Carlson comes to Canada and says gross things. Our politics get stupider. A big decision on the Emergencies Act. And Calgary slips further into hell, one fast-food trip at a time.
In terms of the Liberals trying to 'ride this fear' - I've seen it in action with my own NDP MP - same mentality. We were at a small public activity, very casual, but she was there as our MP and when she was done her little speech we ended up chatting with her just socially. It was all quite nice until she mentioned being in the House of Commons with Poilievre and her observation was that he was 'quite scary'. It was just such an unnecessary, frankly stupid comment. I took it to be a party line comment but it really dropped her off the cliff in my evaluation. I've voted NDP, Liberal and Green in the past, but these type of dumb comments are really an insult to my intelligence and I won't vote for someone who thinks I'm that stupid.
I contextualize the use of a “scary” descriptor of Poilievre by progressives to mean that the glory days of the pendulum swing out on the far left is over. Canadians are fed up with the institutional sepsis brought on by a distorted focus on race and gender issues that progressives have incessantly pushed. Meanwhile, homes are unaffordable, rent is unaffordable, groceries are unaffordable and progressives are reading the scary writing on the wall. Their political careers are on the line and they are about to face their own unaffordable crisis.
What is PP going to do about any of the (very real) problems you describe? Apparently Justin Trudeau has caused all of them and when PP replaces Trudeau it will magically be 1972 again. If you break down what he says he's often lying but he does it fast and with confidence so it's hard to catch. He's been an ideological warrior his whole life which will likely lead to privatized medicine, no action on AGW (because who doesn't want to smell burning pine all summer) and statues of Charles Koch everywhere. And let's not forget his Republican-style voter suppression shenanigans as Pierre Poutine. I'll be glad to see the end of Trudeau, too, but can't we do better than an Incel Mussolini?
I know that The Line editors cringe at the comment section overflowing, but I will say this:
The Trudeau Liberals may be guilty by association for many things but they have to carry the can for some things that they do oversee.
One is speculation money that has flooded the housing market, especially in Toronto and Vancouver. Some of this money is dirty money that is being laundered through real estate deals. What is the Federal government doing about this problem? Cracking down, but on the low hanging fruit that are just trying to make a living. I made a deposit of CASH under $100 into my bank account recently and had to show ID. I’m a serious FINTRAC risk, it appears but how about the fictitious companies who are buying and flipping homes in Vancouver?
McDonald's has a 4 can dine promo available through the app. Unfortunately, the Terms state "Bottle deposits and packaging fees applicable where required by local law". Looking forward to the video. I feel sorry for the drive-through staff who have to fumble with unbagged items and deal with irate customers.
Edmonton has the same stupid bylaw. I do wonder how drive thru sales have changed since it started. Calgary likely just had to join Edmonton in the stupidity
Thank you, Jen for calling out the freezing of the bank accounts for exactly what it was - total banana republic shit. That point seems to get lost in all the focus on the threshold question of whether it was justified to invoke the Emergencies Act in the first place. I actually don't think the invocation was a close call at all - absolutely no way it should have been invoked.
However. For the sake of argument I will GIVE you the invocation of the Act. But to then go after the bank accounts is fucking gob-smacking! Seriously. It is TOTAL banana republic shit!! Framing this as a debate over the threshold question allows these clowns in cabinet to skate on the one truly unspeakable act in the whole sordid mess that was the convoy.
And while Matt may think that WRT the threshold question there is not much distance between Roleau and Mosley, on the bank accounts point, Mosley could not have been clearer. That was not a close call for him at all and he himself barely stopped short of literally calling it banana republic shit.
Nor should he have. They had no rational pint to make, were effectively trying to blackmail the government....oh yes, and they destroyed any credibility they might have had when they signed on with Bauder.
I'll ignore the tone and say we'll agree to disagree. The truckers all got vaccinated and the US had the same rules making the Convoys' initial argument utterly irrelevant.
Both of those "thats" are nothing more than speculative unsupported opinion.
Truckers aren't solitary. They're actually critical disease vectors precisely because they travel so widely and intermingle with so many people. They're not welded into their cabs, right?
African long-haul truckers, for example, were a major vector for the spread of AIDS within Africa.
Honestly, Vancouver had worse with the Stanley Cup riots and the rioting in the streets near the start of the 2010 Olympics. A lot of people seem to have forgotten that. The negative energy in the air was palpable. Mayor Robertson had totally dropped the ball. It was a mess. The energy changed, though. I can't recall how or why, but I think everyday people who were kind of meh about the Olympics decided to embrace them.
