Keepitsimple

You have to be more precise or the alarmists call you a denier. Climate Change is a reality - as anyone with half a brain knows. Global Warming - as in - humans are causing the earth's thermostat to run amok towards Armagheddon......is dubious at best.

The problem that I fear will raise its ugly head is a knee-jerk commitment to show that "Canada is Back". If anything, Trudeau has shown that he loves to be adored - and now he has the attention of the world stage - the Climate Crowd and all their associated Hollywood activists - like Leonardo DiCaprio and his horribly scary encounter with Calgary's chinook winds. Trudeau made the reckless commitment of 25,000 government-sponsored refugees before the end of the year - but as time has shown - that commitment was made in the absence of just about any knowledge of the process and barriers to bringing refugees to Canada. That commitment will not be satisfied for over a year - and the cost of doing so has ballooned to well over 5 times the "estimate" and is still rising - and excludes many of the substantial costs that will be borne by Provinces and cities. And it goes beyond any commitments on Climate Change - lets not forget the similarly reckless commitment to fulfill all 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation committee.

I know you're confused - but in your defense, the Liberals have made it confusing in an attempt to salvage their election commitment of 25,000 government-assisted refugees by December 31, 2015 (now Feb. 28, 2016). Classic Bait & Switch - just add in the privately-sponsored refugees that were already in the pipeline! As McCallum has said - it'll take a year or more. Link: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1021919&_ga=1.48042148.2058986007.1448311502 The original Trudeau promise: Link: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/11/26/justin-trudeaus-backtracking-on-refugee-promise-casts-shadow-over-other-pledges-walkom.html

Most of the initial 10,000 were identified by the Harper government as privately-sponsored refugees as part of the Conservative refugee resettlement targets - so a good portion of the vetting process was already done - those form the bulk of the current arrivals. Even with that bait and switch head start, it's just about impossible that the full 10,000 will be in Canada by December 31st. It will be very interesting to track the arrivals of the 25,000 government-sponsored refugees that constitute the Trudeau commitment. McCallum has already admitted that it will take a year.....

And they should not doubt it - that's the grand farce in the climate discussion. The world has cooled and warmed regularly - and even if we were all dead, the world would be warming now. Surely you know that. That's why Roman-era villages are being uncovered as glaciers retreat. That's why the Vikings settled, then retreated from Greenland. That's why vinyards used to thrive in England - and then later, they were skating on the Thames. All that before the Industrial Age. That's why I just have to roll my eyes as naive, ignorant or willfully blind "activists" keep shouting "Climate Change is Real!". DUH! The question has always been and still is - how much are humans exacerbating/adding to the natural warming that is occurring at this point in history? And therein lies what a skeptic is. To call these people "deniers" is nothing short of anti-science alarmism.

A lot of reading - but brilliantly stated. Nothing really new - but the compilation of deeds really does speak to the ongoing culture of fear and corruption of the activist climate community. One has to be brain dead not to uncomfortably reflect on the veracity of alarmist projections/predictions.

Link: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/canada-withdraw-jets-fighting-islamic-state-within-weeks-233548384.html

Read Waldo, read. Potential to be a harbinger. For example - he's already blurted out that he would implement each and every one of the Truth and Reconciliation committee recommendations. Seeing as none of those recommendations have been fully defined and costed - what does that mean to Canadians? How about being "a leader" on Climate Change? Will he similarly blurt out an unplanned, uncosted commitment? Canada has at least another 4 years of Liberal rule so for our collective sake, I'm hoping for the best but not naïve enough to ignore what may be the worst.

Your worship of Mr. Trudeau has so obviously made you willfully blind. "Reckless" because a knee-jerk, over-the-top, cast-iron commitment by Dec. 31 has the very real potential to be a harbinger of other irresponsible edicts to come. You don't play with people's lives. It's about more than satisfying an ill-thought election commitment that had no plan attached and yet driven by a ridiculous date - it's about creating the conditions that allow for the successful integration of newcomers.

When you provide tongue-in-cheek sarcasm, make sure you include the little smiley.....

The whining seems to be more in your court as you ignore the facts. I commend Canadians and the last government for facilitating private placement of nearly 10,000 Syrians. I've said all along that Trudeau's promise of an additional 25,000 government-sponsored Syrian refugees by December 31, then February 28 and now according to McCallum, more than a year out was nothing short of reckless. If Trudeau is as reckless on making similar knee-jerk decrees on Climate Change (e,g. setting an example for the world) - or the Aboriginal file (e.g. implementing all 94 recommendations from the T & R commission), we'll all be in deep trouble.

