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I found this Op-Ed, by Cosmin Dzsurdzsa of Juno News, quite enlightening. He discusses the Canadian "cartels" dominated by old, moneyed family dynasties that are running things - Rogers & Shaw in telecommunications (The Digital Services Act), the Irvings (oil & shipbuilding), the Westons (retail). He points out how every sticking point in our current CUSMA trade disputes with the US can be understood through this lens. See what you think: Dear Americans, Canada is run by powerful Cartels Canada as a nation is not particularly difficult to understand if you spend even a small amount of time thinking about how the system actually operates and I think the Americans are starting to catch on. It goes like this: Canadian governments exist, to varying degrees, largely as protectionist rackets with the sole purpose of preserving a series of entrenched industry monopolies and cartels. These cartels are largely dominated by a small number of old, moneyed family dynasties (the Rogers and Shaws in telecommunications, the Irvings in oil and shipbuilding, the Westons in food retail, and many others). For simplicity’s sake, I’ll refer to these powerful, dynamic industry groups as “The Cartels” going forward. This is the basic operating theory of Canadian politics. Once you understand it, almost everything else begins to make sense. Nearly every sticking point in Canada’s ongoing USMCA trade disputes with the United States can be understood through this lens (more on that shortly). First, it’s worth exploring the broader implications of this operating theory. The implication is that virtually every piece of legislation, every policy choice made by the government-of-the-day, and every trade relationship is viewed internally as a zero-sum game: net gains or net losses for The Cartels. The public interest is often secondary and incidental. Canadian governments win or lose elections and sometimes tear themselves apart based on how well they balance the sometimes competing interests of The Cartels. Some of The Cartels are more closely aligned with Conservative governments, others with Liberal ones. But the most powerful and deeply entrenched of The Cartels almost always emerge unscathed, regardless of which party is in power. By far, the Liberal party, often self-indulgently described by Canada’s Laurentian elites as the country’s “natural governing party” has proven the most adept at protecting cartel interests. The Liberals excel at this game because they understand how to obscure the underlying reality: that laws and decisions are made primarily to protect monopolies, by wrapping those decisions in branding that appeals to Canadian identity, culture, sentimentality, or phoney nationalism. Take dairy as a clear example. For those unaware, dairy and other agricultural goods in Canada are determined by a supply management system, essentially a central planning system where bureaucrats determine quotas, supply and dictate pricing. Supply management has been a persistent flashpoint in USMCA negotiations. U.S. President Donald Trump has personally called out Canada’s "250% tax" on dairy products, and American negotiators have repeatedly pushed to put dairy access on the table, much to Ottawa’s chagrin. Why won’t Ottawa budge? The answer is simple: the dairy cartel. Within Canada, and especially within Conservative circles, much has already been said about the outsized political influence of the dairy cartel across both major federal parties. Anyone who witnessed the 2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership race will quickly see how radioactive this issue became (but that is a separate can of worms best left unopened here). What matters is that the dairy cartel is not merely influential; it is legally entrenched. Entire statutory frameworks and government bodies exist, namely the Farm Products Agencies Act and the Canadian Dairy Commission, solely to serve their interests. This is cartel behaviour, formalized by law. Now consider the Digital Services Act. As recently as yesterday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick explicitly raised this issue while speaking at the World Economic Forum, calling out Canada’s insistence on taxing U.S. digital products. What’s notable is that opposition to Canada’s digital taxes has been bipartisan in the United States. Even the former U.S. trade representative under Democratic President Joe Biden, Katherine Tai, expressed frustration with Ottawa’s approach and requested dispute settlement over this issue. On this particular tax, Canada has retreated and recently rescinded the tax. But the question remains: why did Canada fight tooth and nail under threat of tariffs and consequences to preserve this tax? Because of the media and telecommunications cartel. The Digital Services Act is only one iteration of an entire web of legislation and trade policy designed to preserve the media/telecoms cartel. The Digital Services Act, the Online Streaming Act, and the Online News Act are all part of the same architecture. These laws are the reason Canadians can no longer access news on Facebook to this day. The media/telecom cartel, organized through lobbying groups such as News Media Canada, successfully pushed these measures through under the guise of fairness and cultural protection. But the underlying reason is far less flattering: Canada’s legacy media sector cannot compete with American firms due to chronic deficiencies in talent, innovation, scale, and human capital. Without protection, subsidization, and forced revenue transfers, the system collapses. The reason I highlight dairy and media/telecom specifically is not only because they are central to Canada’s trade disputes with the United States, but because they illustrate how effectively the Canadian government has sold these protectionist regimes to voters. Supply management is framed as a patriotic necessity. Canadians are told that dairy farmers must dump millions of litres of milk down the drain each year to meet quota targets because Canadian dairy is inherently superior to American dairy. Media subsidies and telecom monopolies are justified as essential to preserving culture, heritage, and a disingenuous "Canadian nationalism." Any appeal to preserving Canadian sovereignty should at this point be considered an appeal to preserving the system of The Cartel I have just laid out for you. These narratives work. They ensured compliance. And it certainly helps that Canada’s media ecosystem itself is thoroughly monopolized (a point I have addressed at length elsewhere). So you see, the system is actually quite simple. The same logic applies to many of Canada’s most questionable laws and trade practices. And to return to my original point: I think Americans are beginning to understand this faster than Ottawa likes to think. For years, Canada’s Laurentian elite appeared to believe they had successfully hoodwinked their American “partners”, that the U.S. was asleep at the wheel while Canada quietly enriched The Cartels and hardened their monopolies, all with a sense of duper's delight. Unfortunately for them, the giant is awake and it’s not falling for the tricks anymore.

