Imagery may not be everything in politics, but it’s an awful lot, especially for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s optics-obsessed government. And the image that comes to mind of the Trudeau government is that of the Ever Given, the giant container ship that ran aground in the Suez Canal and was stuck there for days.
Canada’s massive boost to its debt levels during the COVID-19 pandemic failed to increase its economic growth compared to 32 other industrialized countries, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute.
Using data from the International Monetary Fund, the report says that from 2019 to 2021, Canada had the second-largest increase in its gross debt as a share of the national economy, surpassed only by Japan.
Over the past two years, I have written several articles on issues that (I believe) take Canada in the direction of being a more authoritarian State. The sources for these issues are diverse, from government policy and announcements of policy intentions to public statements by members of the punditocracy / commentariat to widespread public support for certain ideas. In all frankness, I am not the only one who senses this direction of movement (or is it drift?). But I think that enough pieces are now in place for us to take a step back and take a holistic view of what this movement / drift portends for us as a society.
A cut in planned government spending could help tame rampant inflation and reduce pressure on the Bank of Canada to hike interest rates, according to a report from Scotiabank.
The report from the bank’s chief economist Jean-Francois Perrault and modelling director René Lalonde claims that Canadian fiscal policymakers are “doing nothing of any significance to slow inflation at the moment.”
Canadians will need to find alternatives for plastic straws and grocery bags by the end of the year as the federal government puts the final motions in place to ban some single-use plastics.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and a number of other ministers and Liberal MPs will lay out the plastics ban in a series of events across the country today.
Guilbeault is also expected to discuss plans to mandate a minimum amount of recycled content in other plastic items as the government seeks to create a bigger market for recycled plastic in Canada.
Remember when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed to running an open and transparent government and guaranteeing freedom of information when the Liberals won the 2015 election?
That’s another broken promise on the Liberal record.
The Liberal government billed taxpayers $39 million for private contractors to black out access to information documents requested by the public.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, several companies received millions for the censorship work.
It’s too serious to be funny, but the committee set up to investigate why the Emergencies Act was used has acquired more than a touch of farce.
MONTREAL—To look back on the first stretch of Justin Trudeau’s third term is to be reminded there is a reason why no prime minister has succeeded in securing a fourth consecutive election victory in more than a century.
Based on the recent past, governments do not age well. On that score, think back to Stephen Harper’s unimpressive third term or to the Liberal civil war that engulfed Jean Chrétien’s last years in office.
In the end, each of those governments ended up poisoning the well of its reelection for a fourth term. At this rate, Trudeau’s tenure will be no exception.
With luck Trudeau will be to the Federal LPC what Wynne/McGuinty were to the OLP – poison.
Canadians are questioning the benefit of the $6.6 billion in foreign aid Ottawa sends to other countries annually.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, a Department of Foreign Affairs report titled Canadians’ Views On International Assistance Tracking Study shows that most people are worried that their taxpayer dollars are funding corrupt regimes abroad.
This is the main function of government.
The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage heard from a total of 48 witnesses as individuals or representing organizations during its study of Bill C-11 (excluding the CRTC and government officials). Of those 48, at least 16 either raised concerns about the regulation of user content in the bill or disputed government claims about its effect. Liberal, NDP and Bloc MPs proposed and voted for amendments in Bill C-11 raised by a single witness or organization, but somehow the testimony of one-third of the witnesses, which included creators, consumer groups, independent experts, Internet platforms, and industry associations. was ignored.
Four of the five most expensive cities on either side of the border when it comes to cost of living versus income are located in Canada, a new study shows.
Data released by Canadian insurance provider PolicyAdvisor suggests that New York City, Mississauga, Ont., Vancouver, Hamilton, Ont., and Toronto are the most unaffordable places to live in either country.
The study examined the 10 most populous cities in each country and compared the average cost of eight common necessities, items and services: a cinema ticket, a restaurant meal, a bottle of water, a cappuccino, a one-month gym membership, a one-way ticket on transit, a monthly pass on transit, and one month’s rent.
The feds spent nearly $40 million in the last two years hiring outside contractors to censor documents that have been requested under the Access to Information Act, says Blacklock’s Reporter.
Records show a handful of companies were awarded millions in contracts to process paperwork.
“Each file is different based on the complexity and the volume of pages,” cabinet wrote in an Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons.
h/t Mauser
Rising interest rates will increase borrowing costs and slow the economy. But they won’t address one of the biggest drivers of inflation: fossil fuel costs.
The chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, took the dramatic step of increasing borrowing costs by 0.75 per cent, a move Canada is expected to follow. He said the move will slow demand and help get the jobs market balance out.
“But there are many things we can’t affect,” Powell told reporters this week in Washington.
Justin’s legacy will be cemented by his decision to make Canadians suffer for his vanity.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, during Thursday’s House of Commons transport committee, NDP MP Taylor Bachrach sponsored a motion requesting “a copy of all relevant documents containing public health advice and scientific modeling received by the Minister of Transport” used to justify quarantines, masking, mandatory vaccination and other measures.
“All of a sudden there was a decision to suspend the mandates without really an explanation of what changed,” Bachrach explained.
