sbv

We need to escalate faster and hit harder in our tariff war with the US. That's the argument the most recent Hatchet episode. The reasoning makes sense:

1. The uncertainty around tariffs means that businesses will decide to relocate away from Canada, even if tariffs are never fully implemented. It's just easier to set up shop in the US and skip the tariff risk entirely. The longer the uncertainty drags on, the worse Canada's position becomes.

2. Trump and Musk are doing so many ridiculous things that the US public isn't focusing on the trade war with Canada, which means they aren't putting pressure on their representatives to end the trade war.

3. As time goes on, Canada's unity will fracture. Individual provinces will cave as they receive individual concessions.

The argument is that we should keep export tariffs on potash, energy, and other stuff we're selling into the US so that there's significant short term pain. That pain will convince Trump and co to back off on tariffs and return to our previous relationship.

The Liberal mailing list sent this an hour or two ago. "From" Mark Carney:

I am deeply honoured to be our next Liberal leader – and I’m ready to get to work.

...

We’re going to build the fastest-growing economy in the G7.

We’ll cut taxes that divide us and put money back into your pockets.

We’ll invest in health care, seniors, and affordable child care.

We’ll take bold action on climate, and we’ll protect Canadian workers from Trump’s tariffs.

I really hope that ol affordability crisis just slipped his mind. Tax cuts are fine (even if it's coded language for dropping the carbon tax), but groceries are still crazy expensive and housing is still hard to come by.

Via Reddit, of course.

Crombie is framing the Liberals’ election result as positive, referring to the party as “the people’s opposition” because they had the second-highest percentage of the popular vote, though the NDP won more seats and therefore will form official Opposition.

No talk of electoral reform? lol

Original: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-bonnie-crombie-says-she-wont-ask-any-ontario-liberals-to-step-aside-so/

The Globe and Mail is doing a live blog of tariff updates. It's freely available.

The Globe is a Canadian owned paper, FWIW.

It's gonna be a long ride:

Rebecka Dobbyn, who voted for Mr. Trump in the last election and has worked at the Dearborn plant for eight years, admitted she was unaware that tariffs on Canada and Mexico had taken effect hours earlier, but said “it’s all part of his strategy to bring jobs back to America and help Americans.”

Although, she added, “it would be nice to be able to afford to buy eggs.”

Original: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/economy/article-in-americas-motor-city-trumps-trade-war-is-met-not-with-a-battle-cry/

Among other lols:

The proposal for a 60-kilometre tunnel is emblematic of the hollowness at the centre of the government’s ideology. It would cost some unknown tens of billions of dollars and have little effect on congestion. None of that matters to Mr. Ford. He wants to be seen to be on the side of drivers and that makes it worth any price.

It would be nice if Mr. Ford was as committed to some of his own past promises. In 2018, he pledged to cut income taxes for the middle class. He said then the move – cutting the second tax bracket from 9.15 per cent to 7.32 – would save families as much as $786 a year. That cut never materialized.

Instead Mr. Ford has made a series of populist pocketbook gestures, such as eliminating the fee to renew licence plates. Then he sent $200 cheques which landed in Ontarians’ mailboxes as the election campaign was underway.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-a-reminder-mr-ford-that-youre-a-conservative/

The Hatchet does a glowing documentary on Canadian Paul Watson. He was one of the founders of Greenpeace who split ways and decided to go the route of direct action to prevent whaling ships from brutally killing whales. The dude has been hounding whaling vessels for decades.

I'm not sure if anyone else is following that Hatchet, but it's a pretty enjoyable podcast. I enjoyed the stuff Arshy and Jordan did on Canadaland, so it's nice to see them striking out on their own.

The first exception that B.C. has dropped is a tit-for-tat measure that allowed the province to impose reciprocal restrictions on other jurisdictions that limited B.C. suppliers’ access to procurement opportunities.

The second lifts investment restrictions in the fisheries sector.

The first one seems fine.

What's the second one, though? Does this mean we'll see more open open pen fish farms fucking up ecosystems? Or more corporate ownership of fishing licenses?

Poking around, I can't see an official press release explaining the change.

From: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-bc-lifts-two-interprovincial-trade-restrictions-ahead-of-expected-us/

Is anyone else boycotting Loblaws? I don't have many alternatives, but I'm doing my best to take my business elsewhere.