Ok, let us remember that this is same LIBERAL government that we’ve had since 2015. All power is still vested entirely in the PMO’s office. The parliamentary budget officer’s position has not been filled (thank you for your service, Yves Giroux) but not a worry since we’ve not had a budget since 2024! Carney cannot keep throwing directives out of his office in his condescending banker’s tone any longer, I, WE expect results. Sorry Line editors but I am expecting FAR bigger things in a FAR shorter window than what you are graciously allowing.
The chances of a patrol car arriving at my house to interrupt a burglary in progress is ZERO. In fact, there could be a considerable delay in filing a police report on the incident, that's how understaffed our police force is these days.
Then, factor in the revolving door criminal justice system where perpetrators are sent back onto the streets to carry on with their terrorizing ways.
So what's left for law abiding citizens when law enforcement is MIA and the Crown Attorneys and Judiciary bend towards leniency instead of public safety? The default position is that everyone is on their own and left with the sage advice that if an intruder enters our premises, play nice, serve cookies and milk and let them have their way.
Vigilante justice is not acceptable in a democracy, but that's assuming that we have a society that is protected from criminals by police and justice systems working together. When that falls apart we are left on our own, and it's cruel and unusual punishment when those who stand up to intruders end up worse off than the criminal.
Honestly, I don’t blame Carney for holding out. He knows the country’s finances are in terrible shape and he knows that PP is not going to fall for the smoke and mirrors when they try to hide it. All of the necessary decisions are going to be terribly unpopular.
I still think that winning the election was a poisoned chalice. The Liberals may still wish that they lost by the time this is done.
Agreed. Canadians, especially those in the new Liberal coalition are just not prepared to accept the hard choices that will have to be made. They still expect more from government than it can possibly provide.
This country has become a joke. We have captured institutions where any criticism against said institution is labelled as a form of bigotry. The politics have become absolutely juvenile. Even lower income democracies that plenty of folks in this country look down have more mature polity, less juvenile, less full of themselves.
Honestly, this mediocrity is an insult to every hardworking Canadian.
There's a retired cop at my gun club, and we had this conversation about another incident. His advice was "Just make sure the guy doesn't live to tell his side of the story."
The truth is, it doesn’t matter. Either we have free speech or we don’t.
Personally, I find it very difficult to believe that there’s a security risk from this guy when an imam in Montreal can call for the death of all Jews to a large public gathering and no one blinks an eye (it happened just after October 7 if you don’t believe me). The story is out there if you want to google it.
Remember, blocking people from speaking is a lot like the quote about mustard gas. It’s a great idea until the wind changes, and the wind always changes.
I continue to enjoy the podcasts and essays. But please, the joke about CUSMA or USMCA (each letter spoken separately like so many acronyms) being hard to pronounce is past its expiry date. It’s not hard to say either of these. Otherwise interesting chats.
Great meandering chat folks. Thanks for sparking all this thinking in me. Keep doing what you're doing!
Tarriffs etc... Look, the US President was clear when he invited us to become the 51st state... and when that didn't immediatly fly, then he said he could "get us" economically... and he's making good on that plan from what I can see, trying to erode our economy like a pink eraser. I don't think the Americans want a trade deal with us; they want to "renegotiate" the CUSMA or get rid of it entirely. I just don't think Carney was ever going to get a "deal." We're not like any other trading partner they have... we are joined at the hip geographically, culturally and economically. They think we are just like them. They don't appreciate our differences. But they want our water, our minerals, our natural resources. These are age-old ideas of manifest destiny that are in new form today.
The Canadian government, whomever is in charge, has a tight line to walk... extend our trade and connections with friendlier countries like never before without pissing off our southern neighbour.
For our part, we citizens have to get our collective head out of our rumps and get clear about what our way forward looks like - we have to share this continent with the States so we better figure out how to do that. We also: need to grow our military and expand our trade; we need to lock arms economically from coast-to-coast-to-coast so we can be as strong as possible within our borders; we need to get our eyes on our coasts and the Arctic and we need to get control of our ports of entry (land, sea and air); we need to update our infrastructure (airports, sea ports (think Churchill Manitoba), pipelines, satellite systems to serve our needs internally and for export elsewhere in the world...); we need to establish and grow Canadian businesses; and we need to be very clear that we are in the US gun-sites, they are just taking their time. And that's a good thing because we need this time to prepare. Our best hope, as Jen said, is that we become invisible to them because their attention is elsewhere... whatever that looks like (US civil war, war on the Mexican and Venezuelian cartels... who knows what). So I really appreciate your comments to us all about stopping poking the bear on social media.
