Opinion | Braid: Amid strong pro-Canada speech, Smith drops a goofy, unworkable referendum question
Meanwhile, as if Mark Carney doesn’t have enough to deal with, given the situation with Donald Trump, now he’s got a five-alarm fire burning between Alberta and British Columbia.
It’s not like fights between provinces haven’t been part of our history, because lots of them have. There was even another serious issue between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador just this week, when St John’s signalled it wants to renegotiate an energy deal the two sides had come to an agreement on a few years ago, one that received national applause. But the Victoria-Edmonton dispute appears more serious, more like a cage fight with the verbal punches and insults flying back and forth. It’s got everything – oil, pipelines, climate, separation, referendums, and two premiers who clearly don’t like each other that much.
Enter Mark Carney, trying to calm the waters, but the week ends with little if anything settled and the future at best unclear.
John Paul Tasker is made for these kinds of stories – he’s a very good writer, but he also breaks down complicated stories to the point where even I understand them. Check this out:
Carney says the world is facing an 'energy crisis' and Canada must help solve it
I liked this guest column by longtime Liberal strategist Peter Donolo in the Globe this week.
He wants to know why it's so hard to find Conservative MPs from Alberta speaking out against the separation movement. But, I’ll admit, you have to wonder whether a member of the central Canadian Liberal elite lecturing western Conservatives on strategy can influence their moves:
🔒 Opinion | Why aren’t more Alberta MPs standing against separatism?
This can’t be correct.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer has issued a projection of what Canadians will pay to host 13 World Cup games in Canada this year. Thirteen games. Would you believe a billion dollars?
Keep in mind, by way of comparison, that keeping Canadian troops in Iraq to counter ISIS for almost six years, cost the same amount – a billion dollars. And for more than a decade in Afghanistan in a major shooting war with thousands of troops and their heavy war machinery, the cost was only 18 times higher. Hosting soccer, that's a game, not a war, is projected to cost $ 82 million per game. Anja Karadeglija of the Canadian Press wrote this story.
PBO says Canadian governments set to spend $1 billion to host World Cup
Speaking of budgets, guess who is going to take a hit on their annual allotment from British taxpayers?
The Royals. This from the BBC:
Royal finances face a cut. But will much really change?
Time to promote this week’s YouTube podcasts:
You can find Good Talk’s Bruce and Chantal right here.
And Rob Russo, along with Kathleen Petty, filling in for Althia Raj on Tuesday’s Reporter’s Notebook, which you can find at this link.
Ready to try something different?
An interesting article from a libertarian magazine in the United States. The focus is on how the affordability issue is impacting domestic politics. As the prices get higher, so the argument goes, pushback against Donald Trump increases. Is that real or wishful thinking? Try this out:
Trump Is the High-Prices President
If you like diving into history as I do, then you’re going to enjoy this next piece.
It's by the Conservative writer and Los Angeles Times columnist Jonah Goldberg, and it plays history against Donald Trump’s record. And history wins. Convincingly. Enjoy.
Letters to the Editor: Trump isn’t the first president to act without congressional approval
You know how Trump seems to get away with almost everything?
Check that. He does get away with everything. This week, even the IRS is being told to back off looking into his and his family’s tax moves. Then there’s that ballroom boondoggle. And the payoff to convicted, then pardoned, Jan 6 rioters. But I digress. But this story is not about any of those. It’s about Benjamin Netanyahu, who seems cut of the same Trump cloth – and he too has got away with stuff for years. Or has he? Do you know about his Attorney General? He may be the boss, but she’s not letting that get in the way. The weekly Air Mail wrote this:
🔒 The Thorn in Benjamin Netanyahu’s Side
You may have heard Dr. Janice Stein talking about it on The Bridge podcast a few days ago.
It's not being talked about much, but it should be, as Janice pointed out. The “it” is an approaching global food shortage resulting from Trump’s war with Iran. The UN says the world has at most six months to prepare for what could be a human tragedy. Politico had the story this week:
World has 6 months to avert major food crisis, says UN as Hormuz struggle drags on
I’ve tried to think of how to introduce this final item in this week’s Buzz, but I can’t do it justice.
It’s a remarkable story that’s left me gutted, among other emotions. I leave you to your feelings about it:
