Donald Trump resumed his attacks on Canadian sovereignty this past week, withdrawing from trade talks because someone apparently told him that Canada’s digital services tax were due to kick in.
OMG. He's been in the job for a very short while. He's done more than anyone would have during that time. Dealing with Trump AKA Orange Face is not an easy task. What you're suggesting would make matters worse.
Patience, my friend, patience. Canadians lack patience and are so quick to criticize. Let's stand together.
Lack patience? It's been 10 years of economic destruction thanks to the Liberal Regime. The snake Carney campaigned being THE ONE to stand up to Trump. He's turned out to be a joke, and takes 3 months of for summer break in the midst of what he called an " existential threat" with the US tariffs.
Proof: Some Canadians lack patience and are quick to judge. It's obvious you're not a Liberal supporter, which is fine, but there's no need to be negative. We need to work together, and your poor attitude is not helping at all.
I don’t buy the ridiculous “10 years of economic destruction BS…” The facts just don’t back that up. While the Trudeau Liberals weren’t great for the economy they did accomplish some things and there have been many worse performing governments, including Conservative. That’s if we use the objective metrics. Their central aim was never really the economy. Carney’s is.
Carney is hardly a snake. What is that based on? Nothing. So, I don’t support any of the built in anti-this or anti-that. That’s just your thing. Fine. Says more about you than anything else. However, this move takes the shine off Carney. Unless we see something significant in return I’m pretty disappointed. It may even be the best move under the circumstances but it’s still disappointing.
And that's why 500,000 children in Canada are lifted out poverty, oil exports and production from Alberta's oil sands are at record levels and increasing in the next decade, Canada is apparently not becoming more unequal which affects the rich as well as the poor and destroys democracy, just look south. Our wealth has increased per family yet more people concerned about housing and food. Our free market unregulated system promised us the world under Conservative Mulroney but got us where we are today. And as long as we keep decreasing taxes, blaming and disrespecting government and following conservative philosophy we will continue to be troubled.
Because Harper LOL.....4 elections since Harper, 4 Liberal minority governments since Harper, 10 years of steadily dropping standard of living and you think Harper is the problem???
Say what you want about Justin Trudeau — there’s still no arguing Canadians became wealthier while he was in power
Updated Jan. 13, 2025 at 2:45 p.m.
Jan. 6, 2025 Toronto Star
3 min read
Yet Trudeau’s successors will be hard-pressed to improve on his economic track record.
In the Trudeau years, the Canadian economy grew by 41 per cent, to $3.2 trillion. It grew by just 18 per cent under Trudeau’s predecessor, Stephen Harper, who governed for roughly the same amount of time.
Per capita income grew by more than 23 per cent on Trudeau’s watch, to $77,700, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Trudeau’s predecessor managed only a 7.6 per cent increase.
In the main, Canadians became wealthier in the Trudeau years. The median net worth of Canadians soared by about 44 per cent between 2016 and 2023, to $519,000, according to Statistics Canada.
Yet Canada’s federal debt to GDP ratio increased only modestly, to almost 50 per cent in 2023, the latest figures available, from 43 per cent in 2015.
On that basic measure of fiscal prudence, Canada ranks better than all G7 countries save traditionally frugal Germany’s 45 per cent.
To date, the Trudeau government has committed about $51 billion to providing more housing.
Trudeau came to office promising to reduce the poverty rate. It now stands at about nine per cent, down from 14.5 per cent when he first took office.
Do u actually think Medicare, public education, senior pensions, EI, assisted housing, welfare are socialism? Canada is a capitalist democracy based on Westminister Parliamentary system. We have social benefits above , like every other capitalist democracy which is most of Europe, and many other G7 and G20 countries. The one and only North American socialist government was Saskatchewan from where we got Medicare like every other capitalist democracy. And Tommy Douglas Saskatchewan CCF government ran surpluses. That's why Sask Power and Sask Tel are government owned and haven't been privatized. And the Least Expensive Electricity in North America is provided by 4 Public owned Hydro Electric Companies, NL, Quebec, Manitoba and BC while our Alberta system has tge least reliability while charging the highest rates and the UCP subsidized the public as the costs were too high
I disagree, but you're entitled to your opinion. He's definitely not far left like Trudeau was. He's more of a centre-right leader, and that's what we need right now as far as I'm concerned.
