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We have now taken in a teenage Saudi who has renounced Islam. That was the basis of her refugee claim. Now that the precedent is set, does this mean Canada is now welcoming anyone who renounces Islam? That won't play well with Trudeau's Islamic voter base, eh?

To answer the topic's question, not too much is actually wrong if people can get by their dislike of Trump.......here's an interesting column by Conrad Black. People might not agree with everything but the general intent of his writing is pretty sound. Certainly an interesting read..... https://nationalpost.com/opinion/conrad-black-americas-resurgence-is-reshaping-the-world

Interesting. How about using the topic information to just acknowledge that our taxation system is very "progressive" with the top earners providing most of the tax revenue? We shouldn't be looking to load up our taxes on the bottom half - nor should we kill the goose that laid the golden egg by trying to hammer those higher earners even more. There is a tipping point where people start to shield their earnings even more than they do. That's why it's so vitally important to not run deficits unless absolutely necessary. We are living in a fantasy world if we think we can be all things to all people and get somebody to pay for it all. Take Healthcare - the big Elephant that consumes the largest share of revenues. Why on earth have we not yet produced an invoice for everyone at least twice a year - with all the procedures and related costs. That shows everyone that it's not free - and it would help rout out fraud. And yes - I will utter that sacrilegious word - co-payments. Yes - co-payments for those who can afford it......on their tax returns...a percentage of the costs from their invoices to a maximum of some sort....increasing with earnings.

Yes - the cost for this fiasco is incremental. If it takes two years to get a hearing, it would take at least three years to send most of them home - resulting in a three year incremental "rolling" cost - and that's a Conservative estimate (pardon the pun). It's on record that the cost was close to $400 million federally and $200 million each for Ontario and Quebec - and only for Year One....that's at least $800 million. If we continue to have open borders, we'll have a similar amount for new illegals in Year Two while still paying for illegals from Year One. Similarly, a new cost for illegals in Year Three while paying for Year Two and Year One. It's pretty easy to see that even if we can cycle these illegals through in three years - we'll have an increasing cost that will push two billion dollars annually.

Firstly - your hatred of Trump should best be portrayed on this board's US politics. Secondly - as for Harper's being respected by world leaders - he just happened to drop in on Indian Prime Minister Modi recently. Link:

10 years of Stephen Harper helped to maintain our standing as one of the best countries in the world to live in. The CPC increased immigration to record levels and formulated a rational plan to take in 10,000 refugees in a responsible and sustainable fashion. Mr. Harper was also - and still is - one of the most respected world leaders (except for within the eco and UN elitist crowd). Trudeau on the other hand, has alienated just about every foreign relationship he has been given responsibility to nurture. He is virtually persona non-grata in India and disliked in Japan, Australia, Belgim, Viet Nam, China - and probably the US as well.,,,,much as a result of his silly virtue signalling. He has divided our provinces as never before - first by forcing the Harper healthcare formula on the provinces in a divide and conquer maneuver....a formula that he had described as "gutting" the healthcare system. His pipeline/Carbon policies have alienated the West and bubbling up separation talks in Alberta. He is a clear and present danger to the fabric of this country. Your use of the term "facism" does a huge dis-service to those who have lived under the tyranny of such systems. It may surprise you that our Prime Minister has much more absolute power than any US President. With the backing of his party, our PM can do literally anything - make any law, repeal any law - by using the notwithstanding clause if required. The US President has no such powers. Any use of the term Facism for rational arguments has no place in Canadian political discussion.

Probably should have added this to my previous post. Good reading for those in the third group that I mentioned: https://business.financialpost.com/news/the-environmental-movement-has-lost-its-way?fbclid=IwAR2yZYPDTNfiSpEPhls3u5VQxX_JGPycQzXdAOMiDg55jqF_zjk5nGlcSUQ

There are three sides to almost every story. On one side, we have the alarmists who say that if we don't reverse the GHG trend and start moving the needle down by 2030, we are all doomed. Some of these alarmists actually believe that humans cause Climate Change! On the other side, we have true deniers - those that see absolutely no problem with anything that humans are doing and that we have no impact on Climate Change. Alarmists, Deniers. They are intransigent. Then we have what I personally feel is a growing body of "middle of the road" constituents - the third side. Climate Change has always been with us. Humans are exacerbating it. They're not sure how much we're contributing. They want to take some responsible action. They're not sure how big the problem is. They're not sure what action we should take. They don't want to commit economic suicide - nor do they want to make major personal sacrifices. This third side is neither alarmist - nor deniers. They vary between "worriers" and skeptics - and they may very well represent the largest constituency of the debate. In the upcoming election, how the issue is framed for this third group will be paramount. In light of China, Russia, India, Indonesia and others completely and undeniably obliterating any GHG reductions the West might be able to make - there should be a rational way of framing the debate that would catch the imagination of this group.

Manley was right - we could have/should have warned Meng not to land in Canada. We were aware of the extradition request. But then again, this government has done many things to exacerbate international relations.

Monty, Monty. Maybe you're a troll - or perhaps just a misguided, naive university student - or possibly missing a screw......but if we can teach you anything as a participant of this board - it's that we are all Canadians - and while we might disagree with each other in certain areas, for the most part, we respect the basic values of humanity. Anyone who wants to embrace the values of - as the French say - Liberty, Equality, Fraternity - are welcome here - no matter their colour or religion. Traditional Liberals and Conservatives think the same on these values - they just express them a little differently (until young Trudeau came along). It's what has made Canada strong. Free speech in Canada means your opinions can be voiced - they only serve to validate the need to stick with our values and do our best to wage what seems like a fruitless battle against the intractable views of extremists like yourself. Or of course, we can ignore you.

Monty - it's important for people like yourself to express your thoughts in public It gives others a good look at another outlier - someone whose thinking is completely different than traditional Liberals and Conservatives who in the past have respectfully agreed to disagree but were really not that far apart. People may not have agreed with everything that Jean Chretien did - but he had a steady hand and arguably did Canada no harm. The same could be said about Stephen Harper. We are in a different dimension with Justin Trudeau for reasons that are too obvious to explain but are nicely captured in the two videos I shared - and the majority of comments expressed in this thread. But thanks Monty - without views like yours, it validates the rational positions of most people on this board - be they on the Left or the Right. Liberals and Conservatives have alternated for over 150 years in making Canada the country that it is. As I've said - Trudeau's incompetence and being hostage to the ideology of Gerald Butts and others has put Globalism ahead of Canada's best interests. It has run roughshod over the traditional, incremental, pragmatic leadership of traditional Liberal/Conservative governing of the past. Dangerous territory indeed.

I'd think you were being sarcastic but sadly, I think you actually believe what you say! But Monty - you still haven't got back to me: "Disliking" Justin Trudeau and his competence is not a partisan issue anymore. I personally have gone on record to say that this Liberal Party would have had a much more centrist and reasonable agenda had they elected Marc Garneau as leader. The divisiveness and indeed danger that we face is that Trudeau is so obviously not the leader of our country - but simply a parrot for his un-elected advisers, the main one being Gerald Butts. These two brief videos speak volumes of his competence. Have a look and tell us what you think - I mean really, take off your partisan blinders and tell us if you still think he's becoming one of Canada's greatest Prime Ministers........ Justin Trudeau on Ethics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15-5O4UPM0U Justin Trudeau on Trade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oedaSfUU0vc

Wow! You're way out there....a troll I guess. Truth is, Liberals and Conservatives have seldom been that far apart - both relatively centrist with one leaning towards bigger government and the other towards personal responsibility - but really, quite close in keeping Canada on a pragmatic course. Trudeau has really upset the apple cart in veering so far to the Left in following the ideology of his (as I said previously) his un-elected advisers, dividing the country, and creating a fraudulent anti-immigration shield for his globalist, open borders recklessness. Modest deficits and a balanced budget that have stretched to over $80 billion with hundreds of billions yet to come. In a similar vein, a carbon tax that "starts" at $10 and $20 per ton but ideologically will rise to $300 - without telling Canadians! Will all that revenue be returned to Canadians as with the first $10 or $20? Would you trust his backroom boys. These are not your father's Liberals. They are an aberration who have sullied the Liberal brand - and like Kathleen Wynne - they will pay the price dearly.

"Disliking" Justin Trudeau and his competence is not a partisan issue anymore. I personally have gone on record to say that this Liberal Party would have had a much more centrist and reasonable agenda had they elected Marc Garneau as leader. The divisiveness and indeed danger that we face is that Trudeau is so obviously not the leader of our country - but simply a parrot for his un-elected advisers, the main one being Gerald Butts. These two brief videos speak volumes of his competence. Have a look and tell us what you think - I mean really, take off your partisan blinders and tell us if you still think he's becoming one of Canada's greatest Prime Ministers........ Justin Trudeau on Ethics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15-5O4UPM0U Justin Trudeau on Trade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oedaSfUU0vc

You really do need to educate yourself instead of just watching the CBC or reading The Star. The first wave of "migrants that Americans hate" were almost exclusively from Haiti - refugees who came to the US under a TPS program (Temporary Protection Status) put in place due to the 2011 earthquake. After determining that is was safe to return to Haiti, refugees were given 18 months' notice that their TPS status would be ending. Canada had an identical policy for Haitians but ended it more than a year prior to Trump's announcement. As a result, almost all Haitians that rushed to the border as a result of Trudeau's idiotic tweet, are/have been ineligible for refugee status. Trump is simply doing what Canada SHOULD be doing. Refugees are precisely that = people seeking temporary refuge and ultimately/hopefully returning to their countries when deemed safe to do so. It is not/should not be viewed as an alternate path to immigration/citizenship. Refugees are refugees. Immigrants are immigrants. Different rules, obligations and expectations. Trudeau and his CBC enablers constantly combine immigration with refugees and "asylum seekers" - specifically to paint those who want better control of our borders and refugee/asylum processes as "anti immigration". It's a perfect example of why this Prime Minister is the most divisive in Canadian history.

Where to start: 1) We're in a warming cycle. It was cool from 1900 until around 1920 - and then hot until the 40's - most of the extreme heat records were set in the 20's and 30's. Then it started to cool again into the 70's - which spawned the fears of another ice age. Then in the 80's it started to heat up again until 2000 and we've been stuck around the same temperature since then on average. All these ups and downs were not at all in tandem with CO2. And it's still puzzling to me why no heat records have been set in any US state over the last 20 years. 2) "Greatest acceleration in temperatures since pre-history" - back to point number one - it's arguable that the increase leading up to the 20's and 30's were just as "dramatic" - but in reality, it's silly to think that you could take the 30 year "hockey stick" - fraudulent though it is - and accurately compare it to every other 30 year time-frame "since pre-history". Roman and mideivel warming periods were just that - periods of warmth after/before periods of cooling. It's possible that it was even warmer back then but that's not as important as the fact that they occurred - without the need of burning fossil fuels. Can you grasp that? 3) "Reduce the use of coal - like Ontario did" - if you truly believed that to be helpful, you would be on a bandwagon helping to get Canada's oil to China, India and other places to help reduce the use of coal. Stop wringing your hands and admit to yourself that the West can accomplish nothing unless the developing world also stops burning fossil fuels. If not, their economies will expand, their populations will grow. and modernity will have demanding even more fossil fuels......assuming their political systems can handle the stress. Anything less that total global cooperation would be a fool's errand - and that's only if you think it would make any difference in the Climate. 4) I'll agree with some of your ideas for a green transition - but to think we have to save the world by 2030 is complete nonsense and even if true. we're dead anyway. So it's time to stop squabbling and do things pragmatically around the world. Use oil to replace coal. Use gas to replace oil. Develop Hydro where appropriate. We are not that far away from fusion power - here's an interesting link. It won't happen as quickly as stated but it shows how relatively close we are to limitless, clean energy.......and the Man Upstairs has given us enough natural fuels to help us get to where we need to go. Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielcohen/2018/08/01/will-lockheed-martin-change-the-world-with-its-new-fusion-reactor/#642361504c49

Of course there are several "warmest years on record" - that's because the world is in a warming cycle - similar to back in the 20's and 30's but maybe a touch warmer. Don't be fooled by the latest IPCC ploy - combining ocean with land temperatures - which are even less reliable than land. The only temperature readings that can be trusted to a large degree are the satellite readings that are faithfully recorded by Roy Spencer and John Christy at UAH. Have a look - not much to report over the last 20 years. Here's another factoid for you. Did you know that in spite of these "warmest years on record" - not even one heat extreme record has been set in any state in the Continental US? Not one. Most were set in the 20's and 30's. Does that make any sense? http://www.drroyspencer.com/latest-global-temperatures/

But that's really what the plan is! Like has always been said by the realists - follow the money. Transfer billions upon billions from the developed countries to the third world and in doing so, play havoc with our economies. The agenda is not to make any appreciative difference in the "battle for the future of Mankind" - it's to get the West to pay up and in hobbling our economies, to chip away at Capitalism. Even if you actually believe in the CO2 scam - any person in their right mind knows that we'll never even start to reduce emissions while China, India, Russia and others are growing their economies. Meanwhile, average global temperatures have been almost completely flat for 20 years - while CO2 has been rising.

What the heck are you talking about?........I'm not talking about pollution - Canadians and most global citizens care about clean water, clean air and sustainable forests - and we've made great strides over the past 50 years in looking after the environment. My post was about the Climate Change scam and it's CO2 tunnel-vision. And please - please don't parrot Climate Barbie's use of the term "pollution" in place of CO2. Who or what is behind or influencing the UN agenda - which more and more drives globalist policies? Personally I don't know but it's clear that the agenda is driven by a globalist ideology - and it doesn't "just happen". And it's not the oil companies. So just who are these great "influencers"? Was/is it really the Maurice Strongs and Rothschilds of the world - I have no idea. I can't say I don't care because the UN has become an un-elected danger with Trudeau at the helm here in Canada.

But that's why the EU is falling apart - force feeding what The People don't want to eat.

That's what we do. That's why we pay taxes - except for those that we are trying to help. It's why we have CPP, OAS, Tax-free Savings accounts, RRSP's, Medicare, and a Charter of Rights.....much of which has historically been paid for by Canada's natural resource industry. In my opinion, we have just one thing left to do to cut off the rough edges of Capitalism........and that is put a maximum on how much any one person can "earn". After all, how much is enough? People in North America have never been as well off as they are today. No one - literally no one - can starve or be lacking for clothes or a roof over their heads - if they so choose. Granted, it may be tough - Welfare, shelters, soup kitchens, missions.....but even the very most marginalized have somewhere to turn.

The "politics of fear" as you say, comes mostly from the Left - the Globalists, socialists. Marxists. The bunch of them are of one thought - and if you disagree, you are an outlier - to be marginalized, shouted down or in Climate Change terms - called deniers. The Climate Change scam has nothing to do with the environment - it's a red herring. Every rational human wants clean air, clean water, sustainable forests. Climate change is a scare tactic - a proxy to allow these unelected elitists/UN to create the illusion that only THEY can save humanity from itself. Truth is, each country has to learn how to save itself with democracy - and improving their collective lives one year at a time - developing trading relations with others - building that into blocs - and then trading between and amongst blocs......incremental steps that take time to build trust. "Globalism" seeks to simply jump over these hard-earned steps and force-feed it to The People. It's not so easy. Be careful what you wish for. One government means one-size-fits-all - no matter what your argument to the contrary might be. One-size-fits-all is soul-sucking socialism - subject to the whims and desires of those wielding the power. It's not easy but if democracy has taught us anything, it's that The People know best - if they are given all the facts, the agenda and the direction.

The Climate Change scam is only a piece of the puzzle - albeit a major piece. It's all part of the elitist undertaking for that one-world government (AKA Globalism).....one that used to be laughed at as a conspiracy dreamed up by the "looney Right" - but now is coming into rather clear focus. The UN has morphed (been manipulated) into the major impetus for the Globalist agenda. The advent of Trump has thrown a monkey wrench into their plans - as evidenced by the shrill cries of Armageddon (AKA extreme weather). But.......in speeding up their plans, they've rather exposed themselves with their "Migrant Compact" - geared to open-borders and the destruction of nationalist pride and values. It's pernicious. must be exposed, and with the knowledge of their agenda, must be taken from the shadows, presented to the people - and let democracy take it's course. That's the problem with elitism and unelected bodies like the UN - they REALLY think that they know better than The People - that they can't TRUST The People to "understand" what's best for them. Not a conspiracy theory. It's out there.

Briefly....."Humans cause Climate Change" is simply not true....or a lie - take your pick. The term "Climate Change is Real" spouted by the alarmist community is an ignorant remark - and those who spew it need to give themselves a big shake.

Still waiting for answers: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/christie-blatchford-what-is-taking-so-long-with-toronto-danforth-mass-shooting-investigation?video_autoplay=true