The fact is, some people think we’re down more than a goal or two.
They think we’ve caved, we’ve given up. Lloyd Axworthy sure does. The former Liberal foreign affairs minister under Jean Chrétien, suggested Carney was bending a knee by dropping the DST when Donald Trump threatened to walk if he didn’t.
So, what do you think? Did Carney cave, or is all this just part of the back and forth that will eventually lead to a compromise on both sides? Or worse, if Trump thinks he’s got Canada on the run, is all this going to end badly for the true north strong and free? Or finally, seeing as they (the U.S.) now have Mitch Marner, who cares about digital taxes, steel, aluminum, or supply management? If only it were that easy.
All right, time for some real assessments. First up, Robyn Urback at the Globe:
🔒 The digital services tax was bad policy, but killing it now makes us look terribly weak
If Mark Carney looks a little conflicted with his promises on the Digital Services Tax, at least he doesn’t look like he’s making stuff up in this trade war.
That’s a polite way of saying, lying. Donald Trump has been spreading pure bull about fentanyl sourcing, and so have his parade of trained seal cabinet secretaries. But not so the US think tank, the Manhattan Institute, which actually did a study on how the lethal drug is entering the U.S. Charlie Buckley of CTV News looked at the report:
U.S. report finds fentanyl crossing from Canada ‘not an important part of this story’
SPONSORED
Canada’s forestry sector supports 200,000 jobs, contributes $21 billion to our GDP, and generates $87 billion annually in revenue.
Yet U.S. trade barriers and Canada’s slow, overlapping regulatory processes are draining investment and blocking projects that prevent wildfires and drive economic growth.
We need action now—cut red tape, expand domestic wood use, develop biomass and pulp markets.
The Government of Canada has a clear opportunity to champion forestry, support workers, and grow our economy.
Let’s protect this critical industry and ensure it remains a foundation of our country’s strength and self-reliance.
Learn More
Here’s another issue that’s been a problem for the Americans about Canada for years, for decades, actually.
I mentioned the phrase a few stories ago, it’s one reporters and readers have run away from for ages. But it’s a bedrock of Canadian farm policy - supply management. That doesn’t mean it’s good policy, but it’s proven in Canada to be good politics.
Maybe it’s time to change, argues Tasha Kheiriddin of the National Post:
Tasha Kheiriddin: Carney will have no choice but to kill supply management
So, what to believe when you read these trade stories?
It’s a challenging question because you are often left confused, bewildered and on the verge of simply giving up trying to understand. The answer? Transparency, of course. Check out this in The Hill Times:
🔒 ‘What is being promised?’: NDP, labour call for more transparency in trade talks with Trump
The Alberta byelection that Pierre Poilievre is hoping will send him back inside the House of Commons is still more than a month away, but it’s a good little story cooking on the political back burner.
Will it be a walk in the park for the candidate who couldn’t win his Ottawa riding in the April election, or will it produce another surprise? The CBC’s John Paul Tasker travelled west to get an early sense of the vibe in a long-time Conservative riding:
Poilievre has to contend with Alberta separatists as he vies for a Commons seat
Here’s another “What to believe?” story.
This time, on the recent Iran war. Did the U.S. really “obliterate” Iran’s nuclear sites as Donald Trump claimed? Or is Iran correct in claiming the damage was minimal? What did Israel accomplish with its role? The dust is starting to settle on what actually happened, and this piece in the current Foreign Policy magazine is worth the read:
Israel’s War on Iran Backfired
Okay, here’s a health story for you.
As some of you know, I’m a golfer. Actually, let me rephrase that. I like to play golf, which doesn’t make you a golfer. I’m not very good. In fact, I’m far from good, but I still love to get out there to hit the little white ball around. People who play with me often ask, after I go through another dozen new balls that disappear into lakes, rivers, forests, “Peter, why don’t you use old balls?”
“I’ve never had any” is my reply. Think about that for a bit.
Anyway, I can remember years back we used to worry about the chemicals some courses use to keep their grass green and growing. Maybe we should have worried more:
Disturbing link between Parkinson’s disease and living beside a golf club revealed by new study
Great story to end on this week:
My favourite Toronto diner is the Avenue Road Diner on, you guessed it, Avenue Road near its corner with Davenport. I’ve been going there for forty years. It’s one of those diners where the walls are full of pictures of celebrity visitors. I saw Mike Myers’ picture up there and asked my friend Louie, who runs the place, how often the SNL alumni came by. “Not often,” said Louie, “he’s kind of shy”.
That’s why I was so happy to see my former CBC colleague and great guy, Paul Hunter, sit down, elbows up, with Myers on TV the other day. Great interview.
He made the decision on impulse, but it sparked a movement. Mike Myers on elbows up