This has been Canada's historical reality for several generations, long before Trump. I am old enough to remember a far more independent Canada (going back to PM Lester Pearson), distinct foreign policy, cultural divergence, and closer Commonwealth ties. Canada's U.S. dependencies have increased over time because of choices Canada has made. This can be reversed of course, but not just as knee-jerk reactions to American administrations that will come and go. Trump will have done Canada a huge favour if his policies spur a true Canada First mentality and actions.

I was just watching a clip where Don Lemon claims that people oppose him because hes black and likes it in the pooper. Why do left wingers hide behind this nonsense to excuse poor behavior on their part I.e invading a church service and yelling at women and kids?

the only ones who belong in jail is the far right nuts on this forum and that's a mental health jail mind you 30 days would do alot of you some good

Well Mr. Bumblefodder... The difference is, we idi*ts (capless) don't just read those scientific journals, we unlike you and your fellow non-entities, actually understand what we read.

Don't know enough about the subject but there are people who are exploring the viability of Earth based resources. Pulsar Helium Inc. (AIM/TSXV: PLSR, OTCQB: PSRHF) is advancing what could prove to be the world’s first viable terrestrial source of helium-3. At its Topaz Project in Minnesota, USA, laboratory analysis has confirmed the presence of helium-3 at concentrations that are broadly equivalent to those on the moon. The helium-3 at Topaz is hosted within gas and would be produced via surface gas processing, distinguishing it fundamentally from solid-material mining concepts being considered for the moon. Crucially, this discovery is being advanced within a stable jurisdiction, an increasingly important consideration as governments recognize helium-3 as a strategically significant resource. https://www.share-talk.com/helium-3-scarcity-strategy-and-the-case-for-a-terrestrial-first/

How do the protesters know exactly who ICE is looking for on any given operation and whether they've committed serious crimes or not?

And now another

First arrest

"In 2024, India remained Canada's top source country for immigrants, followed by the Philippines, China, Nigeria, and Cameroon" And a large proportion of Indians are Sikh or Hindu, and Filipinos are Christian.

Dear Americans, Canada is run by powerful Cartels Gosh, you're so woke...finally. Why I even bet you think going into Iraq was dumb. In any case, if they really are running things they don't seem to be any better at making busses run on time. Lobby the CRA to help create deductible financial instruments or some such thing? Sure...betchya they couldn't get rid of DST if their lives depended on it though. LMAO!

Walz lies and says they apprehended a toddler despite the toddler being abandoned by his parents escaping the law. Sad

Me too more or less. I never had much faith we'd do the right thing in the end. The final straw? Don't you mean the upside...the rich get richer?

Absolutely, your fantasy is hilarious. But hey, we all need dreamers LOL. Having difficulty with reality is always problematic for dreamers, especially when it smack them in the face Have a good day regardless Bye.

