Canadian News Thread

Hey, we have an American news thread, why not a Canadian one?

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/mor...anada-great-conservative-mp-bernier-1.4050494

::SMH::

Why do Conservative politicians always have to be such sleazebags? What the hell is the difference between "diverse" and "too diverse"?

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Vancouver. It's a beautiful city, and arguably the most diverse city in Canada. We spent some time in the Pacific Centre Mall, in the heart of downtown, and the ethnic background of all the people I saw was approximately 30% caucasian, 30% east asian, and 30% south asian.

Unfortunately, due to budget constraints, we had to live in the famously seedy East Side, full of homeless junkies. The ethnic makeup of those people is about 50% caucasian and 50% native.

There's a ghetto in Vancouver alright, but it's not populated by immigrants!

Instead of complaining about "diversity" (read: immigrants) destroying the country, perhaps spend some energy actually helping those homeless and addicted folk escape the vicious cycle of addiction and poverty.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/saudi-medical-residents-1.4784798

The article says:

Now read some of the comments:

People just don't bother reading the article and jump to conclusions. This is why people like Donald Trump and Doug Ford get elected.

Personally, I don't get the logic of restricting the number of doctors in the country. Doctors get paid by the patient, and a lot of doctors are chronically overbooked. More doctors will mean a more spread out workload, not necessarily a higher medical bill.

 

Hey, I know there are some fellow Canuck posters here!

https://globalnews.ca/news/6061385/federal-election-2019-result/

I'm glad that, despite everything, the Liberals won the election. More importantly, I'm happy that the Conservatives didn't win. Despite the Meng Wanzhou fiasco, a Conservative government would be magnitudes worse for China-Canada relations.

On a related note, I just realized that my first post was quoting Maxim Bernier, who left the Conservative party to create his own party, and I am doubly happy to see that they did not win a single seat last night! Not even Mr. Bernier himself!

Seems like every right-wing politician is looking to jump on the Trump bandwagon these days, and Doug Ford's win in Ontario dispelled my belief that Canada was immune. So I'm glad to see the PPC get trounced and humiliated.

 

A breakdown of the election results:



One thing that jumped out at me is that the Consevatives would need to ally with both the Bloc Quebecois *and* the New Democrats in order to defeat the Liberals, and that's something that is just not likely to happen anytime soon.

Unfortunately, I'm not optimistic about Canada-China relations. If there was any issue that could unite the Cons with the Bloc and the NDP, it would probably be China, so Trudeau would need to tread doubly carefully on China issues.

Yet, at the same time, I see an opportunity for China. The Bloc Quebecois only cares about Quebec, so if China can offer Quebec some sweet deals, the Bloc may very well turn China-friendly, and this would give the Liberals the support they need to resolve the diplomatic impasse.

 

Yeah I know you guys in Alberta have these weird ideas, which is not surprising since you are immersed in Conservative propaganda.

First of all, you do have representation. Every single Alberta riding has an MP in the Parliament, just like every other Canadian riding.

Second, Alberta does not "send equalization payments". Every Canadian is taxed, federally, under the same set of rules. Equalization payments come from those taxes, and the purpose is to ensure every Canadian province receives the same level of government services.

For decades Alberta has been benefitting from this system. In fact your entire oil industry was built with federal tax dollars. Yet the moment you guys make some money, you are clamoring to stop paying your fair share of the taxes. Ontario has always been the biggest contributor of federal taxes, did you see us whine under the Harper regime?

Finally, you guys need to wake up to the fact that Conservatives are American stooges, they do not have the best interest of Canadians at heart! You guys are selling oil for a pittance to the Americans because you are landlocked. The Conservatives talk a lot, but Harper couldn't get a pipeline built in the 10 years he had government. Has it ever occurred to you that the Americans don't like the idea of Canada selling oil to China? Look at where Harper is right now, and your should get a pretty good idea who he's really working for.

As for separating, good luck with that! You guys already had the reformers, and all it did was ensure 10 years of Liberal rule due to vote splitting. You think BC is going to come along with you when you guys can't even agree on a pipeline? I'd call that a pipe dream, LOL!

 

Yeah, and that's what I find so idiotic about this whole thing. It's just a frickin pipeline, build it already!

 

I don't want to dismiss Albertan concerns, but federal politics are about the entire country. The Liberals already spent billions of federal tax dollars to buy the transmountain pipeline, and to me, that is already a huge investment in Alberta. Sure, it comes with a number of legal issues and you may not agree with how the Liberals are handling those issues, but you need to understand that the rest of country see climate change as an important issue. Even those of us who support the pipelines do not want to see the oil industry grow unchecked, which is basically what the Saskatchewan PM proposed with his recent letter to Trudeau calling for the cancellation of the Carbon Tax.

BTW, very few people in Ontario are happy about the fact that our governments keep propping up the auto industry. Billions of dollars are wasted propping up the jobs of a few thousand people, and anyone with a sense can see that automation will eliminate those jobs regardless. Unfortunately, Canadian politics being what they are, there are powerful special interest groups that every politician want to appeal to.

I grew up in Quebec, so I had to laugh, though not in any mean spirited way, when I read that you think threatening separation would get you special deals. Trust me when I say Quebec is a special basket case, and you don't want Alberta to end up like Quebec!

Quebec has some of the highest, if not the highest, provincial taxes in the country, and most of that money is wasted on BS like policing the language on store signs, and I guess now policing the headwear of teachers. The very reason they receive the lion's share of equalization payments is because they are the second most populous province AND their economy is shit. Growing up, unless you were an ardent sovereigntist, everyone was well aware that the Quebec economy is dragged down by the constant talk of separation.

I don't believe the Liberals are out to kill Alberta's industry, but they're not going to give the oil industry a free reign either. IMO, Alberta could benefit from some diversification. Over-reliance on the oil industry means you guys get screwed every time the US depresses oil prices to punish Russia. Alberta oil is especially vulnerable, as I'm sure you are well aware, because it's expensive to extract and you can only sell it to the US.

More importantly, a Conservative government would not be able to do anything different from what the Liberals are doing currently. A Conservative government is not going to be able to force BC to agree, and regardless of how many people you think supports the pipeline in BC, the fact is that the province is unlikely to change that stance anytime soon. What the Conservatives WOULD BE doing, however, would be to work more closely with the Americans to further the American global agenda (the treaty used to arrest Meng was signed under Harper), promote anti-China rhetoric like during the Harper years, and participate in more military adventures that do not benefit Canada (Libya).

To me, those are more important considerations than Alberta's pipeline.