Federal Government & Politics II

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

I don't think Trudeau has been that interesting for much of his tenure. His policies are basic centre-left platform elements, and even his supporters have generally viewed him as "implementing international best practices" or something like that.

It's really only his response to unpopularity that is interesting insofar as he seems to have become rigid and imperious, more like a French president than a Canadian prime minister. ….

Funnily enough, just like his father ended up.

[Hecate]

Legal weed wasn’t an accomplishment, it should have been, but they actually messed that up too. we now have a mess of different legislations from province to province. It’s still illegal to grow in manitoba, yet it’s legal to grow in Canada… it’s my right as a Canadian to be able to grow. how does that make sense? Anyway Illegal online retailers are stealing profits and offering more selection and better products than the government licensed producers are. Ridiculous 10mg limits on edibles along with outrageous pricing and people turn away. Leave it to the liberals to lose money selling drugs.

[Black Star]

338Canada seat projection | 170 seats for a majority

Cons 210▼
[183-231]

Libs 63▼
[43-90]

Block 38▲
[31-42]

ndp 25
[15-38]

Green 2
[2-2]

PPC 0

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Hecate

Legal weed wasn’t an accomplishment, it should have been, but they actually messed that up too. we now have a mess of different legislations from province to province. It’s still illegal to grow in manitoba, yet it’s legal to grow in Canada… it’s my right as a Canadian to be able to grow. how does that make sense? Anyway Illegal online retailers are stealing profits and offering more selection and better products than the government licensed producers are. Ridiculous 10mg limits on edibles along with outrageous pricing and people turn away. Leave it to the liberals to lose money selling drugs.

I suppose they overcame some opposition to decriminalization but to me it doesn't involve creating new programs, devoting resources or anything like that.

Not a huge deal I'd say.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by acottawa

Good point that the CPP is not easily reversible.

And even that is arguably Kathleen Wynne's legacy, not Trudeau's. She's the one who pushed it and forced the issue.

[Hecate]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I suppose they overcame some opposition to decriminalization but to me it doesn't involve creating new programs, devoting resources or anything like that.

Not a huge deal I'd say.

The feds dumped those responsibilities on the provinces so it’s not like we’re not paying for it in one way or another. It would have increased demand for duty stickers and also for quality control and licensing federally so it’s not like there’s no government cost.

Altogether though, Canadians have lost over 130 billion dollars investing in the cannabis industry. That’s a pretty big failure.

[whatnext]

When even your central bank is obliquely criticizing your gov'ts policies:

Bank of Canada warns of low productivity ‘emergency,’ making it harder to control inflation
MARK RENDELL
PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO
FOR SUBSCRIBERS

The Bank of Canada is warning that weak productivity and low business investment has become a national “emergency,” making it harder to control inflation and risking the erosion of living standards.

In a speech in Halifax, Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers said that Canada is slipping further behind the United States and other peer countries when it comes to economic output per worker.

She pointed to weak business investment, meager competition and a failure to properly integrate skilled immigrants into the Canadian workforce.

“I’m saying that it’s an emergency - it’s time to break the glass,” the central bank’s second-in-command told the business audience on Tuesday morning.

Canada has long lagged the United States when it comes to how much the economy produces per hour of work. But the situation has gotten worse over the past decade, especially coming out of the pandemic. Before the final quarter of last year, productivity had declined for six straight quarters.

“Back in 1984, the Canadian economy was producing 88 per cent of the value generated by the US economy per hour,” Ms. Rogers said.

“That’s not great. But by 2022, Canadian productivity had fallen to just 71 per cent of that of the United States. Over this same period of time, Canada also fell behind our G7 peers, with only Italy seeing a larger decline in productivity relative to the United States.”...

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/busi...-it-harder-to/

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Dartguard

You forget the Trudeau debt bubble we will all spend the next twenty years paying down.

I bet the next CPC gov't won't pay a cent of it down.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Acajack

It's often brought up on here and elsewhere but legal weed is somewhat dubious as an "achievement", I'd say.