I don't follow you around the board, but next time I see you do it, I will. I am actually agreeing with you. I rarely post anything from social media. I post direct links to news articles and medical studies. I follow MSM, but I don't have my head up their a$$ like you do. I seek out all sides of the story.

Here's more, for the resident left4rds: As a Canadian, it sickens me that our state media outlet is a bunch of worthless, lying apes who should all be fired. Honestly, there's probably not a single reporter at the CBC worth saving, they all need to go. They're just that revolting in general.

Lie. From your article: You are just pathetic. Who used the kid as bait? It looks like you did.

No, I have never referenced these things, especially not Facebook which nobody under 50 uses for anything but group messaging and local marketplace in the first place. No you haven't. You're just making that up and projecting. At best, an anonymous social media post is worthless. Next time you see me upvoting some goon trying to get away with this, call me out and ridicule me because I'd deserve it. Most people know better in the same way they know better than to trust masked strangers with watching their kids. You have absolutely zero reason to trust them, and plenty of warnings signs why you shouldn't.

Did you watch his speech? he's a total buffoon

Oh, dont get me wrong, i support every NATO ally paying their fair share. What i dont support is donalds malevolent threats and blackmail of our allies. You do know what the word "ally" means, right? "The red hats bont know much about anything, and they live to remind us of it, over and over." -------CrakHoBarbie

Some people need to shut off the Fox Entertainment and find out what is really happening in Minnesota

The pics are nice, but the writing in Hustler is top shelf! Thanks for proving the premise of this thread.

Hustler, Penthouse, Noddy in Toyland, Caprices synopsis of Nature in it's unrealistic Naturality. Some even had pictures.

If Trump has taught us anything it is that the left is to be ignored. They control those polls. Don't let them fool you into believing Americans are against ICE. They are not. They might be against a few incidents ts that have been portrayed poorly. But they are not against ICE.

I literally posted a link to an article of a Senate Democrat Majority Leader (in Virginia I believe) that authored and proposed a bill to eliminate minimum mandatory sentencing for people that distribute kiddy porn. So yes, there is at least one and numerous people voted for him and the Senate Democrats chose him as their leader. So it is safe to say that your side is protecting pedophiles.

I'm sure you have several favorites you could recommend but I'm really not into dr seuss And no, ww2 did not 'directly' end the british empire. Please. Anyway, go have your nap and your cookie, we'll talk later

Folks like Robo would be out running the mobile abortion clinics celebrating women getting an abortion for no other reason than they just don’t feel like being a parent. Then they hide behind the life of the mother when every single law takes that into account.

His tactics are that of a grade school child. I simply cannot ever give his adolescent bully methods props nor support. His infantile, oppressive, tyrannical antics have taken World order back 80 years.

Tell that to Venezuela. I dont recall donald asking Congress's opinion on attacking them. I long for the days when the only news about the President was blow jobs in the oval office. Well, hes certainly honest about his lack of ethical and moral fortitude. Hes also very honest about his disregard for our Constitution. As a matter of fact, he's stated publicly that he's not even sure he needs to follow it, when it was just a year ago he took a solemn oath to abide by it. Such an uneducated statement. The United States population makes up approximately 4% of the Earth's population. The U.S. has 350 million people compared to the world's over 8 billion. Plus, China is the world's largest manufacturing country by a significant margin, producing roughly 28-31% of global manufacturing. So, though we are a big player on the World market, we definitely are not the only business in town.

Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick have all instructed their provincial police forces not to participate in the program. Toronto Police, as well. Toronto police refusing to help with Ottawa’s gun buyback I think most police across Canada would rather be actually helping to bring our skyrocketing crime stats down. the buy back program will do nothing to improve those stats. Rod Giltaca (I know him personally) said in one of his podcasts that of the small number of guns confiscated in the pilot program (25), almost half of them came from the same person - a little old lady whose husband had died and she just didn't want them around anymore. By all means, take those guns, the unwanted ones. BTW, you can also donate guns to registered gun ranges, who will store them safely. At least here in Alberta you can. For sure the gun range I am part of.

