wring our hands; b) proclaim our lamentations; c) issue sanctions that can be avoided by Russia; and d) send pitifully inadequate supplies to Ukraine. You will, of course, note that Canada has not allowed in refugees; we have not sent serious military equipment; we haven't ...., etc.
And so, your descriptives are appropriately offered.
(Huh? You do realize, Mr. Schultz, that I was quoting from Ms. Speelman's thesaurus, not mine, right?)
Anyway, you may feel that there is nothing helpful to be said but I do not see the benefit of ongoing vituperative comments in lieu. You've all made your feelings clear. Even "socks" are still mentioned, which is about as relevant as Joe Clark's funny ears or Brian Mulroney's weird chin.
Martin - we don't have solutions because we are coming to terms with our fecklessness. We are becoming an impotent society. I'm not just blaming Trudeau here. We have no true independent military capacity to speak of - so we can't provide any substantive military aid. We literally cannot even replace handguns from before WW2 in less than a decade. We have suppressed our energy sector - so we can't assist with one of Canada's greatest assets. We can't build a factory, subway, pipeline, lumber mill, hydro dam, airport or any other type of meaningful infrastructure without 20 years of protests and court cases and interference from politicians. There is nothing we can suggest to do - because Canada - and pretty much most of the Western world other than the US and possibly the UK - aren't capable of doing anything.
Your bang on. Our Armed Forces have been ignored for a long, long time. We could not defend ourselves from any other country as we have been complacent. What angers me about what has been done to Canada is the destruction of the wealth and the strangle hold on being a country of contention. When our own Government constantly disparages it’s own citizens and history while destroying the wealth, freedom, and ability to self sustain itself, it leaves our country vulnerable to infestation by any and all insidious entities. When your country eats itself from the inside out and our Prime Minister purposely divides Canadians against Canadians, your chances of surviving any onslaught are nil and void. Just as we will be in aiding any other country from invasion of regimes that have been aided by the destruction of all Western nations by the new progressive politicians. It’s almost like they want Russia and China to lead as they aided them in gaining wealth by destroying their own. They play their globalist games to the detriment of their own nations while empowering those who would take advantage of all the wealth and power. They are weak and ignorant and have caused our undoing and unfortunately it is the people who will suffer and not the elites pushing their globalist agenda. The progressive politicians full of themselves and their status have caused the breakdown of societies that took lifetimes to build , all in the name of globalism and for their own power and wealth. I blame Trudeau as he is one of them just as is Biden, Macron, Johnson, and the rest of the corrupted elites.
I do not despair. I have lived through great sudden zigzags of history (the attempt to put nuclear weapons on Canadian soil, the narrow victory of Kennedy over Nixon in 1960, the Cuban missile crisis, the JFK and other assassinations, Kent State, Watergate, the Iran hostage crisis, the 1995 Quebec referendum, Gomery, 9/11, and on and on). We are witnessing a zigzag in progress. You just never know what's really around the corner. Analysis would be helpful. Disparagement, not so much.
Wow! Why does Trudeau inspire such vitriol from comments? I have generally seen some very thoughtful comments to articles in The Line but not today. It reminds me of 2015 when Conservatives labelled Liberals as suffering from Harper Derangement Syndrome. Same tone.
Stella, you ask, "Why does Trudeau inspire such vitriol from comments?"
As with Garrett Woolsey above, I am an NEP-damaged Albertan - that was of course on PET, not JT - but then, like father, like son. I am also a JT damaged Albertan who had to watch the feds absolutely lose their minds when GM wanted to close Oshawa (one year hence at the time, of course) and see 2,500 jobs potentially lost but when we actually did lose 100,000 jobs in Alberta he couldn't care less, particularly as, in addition to the world oil markets, his policies made the job losses worse.
I watched when he played dress-up on the world stage; I watched when JT had numerous ethics violations; I watched when he apologized endlessly without considering whether the apologies were valid or otherwise; I watched when he absolutely destroyed the career of an honorable naval officer simply for politics; I watched when he .....
You get the idea.
So, you ask, "Why does Trudeau inspire such vitriol from comments? That is why.
The point I made is - when some thoughtful people who usually focus on issues hear the word “Trudeau” thought and consideration of issues seems to dissipate. That can be a liability if people assume everyone shares those sentiments.
It's true! As an NEP-damaged Albertan I have a visceral reaction to the Trudeau name. But I also try to avoid name-calling and personal comments. Discussing the substance of policy, good and bad, is ultimately much more satisfying.
I felt some vitriol towards P.E.Trudeau when I was left Fluor Calgary in 1982, months ahead of 90% layoffs. Later, I noted that Houston was just as devastated, and realized that was hardly PET's fault: the price of oil had fallen, it's a highly volatile industry, and it responds by instantly laying off employees, never holding on to them for the next boom; it's their problem.