Trudeau wasn't “far left” in any sense, unless you're some reactionary Tory.
And, if you are, you really should be aware that your fellow Tories didn't vote for Carney. Progressives voted for him, because they (and Canadians as a whole) understand that we don't need nor want a “center-right” government.
(Honestly, what does that even mean? Are you just mad about trans people?)
Once again, you could have spared me from your insults. Why do people feel it's necessary to be disrespectful and not have a normal conversation with no insults? I'm a proud gay man who stands with my trans community. So, be careful when you accuse someone or apply a label to me. I still say that Trudeau was far left and Carney is more centre-right. Yes, NDP and left-wing liberals voted for Carney so that the Tories don't get in. That doesn't make Carney a far-left liberal. Times have changed.
Really dude? Centre-right is NOT equal to being hostile towards trans people. I do not need to define my terms and beliefs more precisely. I do not have to state more than I already did. I'm proud of who I am and comfortable. For your information, I'm an activist and have been so for a very long time. However, one has to learn to be flexible, to listen. Then, maybe we could get along better. Let's not do like what's happening in the USA. We're better than that or so I thought.
I just wish people, including you, would learn to listen to one's point of view without going on a rampage with insults and judgment.
If "us" be Canadian it's worth noting that Tories are Canadian. Regardless, Carney is occupying about the same centre right space as Chretien. It was needed then like it's needed now.
Tories rejected Carney. The Canadians that voted for him were progressives: NDP and Bloc members that switched specifically to keep the Tories out of power.
Sorry, but the Carney victory was not built on conservatism, it was built on a broad coalition of Canadians REJECTING conservatism. You lost.
I'm not too sure what the topic is here. I never entered a contest that I'm aware of. What did I lose? Perhaps this note was to another? Apologies, if so.
I already provided my opinion on this. All you're doing here is repeating yourself. In this election, leaders made a big difference in who someone would vote for. For example, I was no longer supporting Trudeau for various reasons. Lots of Canadians felt the same way. The Liberals would have lost if there had been no change in leadership. This is a fact.
Yes, they changed the leadership. And that leader became Prime Minister because of NDP and Bloc voters, not because of Conservative voters. That's the voter coalition he actually has, not the coalition you want him to have.
That's simple fact. Conservatives did not support Carney, "centre-right" or no. And, frankly, there's no reason to think that a small-c "conservative" government is going to be any more successful than Trudeau was. Unless you're really longing to go back to the days of Harper and his "energy superpower"?
You seem to confuse « being the best to deal with Trump » and « being able to handle Trump ».
One is ongoing and the other has finality. Lets be honest, there will not be a finality on dealing with Trump and his MAGA idiots until they are out office and hopefully in some cases, behind bar. I dont even think it is possible to sign a deal with him that he will respect. This also seems to be what a majority of Canadian continues to think: Carney got elected for « being the best to deal with Trump ». Last week change nothing to this.
Remember, we are dealing with an unstable idiot and a cult. Trump Always Chicken Out
Listen to yourself. "I don't even think it is possible to sign a deal with him that he will respect." EXACTLY! So why are we capitulating on demands about our domestic policy to try to sign a deal with him??? If "Trump Always Chicken Out", why are we doing so first?
If I had to guess, he wasn't too fond of it anyway. The tax was there to help Canadian tech companies and content creators. But why would he care about them? Carney, like his old buddy Harper, is only interested in resource extraction.
That's why he got rid of the Science Minister, and turned the Innovation Minister into the "replace civil servants with chatbots" AI Minister, and turned the Housing Minister into a punchline. He doesn't care about science, or innovation, or even housing. He cares about digging tar out of the ground and selling it to Americans at cut-rate prices.
If screwing over Canadian creators lets that happen, that's fine. They can always toil on the rigs.
It might have been smarter to rescind the retroactive aspect and leave the prospective aspect in place to see how the negotiations go and whether they can be believed.
Any idea why he has been identified as TACO? Because he chickens out only when people stand up to his bullying. When you cave in, he eats you for breakfast, then looks for dessert. This has been his MO his whole life.
“Mark Carney promised to reinvigorate the economy, the military, and to diversify our trade relationships at record speed”
Bill C-5 just became law 3 days ago; defense is getting a massive boost, and Carney has spent half his premiership in Europe so far. He’s doing pretty well I’d say
The defence boost is literally him caving in to Trump's 5% demand. Even the Americans don't spend that much. And as for C-5, so what? Trump doesn't care if we build more tarsand pipelines over indigenous land. The only people that C-5 snubs its nose at are First Nations. Trump would love that.
I wouldn’t be so quick to conclude a negative. It looks like Carney is using a page from Trump negotiations 101.
Threaten to implement an unreasonable tax/tariff and get everyone back to the negotiation table.
The retroactive aspect of the DST was brilliant. No one ever expected that to be accepted by the tech broligarchs. They got upset and now Trump is back to negotiate.
It has been a couple of months in to what is going to be a long economic war. The DST is a distraction compared to our entire economic future. Cooler heads will continue to wait and see before they go off on Carney.
Mark Carney has done so much in the very short time he's been in office. If he agrees with Trump on anything it's because he has a very strategic plan. He will not do anything to hurt Canadians financially. Trump thinks he has all the cards but we all know he's not dealing with a full deck. Give Mr Carney a chance, he is going to bring us through this as only he can.
Well, the way I see it is this is a tax that we've never received, it's new, you don't miss what you've never had. And I think Mr Carney is looking at the big picture. He's aiming for no tariffs and at the moment I think that's the most important thing as so many Canadians are already being affected by the tariffs. That's just my humble opinion, sometimes you have to give a little to get a lot.
He has representatives from core heavy industries pounding on his door to do something, including their associated unions, I might add.
So what's the answer here? Concede nothing? The law has no shortage of domestic critics. It's hardly as black-and-white as you're making it out to be. The couple billion of revenue this law was expected to take in will pale in comparison to the losses on offer in the short and medium term if we can't get some relief.
I don't deny that this is depressing, but negotiations aren't fun at the best of times, and these times aren't far from the worst.
The idea is to live to fight again another day.
Our mistake was always putting all our eggs in the American basket. That won't be fixed in six months. Serious people understand this.
Even though I am a little unsettled, I’m still willing to give Carney the benefit of the doubt. He is, after all, a pragmatist and I don’t know what he has up his sleeve. I don’t like to see him negotiating with Trump either, but there is a global picture and I may only be seeing what affects me.
I share your disappointment. But I also recognize that all of this is one huge bowl of soup, and none of us are fully appreciative of everything that is going into the soup. My inclination, despite my disappointment, is to see what ultimately comes out of renewed negotiations. I’m a bit cynical, but I think Carney deserves a chance to find a way to deal with all of our US challenges. I’d note as an aside that I am finding Carney a bit more ‘political’ than I’d have liked. His position on the Palestinian genocide is little better than neutral, and I’ve no doubt he will likely lack the spine to reform Canada’s taxation system to one that is more progressive and less favourable to corporations. We will see. I thankyou for your essays; they are often informative and helpful.
Agreed. If Carney doesn't fight like Zelenskyy, we may as well close up shot, if this capitulation is any guide. At best, it's a PR disaster: such a move should have been accompanied on tv, online, etc., with an explanation.
I really wanted to see him stand firm and ensure that if it was rescinded we got something in return. I know Trump cannot be seen to lose but this is a bit much for me right now. Just terminated Facebook (sub-stack is the closest thing I have to social media next). Removed Google newsfeed. Will be moving Google Drive to Sync. Will not be using Uber or AirBnB. I have no idea how this is going to land for everyone else but for me… I’m getting out. Probably dump Substack soon too.
I'm extremely disappointed if they've withdrawn the dst. I did not expect that. But I do know the tariffs are really hurting some major industries.
I don't know why he did that, and I guarantee you don't either. Carney doesn't tell people what he's thinking, especially when it has to do with negotiations with Trump. He's doing a dance. Sometimes he sidesteps, sometimes a twirl. Sometimes it's 2 steps back before the next move. You can't act like Trump is *normal*.
