Canada & Conservatism

[Bob Armstrong]

The Conservative Party as Government

No Adopting of Left/Globalist Policies!

Leader Pierre Poilievre:



"...many conservative leaders have “made the mistake” of adopting leftist policies once they are elected as a way to have “all of the different political ideologies captured in one tent.” He said while this strategy may have worked for many over the short-term, it eventually leads to a “disaster” of rising inflation, higher deficits, and increased crime.

...as prime minister, he would cut federal bureaucracy, fire costly government consultants, slash foreign aid, and cut back on corporate welfare. He also promised to bring down deficit and taxes and “unleash the free enterprise system” to grow Canada’s economy relative to its debt."

Epoch Times - News Alert Newsletter - 25/1/3

[Bob Armstrong]

Conservative Party Campaigning



"Conservatives give in to their worst impulses with their ‘Wacko’ movie on Trudeau.

Credit to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has, in a small way, taken action against youth unemployment [tongue in cheek] even before he becomes prime minister.

With the creation of his latest movie, which his party named “WACKOS: the weird, wild, woke & wonderful world of the people running our country,” Mr. Poilievre must have employed at least a half-dozen members of middle-school Conservative clubs from around the country, and given them the important task of splicing video clips together to make themselves and their buddies laugh. These kids took all of your favourite Justin-Trudeau-related memes and jokes from the past near-decade – about the Prime Minister appearing in blackface, about Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s past antics as a member of Greenpeace, about former finance minister Chrystia Freeland musing about a “vibecession” – and created a 12-minute movie, set to weird opera music, to highlight the zaniest aspects of the cast of characters who have run the government since 2015."

The Globe & Mail - Newsletter - 25/1/2

Bob A (Democratic Marxist)

[Bob Armstrong]

Hi Bob G:

You may have surmised by now that I do not like to spend much time on "history".

For me, what is past is gone and set in stone......I prefer looking forward.

But I do value history.......it is critical that some people love to do it. So I hope someone out there takes up your suggestion.......I think it is going to be one interesting read years from now.........how did this ever come about???

Happy New Year to you, and all our CT'ers!

Bob A

[Bob Armstrong]

Jan. 20, 2025 - Jan. 19, 2027

Donald Trump will get his chance to "improve" the USA, and the world.......he has absolute power.........I wish him well......but his track record quite dampens my expectations.

What will be of interest to me, will be whether the "improvements" will be those mandated by the GOP, or those of President Donald Trump......which has the power over legislation? I predict there will come on a number of things, a parting of the ways.



Helms Deep Update 25/1/1

Bob A

[Dilip Panjwani]

I guess we'll all wait with baited breath to see how the USA, and the world, "evolve" from Jan. 20, 2025 - Jan. 19, 2027.

I prefer optimism, if realistic.

My 2025 New Year's Resolution

I will try to be alert to coming changes (And they definitely are coming), good & bad...........I'll try to give credit where due.......and castigate those taking us down the rabbit hole.



Helms Deep Update 24/12/31

Bob A

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6366579540112

[Bob Gillanders]

I guess we'll all wait with baited breath to see how the USA, and the world, "evolve" from Jan. 20, 2025 - Jan. 19, 2027.

I prefer optimism, if realistic.

My 2025 New Year's Resolution

I will try to be alert to coming changes (And they definitely are coming), good & bad...........I'll try to give credit where due.......and castigate those taking us down the rabbit hole.



Helms Deep Update 24/12/31

Bob A

Good morning Bob A.

A suggestion for your New Years Resolution: keep a daily journal starting tomorrow for all of 2025. It has the potential to be a pivotal year on a global scale.
In 2026, if we all make it thru, summarize your journal into a documentary for 2025. Could be worth big bucks. Historians will love it.

Maybe I will do the same? Working on my new years resolution today myself. Unfortunately, too many of them are reruns. (sad)

[Bob Armstrong]

I guess we'll all wait with baited breath to see how the USA, and the world, "evolve" from Jan. 20, 2025 - Jan. 19, 2027.

I prefer optimism, if realistic.

My 2025 New Year's Resolution

I will try to be alert to coming changes (And they definitely are coming), good & bad...........I'll try to give credit where due.......and castigate those taking us down the rabbit hole.



