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The world demand for oil will continue for decades. I'm all for a more sustainable energy source, and as soon as one is developed which is economically competitive with oil I'm all for switching over. But that is not presently the case. And we need to develop and export resources and get people back to work. This bullshit about taxing industry for their fuel use only serves to drive them offshore. How does it help the environment if a manufacturer relocates to China? It doesn't. It just costs us jobs. Ontario hasn't had a new auto plant in a decade because the Ontario and federal Liberal governments make it too expensive. All the new manufacturing facilities Magna and others have constructed have been in the US or Mexico, where energy is cheap and they face no carbon taxes.

America cannot "annex" Canada, and certainly doesn't want to. The original Articles of Confederation included a provision for Canada to join the Union, but that was stricken in the final U.S. Constitution. Even if Canadians wanted this to happen (far most don't), the process as defined in the U.S. Constitution requires enabling legislation and overwhelming support in Congress. Republicans would rail against admitting so many "states" that would lean far more to the left and align with Democrats more than the GOP. There are few advantages and far more liabilities to the United States and Canada in pursuing such a move.

Hate of self isn't necessarily wrong, if it leads to transformation to a better person. But anything taken to extremes is harmful, so we should not hate ourselves too much. Remember that we are all struggling in life and are bound to make mistakes. That is where the concept of forgiveness comes in, and should also include forgiveness of the self.

I give Doug Ford credit for choosing leadership over partisanship. He's doing "the people" a solid, at expense of businesses. And ... takeout delivery lcbo are solid. Thx Doug! https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/covid-19-coronavirus-ontario-monday-1.5506445

lol no not exactly like Bernie & Joe, lovely lady. Although definitely like the average geriatric USA citizen, for sure: "...Trump had an advantage among 50- to 64-year-old voters (51% to 45%) and those 65 and older (53% to 44%)..."

Beyond finding more asymptomatic cases, Germany’s high testing rate may mean diagnosing symptomatic cases earlier. They also have an unusually large number of ICU beds per capita. Within Germany, there is a suggestion that the eastern part has a lower rate of infection; some have hypothesized this may be due to its higher rate of BCG immunization.

whoa, I was just quoting the author of the remark, so I could match the author's context within my response. I agre with you about the USA.

It also seems to be in human beings nature to apologize for their governments failings. Looks like it's an even bigger act of will to say we screwed up. It's also our nature to change our own nature and not just be pawns to our baser selves. It's up to us to demand more robust institutions of accountability. They're not just going to happen on their own.

Seconded

Can't speak to that, but my partner had to go to the ER for a non-covid related issue last week. Nobody waiting in emergency or in triage. At the very least, this is an indication of how many people unnecessarily visit ER on any given day.

My relative would agree with you - Trump is the bees knees. Do you also expect Galactic Beings to come save us, for the internet to be shut down, and for Trump to make an announcement that will make everybody very happy, and make life so much better - we'll have everything we need or want, won't have to go to work any more and money will become a thing of the past! Just how far does your delusion go?

The reason there was an immediate lack of action in China is two fold. First, they had no way of knowing what they were dealing with. Second, a major shortcoming in their system is the response by senior officals to bad news from junior officals. When you are a local official and a plague breaks out, you know clearly that if you report it, you will be punished. If you shut down the wet market that provides your boss with a money-making side-line, you will be punished. This is true, not only in China but in Russia, the US, Canada (SNC), and Boeing. The first rule of management is to shoot the messenger. It is a rare and extraordinary leader to receive bad news gracefully. As for China being fascist, there are a lot of nasty governments that we deal with. The most successful Prime Minister in the history of the British Empire / Commonwealth sat down for a conversation with Hitler in 1937. He later wrote in his diary that Hitler was the "Joan of Arc of Germany." (William Lyon "Rex" MacKenzie King. Prime Minister of Canada)

A topic to promote racism with virtue signalling and victim cards. both racism and bullying are wrong. Racism doesn't necessarily show though. If it does, it often includes bullying, backbiting or slander. The "severity" of racism or such behaviour depends on the severity of the action. It is no use comparing which is worse, racism or bullying. Their severity is not decided based on the label, but is decided on a case by case basis.

It's not about you or me....no prizes will be awarded either way. Canada chose Trudeau (twice)....America chose Trump.