One thing this will tell us is whether trump was lying (he was) & how far he will go. He was upset at the G7 because everyone else was not including him, he was upset at the NATO meeting because they were pretty much all against him. And he was upset that Carney is well loved & accepted by them all, and signed the deal with the EU.
Trump says publicly he "has all the cards", but the tariff negotiations are his *only* cards. So he blew up.
We'll see if the dst makes any difference. I don't think it will, but then it shows him up for a liar.
Trump was also upset about Iran & Israel & how much they made him look a fool. And Musk is dumping on him again.
So he's blustering & deflecting to distract.
But Carney? Someone else here complained about "3 months off". Guarantee they're going to be working their asses off all summer, Carney the most. That guy can't sit down for 5 minutes. He's got his work planned, and Trump's got until July 21 before countermeasures are applied. Carney won't break his word, and he won't give up.
It is disappointing. But in fairness was this the place to plant the flag. It’s a negotiation. It would be nice never to have to give away anything in a negotiation, especially when it feels like you got bullied. But sometimes a step back will buy you two forward. Let’s see how it ends before passing judgement.
We didn't vote for capitulation, giving in to someone like Donald Trump on even the smallest of issues is not how to win this war. Come on Carney, we can do better, show us how we are 'strong and free'.
Good grief! I’m guessing that Mark Carney knows a little more about trade negotiating than we do. I suspect his knowledgeable team looked at this bill, which was highly unpopular here and abroad and was likely to be turfed anyway, and decided to hold on to it to throw to Trump like you throw a dog a bone. The concerns expressed through the proposed DST can be addressed in the future likely through a multi-nation agreement of some sort. In the meantime, let’s wait a bit and assume maybe Carney knows something we don’t.
OMG. He's been in the job for a very short while. He's done more than anyone would have during that time. Dealing with Trump AKA Orange Face is not an easy task. What you're suggesting would make matters worse.
Patience, my friend, patience. Canadians lack patience and are so quick to criticize. Let's stand together.
Lack patience? It's been 10 years of economic destruction thanks to the Liberal Regime. The snake Carney campaigned being THE ONE to stand up to Trump. He's turned out to be a joke, and takes 3 months of for summer break in the midst of what he called an " existential threat" with the US tariffs.
Proof: Some Canadians lack patience and are quick to judge. It's obvious you're not a Liberal supporter, which is fine, but there's no need to be negative. We need to work together, and your poor attitude is not helping at all.
I don’t buy the ridiculous “10 years of economic destruction BS…” The facts just don’t back that up. While the Trudeau Liberals weren’t great for the economy they did accomplish some things and there have been many worse performing governments, including Conservative. That’s if we use the objective metrics. Their central aim was never really the economy. Carney’s is.
Carney is hardly a snake. What is that based on? Nothing. So, I don’t support any of the built in anti-this or anti-that. That’s just your thing. Fine. Says more about you than anything else. However, this move takes the shine off Carney. Unless we see something significant in return I’m pretty disappointed. It may even be the best move under the circumstances but it’s still disappointing.
Perhaps you could point to the economic disaster? Countries with triple AAA credit ratings are not usually referred to as economic disasters.
And that's why 500,000 children in Canada are lifted out poverty, oil exports and production from Alberta's oil sands are at record levels and increasing in the next decade, Canada is apparently not becoming more unequal which affects the rich as well as the poor and destroys democracy, just look south. Our wealth has increased per family yet more people concerned about housing and food. Our free market unregulated system promised us the world under Conservative Mulroney but got us where we are today. And as long as we keep decreasing taxes, blaming and disrespecting government and following conservative philosophy we will continue to be troubled.
Because Harper LOL.....4 elections since Harper, 4 Liberal minority governments since Harper, 10 years of steadily dropping standard of living and you think Harper is the problem???
Trudeau won a majority in 2015
Say what you want about Justin Trudeau — there’s still no arguing Canadians became wealthier while he was in power
Updated Jan. 13, 2025 at 2:45 p.m.
Jan. 6, 2025 Toronto Star
3 min read
Yet Trudeau’s successors will be hard-pressed to improve on his economic track record.
In the Trudeau years, the Canadian economy grew by 41 per cent, to $3.2 trillion. It grew by just 18 per cent under Trudeau’s predecessor, Stephen Harper, who governed for roughly the same amount of time.