Worse, everybody outside the oil industry is happy when we are out of work; cheap oil means the rest of the economy soars. Reagan was in the ratings toilet in 1982; cheap oil allowed him to be re-elected on "are you better off now than 4 years ago". The economy was up, except the oilpatch; I was still in basement suites and shared-accomodation with ramen.
Those 100,000 jobs were lost in 2014 under Stephen Harper; neither he nor Trudeau could do a thing about the world price of oil dropping from $140 to $40, because Saudi and Russia both turned the taps as open as possible in an effort to drive their worst enemy, frackers, broke. It didn't work, but they've spent 8 years trying.
But Canadian oilpatch voters do blame the incumbent for the world price of oil, and Conservatives are not exempt. Ask them in Alberta, where it cost them a 44-year winning streak.
I quite agree that the industry did start to decline under Harper. It is, after all, a cyclical industry and that does occur. We have had declines before and will again; that is simply the nature of the beast.
What I found and find most offensive is that when GM - perhaps - was going lay off 2,500 people it was a NATIONAL CRISIS - note my sarcastic capitalization - whereas by the time we had lost 100,000 jobs in Alberta, by which time it was JT's reign of error, there was no real recognition that we had a problem and that the feds should / could / would find some way to assist.
So, yes, our industry is cyclical and will remain so. And, yes, we have worked ourselves out of that deep hole, as we have done previously (recent high prices obviously helped but we were already getting there). But, terrifically limited assistance from the feds because they had and have their attention very largely centered in O & Q due to their hostility to Alberta and to our industry certainly makes me a very unhappy and disgruntled citizen.
I can't agree with the word "cyclical"; at least, not since 2005, when the price and sales became wildly volatile. Getting a job in oil is highly paid, but uncertain; that's the tradeoff - that's WHY they are highly paid. Half your co-workers have been laid off before, the instant they were not billable hours (like me). The unemployment rate dropped from 8% to 6% in a year, as about a third of those laid-off moved to other construction jobs.
If you could look at the Alberta unemployment rate over decades, second graph down, here:
...and consider that I left Fluor in August 1982, as the rate had soared from 4% to 8% in six months, peaking at 12% in 1984, with dollar-sales of houses in The Herald. The unemployment rate next dropped below 6% in 1997, FIFTEEN YEARS LATER. And things were then pretty good for 10 years, until the financial crash of 2008, when it jumped up four percent in months, a bigger jump than your 100,000 in 2014-2015. But it took only two years to recover back down under 5%, so maybe you can forgive the assumption that oil jobs come back a lot faster than jobs that depend on a car factory. The 100,000 jobs would naturally come back in a year after MBS and Putin tightened the taps, which could have happened any time. Now, they will come back anyway, because of the war.
People shrug at problems they can't solve anyway; cancer is also not a national crisis. And I still have no idea what any Canadian government could have done to raise the global price of oil. All those people were like me: laid-off by American-controlled firms looking at the futures on West Texas Intermediate.
Beyond Trudeau (who is simply a figurehead at this point) there is no evidence of any serious policy consideration in cabinet.
I fear that the gov't lacks the will to make any hard decisions, and will attempt to fund all its existing priorities (reconciliation, climate change, Covid, etc.) and add new ones to the pile (primarily health and defense related). Rebuilding our armed forces and getting serious about national security is going to cost a fortune. The most likely scenario is that Anand loses the fight at cabinet and defense gets window-dressing and hopeful promises only, knowing that, as always, the Americans will defend us.
However, the government track record is one of promising to spend immense sums but being unable to actually spend more than a fraction of what is promised. So whatever gets promised in the budget is probably meaningless anyway.
There were rumours in Ottawa that he was planning an exit after Easter, and I admit that my hopes were raised. However, if his ratings have really improved since his trip to Europe, I am pretty sure he’s freshly convinced of his own fabulousness.
I agree with you on this, Matt… I’m no fan of Trudeau the Younger, but he’s done ok on this file. I can only imagine what we could get done with a REAL PM 😁… I’d be very curious to see what Ms Freeland would be doing…
A friend of mine is a Paramedic in Ottawa. After the 2nd day of protests, they had to demand police escort on every call downtown, because they were getting rocks thrown at them.
According to that friend, in the first 4 days of the protest: there were 2 stabbings, 1 shooting, the staff of a soup kitchen were assaulted, and of course the attempted arson of an apartment building that you seem to have overlooked.
I have 6 other friends who live in the affected area, all reported being threatened and accosted by protesters.
A friend of mine at Health Canada told me that the area's hospital workers were ordered to wear "civilian" clothes to work for the duration of the protest, over fears they would be assaulted.
As for the PM: I personally saw the protesters waving effigies of him being lynched. Any cop who lets the PM get within a mile of that isn't doing his job.