I think there are going to be a lot of willing Premiers once this blows over, atleast in getting medically prepared. I don't think the time was right for energy east, , the bloc party is not going to support anything in that regards claiming they don't want dirty oil....maybe after this is over they are going to be more willing to look at it, if not just for the employment factor, I don't get why we have not done it before, purchasing Saudi oil , or refined fuels of the states makes no sense at all. a made in Canada solution is what is best for Canada and all the provinces, regardless of our current climate change initiative. Personally I think we should be starting to limit our connection to china. finding other sources for our meat, grains , etc, and oil...I also think if the US wants our crude , perhaps it is a good time to negotiate a new price, more beneficial to our side of the house, (I really don't think they need our crude, I think it's it cheap price that drives the sales to the US.) I also think we should also be looking at stopping all Chinese investment into our resources and business, as many other counties are starting too consider or in the process of doing . Plus start with tariffs on all Chinese products to help with reducing the flow... I also agree we should be getting something out of all this spending and debt, smashing through a national pipeline might be a project to get start reducing our massive unemployment, but part of that project is also building more refineries that are capable of refining bitumen products, I know Irving was suppose to modify or build a refinery but Quebec's new leaders put a hold on all of that. But this would take months to set up and organize and won't happen any time soon.

I have to agree about the US. If we can stick it out until November, maybe the situation will improve. God, I miss Secretary of State George Marshall. When we come out the other side, a quiet review of our foreign policy will be in order. I don't seriously advocate allying with China.

I'm sad. It's been over two weeks and I haven't heard back... oh well... The US is still a better friend than China but we're probably a better match with Europe right now.

It’s time to think about a class action lawsuit against China. Something like $50 trillion dollars should do the trick.

The Democrats' primary campaign season has been effectively muted by current events. Biden and Sanders are stuck in their basements, while Trump appears on the national stage nearly every day...acting..."presidential" in his own unique way. Raging supporters have largely lost any real impact because the pandemic and economic disaster consumes most of the bandwidth, even on Twitter. States are scrambling to try and figure out how to complete the primary elections safely, let along the November general election. Bernie isn't even a Democrat, and clearly has not captured the same energy as in 2016. Biden wins the nomination come August in Milwaukee after the usual floor battles and drama that often marks DNC conventions. My opinion is that most American voters will not embrace "democratic socialism" at a time of crisis, and this favours Biden no matter how pissed off the Bernie bros may be. Revolutionaries may see this crisis as an opportunity, but it will be hard to make wholesale changes while America is in survival mode. Biden made this point effectively against Sanders in their last debate. It's a tactical win for debate points, and strategically contrasts major changes vs. the exigencies of today (pandemic). Sanders' crew will not be able to capitalize on this pandemic. Even Mike Bloomberg folded like a cheap suit after bragging about how he improved access to health care for New Yorkers. Universal health care insurance is a core Canadian value and indentity differentiator vis-a-vis Americans...not so much in the USA. Plus there are much larger fiscal issues that are blowing up federal and state debt because of previous deficits, bailouts, rebates, loans, etc. Health care will be just another disaster on the list. It is little wonder that some Millennials hope that COVID-19 will be a "Boomer Remover".

Carter's economic pandemic was tracked by a "misery index", which incorporated inflation and unemployment. Carter used this index to bash Gerald Ford in the 1976 election, only to have it come back to bite him in the ass. The oil embargo and Iran hostage crisis just contributed to the real and perceived "malaise", another term that became popular at the time. Trump doesn't have a problem for inflation and high interest rates, but unemployment will spike very high, even if only temporarily. The flawed misery index of the past has been updated to include interest rates and economic growth. Joe Biden and the right VP selection will give Trump a decent fight in the 6 to 10 swing states that matter. The down ballot for Senate and House will also be impacted. If the Bernie bros turn out for Biden after all, then Trump will need a strong bump from a return to some sense of economic normalcy and stability before November to win. The health care issue still has political bite, but not because of single payer and the pandemic....just look at Spain and Italy right now. U.S. healthcare insurance is not totally for-profit...it's about a 60/40 split with government (Medicare, Medicaid, VA, SCHIP, etc.), and private insurance through employment or open market.

RBG looks like she might live longer than the rest of them....providing her cancer issues don't return:

Well, some common sense malcontents are beginning to rear their ugly heads; why aren't the police throwing these people in jail? Does anyone pause and reflect on the absolute poverty of data for exponential growth anywhere in the world? There is proportional growth in cases to test administered, but no exponential growth. Should that not assuage a little of the fear, make for some sober second thought on whether all-out tyranny is the proper choice? Police officers in Ontario will now have the right to stop and have the public identify themselves or face hefty fines for violating their orders, according to a new power granted by the province of Ontario using the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA).

Any equipment or PPE ordered from abroad is vulnerable to a higher bidder until it gets across our border. We may see outright confiscation of such precious cargo en route by third countries before the end of this.

