This week some friends were discussing downtown Edmonton. Here's what I told them:
Last month my wife and I spent a week in Washington DC. We wanted to see the museums, sights, cherry blossoms, etc. Our hotel was downtown, blocks away from the white house, 25 minute walk to Washington monument and 15 minute walk from Ford's theatre (site of a murder in 1865). We walked and used transit. Over 7 days I saw only a handful of homeless: One outside a pizza joint. One sleeping outside a government building, but a security guard was monitoring. One at the CVS pharmacy entrance. Inside the pharmacy was a security guard.
No encampments. No homeless in the metro. The buses were safe too. *My wife said she felt safer in downtown DC than downtown Edmonton*.
There was definitely a police presence, but not "in your face". They have city police, transit police, park police, Capitol police, secret service, and a few National Guard around the Washington Monument. Mostly visible by their cars parked here and there.
The sketchiest I felt was when we walked from the theatre to the hotel, around 9:30 at night. Other pedestrians were young couples, what I guessed was cleaning staff heading home, and even a young female jogger. I would not imagine my young niece jogging downtown at night.
Franklin Park outside our hotel had a jazz festival. No tents.
We did venture outside of downtown, to a restaurant we wanted to try. The neighbourhood park had a sign stating it was closed after dark. Interesting. First time I've seen that.
5 years ago I would never have done this trip, but I followed what was done in DC last summer, even hearing that Democrats were happy the streets were safer.
So to Matt's point, I guess we have to wait another 10 years for PM Kevin O'Leary to address the issue.
We have laws, we just choose not to enforce them. Safety is the base of Maslow's hierarchy, just above biological needs. If people don't feel safe, they won't go downtown.
All things are possible when you decide you are no longer governed by the need to be "nice" to the worst people imaginable. The problem in Canada is that we will only get there by letting things get so bad we are left with no other options.
Like BC only deciding they hit their limit of woke pseudo altruist nonsense when the very concept of private land ownership was put at risk.
"Canada must start fixing problems, not just identifying them" - The problem is that our government, at this point in time, is both philosophically and generally physically incapable of doing that. That's not a partisan attack, it's a fundamental truth about how the government has positioned itself since Mulroney.
Since Mulroney, successes governments (both Liberal and Conservative) have been on the Neo-liberal side of the spectrum (NOT talking about Political Parties, but philosophy) where they believe in Free markets, Free Trade, economic globalization, and the privatization of public assets and services. It's the ideology of being "hands off", and so over the decades, our governments have literally divested away most of their ability to "Do" anything besides draft legislation and policy, in favor of hoping someone else (usually the private sector) fixes it. They've fundamentally become a Financier, not a Leader. They set the game board, but don't play. The draft the rules, but stay above them.
In order actually start solving problems, they have to start interacting with the game board, become an active participant again. How do you solve niche issues? government intervention. Reset the board, put the pieces back in place, start the game again. Want a pipeline? If you think it's so important? Stop fucking around and just BE the proponent. LEAD the damn project. Have Transmountain be the proponent or something. But they're not willing to do that. Because ideologically for our government(s), simply identifying the problem, then maybe drafting some rules to mitigate them and wait for someone else to solve the issue, IS the way they "fix problems", and we may now finally be at a point where the problems are too big to deal with in that way.
I kind of agree with this but I think the bigger issue is no one wants to make trade offs. Everyone acts like we can have everything regardless of the size of the economy. We can’t. That’s why we have runaway deficits at all levels of government. This is going to lead to a debt crisis, likely sooner than later as inflation once again takes hold from the Iran war and interest rates go up.
Exactly. Canada has penis envy of a neighbor with 8 times the population and wants to have everything the neighbor has. Plus other idealistic pie in the sky wish lists like cradle to death monopolistic government Medicare) , a carbon free economy (a totally moronic idea in one of the coldest countries in the world), total civilian disarmament, income redistribution, etc none of which has ever worked.
