All Manner Of Excuses

 

In the debased environment that now constitutes our politics, our 'leaders' can without a doubt justify just about anything they do as being in the national interest. For example, if you are Mark Carney, you can explain the proposal to sell out our public infrastructure, (i.e., airports) by saying that it will unlock value, the funds derived from which can be repurposed for 'national' projects. 

The next item on Carney's hit list seems to be climate-change mitigation. It is being widely reported that, in order to placate Alberta (an oxymoronic concept if I have ever heard one) he is about to gut that emission standards for that province's oil giants.

Ottawa and Alberta are close to finalizing a new accord on industrial carbon pricing that would result in the fee going up to $130 a tonne by 2040, two government sources, one federal and one provincial, said Tuesday.

The problem is that this is a severe departure from one arranged under the Trudeau government.

An industrial carbon price is a critical element of Canada’s climate change strategy and, under the previous Liberal government, it was projected to contribute to significant reductions in emissions. However, if cabinet approves the new deal struck with Alberta, that price will be far less stringent than the $170-by-2030 charge announced by Mr. Trudeau.

If the federal cabinet approves the plan to raise the industrial carbon price only to $130 per tonne by 2040, analysis from the Canadian Climate Institute suggests it will result in “little to no emissions reductions in heavy industry.”

While on the subject of paying obeisance to the private sector, it is interesting to note that Mark Carney's strategy to double Canada's electricity generation seems to omit any renewables other than hydro:

In a speech Saturday at the Global Progress Action Summit in Toronto, ... [Carney said]: 

“We need a willingness to use — it can be sometimes hard to accept — we need a willingness to use all sources of energy, including some gas and all technologies beyond conventional renewables,” he said, listing nuclear, hydro, small modular reactors, carbon capture, and geothermal energy sources.

Why no mention of solar and wind as energy sources? Indeed, in all of the projects thus far approved by the government to "build Canada Strong," I am unaware of any federal support for either of those technologies. Could one of the reasons be they don't sufficiently enrich corporate coffers?

And finally, if you can forgive the rather discursive quality of this post, I see that our prime minister is mulling over more opportunities for private sector enrichment.

Buried deep in the pages of a discussion paper released Friday — one of two published for swift 30-day public consultations — is the announcement that the government is open to and seeking a report on the potential amalgamation of certain unnamed “key ports” in Canada and “divestiture” of others.

It comes two weeks after the federal budget revealed Ottawa is looking at privatizing airports as the Carney government pledges to maximize the value of assets for Canadians, streamline operations, and sets its eyes on the creation of a $25-billion sovereign wealth fund.

While no further details have been released, the trend is clear. My late father-in-law had a favourite saying: "Socialism for the rich, free enterprise for everyone else." Considering what seems to be on the prime minister's mind these days, selling off infrastructure that has been built and maintained by the Canadian taxpayer certainly underscores the truth of his observation. 

 

 

A Prescription For Our Times

 But I doubt grandpa will take it.

Paved With Good Intentions

 

To want Canada to prosper during these tumultuous times is both noble and natural. Federal government leadership to forge that path is something we expect, given that our problems are countywide. However, this is the point at which visions on how to achieve that sought-after prosperity diverge.

For the Carney government, it seems that more privatization is the route to go. He is openly talking about 'unlocking the value' of our airports.

Canada is willing to let foreign investors buy stakes in Canadian airports, Prime Minister Mark Carney suggested Wednesday, as the federal government considers trying to raise money to fuel its economic growth agenda through the privatization of public assets. 

“We are wide open to foreign investment,” Carney said when asked whether the government would allow foreign investment into Canada’s network of publicly owned airports that could be worth billions of dollars. 

Following its spring economic update last month, Carney’s government signalled it is looking at selling off Canadian airports to private owners as part of an effort to improve operations for travellers and raise money. The prime minister said the goal is to make airports “better serve Canadians” and to raise money that is “tied up in those airports” to reinvest in “other ventures that will grow are economy.” 