I want to know why we're wasting our thoughts on Canada's most selfish people when the doctors and nurses who have worn themselves out trying to save us can't even get a word in.
Responding correctly to Ukraine in no way changes the vast collection of poor choices he's made from SNC, to National Indigenous People's Day, or his complete and total failure to address Ottawa's occupation. For me, there's no shine here. For the sake of his party, he needs to go.
And for the sake of Canada.
I am starting to think this is the Liberal approach and Matt nailed it awhile ago in this publication; keep expectations low. We live in a political era where fumbling major domestic issues and being caught red handed doing things you walk around saying others shouldn't do are swept under the rug with pithy and typically controlled public acts. When he started out as PM it was all about how he wasn't Harper, so the bar was that low, as long as he didn't give the impression of going home each night and sucking marrow out of baby bones he was a great PM and everything Canada needed. During the NAFTA talks it was just to have an agreement, any agreement, in the face of the big bad Trump administration. And now with Ukraine everything that happened during the convoy, the invocation of the Emergencies Act (say nothing of the entire COVID response and messaging pitting Canadians against fellow Canadian since the election, and the blatant turn on mandates that happened from the start of the pandemic, through the election and now to today), is supposed to be swept under the rug because he went to Europe. We didn't offer anything of value, there really was no reason for him to be there (Biden didn't even travel to Europe). But the bar is kept low and well he jumped over it, look, so what a great PM. *swoon*
I don't think any leader of any party has any idea what to do. The economic well the last 50 years have put us in no longer has a ladder to get out. So pretty much everything is a "shiny object" so they don't have to address that reality....as they busily make up new economic terms to make it sound like everything is fine.
We have nothing significant to offer Ukraine. We've practically been economically annexed by the US already.
The only thing I give Trudeau credit for is following and repeating the advice of medical experts on COVID. Too many premiers didn't, and the CPC bounced all over the map in opposition....something that will haunt them, as will their support of the convoy, in the next election.
Biden is watching his country turn into a clone of Russia. He has bigger problems than all of us. Democracy in the US is on the clock....it appears to have about 7.5 months left.
I really hope you're right, but I won't believe it until I see it. Everyone is hiring now, and there are job needs everywhere. But I can't remember the last time a politician balanced the budget without massive manipulation (Chretien downloading costs to the province, Harper underfunded Veterans Affairs) so it's probably Mike Harris provincially, and no idea federally. I know there's lots of money out there...I just think it's in the wrong hands, and the politicians don't have the courage to anger their donors to serve their voters.
I think the difference is minority versus majority. If they don't mind an effective coalition with the NDP for 2 more cycles, keep JT. The CPC is busy shooting itself in the foot ...again. Who the pick as leader will have a huge say in what happens for the next elections. Listening to how blind to reality Candace sounded today...and Pierre any day, I think you're right; they're not likely to form anything for quite a while.
Mr. Trudeau could have committed to increasing Canada's defense spending, the way Germany just did. But no, he will give no targets against which he could be held accountable.
Meanwhile, we have some 500 troops in Latvia and will increase that by 120. In case of real need, we could, perhaps, increase that by 3,500, but I suspect that would stretch our armed forces. By the way, out armed forces number some 65,000. What are the others doing?
When the truckers came to Ottawa, Mr. Trudeau and many of his Liberal MPs went into hiding, quite literally, because, you know, there might have been some "hard men" in the convoy. Contrast with the conduct of Mr. Zelenskyy and countless other Ukrainian leaders.
Bang on regarding your comment about making a commitment to increased defense spending. He could have also committed to removing all obstacles to producing and distributing more oil and gas to help Europe create energy security, and the US for that matter. He could committed to X # of refugees/immigrants.
But it doesn't seem to me the author spent much time evaluating his performance at the pressers because all he offered up was his usual non-answers, platitudes, word salad, etc. As far as any serious person is concerned, basically he offered up nothing.
The only way you could say he performed well is if you compared his performance to Kamala Harris. She was downright pathetic and embarrassing. Yeah - if she's the bar - then he did great.
Terry - you probably have a better grasp on this subject than me based on your comment. What I do know is that we've shirked our commitment to spending the 2% of GDP target on military for NATO members. That's where my comments begin.
Having spent some time speaking to people in the armed forces, there are plenty of areas to invest in and strategic decisions need to be made on where to allocate investments. You could throw in nuclear subs to your list.
I get these things take time. But enough is enough. Look at Germany - in a matter of days they pivoted and they're cranking up the spending and prioritizing security.
Trudeau could have said: "Canada realizes it needs to recommit to supporting NATO through military spending and initiatives. Starting in our next budget in April, Canada will commit to increasing our defense budget by 50% to exceed the NATO targets. We have identified 3 priority areas: increased personnel, modernizing our weaponry and beefing up cyber security. We've fast tracking production of jets and ships already on the books. But we're going to reassess where we can make the greatest contribution as a NATO member. We'll have a plan finalized in 45 days. That's Canada's commitment."