Start by giving up the pipe dream of having a military that can supposedly project power outside its borders. Mexico which has 2.5 times Canada’s population still restricts their use to civilian control.
I love the analysis where the history of the Canadian government has changed from actually running projects to being a financier. I now finally understand why when asked about program results all the government can ever talk about is how much money they spent and never what was actually achieved.
It’s like writing and producing a theater play. While all theater plays rely on silent partners (“angels”) to finance the production, no successful play has ever allowed angels to write the script, direct the actors, design the props, etc. Such a practice is almost certain to result in a FUBAR play and losses to investors.
What is really ironic is that most government programs are exactly that: “political theater”, pretending to do something. And because politicians and/or risk averse civil servants are micromanaging the performances, they invariably end up being classic “goat rodeos”. (A wonderful military word - in there with FUBAR and clusterfuck, but worse 😆)
How can they both “pretend to do something” via political theatre (implying they’re doing nothing), but ALSO micromanage things (implying they’re doing something)?
Still having difficulty, having lived in Alberta for all of my almost 70 years and politically aware and active since 15, trying to identify a reasonable list of GG candidates from Alberta.
There are certainly some senior judges and retired senior military officers who may have some possible consideration.
Redford didn't distinguish herself as Premier, Stelmach isn't bilingual. Harper may not be appropriate and, for now at least neither is Kenney.
Not sure if Notley or Phillips have all the qualifications but neither would be likely well accepted by the crazies.
Draft Manjit Minhas. Self-made. A woman. The anti-carney who gets day to day human beings costs of living versus whatever Mark Carney is currently doing somewhere on the planet because he is never here. It's almost as I think JG said: he seems for interested in foreign affairs versus what is happening back home. (Something along those lines.)
As someone who lives in downtown Ottawa, unfortunately, Jen's appraisal of downtown/Byward market is correct. Ocassionaly, I post on substack regarding the increasingly deteriorating conditions of downtown Ottawa and I will have a public servant tell me I am incorrect, even though they are downtown maybe 3 times a week and only during office hours.
Canada is in a vert tough spot. Practically, our economy is very closely entwined with that of the United States. Yes, diversification is important. But realistically it will take decades, even if things go well. In the meantime, we have no choice but to live with the United States.
Right now, the Canadian economy is being supported by exports of oil and gold. What happens when the prices of those two commodities fall? We will be in big trouble. The most urgent diversification is not geographic, but into other sectors of the economy. That takes private sector investment, including FDI from foreign sources. That. in turn, requires regulatory and taxation reform. I don't see this happening.
For what it's worth, I'm an 80 year old man living in Ottawa. There is no part of the city where I feel unsafe. There are many shabby areas, yes, but that does not amount to physical danger. By contrast I have felt unsafe in parts of Washington, D.C., and the only time I have been mugged was in Trenton, N.J.
Displaced Calgarian. I love Calgary. I write fantasy/horror novels based in Calgary. I was fortunate enough to grow up there at the start of the NEP and I watched how people lost everything and how others had to rebuild from nothing. But that was 40 years ago and the plumbing still worked fine. I do wonder if the water main problem in the city could have been prevented but it got kicked down the road for another government to deal with.
One of the catches of representative government is that it tends to be representative of the people who elect it. In today’s society, there’s a lot of people who’ll spend money on granite countertops and fancy bathroom fixtures instead of fixing the drain tile or upgrading the electrical wiring. It’s much the same on a civic scale, but hey - at least it’s a nice library, right?
What scares the bejeezus out of me is I see a model building of Carney and his love of the UK and the EU directing Canada to a dirigiste economy. this is terminal failure in every aspect. Get out while you can. We are soo screwed.
This week some friends were discussing downtown Edmonton. Here's what I told them:
Last month my wife and I spent a week in Washington DC. We wanted to see the museums, sights, cherry blossoms, etc. Our hotel was downtown, blocks away from the white house, 25 minute walk to Washington monument and 15 minute walk from Ford's theatre (site of a murder in 1865). We walked and used transit. Over 7 days I saw only a handful of homeless: One outside a pizza joint. One sleeping outside a government building, but a security guard was monitoring. One at the CVS pharmacy entrance. Inside the pharmacy was a security guard.
