It goes on. And on and on. A heads-up for this weekend's newsletter - about the implosion of immigration policy - and a guest post by Nelly Shin, today.
I'm sorry to hear that you are losing subscribers over your stance on the Gaza war, Terry. For me, that is an incentive to continue. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Canada has become a nation of smug, self-righteous, self-important, condescending virtue-signalers who are (as you would have to be) culpably stupid and frequently deranged. Even being half-way rational is bound to lose you friends. It's a feather in your cap, old chap!
Good observation in general, but does this describe the type of person that would be a paying subscriber to this type of newsletter? I would have assumed that even if we aren’t a homogenous bunch, we would have some sort of shared values based on the topics Terry tends to write about and his courageous criticisms of the elites that run our institutions, and foreign powers infiltrating them.
The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) stands accused of benefitting from election interference from China, encouraging it, cultivating it. The Government of Canada (GoC) stands accused of turning a blind eye to it, covering it up. On the face of it, these two entities have distinct interests at the public inquiry, and should have separate legal representation and standing.
Justice Hogue leans heavily on this apparent distinction when denying the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) full standing at the inquiry, equivalent to the standing granted to the GoC. But how real is the distinction after all? The LPC apparently feels so confident in the representation they will get from GoC lawyers that they didn't even bother to apply for standing at the public inquiry - despite being the entity most in jeopardy of an adverse finding.
If the LPC acts as though the distinction is untenable, Hogue should not be resting her decision on it. Her decision to deny full standing to the CPC, coupled with here pre-emptive admonition not to make the inquiry political, demonstrates more than a reasonable apprehension of bias. The inquiry is irreparable damaged even before it begins.
I should clarify that when I refer to the "Government of Canada" I mean the Trudeau cabinet - *not* the permanent bureaucracy (CSIS, RCMP, etc.). Some characters, such as the national security advisor Jody Thomas, are intermediaries who straddle these two entities, being both a Trudeau political appointee and a career public servant. It looks as though she might have played a part in turning a blind eye to, or helping to cover up, the Chinese interference, on behalf of the Trudeau cabinet. Or perhaps running interference in the Parliamentary Committee investigations into these matters.
Unfortunately, as we have seen in the recent past, the PM and his crew in the PMO will not hesitate to insert their tentacles into the bureaucracy in order to get their way. It takes real intestinal fortitude to resist that type of pressure.
From what I heard from the Ambassador to Israel, appointed by Harper, and removed by Trudeau, the entire Foreign
Affairs department is corrupted under the Liberals. It would be those bureaucrats that we can not remove that are behind the scenes and corrupted as well. The entire Department needs to be cleaned out from what I heard.
I'm not saying there *aren't* elements of the permanent bureaucracy who are involved in facilitating foreign interference. I'm only clarifying that they aren't who I was referring to by the GoC. We have a real problem in Canada (like in the USA) with the permanent bureaucracy being political actors instead of public servants. Their code of conduct also needs to be fixed and penalties strengthened. But that will never happen...
You are one hundred percent right. Trudeau keeps building more and more bureaucracy to stifle freedom and over regulate absolutely every area of our life by unelected officials that we can not get rid of. Like in the US, we need to drain the swamp.
The appointment of Commissioner Hogue is an indication of the contempt in which the LPC holds ordinary Canadians AND the Opposition. Hogue,as we all know or should know, was a partner in the law firm Heenan-Blaikie, the same law firm where Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien practiced. This is an even worse appointment than Johnston. The only worse possible appointee would be Gerald Butts, but I suppose Trudeau isn't quite that arrogant, YET. Give him one more majority government and this guy will rule like Maduro. This inquiry has all the earmarks of a farce and it will undoubtedly become exactly that. The sad part is that Canadian taxpayers will be on the hook for million$ in this combination whitewash and boondoggle.
Hogue is another indication of how bad Stephen Harper's judge of character is: he appointed her to the court in the first place; just as he named Johnston as GG. <face palm; own goal>
Now, I understand that the legal community, like everything else, is a product of woke universities, so it is difficult to even find a reasonable judicial candidate anymore; but sheesh... maybe someone who is so *blatantly* opposed to everything conservative wouldn't be too much to ask of a Conservative PM?
