Content Warning

You should be advised, even belatedly, that looking upon this picture of Danielle Smith, Don Trump and the always obnoxious Kevin O' Leary can be damaging to the soul. At least it was to mine, surprised as I was to discover that even at my age, I am still capable of darkly imagining the collective fate that should befall them.

O' Leary was there as a kind of amicus curiae of the Trump kangaroo court, offering his 'good offices' to facilitate an American-Canadian economic merger. Smith was there to ostensibly talk up Canada as an energy powerhouse - no need for tariffs on oil and gas.

Moving on from the detritus depicted above, an antidote of sorts to my ravaged psyche arrived in the form of some letters to the editor from real Canadians, a few of which I reproduce below:

Canada must be prepared to shut our doors 

We need to let it be known that we will react immediately if the U.S. Head Fool implements his threats against Canada. The U.S. will be in a nasty position when he does his usual foolish stuff but we need to be ready to immediately shut our doors. This includes our exports of fuel, water, etc … so that Americans realize they made a huge mistake bringing the old, crooked guy back. Stand up Canada, support your governments and make the U.S. understand their mistake.

Chris Andrews, Vaughan, ON

 

Why no comment from Poilievre on Trump’s diatribes?

Threats, insults, and misinformation by Donald Trump towards Canada on a daily basis. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Doug Ford, and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly have put up a fight for Canada. Meanwhile, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, an insulter and bully to Canadians, curled up cowardly in a corner. Instead of making a meaningful comment, he is busy preparing to go to Trump’s inauguration to suck up to Trump and Elon Musk. I have no doubt whatsoever, that Poilievre, Danielle Smith, and Scott Moe will sell out Canada to Donald Trump. They have the same ideologies as the Republicans — they do not believe in climate change or vaccines; they support religious extremists and conspiracy theories and align themselves with racist groups and personalities like Tucker Carlton. Where are you Poilievre?

Taij Chand, Toronto

And there is this missive from The Globe: 

In the early 1970s, Canada considered diversifying trade relationships away from the United States.

The concern was that the U.S. had undue economic and cultural influence over Canada, which made our great nation vulnerable. The “Third Option” did not materialize and instead free-trade agreements with the U.S., and eventually Mexico, were established. Through these agreements, Canada has become even more reliant on the U.S.

Fast-forward to the present and Donald Trump is threatening significant trade tariffs. We should reconsider the Third Option. We should undertake various actions such as joining the European Union, restarting trade negotiations with Britain, creating a bilateral-trade agreement with Mexico and developing new trade opportunities with other Commonwealth nations and emerging economies in Africa and Asia. If successful, our trade relationships would be diversified.

The best way to insulate the Canadian economy from Donald Trump is to make Canada less reliant on the U.S. for trade.

Lance Alexander Toronto

Oh, I almost forgot to include a picture of yet another rogue at the Trump love fest who, I understand, is a refugee from the woke police in Canada and currently residing in the home of the free and the brave: 

Some Refreshing Candour

Whatever you may think of Jean Chretien's political legacy, one thing to remember is that he charted his own course. That was made abundantly clear when he refused to join George Bush's "coalition of the willing" to invade Iraq all those years ago, something Stephen Harper said he would have willingly joined.

On his 91st birthday, Chretien has penned an essay in The Globe and Mail that is both refreshing and a much-needed antidote to some ot the efforts that have been made to thus far appease the avarice and imperialist aspirations of the incoming felon-president-elect, Donald Trump.

While acknowledging that those efforts have  had some value, at least in terms of stressing the costs to both countries of tariffs, Chretien writes of the need for what he calls a 2025 Plan B:

Let’s tell Mr. Trump that we too have border issues with the United States. Canada has tough gun control legislation, but illegal guns are pouring in from the U.S. We need to tell him that we expect the United States to act to reduce the number of guns crossing into Canada.

We also want to protect the Arctic. But the United States refuses to recognize the Northwest Passage, insisting that it is an international waterway, even though it flows through the Canadian Arctic as Canadian waters. We need the United States to recognize the Northwest Passage as being Canadian waters.

We need to be stronger. There are more trade barriers between provinces than between Canada and the United States. Let’s launch a national project to get rid of those barriers! And let’s strengthen the ties that bind this vast nation together through projects such as real national energy grid.

We also have to understand that Mr. Trump isn’t just threatening us; he’s also targeting a growing list of other countries, as well as the European Union itself, and he is just getting started. Canada should quickly convene a meeting of the leaders of Denmark, Panama, Mexico, as well as with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to formulate a plan for fighting back these threats.

Every time that Mr. Trump opens his mouth, he creates new allies for all of us. So let’s get organized! To fight back against a big, powerful bully, you need strength in numbers.

Chretien also calls out the corrosive spirit that has infected Canadian politics to the point where we are making ourselves even more vulnerable to international predations:

The current and future generations of political leaders should remember they are not each other’s enemies – they are opponents. Nobody ever loved the cut-and-thrust of politics more than me, but I always understood that each of us was trying to make a positive contribution to make our community or country a better place.

That spirit is more important now than ever, as we address this new challenge. Our leaders should keep that in mind.

I'll close with Chretien's parting words, which seem particularly apt in these turbulent and troubled times:

 I am 91 today and blessed with good health. I am ready at the ramparts to help defend the independence of our country as I have done all my life.

Vive le Canada!

 

That It Should Come To This

Who would have thought, eh?

H/t Moudakis

Also, I do hope Canada is planning a more robust response to the bully than is being reported thus far:

Canada is looking at levying retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of American-made goods including orange juice, ceramics such as toilets and sinks, and some steel products as part of a targeted response should Donald Trump proceed with a threat to impose a 25-per-cent tax on all products from Canada.

It doesn't sound much like the mouse that roared - more like the cat that meowed. 

The Assessments Begin

H/t Moudakis

That the days and weeks ahead will see detailed assessments of the Trudeau legacy, both good and bad, I have no doubt. I shall leave most of those to the professional pundits, but today I'll offer just a few thoughts. 

There were many things that Mr. Trudeau did very well, not least of which was shephereding us through the Covid pandemic, the very pandemic that seemed to be the catalyst for the unhinged, who never forgave him for enacting restrictions on all of us for the sake of public health. They certainly epitomized the dumb in freedumb. You can readily read in the media other of his achievements, including the NDP pressure-induced childcare reforms and the beginnings of pharmacare and dentacare.

I heard yesterday a Brock professor characterizing his time as one of disappointment. There were so many promises of better days, sunny ways when Trudeau first took office, but, as I have expressed elsewhere in this blog, it didn't take long for the old Liberal arrogance to reassert itself. For me, that was acutely reflected first in the abandonment of his promise that 2015 would be the last election under the first-past-the-post protocol. Simple to understand, his promise of a ranked balloting system would have, in my view, induced greater democratic participation and less political cynicism. it would have been a system wherein the individual could feel her or his voice counted for something.

Yet Trudeau blithely jettisoned that promise. Here was his disinguously-expressed regret at his press conference yesterday:

 

The sanctimony of his statement rankled. First of all, he went into the election promising that reform. Secondly, he was elected, among other things, on that promise. Thirdly, he had a majority government, and implementing that reform would have been relatively easy. Majority governments do many things that they didn't campaign on (think Doug Ford and the Greenbelt in Ontario), so to suggest that he couldn't move without the support of the other parties is but a pathetic excuse for betraying his oath. And finally, just how much effort did he put into getting the support of the others? Not much, in my recall. 

The next few months will indeed be interesting ones. With PP puffing and huffing at the door, many will be watching closely the Liberals' efforts to salvage not only their reputations but their electoral lives.

An Acerbic Assessment

I'll start by saying that I have little use for Pierre Poilievre. His schtick, which largely revolves around catchy rhyming phraseology ("Axe the Tax'" Hard Time For Hard Crime",  "Jail, Not Bail", the enigmatic but non-rhyming "Let's Bring It Home", etc.) instead of substantive policy articulation, is an insult to all who expect their intelligence to be respected. I will admit, however, that thus far it seems to be working for him, if the polls are any indication.

The following video of his recent sit-down with the always aggrieved and, quite frankly, unwell Jordan Peterson, is worth watching. In it, journalist Rachel Gilmore parses some of PP's proclamations during the interview, exposing his shallow/misleading thinking for what it is. If you don't have time to watch the entire nine minutes, I would recommend viewing the last three minutes, which are certainly revelatory.