All this talk of "first 100 days" is both the American way (not ours) and irrelevant. Canada in the summer goes to the cottage/camp, goes camping, or is lulled to sleep by the heat and returns after Labour Day. Nothing was to be done over the summer, and yet the government did manage to do a few things (no need for me to enumerate as Jen and Matt have already done so). I am expecting a deluge of (haha)... well, SOME activity coming out of the summer planning I'm hoping they did while "on summer vacay." And, I want a budget. And an updated military strategy to guide procurement. And some way to work in respectful cooperation with Indigenous Peoples and Metis.
Yikes. Fingers crossed. Not setting the bar too high am I?
And I say all this not as a partisan but as a citizen. We need a government that is working together, at all levels, to address our Canadian interests and way forward. And while I'm at it, opposing just for the sake of opposing has got to stop. We all need to pull together. Be critical so that you are able to make the goverment plans and implementation better. Stop undermining ourselves through positional arguments that do not reflect either the severity of the situation at hand or the needs of our country to address these significant issues. I know this is not how politics works now, but it is what we need if we're going to survive the next three and a half plus years and get comfortable in a new world order.
And finally... How they are going to get the bureaucracy moving is beyond me. I live and work in the Ottawa bubble and know that this is an uphill battle. Trust and courage are in short supply.
I remain hopeful though, as that's just my set point. Paul Wells posted an impressive podcast episode with retired CDS General Wayne Eyre, and Eyre had a few comments about procurement you might want to hear. https://paulwells.substack.com/p/gen-wayne-eyre-on-a-new-era-for-canadas These ideas apply government wide in my opinion. In short, the old ways will not serve us. We need fresh new thinking.
All comments and thoughts welcome... except for the unkind ones. Keep those to yourself please.
1) How in the world do you expand your trading partners with so many protected sectors? Guess what? Europe and Asia are as interested in agriculture, telecommunications, airlines etc. as the Americans are. Supply management has been the biggest hinderance in forming any European trade deal. We can't pivot without making changes (changes that are desperately needed too).
2) Totallly agree about infrastructure but again, the Canadian way is prevailing. Not in my backyard (BC), a minimum of 10 years to expand the maxed out Port of Vancouver (assuming no delays) which blocks expanding trade to the Pacific rim, no talks about repatriating line 5 which is at the mercy of Michigan and now an adminsitration who couldn't care less about the Treaty keeping it open, etc. etc. The list is endless and we have no money because we keep pretending that the current social system is viable. It isn't.
3) There isn't a single sign that politicians in power at the 3 levels of government are taking anything seriously.
We have to face reality. The "strong Canada" talk was just that, talk. It fooled the populace to get numerous governments elected who did not deserve so based on their records. Leopards don't change their spots. The reason why nothing is getting done is because they have no intention of getting anything done.
It fooled the same folks who have been getting fooled for 50 years, the Central Canadian boomers who are the core of the Liberal Party.
As for "it's summer vacation" that is just excusing laziness from those who quite frankly have roles that require more dedication. Who takes a vacation in the middle of a war?
You guys are way off in saying that urban people can expect police quickly especially in good neighborhoods. Not true in Winnipeg. People I know, living in Winnipeg's best neighborhood, had a home invasion... they waited and waited, called police over and over... no one. The police are now very slow because they get so many calls. Wealth and neighborhood are irrelevant. The condo bldg I live in, we've been told, don't even call the police. Have private contractors to call if a dangerous person enters the building. So lay off the ignorant comments about unban policing and the so called safety of rich people...
Indeed. Just like Canada has may issue conceal carry firearms laws. It's the grey area that the establishment wants to be able to control the narrative around these legal areas.
The contradictions are confusing. Removing tariffs on US goods is good for consumers while simultaneously calling for a boycott on US imports. How can we benefit by not buying cheaper goods? Mr. Carney is more of a politician than we thought why simultaneously not being a politician.
Finally a modicum of reason regarding how to respond to Mr. Trump. Become a chameleon until the danger passes. "The Free Press" is having a field day with the cancellation of Mr. Feucht, for the reasons you outline. Fuck you America is the message they are getting and runs contrary to being a chameleon.
The problem regarding self-defence is that the police are there to protect us against them, and do a very poor job. The judiciary is there to protect them against us and do a great job. Quite happy to retire to Club Fed if the alternative is ICU or a dead wife.
Ms. Smith has successfully brought separatists into the UCP tent and federalists will win a plebiscite on separation. Today. The "Alberta Forever Canada" referendum will be the Brexit moment as the status quo is not acceptable to 60% of Albertans, if the transfer payments question is anything to go by.
You're point on the boycotts vs tariffs are spot on. The economic analysis by The Line is mediocre and internally inconsistent. Found this quite annoying.
Wow, Jen. We shouldn't judge Carney's actions against his campaign promises, but we can judge how Poilievre would have acted based on his campaign. Wear a Carney pin next election.
Carney is failing and has to pull out bullshit like Palestine and gun buybacks to keep his boomers on side.
I disagree that Carney need only be judged on his Trump management on the guesswork of how it might compare to a Poilievre PM style. Nope. Carney needs to be judged against his own assessment of how well he would perform as PM. He made it a driving force boogeyman to get elected. He made promises, promises.
Ok, let us remember that this is same LIBERAL government that we’ve had since 2015. All power is still vested entirely in the PMO’s office. The parliamentary budget officer’s position has not been filled (thank you for your service, Yves Giroux) but not a worry since we’ve not had a budget since 2024! Carney cannot keep throwing directives out of his office in his condescending banker’s tone any longer, I, WE expect results. Sorry Line editors but I am expecting FAR bigger things in a FAR shorter window than what you are graciously allowing.
Thank you for saying politely what I wanted to say impolitely.
The chances of a patrol car arriving at my house to interrupt a burglary in progress is ZERO. In fact, there could be a considerable delay in filing a police report on the incident, that's how understaffed our police force is these days.
Then, factor in the revolving door criminal justice system where perpetrators are sent back onto the streets to carry on with their terrorizing ways.
So what's left for law abiding citizens when law enforcement is MIA and the Crown Attorneys and Judiciary bend towards leniency instead of public safety? The default position is that everyone is on their own and left with the sage advice that if an intruder enters our premises, play nice, serve cookies and milk and let them have their way.
Vigilante justice is not acceptable in a democracy, but that's assuming that we have a society that is protected from criminals by police and justice systems working together. When that falls apart we are left on our own, and it's cruel and unusual punishment when those who stand up to intruders end up worse off than the criminal.
We could have expected a budget by now. It has been nearly 4 months, and there was no transition.
It’s not his fault.
There’s no urgency.
Pierre Poilievre is negative.
Yours truly,
Canadian Media 😵💫
Honestly, I don’t blame Carney for holding out. He knows the country’s finances are in terrible shape and he knows that PP is not going to fall for the smoke and mirrors when they try to hide it. All of the necessary decisions are going to be terribly unpopular.
I still think that winning the election was a poisoned chalice. The Liberals may still wish that they lost by the time this is done.
Agreed. Canadians, especially those in the new Liberal coalition are just not prepared to accept the hard choices that will have to be made. They still expect more from government than it can possibly provide.
This country has become a joke. We have captured institutions where any criticism against said institution is labelled as a form of bigotry. The politics have become absolutely juvenile. Even lower income democracies that plenty of folks in this country look down have more mature polity, less juvenile, less full of themselves.
Honestly, this mediocrity is an insult to every hardworking Canadian.
Canadians of a certain age and background think Canada is much more consequential and powerful than it is (Elbows up!)
Start with Canadians not believing in our own marketing and BS.
There's a retired cop at my gun club, and we had this conversation about another incident. His advice was "Just make sure the guy doesn't live to tell his side of the story."
Yup. I think my husband chatted with the same cop haha
And make sure the criminal crosses over the threshold of your door is what I've been told.
Yup. Drag him back in if you have to 🤣
Sean Feucht is not a pastor. He’s a worship leader at a very questionable evangelical church. Pls don’t refer to him as a pastor.