And his other major achievement (a fantastic rise in Canadian real estate prices) is even more dubious as a net positive for the total population of the country.

[theman23]

Originally Posted by whatnext

When even your central bank is obliquely criticizing your gov'ts policies:

Bank of Canada warns of low productivity ‘emergency,’ making it harder to control inflation
MARK RENDELL
PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO
FOR SUBSCRIBERS

The Bank of Canada is warning that weak productivity and low business investment has become a national “emergency,” making it harder to control inflation and risking the erosion of living standards.

In a speech in Halifax, Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers said that Canada is slipping further behind the United States and other peer countries when it comes to economic output per worker.

She pointed to weak business investment, meager competition and a failure to properly integrate skilled immigrants into the Canadian workforce.

“I’m saying that it’s an emergency - it’s time to break the glass,” the central bank’s second-in-command told the business audience on Tuesday morning.

Canada has long lagged the United States when it comes to how much the economy produces per hour of work. But the situation has gotten worse over the past decade, especially coming out of the pandemic. Before the final quarter of last year, productivity had declined for six straight quarters.

“Back in 1984, the Canadian economy was producing 88 per cent of the value generated by the US economy per hour,” Ms. Rogers said.

“That’s not great. But by 2022, Canadian productivity had fallen to just 71 per cent of that of the United States. Over this same period of time, Canada also fell behind our G7 peers, with only Italy seeing a larger decline in productivity relative to the United States.”...

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/busi...-it-harder-to/

After a point, there seems to be a negative correlation between population growth and productivity. I think you were the one that posted the Scotiabank analysis? Anyways, we would look a lot better in these comparisons if we limited them to our peers (Syria, Sudan, Niger, etc.).

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by lio45

And his other major achievement (a fantastic rise in Canadian real estate prices) is even more dubious as a net positive for the total population of the country.

It's perfectly understandable and defensible that the Canadian government would not want to jeopardize something in which a huge proportion of the population has its financial future tied up in, i.e. the Great Canadian Housing Ponzi Scheme Bubble!

That said, a skillful and responsible government would also have addressed the problems it is causing for another large share of the population, and attempted to find some type of middle ground solution that helps out the latter without inflicting too much pain on the former.

I don't think it would have been an impossible task BTW. But of course, harder tomorrow than it would be today, and harder still the day after tomorrow...

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Acajack

It's perfectly understandable and defensible that the Canadian government would not want to jeopardize something in which a huge proportion of the population has its financial future tied up in, i.e. the Great Canadian Housing Ponzi Scheme Bubble!

That said, a skillful and responsible government would also have addressed the problems it is causing for another large share of the population, and attempted to find some type of middle ground solution that helps out the latter without inflicting too much pain on the former.

I don't think it would have been an impossible task BTW. But of course, harder tomorrow than it would be today, and harder still the day after tomorrow...

That's why slashing immigration/student numbers back to historical norms is a win/win. It will cause housing prices to stagnate (not crash) and it will drive wages up to a point where those stagnant home prices become more attainable. As a bonus it will make housing less attractive as a speculative investment thus freeing up capital to be invested in other areas of the economy.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Dartguard

I would opine that its far too early to truly understand what China has been able to achieve here in Canada. It seems that they have at least smothered the Federal Governments ability to respond with agility and clarity to Chinese moves other than joining a Burke Class Destroyer through the Taiwan straight
Please remember that it took two years longer for DND to move into the former Nortel HQ because of listening devices and other strange things found in the building all traced back to China. The two Michael's drama froze Canadian/China relations until the US AG moved its case forward. Soveriegnty?

I would agree with that sentiment for the most part.

The Nortel issue likely goes back decades. It was under multiple liberal and conservative watches. What we don't know is to the degree other Canadian industry is vulnerable.

The Michaels were a form of blackmail. Canada did not cave. No question they personally paid a high toll for that. However had we caved in on China's demands I think we would be a worse case today.