Harper also left many judicial and Senate positions open to which Trudeau was happy to fill. Now we are stuck with the country’s complete destruction by Trudeau appointed progressive ideologues that are doing all they can to turn us into another third world, tin pot, dictatorship. They are doing a bang up job of it as well. What most sane people consider as a massive failure at every level, these progressive lap dogs consider it worthy of an award. So they give themselves one for gutting the entire country and all the citizen’s they were suppose to be working for. They are a complete train wreck in every way. I can not forgive Harper for this.
Harper's only legacy is a 2% drop of the GST. Can you think of anything else he accomplished that wasn't immediately undone in the first two months of Trudeau? Huge disappointment. Now he's hob-knobbing and getting selfies with his "true gentleman and friend" Jean Chretien. You know, the "true gentleman and friend" that he excoriated as corrupt during the Sponsorship scandal days? Was that disagreement all just political theatre, Stephen? Once a two-faced politician, always a two-faced politician, I guess.
Im trying to think too about what Harper did judicially. And nothing comes to mind. I know he gave billions to indigenous matters for reconciliation. Its funny to see us buying armed drones after so much whining about “war machine” jets before from trudeau.
This is not an unreasonable hope, both then and now. Russians are not uncivilized people. We have to believe that eventually, Russian mothers and fathers will tire of sending their children to die in Ukraine, and do something about it - in the longer run, to raise their children to reject participation in aggressive wars.
But that is not a reasonable hope with respect to Gazans. They unabashedly reveal their priorities in their political charter, and in their schools and mosques every day. Gazans believe that any and every sacrifice is worth making if it results in more Jewish deaths. Literally, not figuratively. The ghouls who butchered hundreds of innocent Jews on October 7th - and took hundreds more hostage - had to have known that this act would result in tens of thousands of their own being killed in response; they simply didn't care. They celebrated their barbarism with elation and jubilation - proudly live-streaming it to their folks back home and to the world. Nor were their folks back home horrified by the savagery of the attack they witnessed; indeed, there was universal joy and celebration in the streets of Gaza in the days that followed - brought to a fevered pitch whenever a Jewish corpse was present.
We know from decades of experience that Gazans do not love their children, not in any way that civilized people recognize as parental love. They regard their male children as future martyrs and their girl children as bearers of future martyrs. Hating Jews takes precedence over loving their children. One mistake a lot of people make is to assume that Gazans think like themselves, like you and me and Russians and nearly everyone else - that life is a precious gift. They do not; they regard their earthly life as expendable in the spiritual service of ridding the Middle East, and the world, of Jews and other infidels.
There has been a big hue and cry over the killing of "innocent Palestinian civilians" by Israel since October 7th. Every one of these deaths is on account of Hamas, which commits the war crimes of using human shields and employing non-uniformed combatants (making civilians unidentifiable as such). But there is another problem with this meme: You would be hard-pressed to find a truly innocent Gazan. The reality is that "innocent" Gazan civilians indoctrinate their "innocent" children into their death-cult ideology from birth. Gazan children lose their innocence at a very young age, in a self-perpetuating death spiral.
Death cults like that in Gaza normally do not have a long shelf life; they tend to burn themselves out in battles of attrition. Like the celibate Catholic priesthood, it would be impossible to sustain the Gazan death-cult without support from outside. But Gaza isn't a closed system, it isn't an "open-air prison." Gaza receives boundless support from outside, in the form of military aid from Iran (mostly), "humanitarian" aid from the rest of the world (quickly converted to military use), and political cover from the United Nations. Israel isn't allowed to give Gazans their wish of becoming martyrs to their cause - and so the unnatural danse macabre winds endlessly on.
The world has to smarten up and stop feeding sugar to this cancerous tumor in the Middle East. The world has to stop taking in "refugees" who are members of the death cult. The world has to stop tying the hands of Israeli forces removing the cancer, whether surgically or with chemotherapy. Compassion has its place; Gaza is not that place. The brass rule is the medicine that is called for on this sick patient: Do unto others as they do unto others.
