blackbird

There are some big problems with suggesting Canadians boycott McDonalds, Walmart and Tim Hortons. For one thing Walmart is an important store to buy groceries at a lower price. Other grocery stores in town have outrageous prices for a lot of groceries. Fruit and vegetables for example are a fraction of the price in Walmart. Walmart also has clothing for a lower price than elsewhere in town. People on limited income depend on it. Walmart also is employing all Canadian people and they employ a lot of people. Same with McDonalds. Coffee in McDonalds is now $1.00 for a small cup and $1.25 for a medium size cup. Many seniors, including myself, rely on the very inexpensive coffee. Seniors and many other people have a limited income. Other coffee shops charge $4 or $5 for a coffee, which is way too expensive if one goes every day. If one is a senior there is nowhere else to go to have a little social contact with friends. Tim Hortons charges about $1.70 for a small coffee but still far cheaper than other coffee shops and cafes. Maybe it would not affect some people to boycott Walmart, McDs, and Hortons, if they have a lot of money to throw around. If one is working, they might have social contacts that way. But not seniors. It doesn't make much sense to boycott places that make life affordable and that employ all Canadians. We would be just shooting ourselves in the foot.

I don't think you understand what Trump and his circle are doing. They don't believe in free trade. Free trade has been established between Canada and the U.S. for decades and supported by Conservative governments in Canada all along. Trump wants to throw all that out. He is not operating in a democratic manner. He is operating like an authoritarian even with his own country. It is frightening what he doing. Check out what he is doing with all his executive orders and with the aid of Musk, an unelected believer in Trump. There is far more to this than you realize. Established institutions such as Obamacare are threatened which could deprive millions of people of any health care. Foreign aid is being arbitrarily cut off in many departments and organizations which could threaten the lives and health of millions of people.

Trump doesn't care about what we're doing with the border. He made that clear. His agenda is far different than that. He is acting like a bully and dictator. Canada must stand up to this kind of thing. Trump and his MAGA people are even attacking the whole U.S. federal government with the use of Musk and his DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) people. Read what is going on there with his moves to lay off a massive number of government employees. It is creating anarchy in the U.S. government and has all kinds of serious consequences. Unions say what is going on may be illegal. Career civil servants are being replaced with political appointees that are loyal to Trump. Where is congress in all this? This is a serious threat to democracy and order. I don't think you realize what we are dealing with. This is the most serious threat to Canada in ages. Canada cannot placate them. He has an agenda to destroy the established order and trade. We will see what happens but it doesn't look good. Canada has no choice but to stand up to this threat.

You are correct in saying it is theft. Taxation for basic services that individuals cannot provide is reasonable. Things like police, armed forces, fire departments, roads, water, and sewer. I would not call that Socialism. Just basic services. "But modern societies have made an exception to the 8th commandment—“You shall not steal, except by majority vote.” One person cannot take your stuff, but if enough people vote to take your stuff, then it is “legal.” And if it is legal, then it is morally acceptable."