Helms Deep Update 24/12/31

Bob A

[Vlad Drkulec]

So Vlad........

Is this a "thinking" board? It has been labelled "brain dead" in the past.......

If yes, what kind of trouble are we getting into?

Bob A

Definitely not a thinking board with some exceptions. We are getting into the same trouble we always get into. You really need to take a chill pill and stop conjuring up catastrophes. We will have our share of them without adding fictional disasters.

[Pargat Perrer]

Is there a way out of the current parliamentary mess for PM Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government?

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has recently declared that his party will vote against the Liberals on a confidence motion in the Commons. Parliament will resume in late January, 2025. Should this occur, the Liberal government could be defeated, virtually ensuring an election.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been leading in the polls by double digits for well over a year, with the Liberals struggling to stay ahead of the NDP for second place. Were a new election to be held, odds are very strong that the Conservatives would win a massive majority government, with well over 200 seats. The Bloc Quebecois could become the Official Opposition, with the NDP as third place party, and the Liberals sinking to fourth. That is how deep anger and frustration currently sits with the federal Liberals.

I believe that PM Trudeau would do virtually anything to remain Prime Minister. He also desperately wishes to be PM when the G7 will gather in Alberta in June, 2025, so he would host the event. That is still six months away. He also really wants to take on Poilievre in an election, believing, perhaps with plentiful delusion, that he would win, exploiting the Tory leader's inexperience.

What Trudeau could do is to prorogue Parliament when it reconvenes in about six weeks. That would stall any attempt to defeat his government.

Trudeau gets utterly savaged in an online article in the National Post today, spoofing his diary! It is very funny!

I really don't believe he will step down as Liberal leader while he is still PM.

I have a new policy idea that can turn everything around for Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberal party, if they make it a promise to enact after the next election if the Liberals retain power.

It is a policy that I think is LONG OVERDUE and as far as I know, it has never been proposed before? Or maybe I just never heard of it before.

I have a name for it: Child-Rearing Retirement Income Supplement (CRIS).

It is a retirement income supplement for anyone who can prove they spent any years of their working-age life in rearing one or more children. The more children and the more years in rearing them, the higher the benefit. Also, the child must not have become a convicted felon of any sort. In other words, only children raised to become productive members of society are counted, plus any disabled children who for reasons beyond their control could not become productive but who became non-felon adults.

CRIS would not be claimable during any time in which the adult was working full-time. Part-time work would be allowed up to say 20 hours per week.

This would be a LONG-OVERDUE benefit for all those housewives (and househusbands) who gave up careers or at least some working years to be responsible for the care and upbringing of children. Adopted children living in the home would be included, for whatever years they were being reared in the home.

This policy would win votes not just from retired women (and a smaller number of men) but from those who are CURRENTLY rearing children and not working because of that. The sacrifice of raising responsible, productive members of society SHOULD NO LONGER BE A SACRIFICE!

This policy proposal would be a HUGE plus for the Trudeau Liberals. The Conservatives would be sure the oppose it, at least initially, and that would likely be blowback against them. Yes, it would be costly ... but a DESERVED cost because the successful raising of such productive citizens should be seen as a total benefit to society, just as working for a company is seen.

This policy would be seen as BRAVE, COURAGEOUS, AND JUST.

It could turn the federal election around in a Toronto minute.

P.S. maybe Frank Dixon you could mention this idea to any federal Liberal MPs you might happen to know....

[Bob Armstrong]

So Vlad........

Is this a "thinking" board? It has been labelled "brain dead" in the past.......

If yes, what kind of trouble are we getting into?

Bob A

[Vlad Drkulec]

Lots of cannabis locations seem to be closing lately. For a while there seemed to be one on every corner and sometimes two. The one right next to my main grocery store located conveniently next to a pizza takeout place, a Taco Bell and an A&W seems to have closed. Of course the government does not want you to think too much. They might not like the mischief that you might get up to.

[Tom O'Donnell]

Whether it is Liberal or Conservative, you can be sure they do not care about you. Consider one of Doug Ford's first "accomplishments": buck-a-beer. Really shows what he thinks is the priority of the voters. Similarly, this "GST holiday" consists of not taxing things like beer, chips, and chocolates. Same with the government response to Covid: close sports fields and gyms, keep supplying cannabis, Doritos, and booze. It's almost like the government wants to keep the citizens stoned/drunk, stupid, fat, and lazy. Read: helpless.

