This excellent article summarizes a common theme in many of your recent postings. There's an elephant in the room, and we all know who he is. He's someone who's clearly unhinged, and spends large amounts of time on his so-called Truth Social. He posts an image of Joe Biden, a truly decent man, who is presently fighting stage 4 prostate cancer, floating in sewage. He posts an image of himself carved into Mount Rushmore. He brags about passing a basic cognitive test and concludes that he's a genius. I could go on and on! We're all aware of his attitude towards our country Canada, and the damage he's inflicted on the global economy (and the US economy as well unless you're a billionaire oligarch).
I've been retired for many years, but recall early on in my career, when I was working for the Canadian branch of a major US corporation, our skilled and talented engineers and technicians created a unique and highly valued product. When the parent company got wind of this, they quickly shut it down and transferred everything to the US, including staff willing to move. This pattern has been repeated too many times.
Having said all that, the silver lining for us Canadians, as Fred's timely articles point out, is that we've woken up from our complacency and branch-plant mentality. To conclude my rant, let me just say that in an ironic way, we owe a debt of gratitude to this unhinged POTUS.
So today, as our government begin CUSMA trade talks with the USA, they announce a new set of tariffs on 99.6% of countries from which the USA imports anything! This includes Canada, Mexico, UK, EU, China etc. Across the board! Why? Because these countries are not doing enough against forced labour, either within their country or importing from countries that use it.
So my question would be, since the USA is setting itself up as this all-righteous example deep caring for the little guy, and chastising and penalizing every country that doesn’t meet its exceptionally high standards of labour, what examples might there be to show how hypocritical they are? Low minimum wages? Lack of health care? Lack of union support? Lack of low cost housing?……..how many examples of NOT caring can you think of?
All of those you listed, but, I'm sure there's more! Orangeman wants US citizens to think they are getting the best of the best, even though many are starving, unless the babies work too! Other countries have better wages & leaders that don't ignore the needs of it's citizens. We'll need a lot of TP to get rid of that orange stain! haha
And now the orange despot and his Canadian henchman Hoekstra are yapping their 51st state trolling again. I think it's about time that Canada courted Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington, and Oregon to join us as our 11th to 15th provinces.
I think it's high time that Hoekstra is shown the door. At a minimum he should be treated as persona non grata.
Excellent idea!!! I believe Michigan would happily join us, however, there's the canals that bring ships back & forth which if they were taken out in a spite fit, it would also take out Sault Ste Marie Michigan & Sault Ste Marie Ontario. We became twin cities & later, Sister cities, we all enjoyed each others bands, movies, plays, restaurant choices, etc. Both cities suffer now. When I lived there, I could pull out of my driveway & be into the USA in 5 minutes & traffic flowed both ways because the Canadian side was 2/3rds more populated. I am glad I moved away, but, still miss some of those times.
Another great one Fred! Personally, I am grateful that we are making more new friends & options & choices. Our new traders are polite & very likeable. No nasty remarks about attaching us to the orange slime type of talk. We need to roll out the welcome mat for all who come our way. You know, we welcome you with open arms, have a seat. Coffee? Cold water? May I take your coat? Dinner will be served shortly :)
This excellent article summarizes a common theme in many of your recent postings. There's an elephant in the room, and we all know who he is. He's someone who's clearly unhinged, and spends large amounts of time on his so-called Truth Social. He posts an image of Joe Biden, a truly decent man, who is presently fighting stage 4 prostate cancer, floating in sewage. He posts an image of himself carved into Mount Rushmore. He brags about passing a basic cognitive test and concludes that he's a genius. I could go on and on! We're all aware of his attitude towards our country Canada, and the damage he's inflicted on the global economy (and the US economy as well unless you're a billionaire oligarch).
I've been retired for many years, but recall early on in my career, when I was working for the Canadian branch of a major US corporation, our skilled and talented engineers and technicians created a unique and highly valued product. When the parent company got wind of this, they quickly shut it down and transferred everything to the US, including staff willing to move. This pattern has been repeated too many times.
Having said all that, the silver lining for us Canadians, as Fred's timely articles point out, is that we've woken up from our complacency and branch-plant mentality. To conclude my rant, let me just say that in an ironic way, we owe a debt of gratitude to this unhinged POTUS.
Jerry, thoughtful comment...
and sadly, that branch-plant story has repeated itself far too many times in Canada.
I think a lot of Canadians are finally waking up to just how vulnerable overdependence can be.
Appreciate you sharing this.
In some wierd way, yes haha
Brilliant analysis and really great strategic actions by Ottawa
You have to diversify your business community
Thanks Deirdre.
That’s exactly it... overdependence works… until it doesn’t.
Smart countries diversify just like smart businesses do.
Well written and to the point.
So today, as our government begin CUSMA trade talks with the USA, they announce a new set of tariffs on 99.6% of countries from which the USA imports anything! This includes Canada, Mexico, UK, EU, China etc. Across the board! Why? Because these countries are not doing enough against forced labour, either within their country or importing from countries that use it.
So my question would be, since the USA is setting itself up as this all-righteous example deep caring for the little guy, and chastising and penalizing every country that doesn’t meet its exceptionally high standards of labour, what examples might there be to show how hypocritical they are? Low minimum wages? Lack of health care? Lack of union support? Lack of low cost housing?……..how many examples of NOT caring can you think of?
All of those you listed, but, I'm sure there's more! Orangeman wants US citizens to think they are getting the best of the best, even though many are starving, unless the babies work too! Other countries have better wages & leaders that don't ignore the needs of it's citizens. We'll need a lot of TP to get rid of that orange stain! haha
Haha Patsy...
I think a lot of people are feeling pretty exhausted by the chaos.
Whatever side people sit on, ordinary folks usually end up paying the price when politics turns into a circus.
And now the orange despot and his Canadian henchman Hoekstra are yapping their 51st state trolling again. I think it's about time that Canada courted Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington, and Oregon to join us as our 11th to 15th provinces.
I think it's high time that Hoekstra is shown the door. At a minimum he should be treated as persona non grata.
Frank, I think a lot of Canadians are beyond tired of the trolling at this point.
Respect between neighbours matters...
especially after everything we’ve built together over decades.
Excellent idea!!! I believe Michigan would happily join us, however, there's the canals that bring ships back & forth which if they were taken out in a spite fit, it would also take out Sault Ste Marie Michigan & Sault Ste Marie Ontario. We became twin cities & later, Sister cities, we all enjoyed each others bands, movies, plays, restaurant choices, etc. Both cities suffer now. When I lived there, I could pull out of my driveway & be into the USA in 5 minutes & traffic flowed both ways because the Canadian side was 2/3rds more populated. I am glad I moved away, but, still miss some of those times.
Patsy, that’s such a good real-world example of how connected our countries became at the local level.
Politics may shift, but ordinary people built friendships, communities, and routines across that border for generations.
Appreciate you sharing that perspective.
Another great one Fred! Personally, I am grateful that we are making more new friends & options & choices. Our new traders are polite & very likeable. No nasty remarks about attaching us to the orange slime type of talk. We need to roll out the welcome mat for all who come our way. You know, we welcome you with open arms, have a seat. Coffee? Cold water? May I take your coat? Dinner will be served shortly :)
Thanks Patsy 😊
I think a lot of Canadians feel the same way right now...
more options, more friendships, and a little more mutual respect goes a long way.
And yes… coffee’s on, coat’s by the door, welcome mat out.
That sounds pretty Canadian to me.