I would separate Gazans and Hamas even though Hamas is popular in Gaza because as a Canadian I would hate to be associated with a positive view of the Trudeau government, so fair is fair
The only Gazans who don't support Hamas are ones who think Hamas didn't go far enough, or ones who support the Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian Authority, or some smaller Hamas-like faction. It is pretty much a distinction without a practical difference. As I say, Gaza is a death cult that very few escape being indoctrinated by. This is why I don't buy the "innocent women and children" meme. They really aren't all that "innocent."
We are fighting this battle from the ignorant perspective. Trying to change the leadership of this country can only succeed if the focus of pressure is the backbenchers of both the NDP and the Liberals. Some 14 votes hold the keys to the desolation of parliament. Surely all parliamentarians can’t all be happy with the destruction being inflicted on Canada by Misters Singh and Trudeau?
My cynical view is that after a year in Ottawa, almost every MP formerly with ideals and principles becomes a careerist. Being an MP is by far the best gig any of these mediocrities will ever have in their lives - and if they hang on for 6 years, it comes with a platinum-plated pension as well. Asking them to stand up to the person who signs their ticket is asking too much. It is the same with the back-room boys and girls who actually run the show: they will sacrifice any principle or ideal to stay connected to the party leadership. They shift alliances with the winds.
The genuine idealists and principled people are at the lowly riding level, and are easily ignored or shunted aside.
I'm not suggesting that it would be easy to motivate a politician to move away from
a single-minded devotion to a gold-plated pension. I'm just saying it would far easier task than finding any degree of concern for Canada in the likes of Mr Trudeau.
A one-term term limit for politicians would clarify their minds wonderfully - like an execution in the morning. If they knew it was "one term and you're gone," the careerists would not contest and the field would be open for those who really want to get something positive done, and get out. I.e., serious people who have more important things than politics going on in their lives.
The danger in this proposal is that the Deputy Ministers, representing the permanent bureaucracy, would then ride rough-shod over the elected noobies who don't know enough about what is really going on in government. (They run rough-shod over their elected bosses too often and too much already; but it would be worse for noobies who don't have their bearings to know how to push back.)
In short, democracy is imperfectible, as is human nature. But smaller government would be less open to abuse.
...Another benefit of the one-term term limit is that it would encourage more cross-party cooperation. If you only have 4 or 5 years to get things done, you will have to reach agreements with compromises before your time runs out. You wouldn't be trapped into gainsaying everything the opposing party says in order to pick up vote share in the next cycle.
You hit the nail directly on the head. I am trying to keep up to all the information on the security of the country. What I see is frightening, in that we are completely infiltrated, at every level of government, from municipal right up to the Federal Politicians. The Liberals party is rife with CCP and foreign influencers to the point they sit in our Governments and also on our Senate. This should be unheard of in any country. Yet here in Canada and especially with in the Liberal Party we have an over abundance of foreign members now in power with in governing bodies, boards, banks, Universities, and our Corporations and businesses as well. These entities are not working on behalf of or for Canada but for the interests of their country of origin. The Liberal Party of Canada, both the BC Provincial Party of past, and the Federal Liberal Party have long been in bed with the CCP. That does not mean the Conservatives are clean, as some appointments made by them are on par with The Liberals. Canadians need to be able to remove Members on our Senate and with in our Governments that are working for foreign countries. They should not have any say on policies or laws made within or for foreign affairs. It’s wrong on every level. We need a open and serious conversation and I do not see this inquiry wielding any thing of the kind. Just more waste of tax dollars to smooth over the story for the Liberals, who are up to their eye brows in foreign influence. We need that foreign registry if we want to keep Canada and Canadian’s safe. The fact Trudeau nor any other Government has not put one in place, shows it’s through out all parties and they are more concerned about their own gain instead of keeping Canadian’s safe. This should be the main concern of any Government in this country.