FYI - Provocateur is not a Biblical qualification for pastor or elder. 💖
The truth is, it doesn’t matter. Either we have free speech or we don’t.
Personally, I find it very difficult to believe that there’s a security risk from this guy when an imam in Montreal can call for the death of all Jews to a large public gathering and no one blinks an eye (it happened just after October 7 if you don’t believe me). The story is out there if you want to google it.
Remember, blocking people from speaking is a lot like the quote about mustard gas. It’s a great idea until the wind changes, and the wind always changes.
I agree with you.
My point was only that Jen referred to him as a pastor which he isn’t. It is no comment on free speech.
I continue to enjoy the podcasts and essays. But please, the joke about CUSMA or USMCA (each letter spoken separately like so many acronyms) being hard to pronounce is past its expiry date. It’s not hard to say either of these. Otherwise interesting chats.
Great meandering chat folks. Thanks for sparking all this thinking in me. Keep doing what you're doing!
Tarriffs etc... Look, the US President was clear when he invited us to become the 51st state... and when that didn't immediatly fly, then he said he could "get us" economically... and he's making good on that plan from what I can see, trying to erode our economy like a pink eraser. I don't think the Americans want a trade deal with us; they want to "renegotiate" the CUSMA or get rid of it entirely. I just don't think Carney was ever going to get a "deal." We're not like any other trading partner they have... we are joined at the hip geographically, culturally and economically. They think we are just like them. They don't appreciate our differences. But they want our water, our minerals, our natural resources. These are age-old ideas of manifest destiny that are in new form today.
The Canadian government, whomever is in charge, has a tight line to walk... extend our trade and connections with friendlier countries like never before without pissing off our southern neighbour.
For our part, we citizens have to get our collective head out of our rumps and get clear about what our way forward looks like - we have to share this continent with the States so we better figure out how to do that. We also: need to grow our military and expand our trade; we need to lock arms economically from coast-to-coast-to-coast so we can be as strong as possible within our borders; we need to get our eyes on our coasts and the Arctic and we need to get control of our ports of entry (land, sea and air); we need to update our infrastructure (airports, sea ports (think Churchill Manitoba), pipelines, satellite systems to serve our needs internally and for export elsewhere in the world...); we need to establish and grow Canadian businesses; and we need to be very clear that we are in the US gun-sites, they are just taking their time. And that's a good thing because we need this time to prepare. Our best hope, as Jen said, is that we become invisible to them because their attention is elsewhere... whatever that looks like (US civil war, war on the Mexican and Venezuelian cartels... who knows what). So I really appreciate your comments to us all about stopping poking the bear on social media.
All this talk of "first 100 days" is both the American way (not ours) and irrelevant. Canada in the summer goes to the cottage/camp, goes camping, or is lulled to sleep by the heat and returns after Labour Day. Nothing was to be done over the summer, and yet the government did manage to do a few things (no need for me to enumerate as Jen and Matt have already done so). I am expecting a deluge of (haha)... well, SOME activity coming out of the summer planning I'm hoping they did while "on summer vacay." And, I want a budget. And an updated military strategy to guide procurement. And some way to work in respectful cooperation with Indigenous Peoples and Metis.
Yikes. Fingers crossed. Not setting the bar too high am I?
And I say all this not as a partisan but as a citizen. We need a government that is working together, at all levels, to address our Canadian interests and way forward. And while I'm at it, opposing just for the sake of opposing has got to stop. We all need to pull together. Be critical so that you are able to make the goverment plans and implementation better. Stop undermining ourselves through positional arguments that do not reflect either the severity of the situation at hand or the needs of our country to address these significant issues. I know this is not how politics works now, but it is what we need if we're going to survive the next three and a half plus years and get comfortable in a new world order.
And finally... How they are going to get the bureaucracy moving is beyond me. I live and work in the Ottawa bubble and know that this is an uphill battle. Trust and courage are in short supply.
I remain hopeful though, as that's just my set point. Paul Wells posted an impressive podcast episode with retired CDS General Wayne Eyre, and Eyre had a few comments about procurement you might want to hear. https://paulwells.substack.com/p/gen-wayne-eyre-on-a-new-era-for-canadas These ideas apply government wide in my opinion. In short, the old ways will not serve us. We need fresh new thinking.