Well one barrier to doing things in the national interest has been interprovincial disagreement. I think that one of the biggest mistakes the Feds have made is not bringing in Energy East. Quebec is foolish not to embrace guaranteed access to Alberta oil. The US and China will burn through and become dependent on our oil and natural gas pipelines. We should be refining and using our own oil. Right now that may seem completely unnecessary, but a huge part of independence is energy independence. Trudeau Senior understood this. We should at least pipe it to Ontario refineries. Even if we don’t bother much with that oil now, it’s an important national infrastructure project. Maybe those willing workers who test negative can use this time to build the infrastructure of tomorrow. Subways and high speed rail. It beats paying money for nothing and keeps up morale.

Would that be harder or easier than being forced to learn Arabic? Is it just me or do the Before Times seem as distant as a couple of shoppers at Walmart? I can't recall if they were happier or just as meh as always.

I think the solution may come from the consumers themselves, forcing their governments to take some sort of punitive action against China, Australia's government is looking hard at doing just that, it so happened that some major Companies in Australia owned by the Chinese government instructed their Chinese employees to buy up massive amounts of masks ,gowns, other medical supplies to the tune of 1000 tones and flew it to China....It's got them in a little tizzy… anyway now they are changing the laws in regarding how much a foreign country can invest or purchase Businesses and resources to zero, still in their parliamentary process. During a news exposé they clearly showed their dairy industry , meaning farms, distribution, advertising, where almost 90 % Chinese owned and operated....along with many , many more business within their country. they have been talks about seizing all these assets. This may be the wake up call everyone has been waiting for...China has been buying up everything in sight, from business and resources and western nations have allowed this to go unchecked for dozens of years...take a look at the oil sands and how much Chinese funding is involved. They seem to have unlimited amount of funds, and nothing makes a western bend over faster , than suit cases full of money...until one day we wake up and find the Chinese flag hanging over Ottawa....man that would be a liberals' wet dream , OK maybe not every liberals dream, but certainly Justins. think French is hard to learn....try Mandarin. Anyways I think we can all agree a lot of things are going to change, once we come out of this nightmare, maybe it will take a wage review, along with a product pricing review, maybe it is time to tax the shit out of everything imported from China....Not that I'm a big trump fan but in NAFTA ,Mexico labor for veh manufactures was force to increase what they payed their workers.. maybe the same can happen in china...take some of their advantage away.... or maybe our entire market gets a reset, and government nationalize critical manufacture needs such as medical equipment, medicines, etc . then tax the crap out of everything....

Well a few things. We need strong global entities to deal with global problems like pandemics, pollution of air and water, climate change, and clearly oppressive regimes. There will remain a need for some form of global policing or else smaller and more vulnerable countries will be invaded, minority or vulnerable groups will be mistreated or murdered, and people in countries with strong environmental standards will be impacted by the terrible disregard of air and water quality by bad actors. I also think that trade must be more closely tied to standards on the environment, labour, and obvious human rights. Countries shouldn’t be able to sell into our markets with what are essentially forms of slave labour, obviously. On the other hand, national governments should be serving local human development goals and seeking to export those standards in foreign policy, but through economic measures rather than military ones, unless clear oppression is taking place. Intervention in other countries shouldn’t happen against the will of the peoples of those countries and without a clear mandate from voters The aftermath and clean up costs must be factored into the proposals, as they must be for domestic resource development. Redistributing power isn’t easy, because sometimes the people who are empowered simply don’t have the means or expertise to run systems of governance, which is why revolutions are generally bad news. Look at Zimbabwe, Russia, China... There can be no true independence without self-sustainability. There’s nothing wrong with a certain amount of interdependence, but we need to be able to batten down the hatches in crisis. With regard to the mission to end in camera lobbying and political decision making, while I agree in principle, there is a certain amount of honest discussion that, if under public scrutiny, would lead to a kind of mob entanglement. It happens when the wise and capable technocrats run up against the angry and ill-informed. Presenting the findings and using data-based decision making is necessary, but we elect people who represent what we want, recognizing that their wishes won’t please everyone, and we have to be careful not to empower the dangerous and ignorant few, who can bring our economy to a standstill if they think that they have a right to destroy what has been approved by our regulatory bodies and democratic governments. Trudeau has dabbled dangerously in that. His dad knew when it was time to bring down the hammer on the FLQ. Junior is naive.

Ford has made a surprising pivot into the kind of Bill Davis centrism that has made Ontario so strong. I hope he stays that way because that’s how you win the long game of responsible government. Taxme isn’t all wrong in his suspicions about the virus, however, and I think we have to be very careful that we aren’t importing a way of living that, if extended unreasonably long, might crush the human spirit. This ain't China. We need to make sure we don’t give into a way of life that is unnecessarily difficult. I’m sure some aspects of life must permanently change, but the current lockdown and suspension of certain freedoms must be temporary.