To those that left because of the correct and appropriate (i.e.not anti-semitic) coverage of the conflict in Gaza, I can only say, "good riddance". Of course the loss of innocent life is tragic, but what else can Israel do? Like you Terry, I am aggravated beyond words about the mess the Canadian housing market is in. I recently read an article that the average price of a home in the US is around $400,000. According to Bloomberg, the median price in Canada is over $750,000, which is 141% higher than what the median family income in this country can afford. Will someone please explain why such a difference exists? For the life of me, I cannot understand why this is not more of an issue. I understand that the CPC has to pay lip service to the whole immigration thing to avoid being called "racist" by the CBC, CTV, Toronto Star and other usual suspects. But enough is enough. My adult children can't afford to buy a house, and they are making about what I made when I bought my first one almost 40 years ago. With respect to Red China and its interference, I'm not holding my breath as long as the current regime is in power. Hopefully we will see a change next election, but I'm not sure the Conservatives can win an absolute majority, and without that, they won't be able to form government. As always, thanks Terry for what you do. There are few places that people in this country will dare to speak truth to power, and your sub-stack is one. I hope you enjoyed Christmas and New Year's, and were able to raise a glass or two. Cheers my friend.
Home prices in Canada may be 141% higher than the USA, but after taking into account the exchange rate and adjusting for purchasing power parity, it isn't that huge really. The residual difference is probably a function of the tax-free status of capital gains on primary residences in Canada, which artificially inflates home values as an investment instrument.
Well, I believe the current exchange is around 30%, so a $400k house in America is a $520K in Canadian dollars. So there is around a 50% increase from that price to get to the median price of $750k. To be fair, the Canadian housing market has been grossly distorted by the housing prices in southern Ontario and the BC lower mainland. So one has to ask, why is that? It seems obvious to me that the average Canadian can't afford these homes. Well, look at who is buying up the property in those areas. Money is coming from overseas, in the form of foreign nationals and also just direct investment. Corporations are buying these properties in order to turn them into rentals (like Air B&B). Money is being parked here. Toronto has received hundreds of thousands of new immigrants. Where are they all living?
This farcical “Public Inquiry” under the command of frau, er, Commissioner Hogue is already David Johnston Part II, which was its purpose all along. The Trudeau government/Liberal Party has zero intention of ever allowing a proper inquiry into this mess.
They have studied Mao's Little Red Book well. You know, the one Pierre Trudeau brought back to Canada with him after his 3 month visit with Mao in the 1960s.
Thank you Terry for your deep commitment to truth and putting it out to Canadian’s as we are in a dark period of history. We need brave voices who unapologetically speak truth to power and truth to the people. Appreciate your hard work.
It is a strange application of Pretzel Logic to deny the very political party that was targeted by the CCP in two elections full standing at the Hogue inquiry. I bet the Liberal brain trust had lots of water cooler snickers over that one, winning the “hyper partisan” wars by proxy.
The Hogue inquiry will sputter along, with lots of extensions granted so as to get around having a report thud on MP desks just ahead of an election.
We can only hope that an election outcome will bear the fruits of polling information and bring about a new administration that takes national security seriously.
With a federal election on the horizon, you would think that more people would be turning their attention to the Leaders' Debates Commission again - especially given the debacle it turned into the past two elections. It was beyond obvious that this Trudeau-appointed commission rigged everything to maximally favour Trudeau. (E.g. there wasn't a single question asked about the very unpopular internet and media regulations coming down the turnpike.) This hot mess needs to be cleaned up in advance; no point handing them another fait accompli and then complaining about it after the fact. The opposition politicians are so short-sighted.
If the prices of homes went down to affordable levels the government would simply be voted out of office. Only a binding agreement that all parties signed that would be in effect no matter what gov was in power could work. But elected officials will always put their self interest before societal good. And I own a home.
So many people - me included - have put their retirement eggs in the home-owning basket that deflating the market now would be very unpopular. Still, it must be done. It's not just partisan politics that stands in the way: so many MPs are heavily invested in the real estate market, too (ahem, PP, ahem).
Terry, I guess their are many Canadian subscribers that do not like to HEAR the TRUTH!! By not letting the Conservative Party and the diaspora communities their Rights is an Injustice! This Justice Hogue has a conflict of interest and should be thrown off this case!! She is deeply intrenched with the Trudeau family and is biased to the TRUTH. I hope the Conservative's make sure she is taken off the case...before it starts.
I'm sorry to hear that you are losing subscribers over your stance on the Gaza war, Terry. For me, that is an incentive to continue. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Canada has become a nation of smug, self-righteous, self-important, condescending virtue-signalers who are (as you would have to be) culpably stupid and frequently deranged. Even being half-way rational is bound to lose you friends. It's a feather in your cap, old chap!
