Is Canada Heading Down The Same Violent Path As The US?

WNU Editor: The above commentator is still optimistic that we will not head down the same path of the US. I disagree. I like Anthony Furey, but we are going down that path. Canada's major news broadcasters have been pushing a pro-BLM/race agenda non-stop since the killing of George Floyd, and any opposition is not tolerated.That was reflected from what I saw on the streets of Montreal yesterday .... Statue Of Canada's First Prime Minister Toppled Down In Montreal.

Is Canada More Polarized Than Ever?

Sarmishta Subramanian, The Walrus: Is Canada Broken?

The country seems more polarized than ever. Here's what that means for the next election.

In May, with Brexit chaos and contentious EU elections in the air, more than 5,000 Europeans joined a novel social experiment. In cafés and parks in Poland and Italy, in Belgium and Denmark, they sat down to talk, one on one, with strangers from another country who held opposite views on a slew of divisive issues: Are there too many immigrants? Should Europeans pay higher gas taxes to address climate change? Is the EU good for Europe? This wasn’t debate club or a performative exercise; the aim was simply to have a difficult conversation, to share one’s experience and listen, for a while, to someone else’s.

Europe Talks was a partnership between seventeen European media organizations, including the website Zeit Online, which launched the project in 2017 with 600 such conversations in Germany. A UK version followed, billed by its unlikely cosponsor, the Mirror, as an effort to “bring the nation back together over a nice cup of tea.” In one rather stiff exchange in Yorkshire, captured on video by the Mirror, a third-generation lobster fisherman and a Syrian refugee turned cheesemaker talk about why he voted for Brexit and why she migrated; there’s a moment where he murmurs that she’s “more Yorkshire” than some people who were “born and bred here.”

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I live in Canada (Montreal, Canada). I have never seen this country as polarized as it is now.

Is Canada's Parliamentary System Working?

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the House of Commons in Ottawa, April 3, 2019. Reuters

Justin Ling, Foreign Policy: How Canada's cultish politics make bad problems even worse

* The lack of deviation on policy within Canada's political parties is a departure from other Western democracies.
* That lack of flexibility is a problem, and on that makes bad situations worse, argues Justin Ling.

As the UK Parliament eats itself in tortured indecision around Brexit, it might seem that Westminster systems work best when there's not too much freedom. As vote after vote unfolded, not even the few Liberal Democrats could get themselves in unison for the vote, let alone Theresa May's tortured Conservatives.

But, across the pond in Canada, the limits of lockstep parliaments were on full display. Wielding his extraordinary power as leader of the Liberal Party, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unceremoniously fired two members of his caucus, both former cabinet ministers, and ripped up their candidacy papers.

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WNU Editor: First things first .... I live in Canada. As to the above question, this is how Canada's parliamentary system has been working since the beginning of Confederation .... and in my opinion it has worked well. And while it is true that Canada's political parties are focused on its leaders, it does result in governments being formed where policies and initiatives are quickly implemented. And if these policies do not work and/or the public are against them, Canada's elections are free and fair, and there is always accountability when the public goes to vote. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was elected with a majority government in 2015 with only 39.5% of the vote, but it was accepted at the time that he has a mandate to implement his agenda, and implemented he did. Canadians go to the polls this October, and many will be voting on his performance. My sense of the mood in Canada is that there is a growing sentiment that his policies are not working and my money is on him losing his job. And IMHO this is OK. As long as politicians are held accountable by the electorate, I do not care how cultish Canada's politics is. In the end the power must reside in the public, and in this country it does.

What Is Wrong With Canada's Foreign Policy?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada in Montreal on Aug. 8. (Christinne Muschi/Reuters)

J.J. McCullough, Washington Post: What Canada’s spat with Saudi Arabia reveals about Trudeau’s scatterbrained foreign policy

The worsening spat between the governments of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been mostly analyzed from the Saudi angle: a case study of the kingdom’s eggshell sensitivities and bossy expectations of deference. Yet the story also reveals much about Trudeau’s own inadequacies as a statesman, and the thoroughly confused nature of his foreign-policy priorities.

Trudeau is often elevated as one of the west’s champions of principled liberal internationalism, a world leader who offers a marked contrast with the populist nationalism of Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen, Viktor Orban, et al. Insofar as Trudeau has been an outspoken proponent of immigration, multiculturalism, and Muslim empathy, the contrast is undeniable. At the same time, his commitment to a broader world order seeking to consolidate the gains of liberal reform and resist the pull of authoritarian chauvinism has always been tenuous, in large part because the prime minister appears to have persistent difficulty in distinguishing the two.

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WNU Editor: To say that J.J. McCullough from the Washington Post is harsh in his analysis of Prime Minister Trudeau's approach to foreign policy is an understatement. He does give a long list of Canadian miscues and mistakes in the past few years that makes one wonder if Canadian foreign policy is really that naive. My view is mixed. Prime Minister Trudeau is doing what he promised he was going to do when he was elected. On a side note. This morning I had breakfast with one of my business partners who had just returned from a Christian pilgrimage to Israel. He found during his trip that both Israelis and Palestinians do share a common opinion on one topic .... and that topic is Prime Minister Trudeau, and his naivety of the Middle East and foreign relations. Wow .... that is something that I did not expect.

Political Winds Of Change In Canada?

