Charlie Angus Is Worried

 And for good reason.

Thanks to Toby for alerting me to this.

Ashamed And Disgusted

Those two adjectives perhaps succinctly sum up the feeling of many people over Mark Carney's attempt to appease Trump by rescinding the Digital Services Tax. While some commentators are trying to put lipstick on a pig, twisting themselves beyond recognition to justify what the prime minister did, savvy readers of newspapers are having none of it.

Here are some letters from Globe and Mail readers:

Yes, Mr. Trump

Re “Ottawa says talks with U.S. back on after pulling digital services tax” (June 30): By rescinding the digital services tax within a weekend of Donald Trump’s withdrawal from tariff negotiations, Mark Carney has shown that he is no longer negotiating with Mr. Trump to protect Canadians. He is, in fact, continuing to bow down to threats from a bully who belies all reason when it comes to decision-making. Canada may vehemently refuse to become the 51st state, but it seems to have no problem capitulating to Mr. Trump’s demands without much of a fight.

From committing to a 5-per-cent increase in defence spending, at the expense of more pressing domestic priorities, to bulldozing a bill through Parliament that steps all over Indigenous rights and territories and now immediately backing out of a digital services tax more than a year in the making, this government is showing no signs of standing up to fight for Canada and Canadians.

Themrise Khan Ottawa

So Trump has a tantrum and we blink. Is this elbows up? Is this negotiation? Many other sovereign nations have implemented a digital services tax. But I guess the eventual 51st state should not. What’s next, supply management? It is protected by an Act of Parliament? But that law can also be rescinded when Mr. Trump pulls out again in a couple of days.

Sinclair Robinson Ottawa

Knuckling under to Mr. Trump’s blackmail on the digital services tax is a shameful betrayal. Not only is it a weak and pathetic response, it is also stupid. Giving in to blackmail only invites him to do it again and again and again – and he will.

Trevor Hancock Victoria

I used to tell my students that we are as Canadian as the U.S. lets us be. Sadly proven true yet again.

Kevin Byrne Sarnia, Ont.

So we implement a digital services tax, a questionable move on its own, and then we withdraw it because Mr. Trump has a public tantrum. Now we look foolish and weak. Mr. Trump’s bombast, disinformation and bullying represent one end of the negotiation tactic field. The Prime Minister has just identified the other end of that playing field.

Mark Knudsen Mississauga

One of the first rules of negotiation is to give to the other side only if you get something in return. Otherwise, it will encourage them to push for further concessions. Eliminating the digital services tax on U.S. tech giants is a step backward for Canada. We are chipping away at Canadian sovereignty by allowing the president of another country to set our tax policy.

Neil Tudiver Ottawa

And this one from The Star:

Carney cancelling the digital services tax a weak move

Canada cancelled its digital services tax. What was it and why did the U.S. hate it? June 30

I am horrified to see that Prime Minister Mark Carney has given in to Trump and cancelled the digital services tax.

What makes Carney think Trump will now treat Canada fairly? Is he afraid of the big online companies, the oligarchs?

It’s past time to stand up to Trump and his gang, and make Canada self-sufficient.

Kate Chung, Toronto 

No one more than me would like to be proven wrong in condemning Carney for this move. I just don't see that happening, however.

UPDATED: What Canadian Pride?

On the day before Canada Day, I doubt I am the only one to feel utterly outraged this morning. Our government, which has gone to great measures to stoke our Canadian pride,  has betrayed all of us. It has succumbed to Trump's threats and rescinded the Digital Services Tax.

The announcement came following a phone call between Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump, and just hours before the first payment under the tax was going to come due for major tech companies like Amazon and Google. 

On Friday Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social he was terminating all trade discussions with Canada because of the tax.

The tax, which was set to be collected starting today, was unpopular with the U.S., and Trump had one of his many tantrums. In rescinding it, as opposed to possibly suspending it, Canada has shown itself to be at Trump's mercy.

Daniel Béland, a politics professor at McGill University in Montreal, called Carney’s retreat a “clear victory” for Trump.

“At some point this move might have become necessary in the context of Canada-US trade negotiations themselves but Prime Minister Carney acted now to appease President Trump and have him agree to simply resume these negotiations, which is a clear victory for both the White House and big tech,” Béland said.

He said it makes Carney look vulnerable to President Trump’s outbursts.

“President Trump forced PM Carney to do exactly what big tech wanted. U.S. tech executives will be very happy with this outcome,” Béland said.

Notably, the U.S. finalized a trade deal with the U.K last month, despite the fact that country has a 2% DST.

One can only expect more American abuse and craven Canadian submission ahead. 

In Sunday’s interview [on Fox], Mr. Trump also criticized Canada’s supply-management system, which strictly controls imports of eggs, dairy and poultry to protect domestic producers.

I don't know what I will be doing tomorrow on Canada Day. One thing I won't  be doing is celebrating Canadian 'pride'. 

UPDATED: If, despite the above, your pride is still intact, try this one on for size:

Karoline Leavitt, Mr. Trump’s chief spokeswoman, told a press briefing Monday that Mr. Carney telephoned Mr. Trump to inform him that Ottawa would be cancelling the tax, two days after Mr. Trump threatened to walk away from trade talks and impose retaliatory tariffs over the levy, and one day before the first payment of the tax was meant to be collected.

“It’s very simple: Prime Minister Carney and Canada caved to President Trump and the United States of America,” Ms. Leavitt said. “The President made his position quite clear to the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister called the President last night to let the President know that he would be dropping that tax.”

And from the horse's mouth: 

UPDATED UPDATE: 

University of Ottawa professor Michael Geist, who is Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, said Canada came out of this exchange over the DST looking weak.

By scrapping the DST now, Canada has “given up what was a non-trivial card and they basically used it to get back exactly where they were a week ago,” Prof. Geist said. 

And this from The Globe and Mail's Robyn Urback: 

Killing the DST now reeks of desperation. It is a capitulation without reward; the U.S. has since agreed to resume negotiations – but that’s it: talks. The mercurial Donald Trump could decide that supply management is his real gripe, and call talks off again. Should that happen, we would be weaker than we were before since we have robbed ourselves of a bargaining chip in the DST that we could have used if, for example, Mr. Champagne announced that Canada was pausing or delaying collections, rather than rescinding the legislation altogether.

The message this decision sends to Canadians is that our domestic policy is being set by the White House, and the message it sends the White House is that we are pathetic little weaklings who will bend to the President’s whims.