Federal Government & Politics II

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Marshsparrow

I saw the clip from This Hour Has 22 Minutes - if that is how Pierre goes off script we are in big trouble - he sounded like Porky Pig. Saw another video of how other politicians have responded - Harper, Mulroney, Martin, Chretien, Ford, McKay - all were great, played along and were able to see the humour in it... BUT not Pierre - he has no class.

PP has very thin skin. It will be interesting to see him in the hot seat taking even half the abuse Trudeau gets.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by ConundrumNL

I always wondered what the Federal gameplan would be for this. They'd probably just have to except an exclave.

They could try to negotiate for a narrow land bridge between Ontario and New Brunswick. I think it's a non-starter, the residents of the purposed land bridge wouldn't be to happy about staying in Canada after if the majority voted to leave.

Absolute non-starter, as it would either create a Quebec exclave in exchange for the Canadian exclave not being one anymore (why would Quebec accept that?) or else cut Quebec off from its southern neighbor and major trade partner.

If sovereignty happens it will be with everyone keeping their current borders. No question about that.

[MolsonExport]

The First Nations in Northern Quebec may see things differently.

[ConundrumNL]

Originally Posted by lio45

Absolute non-starter, as it would either create a Quebec exclave in exchange for the Canadian exclave not being one anymore (why would Quebec accept that?) or else cut Quebec off from its southern neighbor and major trade partner.

If sovereignty happens it will be with everyone keeping their current borders. No question about that.

It would be a messy situation for sure. Anyone in the exclave (be it Canada's or Quebec) is going to feel alienated from the rest of country, you could see sovereignty movements spring up there.

I wonder in the event of a successful sovereignty vote if we'd actually end up with a restructured Canada with a new constitution providing additional powers for the provinces rather then separate countries. Like the parties involved would come to the realization of the mess a complete separation would create (think Brexit).

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

The First Nations in Northern Quebec may see things differently.

Aside from hydroelectric/mining concerns, does Quebec really even want the Northern bit? Solomon that baby!

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

The First Nations in Northern Quebec may see things differently.

Indeed. Especially since many of the natives up there (especially in Nunavik) speak English and not French.



I can see this area being hived off and either joining NL or NU. The James Bay Cree might also petition to stay in Canada. Quebec could lose over half it's territory.

Of course, the Quebec government could allow these areas to be "special autonomous zones" where English is tolerated, but there is a certain cognitive dissonance in allowing aboriginals in the north to speak English, while denying the same right to native anglophones in the west island area of Montreal.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Nashe

Aside from hydroelectric/mining concerns, does Quebec really even want the Northern bit? Solomon that baby!

Those are HUGE concerns though. As I've mentioned many times before, I do think given the limited number of groups involved (really just the Inuit and the Cree) and their small populations, I do think there would be a lot of room for Quebec to offer them a sweetheart deal (financial and self-governance) that Canada-sans-Québec probably could not realistically match.

I'd add that while these Indigenous groups do have a strong moral and PR case, they don't have much legal ground to stand on that supports the regions they inhabit splitting off from Quebec to remain with Canada.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by casper

Let me finish that sentence for you.....

.... back to a stable 2% inflation rate. Setting the stage for reductions in the rate of inflation back down to historically low levels.

While at the same time expanding services for the most vulnerable in our society and providing a just transition into a greener economy.

I say that understanding exports of oil and gas has seen significant growth under this Liberal government...

Sure, its all working out so well for Canadians!

Our cost-of-living crisis: In just three years rent has doubled, groceries are up nearly 40 per cent. There are solutions
There are solutions to Canada's sky-high cost of living, writes David Olive, but the problem will not go away on its own.
David Olive Star Business Columnist
Saturday, March 23, 2024

To understand the new populism that has begun to drive our politics, visit the supermarket.

Prices are no longer spiralling upward. But neither, in the main, are they coming down to pre-pandemic levels. Not even close.

Prices are still stuck at the elevated levels to which historically high inflation rates pushed them.

They haven’t even returned to where they were three years ago, as I learned from pricing a basket of 18 household items I selected for comparison with March 2021, exactly three years ago....

.... Meanwhile, data collected by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) shows that monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Toronto in March 2021 averaged $1,680.

Three years later, the average asking rent for a two-bedroom Toronto apartment on Rentals.ca is $3,287, a near doubling in basic shelter costs.

“If you were only to look at macroeconomic metrics, Canada’s situation would be the envy of most of the world,” economist Armine Yalnizyan, Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers, told me.

But “the two things that no household can duck — shelter and food — are significantly more costly today than before the pandemic began.”....

https://www.thestar.com/business/opi...27d23a241.html

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Of course, the Quebec government could allow these areas to be "special autonomous zones" where English is tolerated, but there is a certain cognitive dissonance in allowing aboriginals in the north to speak English, while denying the same right to native anglophones in the west island area of Montreal.

That's most definitely a type of cognitive dissonance that Quebec could easily live with. Trust me.

Note also that the Indigenous people of these areas aren't necessarily in love with the English language. It's just what was imposed on them and now they are familiar with it so it's more practical for them to use than French. Like almost all Indigenous groups they're more than anything keen on re-invigorating their own languages and expanding their usage in their communities.

[Truenorth00]

Everybody focused on the Chinese scientist at the lab. Meanwhile, it turns out we gave immigration to an ex-PLA Lt Col who was teaching at their information warfare school and now CBSA is trying to deport him.

https://globalnews.ca/news/10351645/...ttacks-canada/

[Bcasey25raptor]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I am pretty sure that such a referendum (by English Canada) would resoundingly vote for Quebec to stay. More so, perhaps, than Alberta, which has increasingly been the more problematic of the two provinces, vis a vis the confederation.