While those airports' revenue streams would induce salivation in many an investor, there are reasons to be cautious.

Drawing upon Ontario's disastrous experience in the selling of cash cow Highway 407 under Mike Harris, Linda McQuaig suggests the real losers will be consumers.

[S]ince its privatization in 1999, the 407 has cost drivers an estimated $25 billion in tolls. And we’re only getting started! The privatization deal lasts for 99 years, and by the end, Ontario drivers will have paid tolls likely amounting to a gut-wrenching $150 billion. The National Bank of Canada described the 407 as “a value-generating monster.”  

A sale of our airports will not, despite Carney's claim, be good for the flying public. 

Of course, not all privatizations are as disastrous as the 407. But one feature they all seem to share is that they ultimately cost consumers more — even though this higher cost is typically denied at the outset, when the privatizers often maintain consumer costs will actually fall.  

Because Hwy 407 is a monopoly, regular market forces such as competition do not apply. 

Airports are also regulated monopolies, offering lucrative revenue streams that make them highly attractive to private owners who can raise parking rates and charge airlines higher landing fees, which are passed on in higher ticket prices. 

Passengers can’t just switch to another airport any more than Toronto commuters can just move to another highway. In both cases, travellers are captives, even though they paid to build these assets through their tax dollars. 

Sufficient privatization of assets has taken place to draw some pretty solid conclusions: 

A 2022 study published by the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research examined more than 2,400 airports worldwide; about 20 per cent had been privatized. The study concluded that, while airport privatization can increase efficiency, it often makes flying more expensive for travellers.  

To a hammer, everything is a nail. Given Mark Carney's extensive experience in the private sector, it is not surprising that he is looking at the issue of privatization through a very narrow lens. Unfortunately, that lens means he neither sees nor really cares about the negative effects it will have on those many of us ( i.e., the majority) who live outside his very privileged circle.

 

A Familiar Foe

 

While many are exultant over the fact that Mark Carney's Liberals now have a majority government, I have always been of the opinion that when it comes to such feats, you should be careful what you wish for. Such a government, of course, has the power to enact a progressive vision, but it also has the power to ignore that vision, conveniently forgetting the people who conferred that majority.

I fear the latter is what is happening with our 'new' government, which seems more interested in pursuing the favour of the powerful instead of assuaging the plight of the powerless.

Althia Raj writes that despite lofty Liberal rhetoric, the details of the latest economic update tell a different story:

... dig into the details and you learn national pharmacare is ending. There is no new money to create more child care spaces. Federal health-care spending is drastically being cut. Oh, and the government is looking at privatizing airports and ports — moves prime minister Stephen Harper didn’t even publicly contemplate.

Our last government, thanks to its minority status, was more responsive to the needs of the people. 

Two years ago, prime minister Justin Trudeau announced with much fanfare the “first phase of a national pharmacare plan,” $1.5 billion over five years to cover a range of free contraception and life-saving diabetes medications. The plan — crafted under pressure from the NDP — was to study the initial roll out, and expand coverage to more drugs in the future. Trudeau said national pharmacare would strengthen the social safety net, and help Canadians get the care they needed.

Only British Columbia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and the Yukon signed deals before Trudeau left office. Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador who now want access to the program are finding Carney is dragging its feet. Although he said in September he would act “as quickly and as equitably as possible” to finalize deals, and approximately $600 million is left in the pot, Health Minister Marjorie Michel’s office spoke Friday only of “honouring existing pharmacare agreements.”

Indeed, even for those provinces that signed on, it seems the agreements are only in place until 2029, after which, given their absence in budgets and updates, they will end. 

But the news gets even worse.

 The federal government is also slashing billions from health care — at a time when hospital emergency rooms are swamped, the population is aging, and mental health needs are too often left unmet.

It also looks like the $500 million annually set aside to increase Canadians access to expensive drugs for rare diseases won’t extend beyond next March. 

