cannuck

Then, what I challenge you to do is DO NOT BUY THEM. It is not that hard to do, and you will pay more (up front) but not likely over the long haul.

Bingo. Like trading with the US, but moreso (softwood lumber, for instance being a soft version of the wood that the Chinese will shove up our ass). Just think back to BSE: the Yanks simply ducked the problem by not LOOKING for it in their herds, whereas we boy scouts openly reported everything we found (BTW coming from the US feed) and took it on the chin. BUT: China has one regard for Canada they do NOT share with the USA - trust. In China, as in MENA and many other places, we are a TRUSTED trading partner/exporter - thus a huge advantage

Far, far more money has been paid out by IAF in whatever name they have used for every status Indian in this country to live in the very lap of luxury. We did a study of that once, and found (25 years ago) that about $22k a year was budgeted to IAF for every man, woman and child in Canada with a treaty number. BUT: maybe 20% of that money ever saw a living, breathing aboriginal - and then the vast majority of what did ended up going sideways at the band council level. The big bux go to those "consultants" who are in favour of the IAF bureaucrats - and you can guess just what it takes to buy that favour. When you go to a reserve (at least any one of the hundred or so I have been on) you will find a very high level of unemployment. About the only "jobs" are working for the band, and most of those a "per diem" people who simply drive their new F250 from meeting to meeting. When you see those crumbling homes on TV, you don't see the thousand people sitting around with their finger up their ass doing diddly squat to maintain or repair those homes. When you hear about the lack of water, you seldom are told about the facilities that were built for them to treat water, but nobody could be bothered to learn how and operate and maintain that infrastructure. Before they got involved with the Mafia to build casinos here, you probably weren't told of the gambling junkets for chiefs with complementary rooms, booze and broads. The real world of reserve life is very, very different from what the bleeding hearts and halfwit media portray. IMHO: if we agree we owe something to aboriginals under treaty obligations, then cut each one a cheque for their share every month. When their band council squawks about self government, simply tell them to tax it back from their citizens. In fact though, the entire idea of having a couple hundred "sovereign nations" within one sovereign nation is total BS. It simply is impossible.

and to avoid having to get involved it would only have taken a discreet whisper in her ear to GTF out. One can leave on your corporate airplane without going anywhere near customs and immigration.

While Canada is definitely a big dog at the resource table, we are still a microcosm in the overall trade between the two largest economies on the planet. While it may feel good to someone posting from his Mother's basement in Toronto, Montreal or Ottawa (yes, that is a direct reference to the PMO), to the people who actually have serious money invested in resources (petro, mining, agriculture) and the millions who depend on those sectors for their income this is dead serious business. Canola farmers are taking it up the hoop for the moronic child's crowd of politically correct, gender balanced cabinet and their total ignorance of just about anything outside of their virtue-signalling world - and scarcely anyone in Canada gives a flying purple frick. Mr. Dressup and his minions have no business playing international politics in a game they really are too inept to understand. We simply can't afford to the mouse between these two elephants, and have learn our place to stay on the window ledge until they have tired of the current posturing.

Uhhhh.....Obummer cost the US taxpayer more in his two terms than every President, War, depression, New Deal, etc. in the history of the USA combined. The economy Bush handed to Obama was not of Presidential doing, but the result of Goldman Sucks owning the Uniparty, lock stock and barrel. It was a lack of regulation and enforcement starting WAAAYYY back (but coming to its height with Klinton when waved the green flag by axing Glass-Steagall). You might have noticed that Obama's "Dream Team" introduced even before his inauguration to solve the banking "crisis" (that's code word for bailing out "too big to fail" and rewarding Wall Street for its treachery to the tune of TRILLION$$) was exactly the same people (featuring Goldman's agents) as was little Bushie. The state of the US economy today is not the result so much of either presidency, but the massive amount of stimulus debt from BOTH sides of the Uniparty - that is threatening to crash the whole damn thing from debt.