Well, this is gonna be awkward for Biden to explain when the campaign starts up again. I hope he has a good answer prepared. Biden campaign says he backs Trump's China travel ban https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/03/politics/joe-biden-trump-china-coronavirus/index.html

Just make sure you cite my name, as it’s automatically copyright protected. Lol.

Yes, this sounds like the normal postwar liberal economic program. It's called charity and this guy Jesus was way into it. It's terrifying to communists and despots like Russia, Saudi, China and their brainwashed meme-hypnotized sheep in the free world.

So long as she doesn't find out that all you do all day is post on obscure internet forums.

1. Yeah I suppose so. Do you think maybe Toronto Council should meet and discuss the Eglinton LRT timeline now ? Maybe some other topic ? 2. I had no idea so few people in this world understood the concept of prioritization.

1. Unity. It means we should adjust for the times. 2. Maybe. Let's start a long discussion about trade policy in Europe right now, why not. 3. Easy for you to say. You should have seen the dolts in my Facebook feed overjoyed by Sophie Trudeau getting the virus. Just an anecdote but ... wow. I don't see anybody gunning for Ford, or nitpicking his choices. I do see people wishing death on Trump, Rand Paul, and Mitch McConnell. Trump himself seemed pretty pleased that Romney got it. That's a different kind of sickness.

I notice most left of centre folks are ok with Doug in this time of crisis, and parking the discussion of less important issues. On myFacebook feed, rightistas are taking the time to criticize Trudeau's refugee policy. Just an observation.

Typical yankee talk. The Queen is fine and William appears quite capable. Chuck will become King but die quickly strangling himself with one of Camilla's panty hose and then King William will rule and all will be well.

Which would collapse the world's economy quicker than the black death. Every Chinese product sold in the west is making money for the importers and retailers and saving money for the hard pressed consumers who choose to buy it. Besides, if you did stop buying Chinese goods production would simply move to the next cheap labour nation along the line. The only way to compete with cheap labour nations for productivity is to lower your own wages or automate, neither of which is going to help Joe Bloggs struggling to pay his mortgage and put food on the table.

Oh God, don't encourage him to talk.

The Trudeau gov is too busy making the Saudis PO'd over human rights accusations (which will accomplish virtually nothing) to be PO'd that the Saudis have been jacking up OPEC and Saudi oil production in order cripple the Canadian oil industry (among other Saudi competitors). OPEC is a pact of oil-producing developing countries formed to use leverage against Western oil and political interests, and it works. We need to wake up to our competitors.

At the very least we should do everything we can to stop them increasing their influence in Canada. They have been busily spending millions of dollars buying politicians like Trudeau (like the whole Liberal party), using economic threats and rewards to change university curriculums and reports about China, setting up these 'confucious institutes' to indoctrinate Canadian kids, buying Canadian companies, and sponsoring various events throughout Canada. We should put an end to all of this.China is a cruel, imperial fascist state determined to expand its influence abroad by hook or by crook. We should not be meekly cooperating with that. We need a government which will stand up against this and push back against China. That certainly is not the Trudeau government, as they've been China's whores for years.

I'd do anything to destroy the Chinese economy. They're our #1 enemy.

Ok what is in that koolaid you are drinking. HERE YOU GO BUY HERE'S A SHINY NICKEL. “It’s the legacy of slavery that turned the tip in the United States from a bonus or extra on top of a wage,” Jayaraman argues, “to a wage itself.” https://time.com/5404475/history-tipping-american-restaurants-civil-war/ https://time.com/5404475/history-tipping-american-restaurants-civil-war/ "Tipping started in our country right after the Civil War," Meyer said. "The restaurant industry as well as the Pullman train car industry successfully petitioned the United States government to make a dispensation for our industries that we would not pay our servers, but it wasn't considered slavery because we would ask our customers to pay tips. And therefore no one could say they that were being enslaved. "And, no surprise, but most of the people who were working in service professional jobs and restaurants and in Pullman train cars were African-American," Meyer continued. "That's the history of how it started in this country. You don't see it Asia. You don't see it primarily in most European countries. But that's what it was, and it created a completely false economy." https://www.businessinsider.com/tipping-is-a-hoax-born-out-of-slavery-danny-meyer-says-2017-1

Maybe we should play them off against each other. Pull out of NORAD and offer the Russians or Chinese basing privileges for their navy or something.

It won't work. Americans would never accept our system of government and would never give up their guns.