Well said.
Good observation in general, but does this describe the type of person that would be a paying subscriber to this type of newsletter? I would have assumed that even if we aren’t a homogenous bunch, we would have some sort of shared values based on the topics Terry tends to write about and his courageous criticisms of the elites that run our institutions, and foreign powers infiltrating them.
The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) stands accused of benefitting from election interference from China, encouraging it, cultivating it. The Government of Canada (GoC) stands accused of turning a blind eye to it, covering it up. On the face of it, these two entities have distinct interests at the public inquiry, and should have separate legal representation and standing.
Justice Hogue leans heavily on this apparent distinction when denying the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) full standing at the inquiry, equivalent to the standing granted to the GoC. But how real is the distinction after all? The LPC apparently feels so confident in the representation they will get from GoC lawyers that they didn't even bother to apply for standing at the public inquiry - despite being the entity most in jeopardy of an adverse finding.
If the LPC acts as though the distinction is untenable, Hogue should not be resting her decision on it. Her decision to deny full standing to the CPC, coupled with here pre-emptive admonition not to make the inquiry political, demonstrates more than a reasonable apprehension of bias. The inquiry is irreparable damaged even before it begins.
I should clarify that when I refer to the "Government of Canada" I mean the Trudeau cabinet - *not* the permanent bureaucracy (CSIS, RCMP, etc.). Some characters, such as the national security advisor Jody Thomas, are intermediaries who straddle these two entities, being both a Trudeau political appointee and a career public servant. It looks as though she might have played a part in turning a blind eye to, or helping to cover up, the Chinese interference, on behalf of the Trudeau cabinet. Or perhaps running interference in the Parliamentary Committee investigations into these matters.
Unfortunately, as we have seen in the recent past, the PM and his crew in the PMO will not hesitate to insert their tentacles into the bureaucracy in order to get their way. It takes real intestinal fortitude to resist that type of pressure.
From what I heard from the Ambassador to Israel, appointed by Harper, and removed by Trudeau, the entire Foreign
Affairs department is corrupted under the Liberals. It would be those bureaucrats that we can not remove that are behind the scenes and corrupted as well. The entire Department needs to be cleaned out from what I heard.
I'm not saying there *aren't* elements of the permanent bureaucracy who are involved in facilitating foreign interference. I'm only clarifying that they aren't who I was referring to by the GoC. We have a real problem in Canada (like in the USA) with the permanent bureaucracy being political actors instead of public servants. Their code of conduct also needs to be fixed and penalties strengthened. But that will never happen...
You are one hundred percent right. Trudeau keeps building more and more bureaucracy to stifle freedom and over regulate absolutely every area of our life by unelected officials that we can not get rid of. Like in the US, we need to drain the swamp.
The appointment of Commissioner Hogue is an indication of the contempt in which the LPC holds ordinary Canadians AND the Opposition. Hogue,as we all know or should know, was a partner in the law firm Heenan-Blaikie, the same law firm where Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien practiced. This is an even worse appointment than Johnston. The only worse possible appointee would be Gerald Butts, but I suppose Trudeau isn't quite that arrogant, YET. Give him one more majority government and this guy will rule like Maduro. This inquiry has all the earmarks of a farce and it will undoubtedly become exactly that. The sad part is that Canadian taxpayers will be on the hook for million$ in this combination whitewash and boondoggle.
Hogue is another indication of how bad Stephen Harper's judge of character is: he appointed her to the court in the first place; just as he named Johnston as GG. <face palm; own goal>
Now, I understand that the legal community, like everything else, is a product of woke universities, so it is difficult to even find a reasonable judicial candidate anymore; but sheesh... maybe someone who is so *blatantly* opposed to everything conservative wouldn't be too much to ask of a Conservative PM?
Harper also left many judicial and Senate positions open to which Trudeau was happy to fill. Now we are stuck with the country’s complete destruction by Trudeau appointed progressive ideologues that are doing all they can to turn us into another third world, tin pot, dictatorship. They are doing a bang up job of it as well. What most sane people consider as a massive failure at every level, these progressive lap dogs consider it worthy of an award. So they give themselves one for gutting the entire country and all the citizen’s they were suppose to be working for. They are a complete train wreck in every way. I can not forgive Harper for this.