This, I'd vote to keep Quebec but Throw Alberta out

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by lio45

Absolute non-starter, as it would either create a Quebec exclave in exchange for the Canadian exclave not being one anymore (why would Quebec accept that?) or else cut Quebec off from its southern neighbor and major trade partner.

If sovereignty happens it will be with everyone keeping their current borders. No question about that.

There's no question in Quebec, but MOC has never seriously considered the matter.

[Bcasey25raptor]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

I actually wonder what will happen to the Liberal party after 2025. My guess is that they'll start crawling back and may force the Conservatives into a minority government in 2029, but I don't think they'll be the governing party. They may not even be the official opposition. It might be in their interest to anoint a disposable leader, a la Stephane Dion or Michael Ignatieff in 2025, and save the charismatic person to lead them to victory in the 2030s when the Conservatives are long in the tooth.

But the 2030s will be demographically different. They've really burned their bridges with millennials and Gen Z, and many of the older, boomer voters that have saved them will either be dead or in nursing homes.

I don't know who will form their base and what their priorities will be.

Voters are about to vote Conservative even though Harper was a disaster.
Voters have memories of gold fish, they'll forget within 5-10 years the Trudeau record

[Hecate]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Everybody focused on the Chinese scientist at the lab. Meanwhile, it turns out we gave immigration to an ex-PLA Lt Col who was teaching at their information warfare school and now CBSA is trying to deport him.

https://globalnews.ca/news/10351645/...ttacks-canada/

Well there was gonna be a probe looking into how those two Chinese spies got clearance into our most secure laboratory. But our brilliant prime minister and his magnificent lap dog didn’t seem it necessary. Could have possibly shed some light on how useless our government run agencies are at screening immigrants.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by ConundrumNL

I always wondered what the Federal gameplan would be for this. They'd probably just have to except an exclave.

They could try to negotiate for a narrow land bridge between Ontario and New Brunswick. I think it's a non-starter, the residents of the purposed land bridge wouldn't be to happy about staying in Canada after if the majority voted to leave.

It would take some time but the Maritimes would be part of New England as culturally and historically there have always been strong ties.There is a very interesting book out called the eleven Nations of North America. It explains the cultural and historic under pinnings of why certain parts of NA are the way they are.I always feel more comfortable in Boston than I ever have in Toronto for instance.The Maritimes are the northern jurisdictions of the original New England.

[Hecate]

What people need to remember is that this is just one guy and his wife. China was operating police agencies out of strip malls and condos. So most likely there are thousands of Chinese foreign agents living amongst us. And China shouldn’t be singled out. There are unsavoury people from all over the world calling Canada home because of our lack of standards. Just look at the stolen vehicles being shipped out of Canada to Africa and the Middle East. We’re also a haven for money laundering. So yeah lots of people dropped the ball in this country… lots of people.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Hecate

What people need to remember is that this is just one guy and his wife. China was operating police agencies out of strip malls and condos. So most likely there are thousands of Chinese foreign agents living amongst us. And China shouldn’t be singled out. There are unsavoury people from all over the world calling Canada home because of our lack of standards. Just look at the stolen vehicles being shipped out of Canada to Africa and the Middle East. We’re also a haven for money laundering. So yeah lots of people dropped the ball in this country… lots of people.

Has it been established that the perps were born outside Canada?

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Everybody focused on the Chinese scientist at the lab. Meanwhile, it turns out we gave immigration to an ex-PLA Lt Col who was teaching at their information warfare school and now CBSA is trying to deport him.

https://globalnews.ca/news/10351645/...ttacks-canada/

And it comes out on a day this story broke n the USA:

U.S. Accuses Chinese Hackers of Targeting Critical Infrastructure in America
The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the hackers, who they said were working as a front for Beijing’s top spy agency.
By David E. Sanger and Alan Rappeport
March 25, 2024

The United States imposed sanctions on Chinese hackers on Monday and accused them of working as a front for Beijing’s top spy agency, part of a broad effort to place malware in American electric grids, water systems and other critical infrastructure.

The sanctions were a major escalation of what has become an increasingly heated contest between the Biden administration and Beijing.

While there have been no cases so far in which the Chinese government has turned off essential services, American intelligence agencies have warned in recent months that the malware appeared to be intended for use if the United States were coming to the aid of Taiwan.

By turning off critical services to military bases, and to civilian populations, China would try, according to a series of intelligence findings, to turn Americans inward — worrying about their own supplies of electricity, food and water rather than assisting a distant island that Beijing claims as its own.

The sanctions were part of a joint effort between the United States and Britain to crack down on Chinese hacking into vital services...

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/25/b...sanctions.html

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Dartguard

It would take some time but the Maritimes would be part of New England as culturally and historically there have always been strong ties.There is a very interesting book out called the eleven Nations of North America. It explains the cultural and historic under pinnings of why certain parts of NA are the way they are.I always feel more comfortable in Boston than I ever have in Toronto for instance.The Maritimes are the northern jurisdictions of the original New England.

I am from Maritimer families on both sides, and while I think this is very true historically, 21st century Atlantic Canada is way more psychologically, emotionally and socially attached to Canada than it is to any part of the US, including New England.

[Hecate]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Has it been established that the perps were born outside Canada?

Lolz

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../101984028.cms