Perhaps we should put you on the list of those incredibly naive who have no knowledge or experience with third world officialdom and immigration consultants. You can check all of the lists in the world but they do you no good if you have the wrong name. Part of the game.

Uh....China and the USA seem to care a great deal about the soap opera with Huawei that the two have inflicted upon us.

The numbers are not about just the cars, it is the component parts and sub-assemblies that make up the difference. To put it into perspective, Magna Int'l is the largest independent manufacturer of auto parts and sub assemblies in the world.

The American (and German) auto companies in China are 50% owners by law. The other half belongs to a designated Chinese partner chosen by Beijing. So, you a very correct inasmuch as they are "Chinese" companies. However, China is not a passive partner, they are incredibly manipulative and predatory. Every bit as much as Islam wants to be the exclusive religion of the world, China wants to be the dominant economy - as it has been for the Eastern region for most of the last 5000 years. They will eventually export complete cars to North America (has already started) and will exploit every angle to do here what they have done all over the Asia Pacific region with markets they want to enter - they will destroy the competition by any means they can. We can be a resource provider to China, as we are now to the USA, but how much of an actual business partner as we are with USA is likely to be very much subservient. If you know or follow the automobile business, you will know that when GM went tits in the USA, China bailed out GM China but for the price, they managed to move around a lot of production and R&D facilities in all of the Asia-Pacific Region, so in the end China controls it all. Ultimately, they will own effective control of GM USA.

Uh..."our government" has never been a colonial power, you need to deal with the slimey limeys for that one. "Their" continent? Where was the national government? Where were the title deeds? What was here was a couple hundred thousand heathens fighting each other for whatever reasons. There was hardly some cohesive entity - just some loose and constantly shifting alliances of convenience.

Proportionally, the US would have to export 8.5% of its auto production to Canada, and that is about what it does, and then some. The industry goes back a very long way, but most of the trade between what was (maybe still is???) the largest trading partners in the world is cars and car parts, and we have always been reasonably close to in balance. The economies of Canada and the US are far more than just neighbours, they are intimately intertwined. We share not only language, but a considerable amount of culture and a to a large extent, our business communities.

There are 5 pages of pipeline companies in Canada, most located in AB and NONE who are criminals. Pipelines will get built, tree hugging morons notwithsanding (yeah, that was a political joke). Engineers would only be unemployed if they are too stupid or lazy to simply get off of the ass and apply to whatever law abiding company wins the endless barrage of federal, provincial, municipal and private project contracts. SNC, in the meantime, will not move their head office anywhere (doe to financing restrictions) and can continue with projects around the world in shit-hole countries that allow them to bribe officials to get the work. Why do you want to lower Canada to that level??? Oh, yeah, forgot: you work for SNC. No other possible reason.

Which is why we have judges and juries - who found what was believable and ruled accordingly.

Go back and read Rue's excellent (and professionally qualified) analysis of the legal position - SNC does not qualify. You are right, though, JWR and Philpott are dangerous people - since they are telling the truth and the whole truth. They are dangerous to lying sacks of excrement that fill the PMO.

The "security assessment" is a joke. It is actually called a "security clearance" and is obtained from authorities in the country of current citizenship. This is why immigrants use very expensive "immigration consultants" who instruct them what to do, what to say, what to write (usually none of it actually true) and take care of bribing local officials or simply forge the docs on the spot. There is literally NO control over what is coming into the country, not even a single face-to-face interview. One of the reasons immigration from culturally similar countries is so preferred (by logical people) is that there is a high likelihood of rule-of-law thus legitimate documentation. From many third world countries that is 100% impossible. From other thread content: while it is true that many immigrants ARE technically qualified as professionals, in many cases you do not earn professional accredation based on merit but privilege. One of the reasons SNC gets thrown off of so many major projects is once they get the contract, they flood their offices with engineers who are "guest workers" from countries where professionalism is far second to privilege.