Harper's only legacy is a 2% drop of the GST. Can you think of anything else he accomplished that wasn't immediately undone in the first two months of Trudeau? Huge disappointment. Now he's hob-knobbing and getting selfies with his "true gentleman and friend" Jean Chretien. You know, the "true gentleman and friend" that he excoriated as corrupt during the Sponsorship scandal days? Was that disagreement all just political theatre, Stephen? Once a two-faced politician, always a two-faced politician, I guess.
Im trying to think too about what Harper did judicially. And nothing comes to mind. I know he gave billions to indigenous matters for reconciliation. Its funny to see us buying armed drones after so much whining about “war machine” jets before from trudeau.
It may be that he and they are both united on who they wish to be a vassal state of.
What might save us, me and you
Is if the Russians love their children, too.
-Sting ("Russians" 1985)
This is not an unreasonable hope, both then and now. Russians are not uncivilized people. We have to believe that eventually, Russian mothers and fathers will tire of sending their children to die in Ukraine, and do something about it - in the longer run, to raise their children to reject participation in aggressive wars.
But that is not a reasonable hope with respect to Gazans. They unabashedly reveal their priorities in their political charter, and in their schools and mosques every day. Gazans believe that any and every sacrifice is worth making if it results in more Jewish deaths. Literally, not figuratively. The ghouls who butchered hundreds of innocent Jews on October 7th - and took hundreds more hostage - had to have known that this act would result in tens of thousands of their own being killed in response; they simply didn't care. They celebrated their barbarism with elation and jubilation - proudly live-streaming it to their folks back home and to the world. Nor were their folks back home horrified by the savagery of the attack they witnessed; indeed, there was universal joy and celebration in the streets of Gaza in the days that followed - brought to a fevered pitch whenever a Jewish corpse was present.
We know from decades of experience that Gazans do not love their children, not in any way that civilized people recognize as parental love. They regard their male children as future martyrs and their girl children as bearers of future martyrs. Hating Jews takes precedence over loving their children. One mistake a lot of people make is to assume that Gazans think like themselves, like you and me and Russians and nearly everyone else - that life is a precious gift. They do not; they regard their earthly life as expendable in the spiritual service of ridding the Middle East, and the world, of Jews and other infidels.
There has been a big hue and cry over the killing of "innocent Palestinian civilians" by Israel since October 7th. Every one of these deaths is on account of Hamas, which commits the war crimes of using human shields and employing non-uniformed combatants (making civilians unidentifiable as such). But there is another problem with this meme: You would be hard-pressed to find a truly innocent Gazan. The reality is that "innocent" Gazan civilians indoctrinate their "innocent" children into their death-cult ideology from birth. Gazan children lose their innocence at a very young age, in a self-perpetuating death spiral.
Death cults like that in Gaza normally do not have a long shelf life; they tend to burn themselves out in battles of attrition. Like the celibate Catholic priesthood, it would be impossible to sustain the Gazan death-cult without support from outside. But Gaza isn't a closed system, it isn't an "open-air prison." Gaza receives boundless support from outside, in the form of military aid from Iran (mostly), "humanitarian" aid from the rest of the world (quickly converted to military use), and political cover from the United Nations. Israel isn't allowed to give Gazans their wish of becoming martyrs to their cause - and so the unnatural danse macabre winds endlessly on.
The world has to smarten up and stop feeding sugar to this cancerous tumor in the Middle East. The world has to stop taking in "refugees" who are members of the death cult. The world has to stop tying the hands of Israeli forces removing the cancer, whether surgically or with chemotherapy. Compassion has its place; Gaza is not that place. The brass rule is the medicine that is called for on this sick patient: Do unto others as they do unto others.
I would separate Gazans and Hamas even though Hamas is popular in Gaza because as a Canadian I would hate to be associated with a positive view of the Trudeau government, so fair is fair
The only Gazans who don't support Hamas are ones who think Hamas didn't go far enough, or ones who support the Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian Authority, or some smaller Hamas-like faction. It is pretty much a distinction without a practical difference. As I say, Gaza is a death cult that very few escape being indoctrinated by. This is why I don't buy the "innocent women and children" meme. They really aren't all that "innocent."