If Trudeau can pass a $300 billion COVID budget in a week, including $1B for the scandalous WE group, we can fast track a path to increased defense spending from $20B to $30B for a high priority dept. for our country and contribution to global security.
Then he could get his ass back to Canada and get to work.
My comment on budget was based on 2020 - 2021 Defense Budget of $21.9B. I didn't dive into specifics on capital items. That was lazy. But my point wasn't to be precise but to illustrate what a statement that demonstrates commitment could look like. JT didn't do anything of the sort.
As far as my comment about JT getting "his ass back to Canada", it was an informal, pointy comment along the lines of the style of writing by the Line and many commenters. If that makes me a low life in your mind that's unfortunate. It's just you misreading the spirit of the room and my comment.
As far as Trudeau's commitment levels to spending - here is a good synopsis of Trudeau's record - I wouldn't call him committed: https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/goldstein-trudeau-delays-billions-in-military-spending-while-touring-nato.
I stand by my comments. Trudeau was all show and no substance on his jaunt and I'm not the only one with this view.
The Ottawa Police has 3000 officers, and they refused to confront the protesters until after its chief stepped down. The RCMP has about 2000 officers in Ontario (mostly HQ staff), the OPP has over 9000. What were you expecting Trudeau to do? Federalize the Ottawa and Ontario police while the premier was away snowmobiling?
We're living in the most effective COVID mitigation in the Americas. According to a tally of death certificates, our death rate is less than 1/3 of America's, yet everybody is complaining.
The more stupid accusations Trudeau faces, the more I want to vote for him.
I expected Mr. Trudeau to listen to the truckers and their grievances, or at least meet with some of their representatives. Instead, he hid and from his hiding place, demonized them, calling them racists, misogynists and nazis. In other words, he showed fear and contempt. The truckers were non-violent, and Mr. Trudeau could have built on that.
Vote for whom you want, it's a free country. But beware politicians who play identity politics, dividing us and setting us against each other.
These are the stories that drive sane people nuts. (Ok. Maybe just me). Polls indicate that his numbers have bounced back with his version of crisis management. Who gets polled? Drama students? He has done little more than pose and glad-hand with our troops in Europe. Who could possibly fail at that? The contributions made were more or less in line with pretty much all of our allies. Did everyone polled forget just how ineffective he has been before this crisis? In a crisis that would directly affect Canada his leadership history has shown him to be completely incapable of rendering a positive outcome. Was the pollsters question “which Canadian political leader with great hair exhibits the best leadership abilities while wearing cool socks?”
Merlin, I know that I NEVER get polled!
Nor I.
There is a link in Matt's article that will take you to Maru's Polling, a 3 page pdf of their key findings. On the 2nd and 3rd pages is the info of who is polled. A "random selection of 1523 Canadian adults who are Maru Voice Canada panelists." and other important bits about the polling. There is another link to explain it all in more detail.
I hate polls. They usually are garbled by others who think they prove there own point. As folk wisdom would have it, the only poll that matters is the election.
I'm not a member of Maru or Ipsos or any other pollsters. Maybe if we all still had landlines they would ask us.
Polls are pretty beastly. I do online polls for one company if the questions are not insanely biased (and if I find the issue sufficiently compelling). Some companies, like Mainstreet are truly something to behold.
The great hair question was just sarcasm. Online poll questions resemble jumping in a lake to quiz the denizens on their thoughts about fishing.
Hair and socks are NEVER sarcasm. It's on such comments that the world spins 'round.
Trudeau isn’t shining; he’s basking in his own reflection, as usual. This time he’s playing the part of serious, concerned prime minister, defender of democracy. Ha! If his ego and his ideology didn’t make him so dangerous he’d be a joke. I agree that at this point there’s not much we can do, but perhaps if this government hadn’t made such a concerted effort to cripple the oil and gas industry (not to mention pipelines), we’d be in a better position to help Europe at least.
Not foolish. Or untrue. Trudeau has made no secret of the fact that he’d like to see the end of the oil and gas industry in Canada. He cancelled the Northern Gateway pipeline in 2016. Energy East was effectively cancelled after a handful of protesters interrupted hearings into the project in Montreal, and when costs for complying with the ever changing regulatory requirements became impossible. Which is, by the way, why taxpayers were saddled with the costs of buying TMX. That pipeline could have been built at no cost to Canadians. Carbon taxes. Caps on GHG emissions. A 30% office vacancy rate in downtown Calgary.
But I suppose it depends on your perspective.
I see by your comments on this site that you’re nothing more than a shill for the Liberal party. Try harder to keep an open mind.