Child care, another program widely touted by Liberals, will also see cuts. The $625 million Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund will sunset next year, and while the Carney government plans to renew the Canada-wide early learning and child care (CWELCC) transfers to the provinces, they won’t increase beyond what Trudeau negotiated his last week in office.  Funding will, in fact, be $1.1 billion less than what the Grits promised back in 2021, when they pledged “a minimum of $9.2 billion per year ongoing” to keep the program alive.

Mark Carney, in his previous existence, moved in very rarified circles, many of which were repositories of the elite. And it appears the elites are his true constituency. Take, for example, his recent musing of 'unlocking the value' of our airports through privatization. Take also his creation of the Canada Strong Fund which, as far as I can tell, is simply another iteration of public-private partnerships, which usually means the public takes all the risks and financial liabilities, while the private sector enjoys the profits.

Hubris is an all too familiar foe. It blinds our 'leaders' to the harsh realities many people contend with on a daily basis. Unfortunately, there is little opportunity to fight it, except once every four years or so. And even then, our traditionally low election turnouts suggest it is a very weak cudgel indeed.

With Great Power Comes .... Great Abuse

 

It surely comes as no revelation that the United States, historically, has exercised less than great responsibility with its great power. Modern history is littered with examples of American-backed coups, assassinations, etc., most of which have ultimately blown up in the face of the American giant. 

However, Donald Trump's abuse of power takes it to a whole new level, given that much of it targets domestic victims. Think of the hideous deployments of ICE to murder and imprison American citizens, his throwing of suspected illegals into prison camps, his mass deportations to harsh countries, his general disdain for constitutional strictures, etc. to name but a few violations of law and decency.

It is, however, on the micro level that one is best able to see the man's depraved nature. One who often incites or encourages violence, he and his vampiric wife are yet again calling upon ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel over a harmless joke that dear Melania claims was an incitement to the kind of violence that erupted at the recent Correspondents Dinner. Such a stance is egregiously hypocritical and nonsensical.

Now one of Trump's poodles, FCC Chair Brendan Carr, is getting into the shakedown act, threatening the parent company of ABC, Disney, with the loss of its broadcast licences if it doesn't fall into line and terminate Kimmel. All in a day's subservience, I guess, for those who have sold their souls to the current highest bidder.

But to give the devil his proverbial due, one cannot help but be impressed /dismayed by the facility with which this dysfunctional administration responds to crises, such as the alleged assassination attempt that took place at the White House Correspondents Dinner. While it appears that the alleged assailant, Cole Allen, intended mayhem, the way it is being characterized by the administration and some media is a wonder to behold. As a retired English teacher always interested in the use of language, I was particularly taken by the description of the notes Allen sent to family members as a "manifesto." When I think of that word, I think of radicals, usually associated with left-wing radicals. To further reinforce this perception, the media were quick to point out that he had also recently attended a No Kings Rally and, most damning of all, had made a contribution to the Democrats. 

Americans are not known for their critical thinking capabilities, given as they are to reaction over cerebration. It is that national fault the Trump administration is counting on to win over or solidify hearts and minds, a daunting task indeed given Trump's plummeting polls.

To end this post on a positive note, I invite you to watch Jimmy Kimmel's defiant monologue following Melania's mendacious allegation. Even if you don't have time to watch the entire piece, check out the first few minutes of a comedian demonstrating that hs is unbowed and undaunted by the Trump administration's ongoing and egregious abuse of power.

Bears And Ad Hominems

 

It has been said that wounded bears can be particularly dangerous. They can lash out and put others in peril. Their rage often knows no bounds.

Something similar unfolded in the Ontario legislature this week. After a bruising week, our 'esteemed' premier, Doug Ford, was the wounded bear. Feeling very hard done by after reversing his decision to buy a $30 million jet, a reversal he attributed to not having more effectively communicated his need for the "gravy plane", he was particularly sensitive in the legislature on Thursday, resorting to that lowest of insults and violations of logic, the ad hominem.

Questioning him about the controversial Freedom of Information changes the latest omnibus bill contains, MPP Stephanie Smyth was the target of the bear's rage:

Said Smyth after the attack:

"You shouldn't talk to anybody that way," she said.