All comments and thoughts welcome... except for the unkind ones. Keep those to yourself please.
1) How in the world do you expand your trading partners with so many protected sectors? Guess what? Europe and Asia are as interested in agriculture, telecommunications, airlines etc. as the Americans are. Supply management has been the biggest hinderance in forming any European trade deal. We can't pivot without making changes (changes that are desperately needed too).
2) Totallly agree about infrastructure but again, the Canadian way is prevailing. Not in my backyard (BC), a minimum of 10 years to expand the maxed out Port of Vancouver (assuming no delays) which blocks expanding trade to the Pacific rim, no talks about repatriating line 5 which is at the mercy of Michigan and now an adminsitration who couldn't care less about the Treaty keeping it open, etc. etc. The list is endless and we have no money because we keep pretending that the current social system is viable. It isn't.
3) There isn't a single sign that politicians in power at the 3 levels of government are taking anything seriously.
We have to face reality. The "strong Canada" talk was just that, talk. It fooled the populace to get numerous governments elected who did not deserve so based on their records. Leopards don't change their spots. The reason why nothing is getting done is because they have no intention of getting anything done.
It fooled the same folks who have been getting fooled for 50 years, the Central Canadian boomers who are the core of the Liberal Party.
As for "it's summer vacation" that is just excusing laziness from those who quite frankly have roles that require more dedication. Who takes a vacation in the middle of a war?
I agree. And… here we are during Ottawa summers. 🫣
Carney, like every other Liberal leader of late, will be compared to the Conservative bogeyman du jour. It's tradition.
You guys are way off in saying that urban people can expect police quickly especially in good neighborhoods. Not true in Winnipeg. People I know, living in Winnipeg's best neighborhood, had a home invasion... they waited and waited, called police over and over... no one. The police are now very slow because they get so many calls. Wealth and neighborhood are irrelevant. The condo bldg I live in, we've been told, don't even call the police. Have private contractors to call if a dangerous person enters the building. So lay off the ignorant comments about unban policing and the so called safety of rich people...
One more thing. People keep forgetting it, but Canada is a stand your ground country. Its just that prosecutors decide to charge anyways.
Indeed. Just like Canada has may issue conceal carry firearms laws. It's the grey area that the establishment wants to be able to control the narrative around these legal areas.
The answer to the grin-whatever question is no, they had next to no effect; https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/how-much-did-canadas-trade-retaliation-and-boycotts-actually-hurt-the-u-s-trevor-tombe-in-the-hub/
The contradictions are confusing. Removing tariffs on US goods is good for consumers while simultaneously calling for a boycott on US imports. How can we benefit by not buying cheaper goods? Mr. Carney is more of a politician than we thought why simultaneously not being a politician.
Finally a modicum of reason regarding how to respond to Mr. Trump. Become a chameleon until the danger passes. "The Free Press" is having a field day with the cancellation of Mr. Feucht, for the reasons you outline. Fuck you America is the message they are getting and runs contrary to being a chameleon.
The problem regarding self-defence is that the police are there to protect us against them, and do a very poor job. The judiciary is there to protect them against us and do a great job. Quite happy to retire to Club Fed if the alternative is ICU or a dead wife.
Ms. Smith has successfully brought separatists into the UCP tent and federalists will win a plebiscite on separation. Today. The "Alberta Forever Canada" referendum will be the Brexit moment as the status quo is not acceptable to 60% of Albertans, if the transfer payments question is anything to go by.
You're point on the boycotts vs tariffs are spot on. The economic analysis by The Line is mediocre and internally inconsistent. Found this quite annoying.
Conservatives lack a vision or rather lack the strategy and pace to communicate their vision and too much discipline to be flexible.
Stymied by integrity. AKA - When morals get in the way.
Wow, Jen. We shouldn't judge Carney's actions against his campaign promises, but we can judge how Poilievre would have acted based on his campaign. Wear a Carney pin next election.
Carney is failing and has to pull out bullshit like Palestine and gun buybacks to keep his boomers on side.
I'm out.
I disagree that Carney need only be judged on his Trump management on the guesswork of how it might compare to a Poilievre PM style. Nope. Carney needs to be judged against his own assessment of how well he would perform as PM. He made it a driving force boogeyman to get elected. He made promises, promises.