No encampments. No homeless in the metro. The buses were safe too. *My wife said she felt safer in downtown DC than downtown Edmonton*.
There was definitely a police presence, but not "in your face". They have city police, transit police, park police, Capitol police, secret service, and a few National Guard around the Washington Monument. Mostly visible by their cars parked here and there.
The sketchiest I felt was when we walked from the theatre to the hotel, around 9:30 at night. Other pedestrians were young couples, what I guessed was cleaning staff heading home, and even a young female jogger. I would not imagine my young niece jogging downtown at night.
Franklin Park outside our hotel had a jazz festival. No tents.
We did venture outside of downtown, to a restaurant we wanted to try. The neighbourhood park had a sign stating it was closed after dark. Interesting. First time I've seen that.
5 years ago I would never have done this trip, but I followed what was done in DC last summer, even hearing that Democrats were happy the streets were safer.
So to Matt's point, I guess we have to wait another 10 years for PM Kevin O'Leary to address the issue.
We have laws, we just choose not to enforce them. Safety is the base of Maslow's hierarchy, just above biological needs. If people don't feel safe, they won't go downtown.
All things are possible when you decide you are no longer governed by the need to be "nice" to the worst people imaginable. The problem in Canada is that we will only get there by letting things get so bad we are left with no other options.
Like BC only deciding they hit their limit of woke pseudo altruist nonsense when the very concept of private land ownership was put at risk.
"Canada must start fixing problems, not just identifying them" - The problem is that our government, at this point in time, is both philosophically and generally physically incapable of doing that. That's not a partisan attack, it's a fundamental truth about how the government has positioned itself since Mulroney.
Since Mulroney, successes governments (both Liberal and Conservative) have been on the Neo-liberal side of the spectrum (NOT talking about Political Parties, but philosophy) where they believe in Free markets, Free Trade, economic globalization, and the privatization of public assets and services. It's the ideology of being "hands off", and so over the decades, our governments have literally divested away most of their ability to "Do" anything besides draft legislation and policy, in favor of hoping someone else (usually the private sector) fixes it. They've fundamentally become a Financier, not a Leader. They set the game board, but don't play. The draft the rules, but stay above them.
In order actually start solving problems, they have to start interacting with the game board, become an active participant again. How do you solve niche issues? government intervention. Reset the board, put the pieces back in place, start the game again. Want a pipeline? If you think it's so important? Stop fucking around and just BE the proponent. LEAD the damn project. Have Transmountain be the proponent or something. But they're not willing to do that. Because ideologically for our government(s), simply identifying the problem, then maybe drafting some rules to mitigate them and wait for someone else to solve the issue, IS the way they "fix problems", and we may now finally be at a point where the problems are too big to deal with in that way.
I kind of agree with this but I think the bigger issue is no one wants to make trade offs. Everyone acts like we can have everything regardless of the size of the economy. We can’t. That’s why we have runaway deficits at all levels of government. This is going to lead to a debt crisis, likely sooner than later as inflation once again takes hold from the Iran war and interest rates go up.
Exactly. Canada has penis envy of a neighbor with 8 times the population and wants to have everything the neighbor has. Plus other idealistic pie in the sky wish lists like cradle to death monopolistic government Medicare) , a carbon free economy (a totally moronic idea in one of the coldest countries in the world), total civilian disarmament, income redistribution, etc none of which has ever worked.
Start by giving up the pipe dream of having a military that can supposedly project power outside its borders. Mexico which has 2.5 times Canada’s population still restricts their use to civilian control.
I love the analysis where the history of the Canadian government has changed from actually running projects to being a financier. I now finally understand why when asked about program results all the government can ever talk about is how much money they spent and never what was actually achieved.