We are fighting this battle from the ignorant perspective. Trying to change the leadership of this country can only succeed if the focus of pressure is the backbenchers of both the NDP and the Liberals. Some 14 votes hold the keys to the desolation of parliament. Surely all parliamentarians can’t all be happy with the destruction being inflicted on Canada by Misters Singh and Trudeau?
My cynical view is that after a year in Ottawa, almost every MP formerly with ideals and principles becomes a careerist. Being an MP is by far the best gig any of these mediocrities will ever have in their lives - and if they hang on for 6 years, it comes with a platinum-plated pension as well. Asking them to stand up to the person who signs their ticket is asking too much. It is the same with the back-room boys and girls who actually run the show: they will sacrifice any principle or ideal to stay connected to the party leadership. They shift alliances with the winds.
The genuine idealists and principled people are at the lowly riding level, and are easily ignored or shunted aside.
I'm not suggesting that it would be easy to motivate a politician to move away from
a single-minded devotion to a gold-plated pension. I'm just saying it would far easier task than finding any degree of concern for Canada in the likes of Mr Trudeau.
A one-term term limit for politicians would clarify their minds wonderfully - like an execution in the morning. If they knew it was "one term and you're gone," the careerists would not contest and the field would be open for those who really want to get something positive done, and get out. I.e., serious people who have more important things than politics going on in their lives.
The danger in this proposal is that the Deputy Ministers, representing the permanent bureaucracy, would then ride rough-shod over the elected noobies who don't know enough about what is really going on in government. (They run rough-shod over their elected bosses too often and too much already; but it would be worse for noobies who don't have their bearings to know how to push back.)
In short, democracy is imperfectible, as is human nature. But smaller government would be less open to abuse.
...Another benefit of the one-term term limit is that it would encourage more cross-party cooperation. If you only have 4 or 5 years to get things done, you will have to reach agreements with compromises before your time runs out. You wouldn't be trapped into gainsaying everything the opposing party says in order to pick up vote share in the next cycle.
Definitely, a far smaller government. Something to strive for.
We need your kind of journalism more than ever. Please continue to keep us informed!
Yes, Terry is outstanding.
You hit the nail directly on the head. I am trying to keep up to all the information on the security of the country. What I see is frightening, in that we are completely infiltrated, at every level of government, from municipal right up to the Federal Politicians. The Liberals party is rife with CCP and foreign influencers to the point they sit in our Governments and also on our Senate. This should be unheard of in any country. Yet here in Canada and especially with in the Liberal Party we have an over abundance of foreign members now in power with in governing bodies, boards, banks, Universities, and our Corporations and businesses as well. These entities are not working on behalf of or for Canada but for the interests of their country of origin. The Liberal Party of Canada, both the BC Provincial Party of past, and the Federal Liberal Party have long been in bed with the CCP. That does not mean the Conservatives are clean, as some appointments made by them are on par with The Liberals. Canadians need to be able to remove Members on our Senate and with in our Governments that are working for foreign countries. They should not have any say on policies or laws made within or for foreign affairs. It’s wrong on every level. We need a open and serious conversation and I do not see this inquiry wielding any thing of the kind. Just more waste of tax dollars to smooth over the story for the Liberals, who are up to their eye brows in foreign influence. We need that foreign registry if we want to keep Canada and Canadian’s safe. The fact Trudeau nor any other Government has not put one in place, shows it’s through out all parties and they are more concerned about their own gain instead of keeping Canadian’s safe. This should be the main concern of any Government in this country.
