Canadian Politics Redux

I'm still convinced Trudeau was acting on behalf of Biden. 

Another floor crosser, this time NDP.

I don't want to hear any complaints from the opposition.  Change the rules when you are in power next.

Or the Liberals should call a general election,  which none of the opposition seems to want at this point.

An email I just got from the Green Party: 

Dear Friend,

Mark Carney built his political brand on being “the climate guy.” He wrote a book called "Values" and talked about the urgency of the climate crisis on stages around the world. Many Canadians felt comfortable voting Liberal in 2025 because they trusted him on climate.

Then he scrapped the consumer carbon price and rammed through Bill C-5, stripping environmental protections and silencing public input. He signed a deal with Danielle Smith and started talking about new pipelines and "decarbonized oil" as if that was something real.

Interestingly, the same pattern is playing out on inequality.

In December 2016, Mark Carney stood at a podium in Liverpool, England, and delivered a speech called "The Spectre of Monetarism." He warned that the wealthiest 1% in America had gone from holding 25% of that country's wealth to 40% in just over two decades. He called these "staggering wealth inequalities." He linked them directly to the rise of populism and the fraying of social stability.

He was right.

But when he became Prime Minister, one of his earliest acts was to cancel the capital gains tax increase, a modest measure that would have affected only 0.13% of Canadians and raised $19,400,000,000 over five years. Money that could have been invested in services he is now cutting.

The man who warned the world about "staggering inequalities" chose to protect the wealth at the top.

This is a pattern. Diagnose the problem at the podium. Then retreat from taking action in office.

On climate, Canadians trusted Carney because he said the right things. On inequality, he said the right things too. The difference is that now you know it’s just talk.

The Green Party has called for a wealth tax and an end to the loopholes that let billionaires pay lower effective tax rates than their employees. We are not afraid to say that the wealthiest Canadians are not paying their fair share, and our country is struggling because of it.

erebus said:

Another floor crosser, this time NDP.

I don't want to hear any complaints from the opposition.  Change the rules when you are in power next.

Or the Liberals should call a general election,  which none of the opposition seems to want at this point.

In all fairness, there are 3 by elections in April for Freeland and Blair vacant seats. There is also a 3rd one in Trebonne, due to the PQ wanting a recount because mail in ballots were returned to sender and weren’t counted. 

My take on floor crossings...  there are advantages and disadvantages to it. I can certainly understand why folks are against it, and for it. That said, to Hugh's point... Conservatives can't complain, they've done it in the past. 

My take on Carney... yes, he is flip flopping on issues. Should he? Absolutely. He is losing some support on the far left, while presumably gaining some support from centre right. If I were Liberal leader, I would be doing the same. The purpose is not only for strengthening Canada on the world stage but also galvanizing those who are centre-right or fiscal conservatives. In many ways, the Cons should be doing the same thing especially with regards to their populist tactics and Trump-like ideals which are clearly not helping them in Canada.