Jen: I bought plastic straws (and spoon straws for slushies!) on Amazon, and I don't really feel bad about it. There's so much to deal with in a day and things the govt has done that irritate the hell out of me. The little things, like convenient non-dissolving straws, help keep me sane :)
I have them in my cart too. Waiting for summer. When I’ll also be ordering plastic cutlery for camping season. The birch stuff is the worst shape ever.
Well, if Great Replacement is about white, I get it. I think it's better to see it through the lens of ideas. Does anyone here really want more people on the street pro-Hamas chanting? So whether by birth, immigration or education, there is real problem of Western values being replaced/eroded/disregarded/insert word here. As for Dominion, that person in Atlanta who changed the machine with a pen sure has a point. So no, Dominion didn't throw anything, but there's no way there isn't some problem (and Smith just pledged to get rid of vote tabulators). Now, maybe it's a step too far to do translating on Tucker's words, but I'd rather think through what he's saying even when it causes an eye roll. Plus, getting people to eye roll is part of his thing....that's just the way it is today. Trump, Trudeau, AOC, Singh, Tucker, Hannity.....eye rolls abound.
The "benefit of hindsight" is a major pillar of our judicial system. I don't know why some people think it devalues this decision (not saying that the Line eds implied that, but I've heard others say it). If, on appeal, some future judge says that the freezing of bank accounts is a-okay, we all have a lot to worry about. No Canadian, regardless of political stripe, should support such bullshit.
A great podcast as always, thank you Matt and Jen.
Jen, I share your annoyance regarding bans of plastic straws and fees for paper bags.
The only plus side for these particular policies, and I assume it is an unintended consequence, is that I eat less fast food and drink fewer pops, slurpies or milkshakes due to the hassle factor. And who wants to taste dissolving paper straws?
Rather ironically, in Edmonton at least, there are serious challenges in terms of public safety, homelessness and deaths from illicit drugs. While not all of these things are solely the responsibility of the City, I can’t help but feeling that implementing fees for paper bags takes time and attention that might be better spent on more pressing issues.
I so enjoy this podcast. You two capture the ennui and disgust most Canadians feel about our constant political circus. Even my rather apolitical wife enjoys listening, delighting in your constant proclamations of the stupid stupidity that happens on a daily basis in this country.
While I love you guys you come out overly Cassandra ish on this one. Sadly nobody ever tries to explain President Trumps appeal to his base in spite of his rants. It’s very simple : working ass republicans for the first time in years are recognized as and see themselves as winners instead of being sneered at by the wealthy? elites. ( which is what sadly Nikki Hayley is discovering. And if you fail to consider Canadas class/language wars in the election results you wind up with a shit circus based on personalities.
Trumps approach is like two pro wrestlers saying to each other “ I’m gonna rip your head off and shit in your neck hole”. And then they have a drink,help each other with Ben Gay and drive to the next town’s match. (BTW looking it up Trump actually a participated in match with the owner of world wrestling entertainment.
Only a daft grown idiot, not even a preteen on a family outing would take this stuff seriously But between independent? presstitutes and government subsidized legacy media the election will of course be presented in these
Terms
And by the way presenting a greasy COVIDy paper bag to a teenage drive through MacDonald’s attendant to put your food in I believe to be a pretty sad thing. Surely you can do better.
Lets deal with what's important first. McDonalds fires, fresh and hot used to be a magnificent food group until they went to vegetable oil. If there was ever anything to have a national commission about, it would be that. It's a tragedy from which I still have no recovered.
The next election will be like Question Period...a national embarrassment. The choices are terrible. The incumbent is as useful as a screen door on a submarine. The challenger is a serial lying spin-doctor and the most detestable Canadian politician I've encountered in the 20 years I've been paying any attention. Everything Pierre says is meaningless until the platform comes out, and I expect it will be extremely vague. He is not Trump, but he does court the Trump mindset. So, today, I will vote strategically to defeat the Conservative. That they are all acting like imbeciles trying to make mountains out of molehills suggests they have no answers for the real issues.....that's what scares me the most.
And as far as I'm concerned, drive-throughs should be banned for anyone who doesn't have a kid in a car seat in the back. I'll see 20 cars lined up at the drive through (and ordering something tasted at the Tim's one should be ended by an Order in Council), walk into the store and be first at the counter. Get out and walk people; we all need the exercise.