You can read more about the interview here.

Public Forum Roundup

Over the years, I have been a regular writer of letters to newspapers. My first one, I believe, was when I was about 13, and for the next 50 years or so I had a consistent output. That output has waned in recent years, probably because I no longer have the fire in the belly I had in my younger days, as well as the fact that this blog allows me to exercise my writing muscles on a regular basis.

I still, however, read letters to the editor on a regular basis, and with great interest, sometimes reproducing them here. Many are succinct gems that I hope get people thinking. Today i shall reproduce three of them. The first one especially resonates with me. Although we give happily to a number of charitable causes annually, I have never, to my knowledge, given a penny to hospital fund-raising efforts. The letter encapsulates my reasoning:

Ontario hospitals should not be begging for donations

On Dec 28, there was full page ad in the Star, placed by Lakeridge Health Foundation, soliciting donations towards the purchase of five life-saving devices: Automated External Defibrillators (AED). I pay taxes. Those should be sufficient to equip a hospital in Ontario. That is the bargain between me and the government; tax me and take care of the health and education and general well-being of the citizens of Ontario. If the taxes don’t cover the costs, raise the taxes.

Needed hospital equipment purchases should not require the hospital to put a tin cup on the sidewalk begging for donations.  Perhaps Premier Doug Ford could redirect the $200 vote-buying bribe cheques he has promised us and spend the $3 billion-plus on AEDs. They apparently cost $3,200 each. He could buy a million of them. They could be in every hospital ward, every bus, every subway car, every long-term-care facility, every beer and wine selling grocery store.  Even at the Ontario Place spa, maybe.

Graeme Elliott, Toronto

The ironic tone in the following, dealing with the travails of our current prime minister, especially appealed to me:

Trudeau’s chosen female ministers have failed him

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must be so disappointed. In 2015, he made international headlines by naming a cabinet that was 50 per cent women. Sadly, every single one turned out to be a dud. After what I can only imagine were heartfelt efforts to position one of them as his successor, they all failed to demonstrate the necessary intelligence, character, and gravitas for the job: Jody Wilson-Raybould, a crown prosecutor who held leadership positions in both Kwak’wala and Canadian governments. Not a team player. Joyce Murray, who made a fortune planting trees. Can’t think outside the box. And Chrystia Freeland, who found common ground with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and defended Liberal trade policies from a Trump attack in 2017, couldn’t see the upside in a few trifling Christmas gifts for all Canadians. The woman simply does not understand politics. Sad. Facing a second Donald Trump presidency, Trudeau and his small circle of like-minded advisers stand alone, grimly shouldering the weight of Canada’s future. On behalf of all Canadian women, I want to apologize for leaving this lonely burden to them.

Catherine Murton Stoehr, North Bay

Finally, a letter about Kevin O'leary, the toad who leaves warts on all he touches:

Kevin O’Leary represents his own interests, not Canada’s

Kevin O’Leary posted on X that he is willing to go to Mar-a-Lago to negotiate on Canada’s behalf to unify Canada and the U.S. O’Leary’s right to negotiate on our behalf exists only in his ego. He is no elected official. In fact, he recently became a citizen of the United Arab Emirates. Not only is there no income tax in the UAE, but there is also no need to file any report on your income. Pack your ego away Mr. O’Leary. You don’t represent anyone’s interest but your own. Remember, we are the true north strong and free.

Bruce Kerr, Toronto

Not a bad cross section of Canadian opinion, eh?

We Are All Complicit

There are still many who both turn a blind eye to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and justify israel's atrocities as mere self-defence. If you believe that fiction, all I can say is your critical-thinking skills are grossly deficient. 

But even if we are rightfully appalled by those atrocities, most of us, in our own ways, are complicit in them. We do not openly protest the carnage; we do not write letters decrying it; we continue to elect people who will only worsen the genocide; we do not demand that Canada stop being an echo chamber for American Middle East policies that only enable and embolden the destruction of countless lives.

The following is very, very difficult to watch. If you choose to view it and are subsequently still staunch advocates of Israel's actions, I don't know what to say to you.

Today is the start of a new year. I wish it were a new start for humanity as well, but I suspect that is not in the cards.