That is mostly because Canada's government is nothing but a void at this time.

It COULD be, but in the last 30 years, I haven't made a penny from it. My involvement came from the desire to bring a Canadian company in to set up business there with a Saudi partner (there are certain advantages to having foreign tech, content, sales and experience when KSA domestics bid to Aramco or SABIC) but the '08/'09 crash ended all of that. Saudis tend to be extremely polite to Americans - but actually do not respect them at all. They trust Canadians a great deal (some of THE most delicate contracts for security stuff come from here) but we are so bad at selling ourselves and taking chances to expand overseas we never seem to get off of the ground. To paraphrase the attitude all over MENA: "If you can dream it, we will build it". It's just that the ABILITY to actually build stuff still has to come from expatriates. Fantastic opportunities were - and I assume still are there for Canadians.

Those things do happen, and exactly why I like my exposure to conservative Islam to remain on their turf, not mine. By the same token: if you simply play by the rules and don't criticize what you see or insult people, you WILL be treated very fairly and very well.

I have seen no evidence of her expectations to come out of this with any kind of political future. Not saying it isn't possible, but I haven't seen it.

Committing political suicide on principal is hardly a "selfish" move on part of either of these ladies. I consider it the most honourable thing I have seen from elected individuals in the last half century.

I have made many, many trips and stays in KSA. I have also been on several trips into smaller communities in the desert. I never stay in Western hotels, always Saudi ones, and what you are saying about being welcoming and safe is very true. I have enjoyed many an evening in those very special rooms in the back of many businesses where only good friends gain entry and vast quantities of tea and coffee float one away at the end of the day. BUT: when I am away from friends and business associates, complete strangers treat me equally as well. I don't get back there any more because the business we did there is one I have retired from and has been sold to a private equity firm. Still keep in touch with my close friends there, one of whom is now studying in College Station TX, as is his wife. You know what I mean when I say that I am "part of a family" and understand the culture and mannerisms to the extent I have been invited to many family ceremonies where I tend to be able to avoid embarrassing my hosts. Something you will probably appreciate: when I go to the Saudi embassy in Dubai for a visa, I don't wait in any line. BTW: lest one think it is just "me", one of my very good friends and business partners is Chinese - and of course has a very different viewpoint on the world. He opened an office in Dammam for his former employers and has similar feelings and experiences from his time there.

Actually, wife and I seriously considered living in KSA half time. My friends there all know I am atheist (or sort of gnostic) and if anyone were to threaten me with prosecution, they would go to the wall for me...for THAT is what is required of them (yes, doctrine is very contradictory). If we didn't have grandkids here, might have pulled the trigger.

She (and Philpott) are hardly idiots nor political newbies. They both knew with absolute certainty they were committing political suicide when they called out the PMO on SNC. While neither are likely to ever BE PM, I would certainly respect the non-partisan values that "Ray-Bold" (excellent choice of words) has chosen to display being brought to that office.

I have spent a lot of time in muslim countries, and have to tell you, from MY point of view, they are not awful places at all. A lot of the rhetoric we in the West hear about them is based on lack of understanding of what is REALLY going on there. I get along just fine there, BUT: I do so because I make every effort to respect THEIR values while I am in THEIR country - and that works very well for myself and my hosts. What does not work worth a damn is bringing people here who are not anxious to make the effort to get in harmony with OUR values. I can adapt pretty much anywhere because I am not at all religious - no beliefs of any kind. When you bring Muslims here, they are often constrained by being "true believers" in something very different from traditional Can/USA "true beliefs" (that I must add are also a total crock of shit). While bringing them is a BIG mistake, once they are here, what I find in my grand survey database of my own experience is that their children and especially those borne here do a fairly good job of integrating. BUT: my experience is mostly with educated and accomplished immigrants, not political and economic "refugees", nor but a few genuine refugees.