Argus

There is absolutely no way relations with China can return to the way they were. We need to start out by officially banning her company from Canada, then removing Chinese agents and influencers from Canada. That includes closing down the 'Confucius institutes' at a number of schools.

This is not the first I had heard that China was working to get Trudeau re-elected, preferring to have a weak man at the helm here. But it is disturbing to see that it might have had this much impact. CSIS warned us years ago that virtually all Chinese language media in Canada were controlled by pro Beijing businessmen with ties to the Communist party and were reproducing the Chinese Communist party line. If Chinese Canadians are paying attention this and voting by it we're in trouble. and I don't expect much attention to this from the media or from the Trudeau government, who will be quite content with the help. But as Canadians we need to look long and hard at a system which brings in hundreds of thousands of people from foreign countries which are hostile towards Canada without doing anything to ensure they switch loyalties to us, or that they are removed from the influence of their 'home' government. Now we seem to have a pro-China minority group actively working for and voting on behalf of China and against Canadian interests. Defeated Conservative MP fears attacks by pro-Beijing forces swung votes against him There was evidence that China’s focus turned during the election to the Conservatives, whose platform outlined a multi-pronged approach to confronting Beijing It’s impossible at this point to determine what factors caused results in individual ridings, but Chiu was not the only Conservative incumbent to be defeated in seats with large Chinese-Canadian populations, people exposed to such ethnic-Chinese media. Though not all the votes had been counted Tuesday, Alice Wong appeared headed for defeat in Richmond Centre, next to Chiu’s riding, despite having held the seat through four previous elections. Bob Saroya lost the Toronto-area riding of Markham-Unionville — where almost two thirds of residents are ethnic Chinese — to Liberal Paul Chiang after taking the previous two elections. https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/election-2021/defeated-tory-mp-fears-attacks-by-pro-beijing-forces-swung-votes-against-him Of the many obstacles that have been strategically placed in the path of the voting public’s comprehension of where the parties situate themselves in the federal election campaign that’s just now heading into its final lap around the track, there’s nothing quite so peculiar as the cordon sanitaire Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have been allowed to construct around any serious discussion of foreign policy. The Liberals are similarly counting on voters not to notice that what distinguishes their own foreign policy is the thing that has caused the Chinese government and its network of diplomats and well-connected friends in Canada to be rather too obvious in their enthusiasm for a Liberal re-election. So enthusiastic, in fact, that they’re already coming close to violating Canadian laws intended to safeguard federal elections from foreign interference. It began on Aug. 25, when Chinese ambassador Cong Peiwu, without explicitly naming him, insinuated that Erin O’Toole was placing his party’s “political interests” ahead of fruitful Canada-China relations. After an obligatory throat-clearing to the effect that it was not his intent to comment on or interfere in the election, Cong said China would oppose anyone “hyping up issues related to China or smearing China.” Since then, Vancouver-East New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan and Steveston—Richmond East Conservative Kenny Chiu have been targeted by Beijing-friendly individuals and organizations that have served as megaphones for China’s brutal crackdowns in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. The two candidates have been vocal in calling attention to Beijing’s genocidal repression of Xinjiang’s minority Muslim Uyghurs and Xi Jinping’s brutal repression of Hong Kong’s democratic movement. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/election-2021/glavin-chinas-interference-in-canadas-election-doesnt-seem-to-faze-the-liberals

This puts it quite well, I think. When news broke last week that the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia — Canada’s closest allies and national security partners for six decades in the “Five Eyes” intelligence sharing network — had agreed on a new security pact called AUKUS aimed at containing China’s global ambitions, Canada’s exclusion from the arrangement was disappointing but not devastating. One might have assumed that our federal government considered this deal carefully and concluded it was not in Canada’s national interest to be part of it. After all, Canada has chosen to be non-existent in the Indo-Pacific region for many years. But when government sources leaked that Canada was not even consulted on the agreement and knew nothing about it until hours before the announcement, something much more serious is afoot. The message from Washington, London and Canberra to our capital seems rather direct: Canada is irrelevant and unreliable, if not a pain in the ass when it comes to meeting the national security challenge of our times, namely checking China’s aggressive, confrontational global ambitions. https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/lang-new-pact-between-australia-u-s-and-u-k-shows-canadas-waning-global-relevance

Merely making the point Quebecers are Canadians of convenience only, and will leave the instant they see it as economically viable without serious penalties.

Even though it's a stupid, unfair, incoherent list of hunting rifles which the government has suddenly made worthless after thousands of Canadians have paid thousands of dollars for them? There is not a 'military assault weapon' on that list. There are BB guns, air rifles and hunting rifles with no distinctive features other than they've been pimped out to look 'sexy' to young males for marketing purposes. It's like banning a Prius from the streets on the grounds it's a 'racing car' because it has a spoiler, big bumpers and flames painted on the side. There might be a handful of guns on the list who could justifiably be banned not because they are assault weapons but because a knowledgeable person can make changes which would turn them into assault style weapons. But that's it, out of over 1500 odd rifles, shotguns BB guns and air rifles.

No. But if Quebec ever discovers oil, or figures it can do as well on its own, they'll be gone the next day. There is little affection for Canada there. There is no way they would share anything with Canada. If they became a 'have' province, they would demand the equalization scheme be renegotiated.

There is no logic to that contention.

Yeah, what is it now, two months? Then you get ten off? Is that the deal out east now?

Maybe if they got paid - by another province - to sit on their ass all day getting fat they wouldn't be complaining so much.

Who's gonna pay for your welfare and pogey then?