"There's a standard of decorum, of how you act. When we get in (the chamber) and we talk about issues and we ask questions, you don't go personal, right? That's not the place. You be parliamentary. You be classy. And that's not what is happening here with this premier at all."

Interim Liberal leader John Fraser and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner say Ford needs to say sorry.

"What the premier said was so personal and so demeaning and so beneath the office of the premier that I believe the premier should apologize," Schreiner said.

Chubby Checker once famously asked in a song, "How low can you go?' 

The answer to that question as it pertains to Mr. Ford is still pending.

From Canada's Industrial Heartland

 

While I hardly expect that Ontario should garner much sympathy from the rest of Canada, every so often I can't help but write about our poor state of politics. Led by "Captain Canada," Doug Ford, the legislature spends far more in recess than it does in session. I suspect our 'leader' finds it an irksome impediment to whatever he does with his time, given his Progressive Conservatives command a clear majority that certainly puts a damper on accountability. That is, until he does something that provokes widespread public outrage.

While there is much to condemn in this heavy-handed government's rule, it wasn't until Ford's recent purchase of a $29 million jet that public hackles were raised. As a result, Ford has reversed his purchase, but even now he insists buying it was the correct choice; as with most hubristic politicians, Ford claimed it was not a failure of policy but rather a failure of communication. He didn't do enough to prepare the public for his extravagance.

Well, many people are having none of his nonsense about what has been dubbed his "gravy plane". The following letters to the editor amply attest to this:

Time for a premier who puts Ontario first

This is a typical Doug Ford move. He appears to be driven by self‑interest and a desire for personal attention.  This runs from ordering speed cameras to be removed, mixing up Toronto’s street traffic and  removing bikes and walkways, totally ruining Ontario Place, stating that he’ll expand the island airport for larger planes and spending millions on a new plane to fly himself around. Earlier he was only interested in building new country roads and pulling down country greenspace in order to build expensive homes. None of this does anything to improve Ontario.

Ontario needs intelligent improvements for Ontarians, Canadians and visitors. It’s time to make political changes.

Chris Andrews, Vaughan, ON

Doug Ford the salesman

Ford says Ontario has sold controversial private jet at no loss, April 22

Well, done, Doug! The plane is gone. Now you should terminate the island spa agreement and return Ontario Place to the public, remove the traffic calming barriers being installed in school zones and restore speed cameras. Next, ask your construction buddies to return any money regarding the Ontario Science Centre property along with  refunding any money spent on studies for the tunnel under Highway 401. Only then will it really feel like you have listened to the people. And, oh, one more thing … let Toronto voters decide on the future of the island airport.

Carolynne Canham, St. Catharines, ON 

There was no justification for a private jet for Ford in the first place

How did Doug Ford justify spending nearly $30 million dollars of taxpayer money on his own jet in a province where most locales can be reached on a propeller plane in one hour? And most northern communities don’t even have airports that support a jet!

At a time when our medical care is compromised and our school system is crumbling this huge expense, not just for the purchase of the jet but also for its maintenance, cannot be tolerated by taxpayers.

At least Ford heard the outrage and reversed course.

Ford never campaigned on the promise to buy himself a jet.

Dianne Ness, Toronto

I find it an incredible coincidence that after eight years of Premier Ford in power, the first time he raises the issue of jets using Billy Bishop airport coincides with his now quickly reversed decision to purchase a taxpayer-funded private jet, to the tune of $28.9 million.

Some estimates for the infrastructure needed to allow jets at Billy Bishop will cost in excess of $1 billion.

Ontario taxpayers deserve transparency. Just whose interests are actually being served by expanding the island airport for jets?

At least the premier did the right thing and grounded his jet.

Norm Di Pasquale, Toronto

The problem with winning three majority governments is that you think you are invincible. Ford fatigue has begun to set in. Perhaps it is time for the premier to do some serious, sober soul searching about seeking a fourth term, as he has recently mused about.