It’s like writing and producing a theater play. While all theater plays rely on silent partners (“angels”) to finance the production, no successful play has ever allowed angels to write the script, direct the actors, design the props, etc. Such a practice is almost certain to result in a FUBAR play and losses to investors.
What is really ironic is that most government programs are exactly that: “political theater”, pretending to do something. And because politicians and/or risk averse civil servants are micromanaging the performances, they invariably end up being classic “goat rodeos”. (A wonderful military word - in there with FUBAR and clusterfuck, but worse 😆)
How can they both “pretend to do something” via political theatre (implying they’re doing nothing), but ALSO micromanage things (implying they’re doing something)?
For me, ditch the political party crap and government by polls. Peddling hope might work.
Still having difficulty, having lived in Alberta for all of my almost 70 years and politically aware and active since 15, trying to identify a reasonable list of GG candidates from Alberta.
There are certainly some senior judges and retired senior military officers who may have some possible consideration.
Redford didn't distinguish herself as Premier, Stelmach isn't bilingual. Harper may not be appropriate and, for now at least neither is Kenney.
Not sure if Notley or Phillips have all the qualifications but neither would be likely well accepted by the crazies.
Draft Manjit Minhas. Self-made. A woman. The anti-carney who gets day to day human beings costs of living versus whatever Mark Carney is currently doing somewhere on the planet because he is never here. It's almost as I think JG said: he seems for interested in foreign affairs versus what is happening back home. (Something along those lines.)
As someone who lives in downtown Ottawa, unfortunately, Jen's appraisal of downtown/Byward market is correct. Ocassionaly, I post on substack regarding the increasingly deteriorating conditions of downtown Ottawa and I will have a public servant tell me I am incorrect, even though they are downtown maybe 3 times a week and only during office hours.
It is hard for people to admit that what they believe in the cause of the problem.
A lot of that going around these days in government, political parties as well as the academic and activist class.
Mexico is negotiating, so it is possible.
Canada is in a vert tough spot. Practically, our economy is very closely entwined with that of the United States. Yes, diversification is important. But realistically it will take decades, even if things go well. In the meantime, we have no choice but to live with the United States.
Right now, the Canadian economy is being supported by exports of oil and gold. What happens when the prices of those two commodities fall? We will be in big trouble. The most urgent diversification is not geographic, but into other sectors of the economy. That takes private sector investment, including FDI from foreign sources. That. in turn, requires regulatory and taxation reform. I don't see this happening.
For what it's worth, I'm an 80 year old man living in Ottawa. There is no part of the city where I feel unsafe. There are many shabby areas, yes, but that does not amount to physical danger. By contrast I have felt unsafe in parts of Washington, D.C., and the only time I have been mugged was in Trenton, N.J.
We already are in very big trouble and have been so for a number of years.
We know what we need to do, but we haven’t decided that the disease is worth than the cure yet.
Ironically got to listen to the whole podcast on my drive home from work because of another water main break in Calgary. Go us.
Displaced Calgarian. I love Calgary. I write fantasy/horror novels based in Calgary. I was fortunate enough to grow up there at the start of the NEP and I watched how people lost everything and how others had to rebuild from nothing. But that was 40 years ago and the plumbing still worked fine. I do wonder if the water main problem in the city could have been prevented but it got kicked down the road for another government to deal with.
One of the catches of representative government is that it tends to be representative of the people who elect it. In today’s society, there’s a lot of people who’ll spend money on granite countertops and fancy bathroom fixtures instead of fixing the drain tile or upgrading the electrical wiring. It’s much the same on a civic scale, but hey - at least it’s a nice library, right?
I bet that combo hit hard
What scares the bejeezus out of me is I see a model building of Carney and his love of the UK and the EU directing Canada to a dirigiste economy. this is terminal failure in every aspect. Get out while you can. We are soo screwed.
...... yyeeaahhh. The Line keeps fluffing up for Mark Carney.