Joanna, I'd ignore Terry. He resorted to an insult when i critiqued JT just like his petulant outburst to your post. As i read more of his comments i came to the same conclusion as you. Hes a liberal shill and JT fanboy and limited depth about energy as illustrated by his comments. Your commments are good ones.
He just creates a lot of noise on the board and is a waste of energy.
I can’t imagine being proud to be part of any of the parties at the moment. There is a frightening dearth of political leadership in this country. But your obvious anger with people who don’t believe what you do doesn’t serve you well.
Ah yes, Prime Minister Bobblehead. Ok so what has he actually done beyond taking photo-ops and bobbing his head in tune with the NATO song? What kind of arms can we be sending that are useful? We can't even arm our own troops properly.
Where are the Ukrainian refugees? What is the government doing to help farmers grow more wheat? Does he realize how much Natgas is used to make the fertilizer that the world won't be getting from Russia or Ukraine?
Which do you think can happen faster -- us becoming an gas/oil exporter to Europe and Asia or getting all our energy from renewables? When asked about helping with oil and gas Trudeau lectured on renewables. Sure that would be great (eventually) and we couldn't export in the short term but we could make it happen faster than renewables. And trading Russian oil for Saudi oil for our domestic consumption is just stupid.
Shine is the wrong word. He talks in platitudes and sounds like a robot. However he will come up short as he did with the rail blockades and the trucker protests. His weak cabinet is incapable of seeing ahead and making good policy because he has a simplistic view of any issue and he got rid of people who could think. What he is doing is only theatre.
This is not my idea of “shining”. We abandoned Afghans to whom we made guarantees - until I see some serious movement in our increasingly sclerotic system which assists refugees I remain unimpressed. He also refused to commit to increasing our defense spending (most of his answers to any questions put to him were the evasions we’ve come to expect here at home). Our military has pistols from the Second World War, and our PM is an unserious person in a serious situation.
The photo of him pretending to cry for the people of Ukraine made me want to hurl. It was classic Trudeau. Fake emotion with no substance. He literally makes my skin crawl. As to Canada’s military might - we couldn’t stop the Vietnamese navy from sailing up the St Lawrence let alone the Chinese. But I am sure progressives will take all the wrong lessons from this. The Great Green Military EV Reset or something.
I am amazed at the sheer hypocrisy of our Prime Minister after listening to his speech abroad. Him citing Thomas Mann, "The infinite dignity of each "individual" means no one should get left out of society." I almost laughed until I cried after his rant against the unvaccinated and his divisive and horrific behavior he created for his entirety of being in office. He only survives with group think.
To hear him say "This is also true for people who hold different political views." "We all need to commit to more listening and less shouting. Diversity of ideas helps us learn from one another.Talking with people who think differently than us is how we challenge ourselves, and challenging is how we grow." Thank god Garnett Genius has put forth a bill to add that there should be no Political discrimination held against Canadians in this country. We seem to be in need of protection due to his last attack on the "fringe minority" with "unacceptable views"! We are to all be treated equal unless you disagree with him and his ideology. Then prepare to be handled with full force attacks to bring you down.
For him to spew forth words that were created from his own utter failures, was the epitome of hypocrisy and his true need to the rule over his kingdom. How any Canadian can think him any form of a hero is beyond me. He is a crass and devout liar who feeds off his own hypocrisy and seeds fertile grounds to create civil war in his own country by pitting Canadians against Canadians. Vaccinated against unvaccinated, East against West, Liberals against Conservatives, victims against perpetrators, working class against the Laptop class. He is the king of division. Unbelievable! Yet his approval is rising for feeding into a war in Ukraine while aiding to have it continue. Diplomacy is all he can offer as we have little else but his pathetic words to send to Ukraine due to his lack of attention on protecting Canadians, let alone aiding any other country.
Marylou, you quote the Prime Idiot as saying, "We all need to commit to more listening and less shouting. Diversity of ideas helps us learn from one another. Talking with people who think differently than us is how we challenge ourselves and challenging is how we grow?"
Fine words. Unless, of course, the folks with the diverse ideas are truckers in Ottawa.
Those diverse "truckers" were cruising BCs highways yesterday in protest of high gas prices. Save me from their diverse ideas.
Your assessment of JT is accurate. But the convoy was a "fringe minority" with "unacceptable views". Not a public health among them, and not a single alternative solution to the issue proposed. "Selfish whiners" would also be an acceptable description.
Now who here is being selfish. The laptop cronies that gathered their raises and never missed a days pay or left their homes in Ottawa. Or the fringe who sacrificed everything to ensure they could have their meals brought to their door as they were to frightened to go outside without a vaccine. They had the right solution and that was to end all mandates. They were not necessary and were only put in by cowards and tyrants. Period.