A Canadian flag flies in front of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo

WNU Editor: Prime Minister Trudeau's Liberals lose a bye-election in their stronghold of Quebec .... hint: it was not even close .... Conservatives' Richard Martel wins in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord byelection (CBC). I have been writing for the past year that Prime Minister Trudeau's hold on power was slipping .... even though polls and pundits have been saying that he is very popular. He is not. The complete defeat of the provincial Liberals in the province of Ontario in an election two weeks ago should be a wake-up call to the Prime Minister that his policies (which the Liberals in Ontario strongly supported) are very unpopular .... especially when we learn that this is their legacy (and ours) when the final bill comes in .... $312 Billion: Green Energy Makes Ontario the Most Debt-Ridden Province on Earth (PJ Media). The next big defeat for the Liberals will be in the province of Quebec, where the provincial Liberals will be defeated because of high taxes, high gas prices, open borders, and an economy that everyone is saying is booming, but there have been no real wage increases for years (being one who lives here, I can attest to that). As for the Federal Liberals and Prime Minister Trudeau .... they go to the polls next year, and all that I can say is that when you rule against the will of people, they will remember you on election day, especially if you run on crazy policies like this one .... Soon To Be  Ontario Premier Doug Ford promises cheaper gas, Justin Trudeau vows to stop it (Brian Lilly).

On a side note .... the G7 ended two weeks ago. The focus and criticisms was on Trump. But ..... French President Macron's popularity and poll numbers are in the sewer. German Chancellor Merkel may be out of a job in two weeks. The Italian Premier is new .... the old one was kicked out a week before. British Prime Minister May is under pressure by everyone in her party .... and who knows how long she can last. Japanese PM Abe is facing corruption allegations, and his numbers do not look good even though he did win by a landslide in last year's election. And I have doubts that Canadian Prime Minister can win the next election .... certainly not with his policies and initiatives. So there is a very real chance that in President Trump's last year in his four year mandate .... in that G7 he may be the only one left from this one .... or at least him and Macron.

The End Of Canada's Oil Boom

OilPrice.com: Disaster Hits Canada's Oil Sands

Kinder Morgan said it would halt nearly all work on a pipeline project that is crucial to the entire Canadian oil sands industry, representing a huge blow to Alberta’s efforts to move oil to market.

Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion is the largest, and one of the very few, pipeline projects that has a chance of reaching completion. Alberta’s oil sands producers have been desperate for new outlets to take their oil out of the country, and the decade-plus Keystone XL saga is the perfect illustration of the industry’s woes.

Keystone XL is still facing an uncertain future, and with several other major oil pipeline projects already shelved, there has been extra emphasis on the successful outcome of the Trans Mountain Expansion. That is exactly why Canada’s federal government, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has gone to bat for the project.

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WNU Editor: The pipeline that the above author is talking about is not going to be built. This crushes any hopes that oil-rich Alberta may have had to increase the export of its oil products to Asian markets .... but it is a huge win for British Government's NDP-Socialist/Green coalition government who have opposed this project since day one. I have friends who work in Alberta's oil industry .... and to say that my friends are suffering is an understatement. And while the U.S. oil industry is booming the Canadian oil industry is in a massive slump .... and there are going to be consequences. The Alberta provincial government (also ruled by the NDP) have vested all of their political capital in this project, and while they have been projected to be voted out in the next election, this loss all but guarantees it.  But the biggest loser from all of this will be the government of Justin Trudeau. As I explained to my good friends in the Liberal Party at a get together last week .... when they were elected in October 2015 the price for a liter of gas nationwide was less than a dollar, today it is $1.45, and with carbon tax prices already being prepared to kick-in before next year's election .... even higher. Good luck in hoping that you can get re-elected with that track-record.

Should The Canadian Prime Minister Stop Telling Desperate Migrants And Refugees That Everyone Is Welcome In Canada?

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017

Graeme Gordon, CBC News: Trudeau should probably stop telling desperate refugees that everyone is welcome in Canada

Anyone with the smallest bit of knowledge about the immigration process knows that's not true

Are you one of the millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. afraid of being deported? Come to Canada! An asylum-seeker worried your refugee claim will be denied in America? Welcome to Canada! Paid a paltry wage in Mexico? Head on up to Canada!

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau began broadcasting this heart-warming message in late January as a not-so-subtle subtweet about President Donald Trump's travel ban.

"To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada" he tweeted on Jan. 28, followed by a picture of him greeting a refugee family.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: As an immigrant and now Canadian citizen .... over the years I have taken care of immigrants from eastern Europe, South Korea, and China. I know only too well on how hard it is to succeed in Canada .... especially if you come to this country with nothing. Since Prime Minister Trudeau's tweet .... instead of getting an inquiry through friends once or twice a year on Canada's immigration process .... I now receive about 2 to 3 requests a day ... and this is all coming from word of mouth. In fact .... when I add-up the numbers .... I can start a profitable immigration consulting company just doing this. But taking money from immigrants .... I just cannot do that .... to me it is immoral to help desperate people dreaming of a new start in a new country for profit. Unfortunately .... there are a lot of people out there who have no scruples, and I know of a few cases cases where sadly people are being taken advantage of because of Prime Minister Trudeau's remarks. I tell everyone that to become a Canadian citizen .... it is a long and tough process. And while the government will assist new immigrants, the onus is still on the immigrant to learn the language, to work hard, and to obey the law. Failure to do any of this will mean tough times .... and you will never be happy in this country.