Justin Trudeau seems to love nothing more than getting some tears to well up in his eyes and solemnly apologizing for Canada’s past.
He has no problem calling Canada’s history racist and prejudiced, and even accused Canada of being complicit in an ongoing genocide – which would of course include the time he’s been in power as well.
Locked Down: Canada’s Failed COVID-19 Response features Dr. Shawn Whatley (Senior Fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute), John Carpay (President, Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms), Anthony Furey (Editor and Columnist, Toronto Sun) and Candice Malcolm (Founder, True North.)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has warned Beijing that the arbitrary detention of two Canadians and the lack of transparency over their trial threatens China’s relations with Western nations. “Their arbitrary detention is completely unacceptable, as is the lack of transparency around these court proceedings,” he said at a daily media briefing on Friday.
An interim review of why Ottawa’s early pandemic warning system failed to issue a formal alert on COVID-19 has described a lack of detailed knowledge of the system by senior managers.
The audit dated Feb. 26, and released on Saturday, was ordered by federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu after reports the Global Public Health Intelligence Network didn’t operate as intended at the onset of the pandemic.
It is shocking and dangerous that the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, published in 2015, has been so widely accepted as a full accounting of Native grievances and the basis for policy changes and reparations to accommodate those grievances. Almost the only serious critical analysis that has been given to this massive report is the excellent and very readable book, “From Truth Comes Reconciliation,” which was edited by Rodney Clifton and Mark Dewolf, and published by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. Every Canadian concerned with Canada’s relationship with its Aboriginal peoples, which forms the basis for the rampant but fraudulent truism that this country is rotten with ”systemic racism,” should read this book. There is general agreement, as there should be, that Aboriginal people have legitimate grievances, that the country’s policy in regard to them has been unsuccessful and that this is a serious policy challenge where we simply have to do better. Justice Murray Sinclair, who chaired the commission, promised to “provide Canadians with a permanent record that weaves all experiences, all perspectives into the fabric of truth.” He and his fellow commissioners, Chief Wilton Littlechild and Marie Wilson, fell grievously short of delivering on that promise.
Flights from India continue to be Canada’s top source of international passengers testing positive for COVID-19.
And data provided by Health Canada reveals nearly all of the twice-daily flights between Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and Toronto Pearson Airport carried passengers infected with COVID-19.
It’s old news now, but the prime minister, back when he was simply leader of the third-place party in Parliament, infamously stepped in it by expressing admiration for China’s “basic dictatorship.” But now, to Justin Trudeau’s admiration of China’s government, he can add some gratitude. By announcing that the two Michaels, Kovrig and Spavor, will soon face trial on their trumped-up espionage charges, China has clarified things for Canada’s prime minister. China is a hostile state. We can treat it that way. Indeed, we must.
But Biden and administration officials have said the U.S. will not share its vaccines until after it has enough for its own people, leaving timing for any exports unclear.
Remember when, in the 2015 Canadian general election, candidate Justin Trudeau made the controversial pledge to run up a $10 billion deficit? The Conservatives hated it, of course, but even the NDP accused the Liberals of spending on the “shoulders of future generations.”
Fast forward six years, and Canada’s deficit for fiscal year 2021 is projected to top out at an eyewatering $381.6 billion. We’ve all gotten used to massive quantities of borrowed money being thrown around during COVID-19 (particularly when the Americans keep approving trillion-dollar spending bills) but Canada is currently burning through borrowed money at a rate that is unprecedented in our history.
Trudeau said Health Canada regulators are constantly analyzing all the available information about vaccines and have guaranteed those approved in Canada are safe for use.
The rather unprecedented situation surrounding the position of governor general has presented an awkward dilemma for the prime minister.
There’s clearly some urgency in filling the position, but also a need to be deliberate and thoughtful in selecting a replacement, especially given the circumstances that brought about the vacancy in the first place.
And no one in the government knew:
Canadian officials are not aware of any new timeline for the trials of two Canadians detained in China, despite reports in China claiming Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig will soon be tried.
In an article published in the Global Times, an English-language paper that effectively functions as a mouthpiece for the Chinese government, a source “close to the matter” is cited saying that the two Canadians have “already been prosecuted.”
“Another source close to the matter told the Global Times previously that due to the COVID-19 epidemic situation, the hearings for both cases have yet to commence, and the court will push forward the trial soon,” the article reads.
In their new COVID Misery Index, ranking the relative despair caused during the pandemic, MLI ranked Canada as the fifth most-miserable country out of the fifteen countries studied.
There is plenty to printed or taxed:
Tax write-offs cost more than $3.3 billion last year, an increase of millions over 2019, according to an internal Canada Revenue Agency audit. The report disclosed the Agency typically “stockpiled” unrecoverable taxes for write-downs: “An uncollectible amount can be written off at any time.”
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A bill to expand carbon tax exemptions for farmers is crucial as cabinet hikes rates every year until 2030, the Commons agriculture committee was told yesterday. “Farmers are struggling now,” said Conservative MP Philip Lawrence (Northumberland-Peterborough South, Ont.), sponsor of the bill.
To be filed under “Justin Trudeau Is An Arrogant Piece of Crap“:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday would not set any date for a federal budget, the first since 2019. Trudeau told reporters pandemic management was a greater priority: “Of all the money invested in helping Canadians get through this pandemic, eight or nine of every ten dollars has come from the federal government.”
Today, Canada faces a perfect storm of dysfunction at various government levels and with key Canadian institutions. Muddling through is not the answer. The public is increasingly frustrated over the inability of governments to manage the pandemic. Trust is at a low ebb and no one really knows who or what to believe. Beyond the impact of the virus itself, consequences are spiralling downwards for the economy, the budget, public education and the mental health of Canadians of all ages.