[Bob Gillanders]

My View on Canada/USA Relations:

Conclusion

Seems to me Trump & the current Trudeau have it wrong. Canada becoming the 51st State of the USA (Or USA becoming Canada's 11th Province) is not some future event.......it is currently in process.......bye, bye sovereignty (What I said in 1992, if people care to look).

Bob A

Good morning Bob A.

wow, 1992, that's a long time to wait for an "I told you so"

But I don't want to be an American!!

Thankfully that is the majority opinion. Dilip's link confirms only 10% Canadians want to join US.
All my life, Canada has been challenged by Westerners wanting join US, and Quebecers wanting to separate.

Somehow we have kept it together. Tolerance and understanding is the key.
Americans however prefer domination, intimidation, and conquest. Not my cup of tea.

As the chaos develops in the US, fewer of us will want to embrace the insanity.

[Bob Armstrong]

My View on Canada/USA Relations:

Effective Integration



We accepted being the 51st state, effectively, in 1992 (Effective Jan. 1, 1994), with PM Brian Mulroney (Conservative Party) successfully negotiating NAFTA.

NAFTA stands for North American Free Trade Agreement, a treaty between the United States, Canada, and Mexico that created a free-trade zone in North America. The agreement was signed in 1992 and took effect in 1994.


NAFTA's goals were to:

• Eliminate tariffs on most goods produced by the three countries

• Gradually remove most barriers to cross-border investment and the movement of goods and services

• Open up the three countries' markets

• Ensure that future laws would not create barriers to doing business

• Give North American producers preference over goods not originating in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico

Some say that NAFTA led to an era of free-trade agreements that brought cheap goods to consumers and wealth to investors, but also increased income inequality and weakened labor unions.

AI Overview

Then the integration of Canada into the USA continued on July 1, 2020, with the successor tripartite agreement, USMCA. This United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement replaced NAFTA.

Past Can. PM, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, father of the current PM, Justin, had it right when he expressed grave concern about a mouse sleeping with an elephant.

The Trade Evidence

The United States and Canada have the world's largest trading relationship, with the two countries exchanging billions of dollars of goods and services each day. The trade relationship between the two countries is important to both nations' success, and supports millions of jobs in each country.

Here are some details about the trade between the United States and Canada:

• Goods and services
  In 2023, the total trade between the two countries was $923 billion, with the United States exporting $441 billion and importing $482 billion.

• Investment
  The United States is the largest investor in Canada, and Canada is the fourth-largest investor in the United States. In 2022, the United States invested $438.8 billion in Canada, and Canada invested $589.3 billion in the United States.
• Trade balance
  Canada has had a trade deficit with the United States in every year since 1985, excluding services.
• Trade in specific products
  In 2022, energy products made up one-third of Canada's exports to the United States, and motor vehicles and parts made up nearly one-fifth of the United States' imports from Canada.
• Trade across the border
  The trade across the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan, is equal to all trade between the United States and Japan.

AI Overview

Conclusion

Seems to me Trump & the current Trudeau have it wrong. Canada becoming the 51st State of the USA (Or USA becoming Canada's 11th Province) is not some future event.......it is currently in process.......bye, bye sovereignty (What I said in 1992, if people care to look).

Bob A

[Bob Armstrong]

Conservative Party of Canada



So far..........a free ride.

Now, especially with it looking like Trudeau has decided to resign, hopefully, will come some scrutiny as to what package Canadians are indicating they will vote for.

"When will Pierre Poilievre’s free ride with Canadians end as he cruises toward taking over the country with a large majority?

It is well past time for some answers from the Conservative leader that amount to more than populist epigrams slavishly repeated by the bobble-head brigade he has made of his caucus.

For more than a year now, Poilievre and the Conservatives have gotten away with punching their ticket to power by vilifying one person, Justin Trudeau. For most of that time, the Conservative Party of Canada has enjoyed a double-digit lead in the polls. That advantage now stands at a gaping 21 points.

Pollster Nik Nanos recently told CTV news that Poilievre has “the easiest job in the country.” All he needs to do is the opposite of whatever Trudeau does."

https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2024/12/...m_medium=email

Bob A (Democratic Marxist)