There is no way in which I could not disagree more. If you're going to have a protest, you should know what you're talking about, and have a plan that addresses it. Their solution, at best, was to pretend COVID didn't exist. Their original complaint made the protest moot since the US had the same law. So they decided they were public health experts. They aren't. They're a fringe minority with ignorant selfish views. They should have been kicked out the first weekend. They gave up nothing...but did demand food from a homeless shelter. What a bunch of complete losers.
Well sir since most of the truckers were vaccinated and they did not like the mandates hence the reason for the protest. It was to stop people from dividing , demonizing, and firing those who would not accept the vaccine. As it stands now, if you are paying attention, is that the vaccines were mandated without giving people enough information to give an informed consent. Saying they are ok and good to keep you from getting sick, may be fine for those who believe everything the government and Health care Experts tell them. It is not giving enough information for anyone to give conformed consent. The truth is now coming out and many questions are being asked as Pfizer is putting out information we should have had before we were forced to take their jab. That is if Trudeau and his media allow people in Canada to see it. That is why everything has been forgotten already. You have not seen in your mainstream news now have you? You won’t either. God forbid they actually give you information that would be useful. You keep right on believing. That’s what they hope for and if you don’t see the complete corruption in media and the Government and the polarization of the entire pandemic and the vaccines then you will always believe they have your best interest in mind. Many do not and it is their right to distrust all their “experts”. Putting in lockdowns by polls.
Well, since 90% were already vaccinated, why would they care? They'd already done the right thing. And the US had the same law. Then they joined up with Bauder and his MOU, which ended any shred of credibility they might have had.
Employers decide if their staff needs to be vaccinated; not the government so that was also pointless.
I'm not paying attention at all. When this all started removing vaccine mandates was already being discussed. Look what has happened since. It has nothing to do with the protest...although in Ontario, it's entirely political related to the election; not the protest. And no, I'm not paying attention to them at all. I thought they were fools on day 1, and nothing has changed.
"Saying they are ok and good to keep you from getting sick, may be fine for those who believe everything the government and Health care Experts tell them". yes, ignore the health experts...which should also mean you won't go to the hospital if you get sick. But wait, where do they show up? And how does that affect everyone else?
There is no "truth" coming out now. If it's true, Trudeau does not have the power to stop it from becoming public unless it's a cabinet only document. It won't be. We got the information that was useful. 10 billion shots issued to date and how many serious reactions? fractions of a fraction of a percentage point.
But your interest in conspiracies could not be more clearly laid out than Many do not and it is their right to distrust all their “experts”. I guess they did their own research. Have a nice day.
"hypocrisy", "rant", "divisive", "horrific", "group think", "spew", "utter failures", "crass", "liar", "pathetic".
Am I the only one who can barely endure this spiel?
I fret about the greatest global crisis of my lifetime but I can't find a single helpful suggestion or word here.
Yes and that was a speech he had the audacity to give in Europe. Think about that. He was speaking of Russia and Ukraine! Imagine him and his utter hypocrisy after his actions right here in Canada. Actions many Canadians took the brunt of. I will tell you that the danger of nuclear war may be something to worry about but one thing that should be more horrific to you is civil war right here in Canada. If you are not aware how divided your own country is how can you even try to save other countries? Unless your blind our own country is on the verge of disintegration and the dissection of east from west. Your worried about something we have no control over while our own leader pushes for the dividing Canadian against Canadian! Wake up. Worry about something you can control and stop worrying about what you can not. If Trudeau aids Ukraine he is only prolonging the inevitable and it may be his aid that starts the nukes flying.
Martin: I do think that your work with a thesaurus is admirable. And properly descriptive of the Prime Idiot and his government.
I, like you, find the lack of helpful suggestions or words a matter of despair. Having said that, I believe that in this instance there are no helpful suggestions or words. Any realistic words or suggestions are degrees of despair as there are no good words or good suggestions.
We are subject to the limitations of a) geography - we are simply (and, truthfully, luckily) much too far from battle front to be able to respond in an effective military way (as if we could!) and b) worry about the nuclear capabilities and willingness to use same of and by one V. Putin.
Therefore, we are in an untenable place where we can but a) wring our hands; b) proclaim our lamentations; c) issue sanctions that can be avoided by Russia; and d) send pitifully inadequate supplies to Ukraine. You will, of course, note that Canada has not allowed in refugees; we have not sent serious military equipment; we haven't ...., etc.
And so, your descriptives are appropriately offered.
(Huh? You do realize, Mr. Schultz, that I was quoting from Ms. Speelman's thesaurus, not mine, right?)
Anyway, you may feel that there is nothing helpful to be said but I do not see the benefit of ongoing vituperative comments in lieu. You've all made your feelings clear. Even "socks" are still mentioned, which is about as relevant as Joe Clark's funny ears or Brian Mulroney's weird chin.