"All Forms of Socialism Are Theft Central to the moral argument against socialism and quasi-socialism is the 8th commandment: You shall not steal (Exodus 20:15; Deuteronomy 5:19). This command teaches the concept of private property and forbids the taking of property from an innocent person. God added to this condemnation of socialism by prohibiting envy in the 10th commandment: You shall not covet (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21). God is a capitalist, which we know because God endorses private property. This is inferred from the 8th commandment. The prohibition of theft assumes that people own things. Of course, everything in this world belongs to God. Yet He has delegated control and responsibility of things to individuals. We call this private property rights. Everyone understands this concept. No one likes others stealing their belongings, and they therefore do things to prevent theft, such as lock their door at night. It is also the case that every civilized society prohibits theft. People have property rights, and the government should protect such rights. Yet this all breaks down for many people when the government gets involved. It is wrong for Bob to take a quarter of your income. But if Bob and his friends lobby the government, politicians pass legislation, and the government gives one quarter of your money to Bob, then all is right. This is exactly how the typical Western welfare state works. The government enacts a variety of taxes (sales tax, income tax, FICA, tariffs, etc.) and then redistributes the money to a variety of classes (the poor, students, elderly, disabled, politically well-connected, etc.). But this is not called “theft” because, well, the government says so. This situation exposes one of the chief flaws of democracy, a system where two wolves and a lamb vote on what to eat for dinner. Thus, modern societies have made an exception to the 8th commandment—“You shall not steal, except by majority vote.” One person cannot take your stuff, but if enough people vote to take your stuff, then it is “legal.” And if it is legal, then it is morally acceptable. Christians are enabling this problem by limiting the 8th commandment to individuals instead of societies. However, the 8th commandment provides no such limitation. Groups are made up of individuals, and stealing is still stealing when done by a group. Is Taxation Ever Allowed? Some will respond, “Following this logic, are not all taxes and government programs theft?” One possible response is yes, which has some appeal due to its consistency (the view of anarcho-capitalism). However, a more biblical response is that some taxes are legitimate because some government functions are legitimate. Thus, we need to understand the proper role of civil government. It is important to understand that God designed government to enforce what are known as “negative rights.” You have a right to not be killed or stolen from. Hence the “negative.” But you do not have a right to food or shelter or anything else that belongs to someone else. You have to work for these things and buy these things through voluntary exchange. Thus, it is warped when it is said that humans have a “right” to things like healthcare or education. The only “positive rights” are those which are owed you out of a contract (such as the benefits of an insurance policy if certain conditions are met). And government does have an obligation to enforce such contracts. This is the only role of government in regard to positive rights. The government does not owe you any good or service, contrary to what socialists like to claim. God’s institution of civil government has a purpose, and that purpose is to protect property rights. In other words, God has designed the state to enforce the 8th commandment (as well as the 6th, 7th, and other commandments). It is all great when nobody steals. But people are sinful and steal/murder/destroy, and that is where government comes in. Of course, we have a problem when government is the one doing the stealing. If government is to protect property rights, then government is going to need enforcers of the law. Thus, it is perfectly legitimate for government to have police, judges, a court system, governors, and a military. Taxes that fund such things are taxes that uphold property rights. These taxes go to benefit all of society and in no way “redistribute wealth.” These are legitimate taxes and are not prohibited by Scripture. These are the sort of taxes Paul has in mind in Romans 13:1-7 when he speaks of the governing authorities that God instituted to “punish evil” and “reward the good.” Paul ties taxes here to a civil government that punishes crime. He says nothing about the morality of taxes at a high rate as part of a governmental redistributory scheme. Some cite Jesus’ words to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” as an all-out endorsement of government taxation (Matthew 22:21; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25). However, that is not what these words teach. The Jewish leaders were seeking to trap Jesus among the Romans (who required the tax) and the Jews (who opposed Romans taxation). Jesus outsmarted His opponents by making reference to Caesar’s picture on the coins—“Whose likeness and inscription is this?” (Matthew 22:20). The answer was “Caesar’s.” So Jesus responded, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). This was not a wholesale endorsement of Roman government, nor was this a discourse on the morality of taxation. Rather, Jesus actually endorsed property rights by distinguishing between that which belongs to Caesar and that which does not. Contrary to popular claims, Jesus was not a socialist. " The Bible Prohibits Socialism — Knowing Scripture Socialists claim the public health care system is good because it ensues health care to everyone. However, as it turns out, it leaves thousands per year dying on waiting lists for care. Socialists strangely ignore this and blindly press on with their ideology of not allowing any private care as well as the public health care system. Allowing some private care would take the heavy burden off the public system by allowing people that can afford it to purchase private health care insurance. There are lots of people with the money who would be willing to pay for private health insurance. But the radical leltists and unionists refuse any compromise.

I don't think Canada joining the European union would be good for Canada. The UK left the union with Brexit because it created serious problems especially with immigration into the UK. The same thing could happen to Canada. If a country joins the EU, they lose their sovereignty and are forced to take massive immigration from the third world. Canada could not afford that and it would destroy what little we have left of our culture. It would seriously threaten health care and other social services. The EU would also be dictating our use and extraction of fossil fuels which would be a disaster.

Trump is simply signing a pile of "executive orders" which do things that have massive implications for nations and for the U.S. but were not put through any kind of democratic process. He has the power to declare "national emergencies" on certain subjects which apparently gives him further power to issue "executive orders". Congress and Senate, who are the elected representatives apparently have little or no say and no control over these orders. I don't see this as democratic or in the interest of the U.S. or any other country. Executive orders can be interpreted as extreme and possibly fascist. He appears to be a kind of psychopath and a dangerous ruler. Yes, countries affected by his "executive orders" should come together to see if there are some ways they can mitigate the effects of some of his actions.

Here are a couple examples of false claims coming from Trump lately. It is impossible to know if he actually believes these things himself or knows they are false. One would think with all the advisors around him, he would be told the truth. But who knows. quote Canadians’ views on becoming the 51st state Trump said Thursday of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: “I called him Governor Trudeau because they should be the 51st state, really. It would make a great state. And the people of Canada like it.” Facts First: Trump’s categorical claim that “the people of Canada like it” is false. Though it’s certainly possible to find Canadians who support the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state, the idea is overwhelmingly unpopular with the Canadian public as a whole. A December poll by the firm Leger found that 82% of Canadians said they didn’t like the idea and just 13% said they liked it. The idea has been denounced by federal and provincial Canadian leaders from left to right. The US trade deficit with Canada Trump said Tuesday that the US has a “$200 billion” trade deficit with Canada. Facts First: False. The US goods and services trade deficit with Canada was about $40.6 billion in 2023, according to the US government’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, nowhere close to “$200 billion.” Even if you only consider trade in goods and ignore the services trade at which the US excels, the US deficit with Canada was about $72.3 billion in 2023, the bureau reported, still far shy of Trump’s figure. And it’s worth noting that the deficit is overwhelmingly caused by the US importing a large quantity of inexpensive Canadian oil, which helps keep Americans’ gas prices down. unquote Fact check: Debunking Trump’s false claims about Canada | CNN Politics Why is evangelical Christians would vote for someone like this is the question. I think the reason is because the system is only a two party system and politics is not a Christian enterprise. Both sides appear to be acting or believing in un-Christian ways and policies in many ways. If Christian do not vote, then they leave the choice for government entirely to the non-believers who do not uphold biblical principles of right and wrong generally speaking. The system only allows one candidate to be chosen for each party and in the case of the Republicans, the candidate with the most popularity was someone who has questionable ideas. There simply is no choice. Each side has serious issues.

This issue has nothing to do with the left. Nice try though. It is about the actions of a mad man. He has even alluded to the possibility of Canada becoming part of the U.S. What exactly he has in mind is not clear yet. Trump hints at bold U.S. expansion Trump hints at bold U.S. expansion plans at Nevada rally The truth is Canada has been left in an extremely weak position because of pacifist ideology of Liberals and NDP over the history of Canada. Leftist, Socialist ideology in Canada would be seen in a bad light by Trump and his circle also. Conservatives have not done much better. We do not have much of a military and the U.S. sees us as under their protection and care. The Liberal-NDP ideology of globalism and giving billions away to the rest of world and strong backing of the U.N. has not helped either. Not to mention cozying up to China.

No, I never said Canada needs to show weakness to a bully. But we need to remember we're dealing with someone who is the leader of the most powerful country in the world. Canada is insignificant by comparison and has no power to speak of. We need to remember that and need to deal very carefully and wisely. Canadians are the ones who will pay the price for bad judgment and foolish responses. Putting counter tariffs on everything we export to the U.S. may be an unwise move that could hurt Canadians far more than Americans. We have to find a way to weather this storm without damaging Canada more than helping it. That's all I'm saying. We could start by taking significant measures to address the U.S.'s concerns about the border. Secondly, we need to increase military spending to 2% immediately and go beyond that to show we are serious about doing our share. We could also abolish trade barriers between provinces immediately.

If Trump and his inner circle have no qualms about cutting off established medical aid and other life saving aid that could negatively affect millions of children in the third world, what might he do to his closest ally, Canada, in the coming weeks? Taking a hostile attitude to Trump in response to his 25% tariffs could provoke worse. I think Canada should really think carefully how it handles this guy. He is unpredictable and irrational.

Another article reports this suspension of aid. It appears it will affect aid to Ukraine. "The order issued by Rubio goes beyond the executive order signed on Trump's first day in office to halt U.S. development assistance and is to cover all State Department and USAID programs. According to a congressional source associated with Democrats, this also means halting all aid to Ukraine, both military and humanitarian, as well as programs for training Ukrainian soldiers. This information about the suspension of aid projects for Ukraine is also confirmed by a Reuters source. "Almost everything is under the supervision of the State Department, except for financial aid, which goes through the World Bank. But let's say if Ukrainian energy infrastructure were damaged by Russian shelling tomorrow, the U.S. would not be able to help prevent Ukrainians from freezing," a PAP interlocutor said. This information was also confirmed by another PAP source associated with the State Department. The same reports, among others, PBS television and the portal Politico, indicate that Taiwan will also be affected. " Rubio's foreign aid freeze sparks international backlash

" Donald Trump was warned by an expert on Saturday that the President is causing great harm to the world and the U.S. Atul Gawande, a former professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and former United States Agency for International Development official, took to social media over the weekend to sound the alarm. The surgeon and medical professor has studied hospital profits in the past. "I ran USAID health programs for the last 3 years. Trump’s 90 day Stop Work Order on foreign assistance does serious damage to the world and the US," Gawande said. Citing some purported "examples," Gawande said the stop work order "stops work battling a deadly Marburg outbreak in Tanzania and a wide outbreak of a mpox variant killing children in west Africa before it spreads further," "stops monitoring of bird flu in 49 countries, a disease which already killed an American on home soil," "stops critical work to eradicate polio," and even "stops >$1B in corporate drug donations and coordination eradicating tropical diseases like river blindness, elephantiasis, and others on the verge of elimination in whole regions." Further, he said, the plan "stops medicines, supplies, systems building, staff support aiding >90 million women and children to get low cost vaccinations, prenatal care, safe childbirth, contraception, and other basic lifesaving health needs." He added that it also "stops direct services for 6.5 million orphans, vulnerable children, and their caregivers affected by HIV in 23 countries," "stops donated drug supplies keeping 20 million people living with HIV alive," and "would furlough all USAID contract staff — which includes half of its global health bureau—unless exempted." "This Administration is trashing US standing, alliances with scores of countries built over half a century, world-leading capacity and expertise, and American security," the expert added." 'Killed an American': Expert puts Trump on notice over President causing 'serious damage' This could likely cause widespread loss of life in the world. This is shocking.

Where did I say I support Trump? I don't support his tariff war against Canada. Trudeau will be gone but other Liberals still remain. Trudeau's replacement will be very similar to Trudeau. The people running for PM all supported carbon taxes since they came in and only now are they trying to sound different because most Canadians reject carbon taxes. It was the Liberals who did all the damage to Canada. Trudeau's leaving won't change the ideology of the Liberals.

Most Canadians have wakened up to the wreck Trudeau Liberals and NDP have made of the country. How is it after nine years of wrecking our economy and country, you don't see it?????????????? After nine years of Trudeau and the Liberals, there are thousands of people living in tents, a million more going to food banks and millions cannot afford a home because they cost over a million dollars now in the major cities. Home prices have at least doubled since Trudeau got in in 2015. The health care system is a train wreck. Approximately 15,000 people died on waiting lists in the 2023-2024 year. Millions of Canadians do not have a family doctor. Massive government debt and 50% or more increase in the size of the civil service. Crime is rampant with repeat offenders catch and release justice system. Yet, you still seem to support the train wreck of a system under the Liberals-NDP coalition and ideology.

You Liberals and NDP are finished. Conservatives are about 25% ahead in the polls. Canadians have had it with your carbon tax scam. Made no difference to the climate. Canada is going to "drill baby drill" with the next government. If you don't like it, move to China, your favourite system.

It doesn't make any sense to worry about oil supplies 200 years from now. We don't even know if man will be on earth 200 years or 100 years from now. I am sure as time passes, mankind will deal with what resources they have and find new resources and ways to do things. I have never heard any politicians or anyone express concerns about how much oil will be in the ground in 200 years. We have enough problems in the world today to deal with without trying to worry about 200 years from now. When someone starts talking about the amount of resources 200 years from now you have wonder why they would even mention something like that. First of all, oil comes from many different places in the earth and there are places where the underground oil has not even been touched yet. There are under sea oil reserves off the north coast of B.C. that have not been touched. Nobody really knows how much there is in reserve. So how can you say we need to cut back to save it for future generations 200 years from now. That doesn't make much sense. If Canada doesn't produce and sell it, other countries will anyway. They can bury the nuclear waste deep in the earth.

Nonsense. A few square kilometers expansion around the town is nothing out of the thousands of square kilometers of wilderness in that part of B.C. Every town expands and needs a little more land periodically. The amount of land needed is a drop in the bucket of what is available. People have the right to have a single family residence if they so choose. Apartments are not the same and not the best solution for families. Parks Canada is just being their usual intransigent bureaucracy and protecting their own empire. You are just being your usual argumentative self.

Once again the Federal government is not moving ahead to help the Jasper fire victims rebuild their homes. More land is required to build the homes on, but Parks Canada which is part of the Federal government is not helping. They control the land around Jasper, but are stubbornly refusing to sit down with Alberta and give them a piece of land to build the houses on. The money is there but the Federal government is not. Meanwhile many of the victims who lost their homes sit in motels awaiting this to be resolved. This is just another problem to add to the other attacks against the energy industry of Alberta. It should be remembered Alberta contributes hundred of millions and billions over the years to the Federal government, much of which is used for equalization payments to Quebec. The Rocky Mountains and Jasper National Park is huge. Human existence will not take much land, but it is an essential for life. Jasper is an important tourist destination as well and brings money in that benefits everyone through taxes and jobs.

This phony war on climate change is the biggest hoax in history. Man cannot control the climate or global warming. But the Mother Earth worshipers are convinced man can. This is all part of the fallen human world whereby many are deceived and have such a swollen ego they think man can do anything, including control the climate. It has never been done and never proven that such a thing could be done and never will be done. Next thing men will think they can build a Tower of Babel to reach into heaven. They tried that in the Book of Genesis in the Bible and failed miserably. The rest of us can only bunker down and brace ourselves for more of this war on climate madness.

Then cut off the hundreds of millions of dollars in equalization payments that Quebec receives from the west, particularly the oil-producing province of Alberta. They want the money without doing their part in Canada. They don't even pay carbon taxes in Quebec. They receive everything on a platter and contribute nothing. They have been brainwashed by the enviros and left in Quebec. How would a pipeline through Quebec effect anybody there? How would they even notice it?

I prefer to believe Wikipedia which gives a detailed account of what happened. quote The project was endorsed by the Liberal Government of New Brunswick,[27] which claimed it would create over 2000 construction jobs in a province with 11% unemployment.[citation needed] Former Conservative Party of Canada Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper endorsed the project, as did the Government of Alberta.[28] This endorsement was renewed by the former NDP Premier of Alberta Rachel Notley[29] after her government's election in 2015. The Saskatchewan Legislature unanimously endorsed a motion supporting the pipeline in November 2014, and the Premier of Saskatchewan Brad Wall called on Prime Minister Harper "to take leadership in supporting TransCanada’s proposed Energy East pipeline".[23] Accordingly, the provincial governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick were in support. Wall and Notley had taken the position that Ontario and Quebec could not "veto" the pipeline.[30] The Maliseet First Nations raised concerns about the project during National Energy Board board hearings, but the six Maliseet first nations did not take a unified position on the project at that point, saying that they were reserving judgment pending the results of a traditional land use study and technical review.[31] TransCanada said that it would "strive to reach consent" with the First Nations to avoid and mitigate any possible adverse effects of the Energy East pipeline.[32] Wall's (but not Notley's) position was that provincial equalization could be withheld from provinces that did not support the project.[33] Ontario and Quebec had imposed approval conditions on Energy East [34] but had dropped climate change concerns [35] in December 2014. After the election of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister in the 2015 Canadian federal election, and the replacement of Conservative pro-pipeline MPs with Liberal Party of Canada MPs along the entire route of the pipeline in New Brunswick and part of the route in Quebec, the Canadian federal position became unclear. The Prime Minister had strongly condemned the Harper-era process of regulation, citing serious conflict of interest and mandate flaws,[36] and had also promised to "work with the provinces to map out a plan to reduce Canada's collective carbon footprint within 90 days of taking office by putting a price on carbon pollution." Other Harper-era approvals such as Northern Gateway had been sharply criticized [37] and even called a "farce" by some public officials objecting to the lack of oral cross-examination.[38] Northern Gateway was ultimately cancelled as well by the federal government in November 2016. unquote Energy East - Wikipedia

When "Trump puts tariffs on Canada, Canada will have no alternative to sell our oil and gas. One major reason is because there are so many obstacles to building a pipeline in Canada. The Trudeau Liberals supported the U.N. Declaration on Indigenous Rights and many indigenous groups blocked the Energy East pipeline project from happening. This is just one obstacle of many. Our Liberal-NDP governments have done nothing to solve these problems and overcome the obstacles. Canadians will be in a dire position when the Trump tariffs kick in and there is nowhere else to ship our oil and gas. We could have been selling oil and gas to many countries for years and earning a lot of money for the various services like health care and bringing prosperity and jobs to Canadians. But it never happened thanks to the Liberal and left. " There were a number of factors that contributed to TransCanada's October 5, 2017 decision to cancel the Energy East project, including "politics, the energy market and the economics of the energy industry."[7][Notes 1] In 2015, National Energy Board members—NEB's chief executive, Peter Watson, Lyne Mercier, Jacques Gauthier and Roland George "derailed" the Board's public hearings and were "forced to recuse themselves from further dealings with Energy East".[12] They had held secret, private meetings in January 2015, with stakeholders, including Jean Charest, former Premier of Quebec who represented TransCanada at the time as a consultant.[13] Board members were "supposed to handle all of their dealings with stakeholders in public." Conservative MP, Lisa Raitt said the board members made a mistake with Energy East. "The NEB is there to make sure they do everything legally, by the book...If I were the minister in charge, I would read them the riot act."[7][12] Prior to the 2015 general election, then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper renewed the mandates of all nineteen politically-appointed permanent NEB members.[13] This prevented the "incoming government from making its own appointments to the regulator before the next federal election, scheduled for 2019."[13] The proposed route crossed the "traditional territory of 180 different aboriginal communities",[14] most of which were strongly against it.[15] Each of the 180 may[clarification needed] in law have had a veto under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau had previously vowed to sign and uphold.[16] This veto right was supported by some Canadian oil extraction corporations such as Suncor.[17] Energy East had generated controversy in various areas. Some communities through which it was proposed to pass (notably North Bay, Kenora, and Thunder Bay)[18] opposed it categorically. In partial response to these concerns, the NEB had planned to hear aboriginal oral evidence [19] from 70 specific intervenors.[20] The project was also strongly opposed by some Canadians on scientific grounds. The Pembina Institute released a report urging the National Energy Board to consider the impact on carbon emissions, estimating the project's upstream impact as being between 30 and 32 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year.[21][22] This position was supported by the Governments of Ontario and Quebec, who had wanted the impact of the project on greenhouse gases examined as part of the National Energy Board review process, but did not oppose the project in principle.[23] The Ontario Energy Board[24] also had right to assert its own conditions and jurisdiction, but did not before the project was cancelled.[citation needed] Another controversial aspect was a new supertanker complex at the eastern end of the pipeline near Quebec City. Exploratory work was put on hold for a month after the Quebec Superior Court found that the Quebec environment ministry had not considered the impact of the project on beluga whales in the area.[25] A public opinion poll held in Quebec found only one-third of Québécois supported the pipeline, while it was supported by one-half of Canadians outside of Quebec.[26]" Energy East - Wikipedia

Yes, TCP didn't want to publicly blame the Liberal and Quebec governments, but it was Quebec and Trudeau government that opposed building a pipeline to eastern Canada. So it was dropped. Liberals created a onerous application process that made it very difficult to proceed and Quebec refused to cooperate.

We have massive supplies of natural gas and oil to last well into the future. It is stupid to claim we shouldn't develop it and create prosperity today for Canadians. There are also massive supplies of gas under the Arctic which has never been developed.