To those that left because of the correct and appropriate (i.e.not anti-semitic) coverage of the conflict in Gaza, I can only say, "good riddance". Of course the loss of innocent life is tragic, but what else can Israel do? Like you Terry, I am aggravated beyond words about the mess the Canadian housing market is in. I recently read an article that the average price of a home in the US is around $400,000. According to Bloomberg, the median price in Canada is over $750,000, which is 141% higher than what the median family income in this country can afford. Will someone please explain why such a difference exists? For the life of me, I cannot understand why this is not more of an issue. I understand that the CPC has to pay lip service to the whole immigration thing to avoid being called "racist" by the CBC, CTV, Toronto Star and other usual suspects. But enough is enough. My adult children can't afford to buy a house, and they are making about what I made when I bought my first one almost 40 years ago. With respect to Red China and its interference, I'm not holding my breath as long as the current regime is in power. Hopefully we will see a change next election, but I'm not sure the Conservatives can win an absolute majority, and without that, they won't be able to form government. As always, thanks Terry for what you do. There are few places that people in this country will dare to speak truth to power, and your sub-stack is one. I hope you enjoyed Christmas and New Year's, and were able to raise a glass or two. Cheers my friend.
Home prices in Canada may be 141% higher than the USA, but after taking into account the exchange rate and adjusting for purchasing power parity, it isn't that huge really. The residual difference is probably a function of the tax-free status of capital gains on primary residences in Canada, which artificially inflates home values as an investment instrument.
Well, I believe the current exchange is around 30%, so a $400k house in America is a $520K in Canadian dollars. So there is around a 50% increase from that price to get to the median price of $750k. To be fair, the Canadian housing market has been grossly distorted by the housing prices in southern Ontario and the BC lower mainland. So one has to ask, why is that? It seems obvious to me that the average Canadian can't afford these homes. Well, look at who is buying up the property in those areas. Money is coming from overseas, in the form of foreign nationals and also just direct investment. Corporations are buying these properties in order to turn them into rentals (like Air B&B). Money is being parked here. Toronto has received hundreds of thousands of new immigrants. Where are they all living?
This farcical “Public Inquiry” under the command of frau, er, Commissioner Hogue is already David Johnston Part II, which was its purpose all along. The Trudeau government/Liberal Party has zero intention of ever allowing a proper inquiry into this mess.
It's all sunny ways for the most open and transparent government in history.
Much like it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye (or a country).
They have studied Mao's Little Red Book well. You know, the one Pierre Trudeau brought back to Canada with him after his 3 month visit with Mao in the 1960s.
Thank you Terry for your deep commitment to truth and putting it out to Canadian’s as we are in a dark period of history. We need brave voices who unapologetically speak truth to power and truth to the people. Appreciate your hard work.
It is a strange application of Pretzel Logic to deny the very political party that was targeted by the CCP in two elections full standing at the Hogue inquiry. I bet the Liberal brain trust had lots of water cooler snickers over that one, winning the “hyper partisan” wars by proxy.
The Hogue inquiry will sputter along, with lots of extensions granted so as to get around having a report thud on MP desks just ahead of an election.
We can only hope that an election outcome will bear the fruits of polling information and bring about a new administration that takes national security seriously.
Question: Is David Johnston still the head of the Leaders' Debates Commission? Is Craig Kielburger still a member of the advisor panel?
With a federal election on the horizon, you would think that more people would be turning their attention to the Leaders' Debates Commission again - especially given the debacle it turned into the past two elections. It was beyond obvious that this Trudeau-appointed commission rigged everything to maximally favour Trudeau. (E.g. there wasn't a single question asked about the very unpopular internet and media regulations coming down the turnpike.) This hot mess needs to be cleaned up in advance; no point handing them another fait accompli and then complaining about it after the fact. The opposition politicians are so short-sighted.
If the prices of homes went down to affordable levels the government would simply be voted out of office. Only a binding agreement that all parties signed that would be in effect no matter what gov was in power could work. But elected officials will always put their self interest before societal good. And I own a home.
So many people - me included - have put their retirement eggs in the home-owning basket that deflating the market now would be very unpopular. Still, it must be done. It's not just partisan politics that stands in the way: so many MPs are heavily invested in the real estate market, too (ahem, PP, ahem).
Terry, I guess their are many Canadian subscribers that do not like to HEAR the TRUTH!! By not letting the Conservative Party and the diaspora communities their Rights is an Injustice! This Justice Hogue has a conflict of interest and should be thrown off this case!! She is deeply intrenched with the Trudeau family and is biased to the TRUTH. I hope the Conservative's make sure she is taken off the case...before it starts.