He's Done It Again

 

We probably all remember an activity in elementary school called show-and-tell. It consisted of bringing something to school to explain to classmates how it worked, what it was for, etc. It was an activity designed to foster public speaking and student confidence and, according to some, helped build character. It was part of most people's early education.

I can only imagine it was one of Mark Carney's favourite activities when he was a youngster. Unfortunately, that early experience does not seem to have served him well as prime minister. How else can one explain how he keeps telegraphing to Donald Trump and his minions our negotiation 'strategy' (if it can even be called that) in advance of CUSMA renegotiations and pending punishing new tariffs of 50%, set to begin in August.

Despite averring that "everything is on the table" in anticipation of those new tariffs, Mr. Carney has essentially shown and told the opposite.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is ruling out restricting Canada’s oil and gas supply to the U.S. in the face of President Donald Trump’s expanding trade war, removing a potent bargaining chip as Ottawa seeks a deal with Washington.

Mr. Carney’s government is also planning to scrap a tax on online streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, the latest in a series of concessions to U.S. trade demands for which Canada has not received anything in return.

Make no mistake - oil would be a potent bargaining chip, and even though we might be very reluctant to turn off the taps, there are other possibilites, such as substantial export taxes.

The U.S. is heavily dependent on Canadian oil – importing about four million barrels a day, nearly two-thirds of all its petroleum imports – making it a powerful potential leverage point.

As well, Carney justified another capitulation as an affordability measure:

Mr. Carney also defended Ottawa’s decision to end a 5-per-cent tax that streamers must pay to support the creation of Canadian television, movie and music content. A government lawyer wrote in a July 17 court document that Ottawa intends to “eliminate” the levy.

The Prime Minister insisted on Wednesday that the policy U-turn was about keeping streaming services affordable. “Most Canadians have one or two or more of these streamers and it’s real money. This stuff adds up.”

These most recent measures are but part of a larger pattern:

Since taking office last year, Mr. Carney has made a string of concessions to Mr. Trump, such as rolling back retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods and cancelling a planned digital services tax. Earlier this month, Ottawa agreed to give the U.S. half the net toll revenue from the new Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor and Detroit, even though Canada paid the entire $6.4-billion price tag to build the span.

The result of these appeasement measures? 

So far, however, Mr. Trump has only increased tariffs on Canada and the two sides have not reached Mr. Carney’s promised trade deal.

Former U.S. diplomat Scotty Greenwood sees the folly of such capitualatory measures, saying we need to show strength to the Americans:

“Canadians have been hesitant or reticent to flex their muscle. It’s time to be really tough and really flex,” she said. “With this particular President, this particular counterparty, you’ve got to negotiate from a position of strength.”

I 'm sure I am but one of millions of Canadians growing increasingly dismayed by Mark Carney's 'tactics'. Indeed, they suggest only that he is preparing to bring just one more thing to his show-and-tell performance with the United States: