Please Be Advised

Those who have a reflexive aversion to criticism of Prime Minister Mark Carney might wish to skip over to another blog, as this one contains yet more criticisms of his efforts to appease Trump. 

Opinion | Mark Carney, we expected more from you

Killing the Digital Services Tax is a step backwards, July 3

Contributor Kean Birch points out the revenues gained by the owners of social media sites as they collect and sell data collected from their users. But this is only a fraction of the wealth to be generated by the many uses of artificial intelligence. It’s time we took seriously the need to use this wealth for the benefit of more than a few dozen oligarchs. Millions will lose their livelihoods as it becomes possible to do many kinds of work with AI. How can we prevent both the likely catastrophic drop in incomes and the loss of identity and sense of value that come from joblessness? The technology will provide the resources that could be used to avoid such harms — but we will have to be bold and creative enough to take strong measures to use them. If our leaders don’t have the guts to implement even such a small measure as a digital services tax, how can we make them do what’s going to be needed in the next few years?

Our new prime minister wants to transform our economy. Let’s hope he will do so in ways that benefit all of us, not just the few who own the technology.

Julie Beddoes, Toronto

Carney is not what a lot of Liberals hoped for

The ascension of Mark Carney to Prime Minister was probably based on enough voters thinking that years as a top-tier finance guy would provide the knowledge and smarts to right the Canadian economic ship in light of current threats. However, the disappointments are coming fast and furious. The cancellation of the digital services tax was a capitulation, pure and simple. The digital giants like Alphabet have grabbed all the advertising revenue and collect our data without contributing their fair share of taxes. This makes a mockery of Carney’s “elbows up” rhetoric. The middle-class tax cut looks like Carney putting on his best Doug Ford impersonation. Is this wise when our public services are crumbling, especially in Ontario? The cosying up to Alberta and the seeming openness to reinforcing Canada as a Petrostate is disturbing in light of alarming global heating happening here and now. The NATO spending commitment to five per cent of GDP is another head scratching move since not even the U.S.A. spends five per cent of their GDP on defence. The cancellation of the increase in the capital gains inclusion rate is another disappointment given that adjusting the capital gains regime is the low hanging fruit of tax fairness. At this point, we can say that Canada has a “Progressive Conservative” Liberal government. While this is better than the alternative of a snarly, fear mongering, Conservative government, it is not what a lot of Liberals and progressive voters hoped for.

Peter Bertollo, Brampton

PM gave up his best bargaining chip

It’s my opinion Prime Minister Mark Carney gave up his best bargaining chip with U.S. President Donald Trump. I feel Trump should have been told the federal government’s digital service tax was a concession, but only after Trump returned to the table and a mutually agreeable trade deal had been worked out between Canada and America.

Al Brackley, Oshawa

Grovelling only encourages abuse

Paramount settled an absurd lawsuit brought by Mad King Donald Trump — it’s a blistering betrayal of all media, July 2

Thank you Vinay Menon for pointing out the betrayal of some news media companies to appease the corrupt and greedy U.S. president. But even our own prime minister has shown his willingness to walk back his big words and promises and caved in to U.S. President Donald Trump. When are certain politicians, corporations and individuals going to understand that grovelling only encourages a bully to continue his abuse?

Raphael Vigod, Toronto 

To be fair, however, one reader's opinion differs from the above:

Let the prime minister do his job

Critics of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s policy on U.S. trade may not have their job, mortgage, and family finances on the line. Our prime minister is acutely aware of what it means for families to lose their jobs. The shear stress can cause mental illness and destroy one’s desire to keep trying. The desire to win has no place in negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump. It will only give Trump the desire to inflict greater pain on Canadians which will result in more unemployment, increased social costs, and less revenues in the government’s coffers. Who wants that? Let the prime minister do his job and give him the support he needs to get a deal done.

Ken Stock, Port Hope

 That's all for now from the peanut gallery.

More Discontent Over Appeasement Efforts

Continuing with a theme, the discontent over Mark Carney's appeasement efforts continues. One prominent Canadian who is especially displeased is Lloyd Axworthy, who knows a thing or two about politics.

Former Liberal foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy is accusing Prime Minister Mark Carney of taking a "bootlicking" approach to U.S. President Donald Trump at the expense of Canadian values.

"You have to be principled, you have to be tactical, you have to be pragmatic. But you also have to be tough and know what you stand for," Axworthy said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"Flattery is always part of the game, but you can take it to the point where you actually become unctuous."

Writing primarily about his disappointment in the recent NATO summit, Axworthy also turned his sights on Carney's DST capitulation. 

...his concerns have been further bolstered by Carney's decision to rescind the digital services tax that targeted American tech giants, as the prime minister and Trump undertake what he calls "secret" trade negotiations with no parliamentary scrutiny.

"When do we stop pretending it's all part of some clever negotiating strategy that justifies bootlicking in hopes of tariff concessions?" he wrote in the blog post.

"We find ourselves in a situation where our values are being tested by attacks on democracy and freedoms -- attacks that we must resist," Carney said in his Canada Day remarks.

Meanwhile, letters continue to pour into The Globe and Mail.

Whither the DST?

Re “What is behind Carney walking back the DST?” (Report on Business, July 1): Like Taylor C. Noakes, I am sorely disappointed in Mark Carney for cancelling the digital services tax. In fact, I’m kind of in a rage.

All I can think of to do is to “tax” those big American companies myself, by boycotting them. I’m cancelling my Amazon membership, forgoing Prime, using local taxi companies instead of Uber. I urge all Canadians to consider hitting back at those American transnationals that won’t even pay a paltry 3 per cent in taxes to the Canadians who pay them billions.

Carney may have caved, but the rest of us don’t have to.

Audrey Samson Halifax

Prime Minister Mark Carney has shown regrettable weakness in cancelling the digital services tax – and he may be disappointed if he thinks that concession will be enough to get trade talks back on track. As Taylor C. Noakes argues, there is a perfectly good policy basis for taxing the enormous profits that American tech giants make in Canada. Now what will happen when President Donald Trump goes after our dairy and poultry supply management system, about which he has quite legitimate grounds for complaint, given its protectionist and market-distorting nature? Will that become the hill the Prime Minister chooses to die on?

Peter Maitland Lindsay, Ont.

A show of elbows, please

Re “Carney ‘caved’ on DST, according to U.S.” (July 1): It pains me to find myself in agreement with both the White House and Pierre Poilievre that the Carney Liberals “caved” on the digital services tax.

We’ve just watched the spectacle of tech oligarch Jeff Bezos essentially buying Venice for his multimillion-dollar wedding extravaganza, but we don’t have the stomach to insist that he pay a 3-per-cent tax on the business he does in Canada? Those tax dollars are needed to finance all kinds of public infrastructure and services that support Amazon’s success. Bezos and his tech bros need to pay their fair share.

What happened to the promise of “elbows up” – standing our ground and defending our values?

Susan Watson Guelph, Ont.

And these two from The Star:

I am a strong supporter of Prime Minister Mark Carney and believe he is doing the best possible job given the circumstances he is facing with that irrational, impulsive U.S. President Donald Trump. However, Carney made a mistake by not insisting the tax on the internet companies of America be paid. Probably they would have not paid the tax, choosing a legal battle instead. But his step back from a tariff war with Trump looks like appeasement.

Know thy enemy. Trump is determined to assimilate Canada and Carney must, despite his best instincts to reach a compromise, bite the bullet and against all odds, like Britain in World War II, take him on and refuse to make any more concessions.

If the Canada Day celebrations are any indication, Canadians are ready for the battle and the sacrifices that we are going to suffer. It is difficult to appreciate the hardships we are going to face, combined with the internal dissension from Alberta, to survive as a nation but for loyal Canadians there is no other answer.

David Gladstone, Toronto

If the situation were reversed, Trump would be demanding more

It’s bad enough that U.S. President Donald Trump trash talks all the time, but officials of his administration should know better. I hope Prime Minister Mark Carney will walk back our position to scrap the tax on tech. U.S. tech companies are making millions in Canada; a small per cent of tax is nothing to them. If the situation were the reverse, Trump would be demanding more. 

“It’s very simple. Prime Minister Carney and Canada caved to President Trump and the United States of America,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday afternoon. The quote from the article in the Star is beneath contempt. We should double the price of aluminum right now.

It is time Trump learned what it is to have co-operative trading partner.

Tom McElroy, Toronto 

As I wrote earlier, I find it hard to see how Mark Carney's appeasement of Trump will result in anything good.  Clearly, I am not alone in that sentiment.

 

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.

Silence Is Not An Option

About a week ago, Gabor Mate wrote a heartfelt piece about the genocide in Gaza. His thesis was that we must speak out against the carnage. Mate is Jewish, and that fact lent heft to his argument that criticism of Israel cannot be conflated with anti-semitism, a stance I have long held. For too long,  condemnation of Israel's slaughter of Gazans has been muted for fear of wearing that odious label. If you have access to The Star, I would encourage you to read it.

Star readers are united in their agreement with Mate. Following are some letters to the editor that unconditionally support his position.

Silence is not an option, and if images coming from Gaza of emaciated children being deliberately starved don’t get us to speak up loudly, nothing will. Gabor Maté lays out the reasons we should be able to do so without fear of being called antisemitic. It seems that the true meaning behind the phrase “never again” has been forgotten.

Paul Kahnert, Markham, ON

I agree 100 per cent with Maté that silence is not an option when Israel continues to slaughter children, as well as hospital patients and workers. This whole situation is enraging. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plays on our collective guilt about the Holocaust, but enough is enough. His behaviour is that of a crazed and power-hungry leader who’s bent on destroying Palestine, and it’s being abetted by the United States. Starving innocent Gazans while destroying their homes and their country is inhumane. I have many Jewish friends who don’t support Netanyahu’s actions. Silence will only enable Israel. It’s about time the rest of the world woke up and called a spade a spade.

Lillian Shery, Toronto

Maté deserves thanks for writing this article, and the Star deserves praise for having had the courage to publish it. Governments, workplaces and school boards in Canada have too often assented to the notion that criticism of Israel is automatically antisemitic and deserving of punishment. The fact that some Jewish children don’t feel safe is used as an excuse to ban expressions of sympathy for Palestinians in Gaza, where people also don’t feel safe — and for much clearer reasons. My opinion of what Netanyahu and the Israeli military are doing to Palestine doesn’t make me pro-Hamas or pro-terrorism. As Canadians, we should never be discriminated against for speaking out about injustice, wherever it occurs. And Israel should not be exempt from a clear examination of what it’s doing in Gaza.

Caroline Andrews, Toronto

It’s been well-documented that the Israeli Defense Forces have committed atrocities in Gaza. As citizens, we should be able to express our opinions about Israel’s actions without fear of being branded antisemitic. I have Jewish and Palestinian friends, and all any of us wants is peace in Gaza and a settlement that is amenable to both parties in the conflict.

Bill Melvin, Toronto

Speaking out may seem thin gruel when one contemplates the carnage in Gaza. However, remaining silent does no service to the starvation, mutilation and death taking place there, and can only compound the moral injury many of us feel when bearing witness to the slaughter.

I'll close with an small excerpt from Mate's piece:

The only resolution is the freeing of the discussion around Gaza. People deserve the right to experience as much liberty to publicly mourn, question, oppose, deplore, denounce what they perceive as the perpetration of injustice and inhumanity as they are, in this country, to advocate for the aims and actions of the Israeli government and its Canadian abettors amongst our political leadership, academia, and media.

Why I Cast My Vote The Way I Did

As I wrote the other day, my wife and I cast our vote at an advance poll, and as noted, the large turnout, reflected in many other stations as well, was very encouraging. Canadians clearly understand there is much at stake here.

Had the Trump threats and tariffs not emerged, and had Trudeau remained head of a tired party, I likely would have voted NDP. All political parties need a periodic time out in order to renew and rejuvenate. To me, that is all part of a healthy democracy. With the emergence of Mark Carney, however, the choice was clear, and I won't bother going into the reasons, already widely discussed in the media, about why he seems to be the man of the hour, and Pierre Poilievre is not.

A few letters to the editor seem to capture the tenure of the times.

Things to consider before you vote

We will have a federal election in less than two weeks. Forgetting the political party affiliations, let us look at what the two leading candidates for prime minister are offering.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is a professional politician. All his adult life, he has done nothing but be a politician. He has not seen the outside world besides the Parliament walls around him. His resume could read: I have been a hounding and berating opposition politician throughout my career. And I am pretty good at it.

Poilievre does not want to face the press, lest they ask questions not to his liking. He does not want to get his security clearance, leading Canadians to question what he is hiding.. He has no humility. 

Liberal Leader Mark Carney is new to politics. Carney is bound to make political mistakes. He is  well educated and has a wealth of experience both in Canada and abroad. He has seen the world and experienced the financial problems facing Canada and the world. He knows how to tackle the problems created by this stupid tariff war. 

Put your thinking hats on before choosing the prime minister.

Aziz Rehman, Brampton, ON

Have you noticed how Liberal Leader Mark Carney usually just talks to the press, without any notes? He just wings it, because he knows what he is talking about, and doesn’t need to read it. And he says it so succinctly. The other candidate, however, is always looking down at his notes. He needs to read it because he doesn’t know it, like Carney does. Which one would you rather vote for? The one who knows his stuff, or the one who doesn’t? Just a telling observation, of body language.

John Dawson, Scarborough, ON

Decade of Liberal rule achieved a lot

I am tired of hearing “the lost Liberal decade” and “Canada is broken” tirades and would like to mention some of the Trudeau government’s achievements.

The Liberals negotiated with U.S. President Donald Trump and agreed to a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the CUSMA. The COVID-19 pandemic came, and we were kept safe and secure by the work of the Liberals: CERB, protective equipment and vaccines. Canada had fewer deaths than most other countries. After COVID, came inflation: Why? Supply chains were broken because of COVID shutdowns; Canadians had large savings, largely from CERB, so that demand was up and supply was down. This drives up inflation, as any economist knows. And we came out of inflation quicker and better than most countries. You cannot blame the Trudeau government for inflation but that is all Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre shouted about in the last two years.

Other achievements include the Canada Child Benefit, the national child-care plan, dental care and pharma care. And let’s not forget taking action on   Indigenous issues.  So let’s give credit where credit is due and know that Canada is not broken and we have not lost a decade with Liberal rule. Oh, and former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper was not able to build a single pipeline while Trudeau bought the Trans Mountain Pipeline and tripled its capacity. 

Alberto Sarthou, Toronto

And finally, this missive from The Globe and Mail.

As the election looms, I am reminded of the snake fable where a person is walking in the forest and is met by a snake who convinces the individual to pick it up. The person was hesitant, but then weakened, having been convinced by the snake that he won’t hurt them.

Trustingly, the person picks the snake up and the snake soon bites them. Shocked, the person cries out at being misled, double-crossed and hurt, to which the snake replies: “You knew what I was when you picked me up.”

I will remember that fable at the voting booth. I hope others do, too, because one’s track record is an excellent indicator of future deliverables.

June Donaldson Calgary

A Roundup Of Canadians' Views On The Lost One

For my final post (at least for the time being) on The Lost One, I thought it would be interesting to cull some letters-to-the-editor from various newspapers. Given that Gretzky is likely not a man either capable of, or given to, deep reflection, I'm sure Canadians' disappointment and fury are lost on him.

From The Globe and Mail:

Not so great

Re “How Canada’s nearly 50-year romance with Wayne Gretzky came to an end” (Feb. 24): While I admire Wayne Gretzky’s hockey ability, my love of our Canadian boy ended when he wore a “Make America Great Again” hat.

However, his father Walter Gretzky loved Canada and Brantford, and Brantford loved Walter. At the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre this week, there was lots of talk about renaming it the “Walter Gretzky arena.”

Sydnie Crockett Woodstock, Ont.

From The Toronto Star:

Vitriol directed at Gretzky is deserved

I strongly disagree Wayne Gretzky should not be chastised for his support of Trump.

When popular sports figures choose to publicly endorse political figures they can affect the outcome of elections. They are implicitly endorsing the platforms, beliefs and behaviours of those politicians. When those platforms, beliefs and behaviours are self-serving, corrupt and immoral, those popular sports figures should face the unrestrained ire of responsible voters.

Given the recent irrational assault by Trump on Canada, Canadian hockey players in the NHL should keep their opinions to themselves. Play the game, earn your millions of American dollars .

G. Evans, Burlington

From The Winnipeg Free Press:

How sad to see the uninspired choice of Wayne Gretzky for honorary captain of Team Canada. Was this a deliberate choice for the U.S. to thumb their nose at Canada?

Gretzky? A guy who openly supports Trump, whose wife has posted her support of Canada becoming the 51st state, who has been tagged by Trump with no argument as the guy to be the next “governor” of Canada?

Not to be outdone, Gretzky chooses to enter the ice through the U.S. bench, giving them thumbs up along the way, does not wear the Canada jersey, but instead sports a suit in the U.S. jersey colours, does not approach the Canadian bench to encourage them, does not visit them in the dressing room after the Canada win, but gifts them with red ball caps ambiguously labelled “Be Great.” Which is a reference to what? The MAGA slogan or his own greatness? Either way, kind of pathetic. I lost a lot of respect for Gretzky when he started shilling for sports betting companies on Hockey Night in Canada, but this kind of closes the door on him for me.

A much better choice for honorary captain would have been Hayley Wickenheiser, a star player who is unambiguously Canadian.

Rob McConnell

Winnipeg

From The Edmonton Journal:

Wayne Gretzky’s name and statue stand as symbols of Edmonton’s hockey greatness, but recent actions have shown he no longer deserves this honour. It is time to remove his statue and rename Wayne Gretzky Drive.

We have long celebrated Gretzky as “The Great One,” yet he has turned his back on the country that made him a legend. Rather than upholding the values and pride of Canada, he has aligned himself with the ignorance and misguided ideologies that are increasingly coming from the United States. His presence on such prominent Edmonton landmarks is now an insult to those who truly cherish our nation.

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Edmonton has no shortage of heroes who have remained steadfast in their loyalty. Let’s honour someone who truly represents our spirit, rather than a figure who has abandoned it in favour of the nonsense south of the border. It’s time for city officials to do the right thing: Remove Gretzky’s statue and rename Wayne Gretzky Drive.

 Ron Boehm, Edmonton

Finally, lest you think The Sad One has no support, there is this 'thoughtful' missive from The Calgary Sun:

Both of Canada’s living hockey legends, Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr, are friends with the 45th and 47th president of the United States of America. Is the level of hatred propagated by those afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome so maniacal that we have lost all sense of reason? I dare the media to try to cancel either one or both of these Canadian icons!

PAT BIONDI 

 

 

 

In Ontario, We Are Not A Happy Family

Here in Ontario, it is Family Day, but all is not well. We have an unnecessary election pending, the premier has cloaked himself in his Captain Canada regalia, and he has done everything he can to buy votes, plunging the province into even deeper debt while education, housing and healthcare, to name but three deep, go vastly unnourished.

Yet according to polls, despite his malfeasance, Mr. Ford will be romping to another electoral victory, thanks both to the current crisis with the Amerikans and the fact that the march to the ballot box is in the dead of winter. Apparently, despite all the talk about rising patriotism and supporting our country, voting is not part of the calculus, with pundits predicting a very low turnout.

Come February 27, heedless Ontarians will undoubtedly and, unfortunately, get the government they deserve.

The only bright spot in this morass of indifference is the knowledge that not all are fooled, as evidenced by these letters to the editor:

Well, it seems clear from election polls Premier Doug Ford will be re-elected in a landslide even though most Ontarians were not happy with the early election. He’s done a masterful job. The hat slogan “Canada is not for sale,” $200 cheques before an election and mentioning possibly 500,000 lost jobs likely all contribute to his strong poll numbers. He has rushed to Washington to plead Ontario’s case regarding tariffs with seemingly little success as the U.S. has just announced a 25 per cent tariff on our steel and aluminum. He’s promised billions for infrastructures and a tunnel under Hwy. 401 but has completely forgotten to support our health-care system, end the long wait times in ERs. A four-year mandate to fight tariffs seems to be in the cards. Voters are forgetting his health care and housing failures, feeling he’ll fight for them even though it’s the federal government that has the power to counter the U.S.A.‘s tariff attack.

Peter J. Middlemore Sr., Windsor

I have just seen Premier Doug Ford’s latest campaign ad, and I am livid. The Premier’s Washington, D.C. visit was supposed to be about defending Canada’s interests, but instead it appears Ford’s main focus was creating sparkling footage for a campaign ad. It’s bad enough that the Premiers emerged empty-handed from their meeting with mid-level White House staffers, but Ford’s new campaign ad rubs salt in our collective wounds. In the voice-over for the ad, Ford repeatedly puts America first — “made in the USA” before “made in Canada,” pride in the work of American workers before the work of Canadians, and the push for his Fortress Am-Can. That’s right, even the name of Ford’s economic plan puts America first. Where’s your hat, Doug? Did it blow off while you were busy bending the knee to Trump?

Carol Kroeger, Ottawa

UPDATED: A Repository Of Wisdom

I read a letter to the editor the other day to the effect that policy-makers would be wise to consult the op-ed pages for inspiration. Good journals offer repositories of wisdom, and we could do far worse than consider their perspectives and advice.

Here are three letters from today's Star that amply illustrate the above:

America has always preached from the bully pulpit

Canada won’t back down, will scale up retaliation against Trump’s tariffs as needed, government says, Feb. 2

It truly boggles my mind to now see politicians of all stripes, decision makers, businesses and many Canadians are belatedly stepping on the Canada First bandwagon, now that Donald Trump coughed, metaphorically.

Where were you when it was downright evident for decades past that America was and is a selfish and self-centred bully that does everything and anything to suit herself and her interests only, the world be damned?

You were all sleepwalking, singing the praises about our southern neighbour, visiting the country on a regular basis, patronizing their businesses, rather than shopping locally, to save a few pennies. A little jolt by a bully has now awakened you all.

All our interests, economically and otherwise, were put into the giant’s basket for sheer laziness on the part of politicians and businesses instead of large-scale diversifying to other countries years ago. Not a single automobile is made of 100 per cent Canadian parts. Why? Relying too much on our “friends” to the south?

I told you so, I can now say. I am not being a hypocrite, as I have not visited the United States since 2000, do not own property there, do not buy a return trip by air to another country via America, do not cross the border to shop.

I have consciously been patronizing local businesses and Canadian goods exclusively, as best I can.

Aquil Ali, Toronto

Canada must stand its ground in the face of aggression

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must choose whether he should follow the course of Neville Chamberlain or Winston Churchill.

For the survival of Canadians, and of people throughout the world, I hope he chooses the latter.

Canadians can lead the world to show the American would-be dictator that no matter the economic hardship or individual sacrifice, Canadians will stand together, stand strong and wield their sword to protect their homes and rights.

Millions of Americans are with you.

Jeff C. Tavares, Greenwood, Indiana

Hit Trump where it hurts: the wallet

Well, Ding Dong Don got his desired result and has everyone running around in a tizzy.

It’s obvious diplomacy doesn’t work with him but firmness, discomfort, fear of strong negotiators like Chrystia Freeland, pushback from his base, other oligarchs and organized, unrelenting vocal protest groups do.

Canadians haven’t been this united in a long time and seem to be embracing the boycott principle.

This is an excellent strategy, as long as we don’t weaken.

I am 85 and have travelled all 50 states, many times, since the age of nine and have always found the citizens to be kind and generous. I will not travel across the border until sanity is restored in Washington.

My plan is to contact newspaper editors, chambers of commerce, travel associations, politicians and any other organization with a vested interest in restoring sanity and let them know what non-American car, machine or product I purchased. I would also supply the cost of my latest travel to a non-U.S. country.

Sad to say, but the only thing worthy of respect in Trump’s world is money. So if the bottom line deteriorates, he will respond.

He’s a coward. Stand up to him.

John Russell, Fonthill, Ont.

Given the outpouring of patriotic fervour and new consumer boycotts of American goods and travel, we can only hope the momentum continues to build and unites all of us in the face of a common foe.

UPDATE: Now a word from Charlie Angus: