cannuck

Which is exactly what Trump in his heavy-handed way is trying to cure. The US has mostly WalMart greater jobs because WalMart is full of Chinese product. Nobody else in the Uniparty has done diddly squat about that for many administrations. Instead, they have concentrated their efforts on giving free reign to Casino Capitalists to redistribute wealth from speculative gain - leaving Main Street unfunded and unemployed. ALL wealth is created on Main Street, not Wall Street - and Main Street Beijing is busy filling that need.

In the early days of the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation it was thought that taking a good look at Quebec under transfer payment terms would be good for business. Reality was (then) that they did not really receive out of proportion at all. It got fairly complicated, but once it was examined as to how much federal SPENDING landed in PQ, the truth finally revealed itself. The handouts were (and I imagine still are) staggering. Before and since, working in several countries, I learned that pretty much the primary directive for every government department is to steer as much potential business to Quebec as possible. This means literally plucking opportunities identified and developed by the ROC and sticking them without bid into la Belle Province. I was so bothered by that, at one point I took the Minister of Everything (McKnight at the time) aside and started to tell him what I had seen in many countries. He simply informed me in a manner-of-fact way "what do you think we HAVE all of those people for? It is to pander to Quebec" (paraphrasing). That was the day I realized that partisan politics is not the solution to our problems, it is the cause.

Taxme: Sorry to have missed your post - have been out of the country all summer - great topic though. Augie: More than just the non-taxpaying part of the population, we live in such a wealthy country that more or less tax just means more or less of the good life for some, but not financial ruin for the rest. BUT: the really big factor is allowing government to spend today, but make a different government, and even a different generation pay the bills. On the revenue side, we can easily fix this by simply eliminating deficit spending. Once governments are forced to be accountable for THEIR spending, things will change appropriately. Add to that, the elimination of partisanship and rule-by-special interest. Not only should ever vote be free, but every bill should be subject to very public scrutiny and comment (by electronic plebiscite) from the public. One thing I have seen that is so important is to eliminate what government does now 99% of the time - dispensing special privilege. When it comes to spending, either EVERY Canadian should be eligible for each and every benefit, or none. Worked extremely well in New Zealand under Douglas. The size and cost of our bureaucracy is way beyond reason and totally out of control. As has been said, much of what government does it has no business in doing. It should stick to the simple tasks or legislating, regulating and enforcing - and only that at the will and with the comment and direction of the taxpayer. Finally: the tax bill that should fluctuate and balance the budget (along with mandatory debt retirement) would be GST and PST - so EVERYONE feels the stupidity and largess of the current governments. Works for municipal governments now.

The way to make consultative plebiscites work is to constantly publish the results and display when anything regarding specific legislation or election time was at hand. BTW: Legislators do NOT draft legislation. There are lawyers employed for that specific purpose (part of the problem with why the law is so obtuse).

I don't agree with ANY discriminatory use of public facilities, unless the user is paying the full cost of the facility to do so.

If I remember, the question is about closing a PUBLIC swimming pool to a group who wishes to discriminate against taxpayers to suit their religious belief. Since Canada is SUPPOSED to be some kind of "free" country, it is clearly inflicting a religious doctrine on someone in public, and that SHOULD be clearly illegal. The freedom to rent or own a PRIVATE facility that is exclusive should be the sole solution. On the other hand, any public interference in a PRIVATE organization such as a "men's club" should similarly be completely off bounds - but it is not. Just shows how the agenda of the politically correct left has become codified to the extent of removing the basic freedoms that this country is ASSUMED to have had.

the ones who "were here first" are long dead and buried. ANYONE borne in Canada is a Canadian. Don't care where their parents came from. Simple as that. The problem we have now is with just what quality of immigrants are coming in. Not just the fundamentalist Muslims, but also the criminal element that seems to be embedded within the flow.

Yes, they are, but since I am neither, I will make do with my longstanding relationships within China. We have already been asked to look at several ag opportunities, since we are extremely trusted as food source by most Chinese consumers.

I wouldn't say provoked the action, but I would say that they gave Putin the perfect excuse to help Putin excuse/justify his actions. I have never met Uncle Vlad, but since I have been privy to some of the earlier goings on, my theory on him is that he is a student of Stalin - not in the Marxist sense, but in the strong-man sense. You have to give him credit: he managed to rule with as tight a grip as Joe with only a tiny fraction of a percent of the number of people being disposed of along the way. He has to know the behind-the-scenes story of Russian history, and would thus realize the importance of the Crimea to the people - and indeed to the economy of Mother Russia.