He'll keep that Alberta money flowing to your pogey cheques!

This country needs good paying jobs and industry and to export something which makes money so it can spend it on social services you liberals like. Did you complain when Harper spent billions to prop up the auto sector? East coasters seem content with their perpetual high unemployment as long as their pogey cheques - subsidized by Alberta - stay high. Coward? That was a brave thing to do in that it would be far easier to simply push the problem down the road for someone else to address - the way Trudeau did. Maybe you just don't understand people who work for a living.

In what way was Harper 'heartless'? Did he let central Canadian industries collapse? Did he ignore the needs of central canada? Do you believe the more money a politician spends the more 'caring' he or she is?

The problem is that while in Australia all major parties agree on the importance of a strong military, the Liberals in Canada never have, and when in opposition use every opportunity to politicize any and all military purchase and actions. For example, they got us into Afghanistan, but once the Tories were in power they did everything they could to make Canadians want us out. They searched for 'scandal' in everything from how Americans treated prisoners we handed over to the cost of new equipment. The Liberals signed us onto the F35 purchasing program, but once in opposition they did everything in their power to make it seem like a complete waste of money. every action, every death in combat was another opportunity for them to score points against the Tories. And now in power they've pushed all capital projects to the rear burner because Trudeau only cares about spending money on improving his popularity. And he figures the Canadians who care most about the military probably don't vote Liberal anyway.

You continue to embrace this 'all or nothing' approach, where either we need to be able to defeat China ourselves or simply not have a military. That is not what anyone here is calling for. We don't need to match China. We merely need to field a respectable military so that we will be taken seriously. Some of the new electric subs are even quieter than nuclear, and I'm willing to bet if we had a dozen of them - which Australia was ordering from France, we could deter any kind of Chinese adventurism anywhere near our coast. Nor do we need conscription. I believe we could recruit enough people easily, if the government took measure to instill pride in our military - which includes not making them get by with forty year old, obsolete junk. We fielded a military twice the size it is now when we had half our population. We could field it again. And what our self-serving politicians want is irrelevant to the discussion. We all know they place their own political interest ahead of what's best for Canada. The best we can do is vote for whomever seems friendliest to the idea of increasing the size and spending. Right now (as usual) that's the Conservatives. And at least their leader is a former CAF officer who presumably has more interest and respect for the military than a smarmy drama teacher like Trudeau.

Any enemy? That's not the proposal. No one is suggesting we need to have the power of a US. We're not going to be the big, musclebound bully on the block. But it'd be nice not to be the 98lb weakling everyone picks on either.

China respects nothing but force. If you cringe or silently accept their abuse, expect more of it. We should start by passing laws to protect Canadian immigrants from abuse by their former government. China has all kinds of agents in Canada pushing its agenda, controlling Chinese language media here, pressuring Chinese-Canadian businessmen and threatening students. Throw them all out. Close down the Confucius institutes, and any other agencies of Chinese influence in Canada. Start giving ships from China preferential treatment for extended searches which strategically slow down their goods. This would be done to search for drugs, especially fentanyl which the Chinese government allows to be shipped to other countries by criminals there. Do this in concert with trying to persuade Canadian importers to shift to other suppliers outside China. Start placing tariffs on Chinese goods, or even banning some for various reasons, made up or not. Including price dumping which they're almost all guilty of. Cut back on the number of Chinese students allowed into Canada. That should confuse them since that's usually one of the threats they make - to cut back the number of students. Buy the F35 immediately. Speed up construction of the new frigates. See if the French want to sell us some of those submarines they were building for the Australians cheap.

Have they been asked? It seems to me we don't have a viable military because the Liberals have been in power most of the last fifty years, and, based in Quebec, they tend to be anti-militaristic. As are most liberal Quebecers. I think most of the rest of Canada would prefer to have a viable military. Anyone who thinks we need to temper our behaviour according to what might anger hostage-takers is simply pleading with the world's strongmen to take more hostages. Suppose these two are released tomorrow. Then what? Then we can be free to act in our interests? Well, what's to stop China from taking several more hostages the following week? Are we to be forever bowing to China and being silent about their abuses? The two micheals went there voluntarily and worked there voluntarily and with some enthusiasm, one of them even making money by helping the horrible North Korean regime earn foreign currency. I do not believe our actions should be influenced AT ALL by what their hostage takers might do.

It's intersting that the sub contract the Australians have cancelled with France was or 12 new submarines. TWELVE. Canada, with a third higher population, currently has 4 very old used subs which rarely work. And no plans to replace them. Whatever happened to replacing our 40 year old F18s? We've seen zero progress in that since Trudeau got elected - for a reason. He's obviously told them to freeze it in place as the almost certain winner would be the one he dismissed as overpriced and not working when he was in opposition. His not being shown wrong is clearly MUCH more important than Canada's security. And our new frigates to replace our 40 year old warships? No date on them. But it will be AT LEAST another decade. Because it's not like we're in a rush there, either.

Tommy Douglas did not design our medical insurance. HIS medial insurance plan included user fees, limitations, and no ban on privately supplied services.

If the shortage of microchips has demonstrated anything it's that you can't build anything today rapidly. Scaling up militarily would need a plethora of parts, each of which is extremely complex and needs special software and a lot of other parts, like computer chips. Then you'd need a skilled work force and the tools to put it all together. It's taken us a year just to get industry to make face masks and gloves for Gods sakes. You think we could build the boots, uniforms, rifles, ammunition, trucks, tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles, aircraft, ships etc. quickly???

Says the Quackery level poster.

You do that with every post you make, Mr Tinfoil.

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