Per capita income grew by more than 23 per cent on Trudeau’s watch, to $77,700, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Trudeau’s predecessor managed only a 7.6 per cent increase.
In the main, Canadians became wealthier in the Trudeau years. The median net worth of Canadians soared by about 44 per cent between 2016 and 2023, to $519,000, according to Statistics Canada.
Yet Canada’s federal debt to GDP ratio increased only modestly, to almost 50 per cent in 2023, the latest figures available, from 43 per cent in 2015.
On that basic measure of fiscal prudence, Canada ranks better than all G7 countries save traditionally frugal Germany’s 45 per cent.
To date, the Trudeau government has committed about $51 billion to providing more housing.
Trudeau came to office promising to reduce the poverty rate. It now stands at about nine per cent, down from 14.5 per cent when he first took office.
Chicago School - profit motive.
Liberal Party School - socialism, nepotism and increasing public indebtedness.
Do u actually think Medicare, public education, senior pensions, EI, assisted housing, welfare are socialism? Canada is a capitalist democracy based on Westminister Parliamentary system. We have social benefits above , like every other capitalist democracy which is most of Europe, and many other G7 and G20 countries. The one and only North American socialist government was Saskatchewan from where we got Medicare like every other capitalist democracy. And Tommy Douglas Saskatchewan CCF government ran surpluses. That's why Sask Power and Sask Tel are government owned and haven't been privatized. And the Least Expensive Electricity in North America is provided by 4 Public owned Hydro Electric Companies, NL, Quebec, Manitoba and BC while our Alberta system has tge least reliability while charging the highest rates and the UCP subsidized the public as the costs were too high
Also Virginia School of economics . https://evonomics.com/how-to-disguise-racism-and-oligarchy-use-the-language-of-economics/
He's not standing with us. He's standing with the Tories that we rejected.
I disagree, but you're entitled to your opinion. He's definitely not far left like Trudeau was. He's more of a centre-right leader, and that's what we need right now as far as I'm concerned.
Trudeau wasn't “far left” in any sense, unless you're some reactionary Tory.
And, if you are, you really should be aware that your fellow Tories didn't vote for Carney. Progressives voted for him, because they (and Canadians as a whole) understand that we don't need nor want a “center-right” government.
(Honestly, what does that even mean? Are you just mad about trans people?)
Once again, you could have spared me from your insults. Why do people feel it's necessary to be disrespectful and not have a normal conversation with no insults? I'm a proud gay man who stands with my trans community. So, be careful when you accuse someone or apply a label to me. I still say that Trudeau was far left and Carney is more centre-right. Yes, NDP and left-wing liberals voted for Carney so that the Tories don't get in. That doesn't make Carney a far-left liberal. Times have changed.
"Center-right" people across the world are notoriously hostile towards trans people these days.
So, perhaps, it would be better for you to define your terms and beliefs more precisely than some random position on an arbitrary line.
Really dude? Centre-right is NOT equal to being hostile towards trans people. I do not need to define my terms and beliefs more precisely. I do not have to state more than I already did. I'm proud of who I am and comfortable. For your information, I'm an activist and have been so for a very long time. However, one has to learn to be flexible, to listen. Then, maybe we could get along better. Let's not do like what's happening in the USA. We're better than that or so I thought.
I just wish people, including you, would learn to listen to one's point of view without going on a rampage with insults and judgment.
If "us" be Canadian it's worth noting that Tories are Canadian. Regardless, Carney is occupying about the same centre right space as Chretien. It was needed then like it's needed now.
I couldn't agree more with you, Bill. Well said.
Tories rejected Carney. The Canadians that voted for him were progressives: NDP and Bloc members that switched specifically to keep the Tories out of power.
Sorry, but the Carney victory was not built on conservatism, it was built on a broad coalition of Canadians REJECTING conservatism. You lost.
I'm not too sure what the topic is here. I never entered a contest that I'm aware of. What did I lose? Perhaps this note was to another? Apologies, if so.
Alright, I'll ask you the same question that the other account punted on.
