Thoughts on BC Politics and More

A few months back I wrote that Canada cannot win a trade war with the United States and that we were dependent on their market for our goods.  That's still true today, and it's put us in a weaker position with negotiations. There's always a but though, and this time there's a good ‘but’. Maybe Canada and its federal government should pause all negotiations with the United States for the next year or two. Sound radical?  Shocking?   It is. But, there's no point in negotiating with Donald Trump's regime. Just ask Japan.  They had a deal for a framework to begin formal negotiations and then Trump broke it levying new tariffs. Worse, Japan's government thought they'd get a preferred access to the US market only to find out that the base rate on tariffs would be 15% and other countries would be getting that anyway. Canada isn't going to get much of a deal with Donald Trump today. He's got it in for us, and he thinks he's in the better position. In...

The G-7 Summit is coming to Kananaskis, Alta., June 15-17. Canada is co-hosting the FIFA World Cup 26 in Vancouver and Toronto in almost a year. But the world is a ball of conflict and confusion. Hot wars. Cold wars. Trade wars. Is World War III underway and the West just doesn't know it? That is one of Bob Mackin's questions for this week's guest, Prof. Christian Leuprecht of the department of political science and economics at the Royal Military College of Canada and a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute ... CLICK HERE for the podcast

Using Statistics Canada population estimates for the third quarter 2019 and Elections Canada preliminary election results by province, it appears that 10.5 million Canadian residents (28%) were not eligible to vote in the 2019 election. Of the 27 million eligible voters, 9.2 million (24.6%) chose not to cast a ballot. Ultimately 17.9 million votes were cast; the election was decided by 47.6% of the population. The political talking heads, academic pundits and media screaming about the unfairness of our first past the post system are spouting drivel. When less than 50% of the population is casting ballots, tinkering with the selection process is adding a fresh coat of paint on a broken system. There is something wrong when 28% of our population is not registered with Election Canada as eligible to vote. Immigrants cannot vote until they become citizens, but if we have 10.5 million residents who are not citizens our immigration system is failing us, and our se...

G20 leaders meet as world order is rocked by a clash between giants ... trade and diplomatic friction between China and the US is forcing nations to choose sides - Canada included Evan Dyer ~~ CBC News ~~ Jun 26, 2019 At the end of the week, the world's 20 most powerful nations are coming together in Japan at a time when the international system that binds them together is under heavy pressure from its two biggest players. The world's largest trade dispute, between its two biggest economies, is affecting people who are neither Chinese nor American — like Canadian canola farmers. "The whole world of trade has been turned upside-down," said Brian Innes of the Canola Council of Canada. "We were functioning in a rules-based system, where if we had problems we would try to work them out without escalating things and taking impulsive measures against other countries." CLICK HERE to read the full CBC story : Thi...