Couldn't care less about what you've said. I was making a distinction over what was promised - that they would, with the help of the UN, identify 25,000 eligible Syrians and bring them to Canada by Dec. 31 - now Feb. 28. Haven't you been reading the papers - the provinces and cities getting ready for the 25,000 arrivals - hundreds coming each day? Private sponsorships don't need government support. No Waldo - the promise was - and is - for 25,000 government sponsored refugees and as McCallum said - it will likely take more than a year.

What part of "government sponsored" refugees do you not understand? Did you not read the article? Did you not understand that Trudeau committed to bringing in refugees that were over and above the 10,000 (mostly privately sponsored refugees that were initiated prior to the election? Did you not understand that? And that's why McCallum said it would likely take more than a year to satisfy the election promise. Waldo - as I've mentioned already, Canadians elected a majority Liberal government - but like Harper, that does not mean that their leader is infallible - and like Harper, we should hold them accountable for their decisions. This one was reckless from the start.......

Here ya go - from The Star....apologies, I should have said "more than a year". So....you tell me Waldo - why is it wrong to refer to it as reckless and irresponsible electioneering? Link: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/11/26/justin-trudeaus-backtracking-on-refugee-promise-casts-shadow-over-other-pledges-walkom.html

I don't have to pick either. The original promise was reckless - non-sensical....period! Now they are scrambling to deal with reality - and as McCallum has said, it might take up to a year - personally, I think it will take longer. That's not extending the deadline - it's trying to actually make some sort of plan out of the recklessness of the electioneering. And what about the other 2000 refugees that Canada takes in every month? They just wait around for another year or two?

Actually, the Canadian government - which Harper happened to lead for the last 10 years - accepted 25,000 refugees every year from around the world - including over 20,000 from Iraq since ISIS became an issue. And there has been a thorough vetting process in place. That all seems to have gone asunder with the reckless refugee bidding war that played out in the election. Now we're facing the reality of reluctant refugees, a make-shift process, and artificial timelines. And what about all the other refugees from around the world? Will they just have to wait that much longer - until the Liberals have satisfied their reckless, broken promises?

Don't for get that throughout those hard-hearted Harper years, Canada took in about 25,000 refugees every year from around the world - and there has been a well-oiled process in place to do so. So.....you can either bump that figure up to 75,000 refugees - or come to the conclusion that the Liberal promise will force refugees from other countries to wait even longer.

The apologists are still fighting the real issue. It's not about the rules. It's not about the money. It's not about what Trudeau Senior or Mulroney did. It's about his clear often-stated mantra that wealthy people - like himself and Harper - don't need funds for Child Care....coupled with making the rich pay more. Call it hypocricy or bad optics or plain bad judgement. It's a major gaffe that his issues-management team has mishandled terribly.

Big splash, that's for sure. Commitment? If it's substantially more than the US, our largest trading partner - then Trudeau should be committed. It's more likely to result in another round of useless, feel-good 30-year unenforcible, "aspirational" targets.

"once again"? When did Canada take it seriously?

As it turns out, we sent 383 people to Paris - more than Australia, the UK and the United States - combined! Link: http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/smyth-canada-sent-383-people-to-the-u-n-climate-conference-more-than-australia-the-u-k-and-u-s-together

That faux "faux scandal" was/is not about costs - and you know that.

....and the decisions and actions of the PM's security advisers have exactly what.....to do with Trudeau's personal decision to take the Premiers to Paris? To be honest, I'm not opposed to that decision but if you'll remember, it seemed that every time Stephen Harper took a trip anywhere, there was an accounting of costs that ended up in the media in a not-so-favourable way - and of course, made it's way to the CBC political shows. Hopefully, that had a lot to do with easier Access to Information, slow news and lazy journalism. So I'll be expecting the same not-so-favourable slant when the Paris costs roll in.

I'm waiting for the costs to roll in on sending the PM, Premiers, bureaucrats and their entourages to Paris. As "inclusive" as it was trumpeted, the final bill should be pretty sobering. Just another layer to the "Canada is Back" meme - hang onto your wallet.

Could the rush to privatize Hydro One be because there has been so much deterioration of the delivery infrastructure that this corrupt, incompetent government would have to raise rates even more to fund its upgrade? So sell it off and let the private sector raise the rates, so it's no longer "the government's fault"? Sure the government "regulates" rates - but it's a toothless regulator. When the Private Hydro One starts "investing" - the rates go up - with a tidy profit thrown in. So many people in this Liberal government should be fired or put in jail.