The problem with declaring someone in China as belonging to this or that economic strata is that NOBODY reports their earnings and wealth accurately to government. This may be the first disaster-free generation in a very long time, but memories of the "Great Leap Forward" are unspoken but unforgotten. Also, many necessities of life are supplied or price controlled by Beijing - don't forget this is still a communist country. BTW: this trade war between the US and China opens a HUGE opportunity for Canadian ag exports and FDI.

How timely. We were just discussing this very thing at lunch today. One of my now deceased friends and director of one of our US companies was a key man (actually THE key man) for an international institution in Moscow when Garby opened things up. I got to vicariously experience Russia for the first 5 years of perestroika and glasnost and have some sense of just how badly Russians regarded Kruschev screwing around with the Crimea in the first place. It was seen as a sign of extreme weakness and betrayal to yield territory. I have also been for a while running all over Ukraine in those years, and can tell you that in the East, it was a VERY Russian place in language and culture. We needed a translator to facilitate the Ukrainian speakers among us. I regard Russia as nothing more than a vastly more powerful, wealthy and dangerous version of some of the most corrupt places on Earth. Nigeria and Venezuela have nothing on it. The big difference is that Putin absolutely understands the Russian respect for "strong man" leadership and is sufficiently ruthless to carry out whatever it takes to have unfettered personal access to its vast resources. That includes taking back Crimea - that has historically been THE main Russian Black Sea access.

Problem is: with the electorate's brain fart now in power for a full term, the debt and damage done will take a generation or more to correct.

While it might seem that Canada should have developed a stronger international trade outside of this continent, reality is that we share our economy with the largest economy in the world (OK, probably now second largest and slipping), but it is one with which we share a relatively open border, a very similar language and culture. It simply costs very little to trade N-S compared with having to cross oceans. Our biggest screw-up is in letting our value added manufacturing slide (except, of course, for what WAS a big deal - cars and car parts) and imitating the US shift to an economy that imagines it can survive on nothing but speculative activities of the banksters. B-C is correct in mentioning that not too many people in the US give a second thought to Canada's economy or trade with us. Some should, as we are literally an integral part of the US economy (particularly when it comes to resources). If the drama-queen-in-charge had a half a brain and any dangly bits, he would have taxed the living crap out of energy exports to the US - THEN you would feel the sting of something extremely important to the US economy. My personal response to all of this nonsense? I will pack up 11 more of my family next week and drop the price of a nice new car to spend some time in Florida - including a healthy dose of Mickey Mouse. So, take THAT you Yankee Doodle Dandies (will spend everything South of the Mason-Dixon line). That will teach you to sanction my country. So, while I can agree and fully understand the ultimate goal of Unilateral Free Trade, reality is we need to make do for now with what we actually have and stay in NAFTA.

It would save the country many billion$$$$ if he was a class act and bowed out gracefully, but one thing we know for sure about the Trudeaus is they are a long way from a class act or any semblance of grace.

What NAFTA DID do was organize a trade bloc that was equivalent to the EEC. Within that bloc, though, the US was not in as good a position as it could have been, but most of all to go it alone they lose the considerable resources of Canada and low cost labour of Mexico to counter not so much the EU, but the HUGE rising bloc of Asia/China. BUT: the US problem with trade imbalance was due to the free market of the US deciding to buy cheap Chinese junk rather than support more expensive domestic products (no longer brands, as they are now mostly outsourced for product). When you shift your economy to one based on Casino Capitalism instead of investing in Main Street, you bring your problems on yourself. The question of the OP was quite appropriate, and the way the UK went about it was probably not a smart move. BTW: the US exports a LOT of things, but surprisingly, the largest of all is entertainment!

What makes you think a low Loonie is in any way a bad thing? Oh...because it costs you more to buy Yankee and Euro crap that is not made in Canada. Well, here's a news flash: it is not made in Canada because you buy the Yankee and Euro (and Chinese) crap. Canada exports resources (the old drawer of water) and even makes a bit of stuff (hewer of weed...er, I meant WOOD), but by and large, we have followed in the US footsteps and convinced ourselves that we can live on nothing but speculative transactions and resource sales. Fact is, the big wealth is created by adding VALUE to our resources (hewing the wood), while selling the resource is just taking value out of our "bank" and doing speculative crap creates absolutely nothing but does a fine job of redistributing wealth to those who really don't need or deserve it. We have lost the ability to understand and execute investment in Main Street altogether. The lower the Loonie goes, the greater the incentive to go back to work and build for domestic and export markets. Which party is in power has pretty much NOTHING to do with it.

I have a problem with nothing but pure bullshit. I asked, you did not answer: were the children threatened with harm in any way in obtaining these recordings? Without that, I can see no "terrorizing" taking place at all.

I will agree that Johnston is a little off the deep end, but let's take a look at the rest of your post. How is recording prayer "terrorizing" anyone? Did he lock them in a closet and threaten them with harm if they didn't say what he wanted? Where was the "threat"? (In fairness, I have no knowledge of the actual incident, and am posting in fleeting hotel stops flitting from country to country - so feel free to summarize). I have spent many years travelling and working in the Levant and MENA, and have a large number of friends within Islam. I am very familiar with what "they" (moderates and fundamentalists) think, say and teach about the West, infidels and particularly Jews. I can understand why people are offended by Johnston and Banerjee, but I am totally bemused and baffled how the politically correct from the left choose to ignore the matching hate speech, teachings, preachings and activities (such as those that radicalize extremists and fund terrorists from within our borders) and worse yet codify and criminalize what those who oppose such things have to say - giving a pass and even giving credibility to those who propose to destroy the (largely and generally Christian) values that Canadians have come to accept since the founding of the country. Muslims are NOT getting the "same treatment under the law", they are getting laws made to accommodate them within OUR culture and OUR country. As a footnote, I am not Christian, Jewish nor Muslim - I do not believe in ANY organized religion of any kind - and feel they are all a fundamental flaw of the human condition. "

The hundreds I encounter would consider that polite conversation. I don't think the politically correct set has any idea of how much Joe Lunchbucket is distressed over the embracing of very non-compatible cultures as residents.

I was merely making an observation as to how comments made by thousands of Canadians every day with impunity seem to rate instant attention and retaliation by authorities when the target is politically affiliated. I was not in the courtroom so have no idea how accurately the information is being presented, the circumstances nor if defamation or damages have been adequately proven. I have enough experience with the process to have very low expectations of objectivity.

Let me give you a bit of objectivity that you might be able to understand: Judges are political appointees who may struggle with objectivity in many cases, but reflect their political OBLIGATIONS when called upon to do so. Think of Andy McMechan going to jail for the heinous crime of selling his own barley from a courtroom where Mr. Justice Ross Whimmer blatantly executed his boss's (Goodale) instructions with "I can find nothing whatsoever in the Wheat Board Act that would compell a farmer to seek a license to sell his barley" but proceeded to jail a Canadian citizen who had committed no offense under the Act. Don't even get me started on the ultimate political venue - the Supreme Court.

Curious, though, that a Muslim restauranteur with obvious Liberal Party ties can get his interests served by the courts, but fundamental Islamist terrorists can spew their crap, raise families and train them as combatants, fund ISIS then go out and kill our allies and get a big hug from the Drama Teacher In Charge and $10 MM reward.

I am another who believes that partisanship is a huge disservice to democracy. I believe we should make parties, and party affiliation of ANY kind a complete disqualifier to hold political office. Every vote a free vote. And again, as has been mentioned, citizen referendae and recall. Once a parliament has been elected, they can campaign from within to run as cabinet members and PM. Above all else, make lobbying a criminal act. We have come to a place where the business of politics has become the dispensing of privilege. That has to stop.

You assume that the "conservative revival" was significant. It was IMHO merely another chapter in the Uniparty being directed by their masters on Wall Street to continue to shift the once productive economy into an orgy of unregulated speculative activity. He may have made Americans THINK that things were moving right (and certainly PATCO thought so!), but the big picture was one of same-same. In his defense, though, I will point out that THAT "performance artist" had managed to accomplish a great deal in leading in many facets of the entertainment business, whereas our "performance artist" had accomplished basically nothing on his own merit except to get hired into a low level civil service job..

Yes, it could be an honourable profession for someone without the desire and ability to do anything else. Unfortunately, our drama teacher stepped WAY out of his league and ceased to be an honourable and worthwhile member of society by stooping so low to become a deceitful and inept politician.