Martin - we don't have solutions because we are coming to terms with our fecklessness. We are becoming an impotent society. I'm not just blaming Trudeau here. We have no true independent military capacity to speak of - so we can't provide any substantive military aid. We literally cannot even replace handguns from before WW2 in less than a decade. We have suppressed our energy sector - so we can't assist with one of Canada's greatest assets. We can't build a factory, subway, pipeline, lumber mill, hydro dam, airport or any other type of meaningful infrastructure without 20 years of protests and court cases and interference from politicians. There is nothing we can suggest to do - because Canada - and pretty much most of the Western world other than the US and possibly the UK - aren't capable of doing anything.
Your bang on. Our Armed Forces have been ignored for a long, long time. We could not defend ourselves from any other country as we have been complacent. What angers me about what has been done to Canada is the destruction of the wealth and the strangle hold on being a country of contention. When our own Government constantly disparages it’s own citizens and history while destroying the wealth, freedom, and ability to self sustain itself, it leaves our country vulnerable to infestation by any and all insidious entities. When your country eats itself from the inside out and our Prime Minister purposely divides Canadians against Canadians, your chances of surviving any onslaught are nil and void. Just as we will be in aiding any other country from invasion of regimes that have been aided by the destruction of all Western nations by the new progressive politicians. It’s almost like they want Russia and China to lead as they aided them in gaining wealth by destroying their own. They play their globalist games to the detriment of their own nations while empowering those who would take advantage of all the wealth and power. They are weak and ignorant and have caused our undoing and unfortunately it is the people who will suffer and not the elites pushing their globalist agenda. The progressive politicians full of themselves and their status have caused the breakdown of societies that took lifetimes to build , all in the name of globalism and for their own power and wealth. I blame Trudeau as he is one of them just as is Biden, Macron, Johnson, and the rest of the corrupted elites.
I do not despair. I have lived through great sudden zigzags of history (the attempt to put nuclear weapons on Canadian soil, the narrow victory of Kennedy over Nixon in 1960, the Cuban missile crisis, the JFK and other assassinations, Kent State, Watergate, the Iran hostage crisis, the 1995 Quebec referendum, Gomery, 9/11, and on and on). We are witnessing a zigzag in progress. You just never know what's really around the corner. Analysis would be helpful. Disparagement, not so much.
Darwin may have been wrong...humanity has peaked and is on the downslide.
Bill C-257 will go nowhere.
Wow! Why does Trudeau inspire such vitriol from comments? I have generally seen some very thoughtful comments to articles in The Line but not today. It reminds me of 2015 when Conservatives labelled Liberals as suffering from Harper Derangement Syndrome. Same tone.
Stella, you ask, "Why does Trudeau inspire such vitriol from comments?"
As with Garrett Woolsey above, I am an NEP-damaged Albertan - that was of course on PET, not JT - but then, like father, like son. I am also a JT damaged Albertan who had to watch the feds absolutely lose their minds when GM wanted to close Oshawa (one year hence at the time, of course) and see 2,500 jobs potentially lost but when we actually did lose 100,000 jobs in Alberta he couldn't care less, particularly as, in addition to the world oil markets, his policies made the job losses worse.
I watched when he played dress-up on the world stage; I watched when JT had numerous ethics violations; I watched when he apologized endlessly without considering whether the apologies were valid or otherwise; I watched when he absolutely destroyed the career of an honorable naval officer simply for politics; I watched when he .....
You get the idea.
So, you ask, "Why does Trudeau inspire such vitriol from comments? That is why.
The point I made is - when some thoughtful people who usually focus on issues hear the word “Trudeau” thought and consideration of issues seems to dissipate. That can be a liability if people assume everyone shares those sentiments.
It's true! As an NEP-damaged Albertan I have a visceral reaction to the Trudeau name. But I also try to avoid name-calling and personal comments. Discussing the substance of policy, good and bad, is ultimately much more satisfying.
So everyone with a similarly passionate dislike of JT is either from Alberta or once was from Alberta?
I felt some vitriol towards P.E.Trudeau when I was left Fluor Calgary in 1982, months ahead of 90% layoffs. Later, I noted that Houston was just as devastated, and realized that was hardly PET's fault: the price of oil had fallen, it's a highly volatile industry, and it responds by instantly laying off employees, never holding on to them for the next boom; it's their problem.
Worse, everybody outside the oil industry is happy when we are out of work; cheap oil means the rest of the economy soars. Reagan was in the ratings toilet in 1982; cheap oil allowed him to be re-elected on "are you better off now than 4 years ago". The economy was up, except the oilpatch; I was still in basement suites and shared-accomodation with ramen.
Those 100,000 jobs were lost in 2014 under Stephen Harper; neither he nor Trudeau could do a thing about the world price of oil dropping from $140 to $40, because Saudi and Russia both turned the taps as open as possible in an effort to drive their worst enemy, frackers, broke. It didn't work, but they've spent 8 years trying.