Would a PP government had caved in or not? I honestly don't know.

What is clear is Canada has been more consistent over the last few years at blocking the sale of companies that are strategically important to us. Still to be seen how a new conservative government approaches that. Are they going to have an "open for business" attitude or willing to put Canadian interest ahead of shareholders.

The Liberals ended the military exchange programs with China that the previous government started.

I think it clear this current Liberal government has for the most part not been as friendly with China as previous liberal and conservative governments.

[casper]

Originally Posted by whatnext

That's why slashing immigration/student numbers back to historical norms is a win/win. It will cause housing prices to stagnate (not crash) and it will drive wages up to a point where those stagnant home prices become more attainable. As a bonus it will make housing less attractive as a speculative investment thus freeing up capital to be invested in other areas of the economy.

That is for the most part what has happened with the recent changes. We will have to see if there is a loophole still there or if they have been all closed.

Originally Posted by Acajack

It's perfectly understandable and defensible that the Canadian government would not want to jeopardize something in which a huge proportion of the population has its financial future tied up in, i.e. the Great Canadian Housing Ponzi Scheme Bubble!

Lets assume it is a Bubble. The hard question is how do you reduce housing costs without removing the business case for developers to build new housing. We still live in a country were social housing is only 3% of the housing stock. We need the private sector to be motivated to build.

[theman23]

Originally Posted by casper

That is for the most part what has happened with the recent changes. We will have to see if there is a loophole still there or if they have been all closed.

Our population growth numbers are 4 times what they were before this government came into power. The Liberal's promise to cut student immigration numbers 30% from 2023 only brings us to 2022 numbers, which was the record year before last year.

[Marshsparrow]

So Doug Ford (Conservative) takes the Wynne (Liberal) deficit of $3B and turns it into $9B - some conservative. I suspect we will get the same from Pierre. Conservatives slash and burn everything, give niche tax cuts to their friends and increase deficits. Proven time and time again.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Marshsparrow

So Doug Ford (Conservative) takes the Wynne (Liberal) deficit of $3B and turns it into $9B - some conservative. I suspect we will get the same from Pierre. Conservatives slash and burn everything, give niche tax cuts to their friends and increase deficits. Proven time and time again.

It's not big ticket, but extending the gas tax cut while running a larger deficit is annoying to me.

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by casper

I think it clear this current Liberal government has for the most part not been as friendly with China as previous liberal and conservative governments.

This is not a fair comparison. Previous governments dealt with Hu Jintao’s CCP or Jiang Zemin’s CCP, not Xi Jinping’s CCP. The risks are considerably higher now.

[casper]

Originally Posted by theman23

Our population growth numbers are 4 times what they were before this government came into power. The Liberal's promise to cut student immigration numbers 30% from 2023 only brings us to 2022 numbers, which was the record year before last year.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the new rules require a student to attach a "provincial attestation letter " to their application from the provincial government the regulates/accredits the institution they intend to attend.

That clearly puts the provinces in the driver seat on the number at the end of the year. The feds are not forcing the provinces to write any letters.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Acajack

It's perfectly understandable and defensible that the Canadian government would not want to jeopardize something in which a huge proportion of the population has its financial future tied up in, i.e. the Great Canadian Housing Ponzi Scheme Bubble!

That said, a skillful and responsible government would also have addressed the problems it is causing for another large share of the population, and attempted to find some type of middle ground solution that helps out the latter without inflicting too much pain on the former.

I don't think it would have been an impossible task BTW. But of course, harder tomorrow than it would be today, and harder still the day after tomorrow...

I think you're putting that "skill" bar WAY too high -- it's the government we're talking about. No way they can square that circle. Even reasonably smart people probably couldn't; it's mostly a net zero sum thing -- expensive real estate is great for owners and sucks for those who'd have liked to own, and vice versa. Pick one: cheap real estate, and you don't see a relatively rich and quite numerous Landed Gentry class, or the other way around.