Tucker is just an idiot. People who listen to idiots don't get smarter.
"That they are all acting like imbeciles trying to make mountains out of molehills suggests they have no answers for the real issues.....that's what scares me the most."
Jen - It's not just drive-throughs. I ordered soup at the Food Court in Chinook last week and was given a flat 'dixie cup' type spoon. I asked for a spoon that could actually hold soup and they told me they could not give me one because of the ban. I had to drink the soup from the bowl, noodles and all. I am in principle for trying to reduce waste, but I also agree entirely with your characterization that it is going to be these little poorly conceived irritants one after the other that are going to bring ordinarily very reasonable people to the brink....
I can hardly wait for the drive thru video. This is amazing.
Also, you can buy plastic bags on Amazon too. I can’t remember fabric bags to save my life. But I can keep a stack of t shirt bags in my car and then reuse them as an actual garbage bag in my house. No guilt here. And if I happen to remember to bring them in? They say thank you on them. Lol. Passive aggressive? Yes. But I feel better than paying $1 a bag because of the stupid Edmonton bylaw that forces superstore to charge $1 minimum when surrounding areas charge 35 cents for their polyester (not fabric) semi-reusable bags (as long as you don’t puncture or catch them on anything that first use)
Also liberals are done and the sooner the next election comes, the better. Though I sure hope the conservatives have more of a plan than they’ve talked about. We need real solutions and I just don’t think the liberals are capable of them.
In terms of the Liberals trying to 'ride this fear' - I've seen it in action with my own NDP MP - same mentality. We were at a small public activity, very casual, but she was there as our MP and when she was done her little speech we ended up chatting with her just socially. It was all quite nice until she mentioned being in the House of Commons with Poilievre and her observation was that he was 'quite scary'. It was just such an unnecessary, frankly stupid comment. I took it to be a party line comment but it really dropped her off the cliff in my evaluation. I've voted NDP, Liberal and Green in the past, but these type of dumb comments are really an insult to my intelligence and I won't vote for someone who thinks I'm that stupid.
I contextualize the use of a “scary” descriptor of Poilievre by progressives to mean that the glory days of the pendulum swing out on the far left is over. Canadians are fed up with the institutional sepsis brought on by a distorted focus on race and gender issues that progressives have incessantly pushed. Meanwhile, homes are unaffordable, rent is unaffordable, groceries are unaffordable and progressives are reading the scary writing on the wall. Their political careers are on the line and they are about to face their own unaffordable crisis.
What is PP going to do about any of the (very real) problems you describe? Apparently Justin Trudeau has caused all of them and when PP replaces Trudeau it will magically be 1972 again. If you break down what he says he's often lying but he does it fast and with confidence so it's hard to catch. He's been an ideological warrior his whole life which will likely lead to privatized medicine, no action on AGW (because who doesn't want to smell burning pine all summer) and statues of Charles Koch everywhere. And let's not forget his Republican-style voter suppression shenanigans as Pierre Poutine. I'll be glad to see the end of Trudeau, too, but can't we do better than an Incel Mussolini?
I know that The Line editors cringe at the comment section overflowing, but I will say this:
The Trudeau Liberals may be guilty by association for many things but they have to carry the can for some things that they do oversee.
One is speculation money that has flooded the housing market, especially in Toronto and Vancouver. Some of this money is dirty money that is being laundered through real estate deals. What is the Federal government doing about this problem? Cracking down, but on the low hanging fruit that are just trying to make a living. I made a deposit of CASH under $100 into my bank account recently and had to show ID. I’m a serious FINTRAC risk, it appears but how about the fictitious companies who are buying and flipping homes in Vancouver?
McDonald's has a 4 can dine promo available through the app. Unfortunately, the Terms state "Bottle deposits and packaging fees applicable where required by local law". Looking forward to the video. I feel sorry for the drive-through staff who have to fumble with unbagged items and deal with irate customers.
Worst City of Calgary Council ever!
Edmonton has the same stupid bylaw. I do wonder how drive thru sales have changed since it started. Calgary likely just had to join Edmonton in the stupidity
Thank you, Jen for calling out the freezing of the bank accounts for exactly what it was - total banana republic shit. That point seems to get lost in all the focus on the threshold question of whether it was justified to invoke the Emergencies Act in the first place. I actually don't think the invocation was a close call at all - absolutely no way it should have been invoked.
However. For the sake of argument I will GIVE you the invocation of the Act. But to then go after the bank accounts is fucking gob-smacking! Seriously. It is TOTAL banana republic shit!! Framing this as a debate over the threshold question allows these clowns in cabinet to skate on the one truly unspeakable act in the whole sordid mess that was the convoy.
And while Matt may think that WRT the threshold question there is not much distance between Roleau and Mosley, on the bank accounts point, Mosley could not have been clearer. That was not a close call for him at all and he himself barely stopped short of literally calling it banana republic shit.
Nor should he have. They had no rational pint to make, were effectively trying to blackmail the government....oh yes, and they destroyed any credibility they might have had when they signed on with Bauder.
I'll ignore the tone and say we'll agree to disagree. The truckers all got vaccinated and the US had the same rules making the Convoys' initial argument utterly irrelevant.
Both of those "thats" are nothing more than speculative unsupported opinion.
Truckers aren't solitary. They're actually critical disease vectors precisely because they travel so widely and intermingle with so many people. They're not welded into their cabs, right?
African long-haul truckers, for example, were a major vector for the spread of AIDS within Africa.
Honestly, Vancouver had worse with the Stanley Cup riots and the rioting in the streets near the start of the 2010 Olympics. A lot of people seem to have forgotten that. The negative energy in the air was palpable. Mayor Robertson had totally dropped the ball. It was a mess. The energy changed, though. I can't recall how or why, but I think everyday people who were kind of meh about the Olympics decided to embrace them.
Canada started winning Golds......the switch flipped in an instant. And messed up as they were in many ways, they were a fabulous Olympic Games.
Oh, they did indeed turn out well, but the riot was insane. And not a single bouncy castle to be seen.
Jen: I bought plastic straws (and spoon straws for slushies!) on Amazon, and I don't really feel bad about it. There's so much to deal with in a day and things the govt has done that irritate the hell out of me. The little things, like convenient non-dissolving straws, help keep me sane :)
I have them in my cart too. Waiting for summer. When I’ll also be ordering plastic cutlery for camping season. The birch stuff is the worst shape ever.
I stocked up on plastic cutlery from Costco back in the fall, have 2 gigantic boxes.
Tsk. Tsk. Lol.
I can’t wait to listen to this on my drive home tonight!
After taking the burger in your bare hands unbagged I can just hear them say, "Would you like fries with that?"
Then you say, "Oh, and I'd like some ketchup," at which point things start dropping all over the ground.
"Would you like a broom with that?"
Gross? I can see quibbling about how he phrases things, or whether his jokes are funny or not. But his ideas are spot on
His ideas on the Great Replacement Theory? Or that Dominion threw the election and Trump really won? JG
Well, if Great Replacement is about white, I get it. I think it's better to see it through the lens of ideas. Does anyone here really want more people on the street pro-Hamas chanting? So whether by birth, immigration or education, there is real problem of Western values being replaced/eroded/disregarded/insert word here. As for Dominion, that person in Atlanta who changed the machine with a pen sure has a point. So no, Dominion didn't throw anything, but there's no way there isn't some problem (and Smith just pledged to get rid of vote tabulators). Now, maybe it's a step too far to do translating on Tucker's words, but I'd rather think through what he's saying even when it causes an eye roll. Plus, getting people to eye roll is part of his thing....that's just the way it is today. Trump, Trudeau, AOC, Singh, Tucker, Hannity.....eye rolls abound.
The "benefit of hindsight" is a major pillar of our judicial system. I don't know why some people think it devalues this decision (not saying that the Line eds implied that, but I've heard others say it). If, on appeal, some future judge says that the freezing of bank accounts is a-okay, we all have a lot to worry about. No Canadian, regardless of political stripe, should support such bullshit.
A great podcast as always, thank you Matt and Jen.
Jen, I share your annoyance regarding bans of plastic straws and fees for paper bags.
The only plus side for these particular policies, and I assume it is an unintended consequence, is that I eat less fast food and drink fewer pops, slurpies or milkshakes due to the hassle factor. And who wants to taste dissolving paper straws?
Rather ironically, in Edmonton at least, there are serious challenges in terms of public safety, homelessness and deaths from illicit drugs. While not all of these things are solely the responsibility of the City, I can’t help but feeling that implementing fees for paper bags takes time and attention that might be better spent on more pressing issues.
why does Danielle Smith feel compelled to seek affirmation from an affluent, ivy league, elite white man like Tucker Carlson?
The same reason why someone might be compelled to seek affirmation by calling out Danielle Smith
Touché!
I so enjoy this podcast. You two capture the ennui and disgust most Canadians feel about our constant political circus. Even my rather apolitical wife enjoys listening, delighting in your constant proclamations of the stupid stupidity that happens on a daily basis in this country.
While I love you guys you come out overly Cassandra ish on this one. Sadly nobody ever tries to explain President Trumps appeal to his base in spite of his rants. It’s very simple : working ass republicans for the first time in years are recognized as and see themselves as winners instead of being sneered at by the wealthy? elites. ( which is what sadly Nikki Hayley is discovering. And if you fail to consider Canadas class/language wars in the election results you wind up with a shit circus based on personalities.
Trumps approach is like two pro wrestlers saying to each other “ I’m gonna rip your head off and shit in your neck hole”. And then they have a drink,help each other with Ben Gay and drive to the next town’s match. (BTW looking it up Trump actually a participated in match with the owner of world wrestling entertainment.
Only a daft grown idiot, not even a preteen on a family outing would take this stuff seriously But between independent? presstitutes and government subsidized legacy media the election will of course be presented in these
Terms
And by the way presenting a greasy COVIDy paper bag to a teenage drive through MacDonald’s attendant to put your food in I believe to be a pretty sad thing. Surely you can do better.
Keep em coming
We write about Canadian politics, man. Trumpmania isn't really our wheelhouse. JG
Thanks for the quick. response. I wasn’t suggesting you were remiss but it seems to me that Canadian politics are a xarbob
What is a xarbob?
Maybe not the best week to link Trump to Vince McMahon.
Can’t wait for the video.
Lets deal with what's important first. McDonalds fires, fresh and hot used to be a magnificent food group until they went to vegetable oil. If there was ever anything to have a national commission about, it would be that. It's a tragedy from which I still have no recovered.
The next election will be like Question Period...a national embarrassment. The choices are terrible. The incumbent is as useful as a screen door on a submarine. The challenger is a serial lying spin-doctor and the most detestable Canadian politician I've encountered in the 20 years I've been paying any attention. Everything Pierre says is meaningless until the platform comes out, and I expect it will be extremely vague. He is not Trump, but he does court the Trump mindset. So, today, I will vote strategically to defeat the Conservative. That they are all acting like imbeciles trying to make mountains out of molehills suggests they have no answers for the real issues.....that's what scares me the most.
And as far as I'm concerned, drive-throughs should be banned for anyone who doesn't have a kid in a car seat in the back. I'll see 20 cars lined up at the drive through (and ordering something tasted at the Tim's one should be ended by an Order in Council), walk into the store and be first at the counter. Get out and walk people; we all need the exercise.
Tucker is just an idiot. People who listen to idiots don't get smarter.
"That they are all acting like imbeciles trying to make mountains out of molehills suggests they have no answers for the real issues.....that's what scares me the most."
You really nailed it with that sentence.
Jen - It's not just drive-throughs. I ordered soup at the Food Court in Chinook last week and was given a flat 'dixie cup' type spoon. I asked for a spoon that could actually hold soup and they told me they could not give me one because of the ban. I had to drink the soup from the bowl, noodles and all. I am in principle for trying to reduce waste, but I also agree entirely with your characterization that it is going to be these little poorly conceived irritants one after the other that are going to bring ordinarily very reasonable people to the brink....
I can hardly wait for the drive thru video. This is amazing.
Also, you can buy plastic bags on Amazon too. I can’t remember fabric bags to save my life. But I can keep a stack of t shirt bags in my car and then reuse them as an actual garbage bag in my house. No guilt here. And if I happen to remember to bring them in? They say thank you on them. Lol. Passive aggressive? Yes. But I feel better than paying $1 a bag because of the stupid Edmonton bylaw that forces superstore to charge $1 minimum when surrounding areas charge 35 cents for their polyester (not fabric) semi-reusable bags (as long as you don’t puncture or catch them on anything that first use)
Also liberals are done and the sooner the next election comes, the better. Though I sure hope the conservatives have more of a plan than they’ve talked about. We need real solutions and I just don’t think the liberals are capable of them.