But Canadian oilpatch voters do blame the incumbent for the world price of oil, and Conservatives are not exempt. Ask them in Alberta, where it cost them a 44-year winning streak.
Roy, a quick point.
I quite agree that the industry did start to decline under Harper. It is, after all, a cyclical industry and that does occur. We have had declines before and will again; that is simply the nature of the beast.
What I found and find most offensive is that when GM - perhaps - was going lay off 2,500 people it was a NATIONAL CRISIS - note my sarcastic capitalization - whereas by the time we had lost 100,000 jobs in Alberta, by which time it was JT's reign of error, there was no real recognition that we had a problem and that the feds should / could / would find some way to assist.
So, yes, our industry is cyclical and will remain so. And, yes, we have worked ourselves out of that deep hole, as we have done previously (recent high prices obviously helped but we were already getting there). But, terrifically limited assistance from the feds because they had and have their attention very largely centered in O & Q due to their hostility to Alberta and to our industry certainly makes me a very unhappy and disgruntled citizen.
I can't agree with the word "cyclical"; at least, not since 2005, when the price and sales became wildly volatile. Getting a job in oil is highly paid, but uncertain; that's the tradeoff - that's WHY they are highly paid. Half your co-workers have been laid off before, the instant they were not billable hours (like me). The unemployment rate dropped from 8% to 6% in a year, as about a third of those laid-off moved to other construction jobs.
If you could look at the Alberta unemployment rate over decades, second graph down, here:
https://www.parklandinstitute.ca/unemployment_in_alberta
...and consider that I left Fluor in August 1982, as the rate had soared from 4% to 8% in six months, peaking at 12% in 1984, with dollar-sales of houses in The Herald. The unemployment rate next dropped below 6% in 1997, FIFTEEN YEARS LATER. And things were then pretty good for 10 years, until the financial crash of 2008, when it jumped up four percent in months, a bigger jump than your 100,000 in 2014-2015. But it took only two years to recover back down under 5%, so maybe you can forgive the assumption that oil jobs come back a lot faster than jobs that depend on a car factory. The 100,000 jobs would naturally come back in a year after MBS and Putin tightened the taps, which could have happened any time. Now, they will come back anyway, because of the war.
People shrug at problems they can't solve anyway; cancer is also not a national crisis. And I still have no idea what any Canadian government could have done to raise the global price of oil. All those people were like me: laid-off by American-controlled firms looking at the futures on West Texas Intermediate.
Beyond Trudeau (who is simply a figurehead at this point) there is no evidence of any serious policy consideration in cabinet.
I fear that the gov't lacks the will to make any hard decisions, and will attempt to fund all its existing priorities (reconciliation, climate change, Covid, etc.) and add new ones to the pile (primarily health and defense related). Rebuilding our armed forces and getting serious about national security is going to cost a fortune. The most likely scenario is that Anand loses the fight at cabinet and defense gets window-dressing and hopeful promises only, knowing that, as always, the Americans will defend us.
However, the government track record is one of promising to spend immense sums but being unable to actually spend more than a fraction of what is promised. So whatever gets promised in the budget is probably meaningless anyway.
Who is the US going to defend us from?
Mmm? Damn with faint praise?
A fair assessment. I still will be very happy when JT takes his long overdue walk in the snow.
There were rumours in Ottawa that he was planning an exit after Easter, and I admit that my hopes were raised. However, if his ratings have really improved since his trip to Europe, I am pretty sure he’s freshly convinced of his own fabulousness.
I like your first sentence. The second, not so much. You're correct, though :(
I agree with you on this, Matt… I’m no fan of Trudeau the Younger, but he’s done ok on this file. I can only imagine what we could get done with a REAL PM 😁… I’d be very curious to see what Ms Freeland would be doing…
A friend of mine is a Paramedic in Ottawa. After the 2nd day of protests, they had to demand police escort on every call downtown, because they were getting rocks thrown at them.
According to that friend, in the first 4 days of the protest: there were 2 stabbings, 1 shooting, the staff of a soup kitchen were assaulted, and of course the attempted arson of an apartment building that you seem to have overlooked.
I have 6 other friends who live in the affected area, all reported being threatened and accosted by protesters.
A friend of mine at Health Canada told me that the area's hospital workers were ordered to wear "civilian" clothes to work for the duration of the protest, over fears they would be assaulted.
As for the PM: I personally saw the protesters waving effigies of him being lynched. Any cop who lets the PM get within a mile of that isn't doing his job.
I want to know why we're wasting our thoughts on Canada's most selfish people when the doctors and nurses who have worn themselves out trying to save us can't even get a word in.
Matt, quit signing his praises. His response to this situation has been horrible as this brilliant reporter pointed out: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/matt-gurney-trudeau-has-perfected-the-art-of-not-answering-questions-and-our-allies-have-noticed/ar-AAV7O1h?ocid=msedgntp