You know, in his speech at Davos Trump claimed that they "took out over 10,000 hardline criminals in Minnesota." https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTyL88Mkp1A/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ== The guy can't open his mouth without lying. The Homeland Security website claims 1,360 "illegal aliens" have been detained "including violent criminals" Key word is "including" - not all the 1,360 were convicted of a crime. https://www.dhs.gov/news/2026/01/16/dhs-highlights-worst-worst-criminal-illegal-aliens-arrested-minnesota-yesterday Criminals should be arrested, but an entire state should not be terrorized in the process. I should have included what's happening in Minnesota in Trump's line-up of distractions from the Epstein files

^TWO lDIOTS pretending to be experts on human sexuality when neither knows JACK SHIT about it, because they've never read a SINGLE scientific journal on the subject. LMAO

Sure, they're under strict military orders that have to do with maintaining national security. Where's the equivalent of that in our public health systems? Professional associations may occasionally discipline doctors for stepping outside of the terms and conditions of their acceptance as a member. The way employers can enforce terms of employment that restrict what you can say in public about them. The magic in Goddesse's universe however is that all this silencing of dissent is orchestrated. Where the correct narrative is composed in the highest most powerful government and corporate offices around the planet and blown out thru the MSM. Again, all this orchestrating and planning it, directing it, administering it etc etc. would require thousands of people and data banks and paper and email/text trails, not just in Canada but around the world. So whatcha got?

I tried but couldn't mange to merge all of the numbers into that chart. At some point, you're going to have to start doing your own homework and defending your thesis with something other than insults and sarcasm.

No, one of the first commandments in Genesis by God to Adam and Eve is to be fruitful and multiply. Having children(s) is not a “liberty” a “choice”, it is a holy duty to fulfill. As is the stewardship of the planet.

Effectively, yes. ********** https://people.com/don-lemon-responds-after-being-put-on-notice-by-trump-doj-11888323 "It’s notable that I’ve been cast as the face of a protest I was covering as a journalist — especially since I wasn’t the only reporter there. That framing is telling." "What’s even more telling is the barrage of violent threats, along with homophobic and racist slurs, directed at me online by MAGA supporters and amplified by parts of the right-wing press," he continued. **********

Their crying on forums and social media? Maybe this forum will be free of their stupidity for the day.

https://www.wric.com/news/senate-majority-leader-under-fire-for-bill-that-reduces-punishment-for-child-porn-production/

Stupid.

Pollution is mismanagement not caused by simply being.

I just told you...greater economic disparity. Don't forget Carney's last job was in the wealth protection racket.

Amazing how the wrongies believe Greenland is a security issue and not a desperate distraction. Kind of like demanding your landlord who lets you do anything you want, sell you his house, or else.

Ok...I damn near spit coffee all over my cell reading this.

Half this board is left-wing and they're ALWAYS wrong!

It was a good and historically significant speech that demonstrated Carney’s ability and statesmanship. However, there are good reasons for the rise of populism and the cynicism about globalism and the elites who have pushed net zero and identity politics goals that the West can’t afford in a context of collapsing birth rates and other rising powers. Carney has to address Canada’s naivety in this environment.

LOL Conservatives age like a fine wine. Lefties age like a banana.

Here's what Anne Applebaum wrote about it - One could observe many things about this document. One is the childish grammar, including the strange capitalizations (“Complete and Total Control”). Another is the loose grasp of history. Donald Trump did not end eight wars. Greenland has been Danish territory for centuries. Its residents are Danish citizens who vote in Danish elections. There are many “written documents” establishing Danish sovereignty in Greenland, including some signed by the United States. In his second term, Trump has done nothing for NATO—an organization that the U.S. created and theoretically leads, and that has only ever been used in defense of American interests. If the European members of NATO have begun spending more on their own defense (budgets to which the U.S. never contributed), that’s because of the threat they feel from Russia. Yet what matters isn’t the specific phrases, but the overall message: Donald Trump now genuinely lives in a different reality, one in which neither grammar nor history nor the normal rules of human interaction now affect him. Also, he really is maniacally, unhealthily obsessive about the Nobel Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee, not the Norwegian government and certainly not the Danish government, determines the winner of that prize. Yet Trump now not only blames Norway for failing to give it to him, but is using it as a justification for an invasion of Greenland.