What do you mean by "center right"?
https://thisvsthat.io/center-left-vs-center-right
I already provided my opinion on this. All you're doing here is repeating yourself. In this election, leaders made a big difference in who someone would vote for. For example, I was no longer supporting Trudeau for various reasons. Lots of Canadians felt the same way. The Liberals would have lost if there had been no change in leadership. This is a fact.
Yes, they changed the leadership. And that leader became Prime Minister because of NDP and Bloc voters, not because of Conservative voters. That's the voter coalition he actually has, not the coalition you want him to have.
That's simple fact. Conservatives did not support Carney, "centre-right" or no. And, frankly, there's no reason to think that a small-c "conservative" government is going to be any more successful than Trudeau was. Unless you're really longing to go back to the days of Harper and his "energy superpower"?
Enough with this nonsense. Good luck with your life.
You seem to confuse « being the best to deal with Trump » and « being able to handle Trump ».
One is ongoing and the other has finality. Lets be honest, there will not be a finality on dealing with Trump and his MAGA idiots until they are out office and hopefully in some cases, behind bar. I dont even think it is possible to sign a deal with him that he will respect. This also seems to be what a majority of Canadian continues to think: Carney got elected for « being the best to deal with Trump ». Last week change nothing to this.
Remember, we are dealing with an unstable idiot and a cult. Trump Always Chicken Out
Not your best piece.
Listen to yourself. "I don't even think it is possible to sign a deal with him that he will respect." EXACTLY! So why are we capitulating on demands about our domestic policy to try to sign a deal with him??? If "Trump Always Chicken Out", why are we doing so first?
If I had to guess, he wasn't too fond of it anyway. The tax was there to help Canadian tech companies and content creators. But why would he care about them? Carney, like his old buddy Harper, is only interested in resource extraction.
That's why he got rid of the Science Minister, and turned the Innovation Minister into the "replace civil servants with chatbots" AI Minister, and turned the Housing Minister into a punchline. He doesn't care about science, or innovation, or even housing. He cares about digging tar out of the ground and selling it to Americans at cut-rate prices.
If screwing over Canadian creators lets that happen, that's fine. They can always toil on the rigs.
There are/were two aspects to Canada's DST:
1. The effective date of the tax - July 1, 2025 ;
2. The retroactive aspect (going back to 2022).
It might have been smarter to rescind the retroactive aspect and leave the prospective aspect in place to see how the negotiations go and whether they can be believed.
"The June 30, 2025 collection will be halted, and Minister Champagne will soon bring forward legislation to rescind the Digital Services Tax Act."
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2025/06/canada-rescinds-digital-services-tax-to-advance-broader-trade-negotiations-with-the-united-states.html
We are not capitulating. It was stupid to go at it alone. OECD Beps are here to stay and it will be successful if we all go at it.
We did not "go it alone". Other countries have DSTs. We don't have to coordinate this for it to be effective.
Any idea why he has been identified as TACO? Because he chickens out only when people stand up to his bullying. When you cave in, he eats you for breakfast, then looks for dessert. This has been his MO his whole life.
“Mark Carney promised to reinvigorate the economy, the military, and to diversify our trade relationships at record speed”
Bill C-5 just became law 3 days ago; defense is getting a massive boost, and Carney has spent half his premiership in Europe so far. He’s doing pretty well I’d say
The defence boost is literally him caving in to Trump's 5% demand. Even the Americans don't spend that much. And as for C-5, so what? Trump doesn't care if we build more tarsand pipelines over indigenous land. The only people that C-5 snubs its nose at are First Nations. Trump would love that.
I wouldn’t be so quick to conclude a negative. It looks like Carney is using a page from Trump negotiations 101.
Threaten to implement an unreasonable tax/tariff and get everyone back to the negotiation table.
The retroactive aspect of the DST was brilliant. No one ever expected that to be accepted by the tech broligarchs. They got upset and now Trump is back to negotiate.
It has been a couple of months in to what is going to be a long economic war. The DST is a distraction compared to our entire economic future. Cooler heads will continue to wait and see before they go off on Carney.
Mark Carney has done so much in the very short time he's been in office. If he agrees with Trump on anything it's because he has a very strategic plan. He will not do anything to hurt Canadians financially. Trump thinks he has all the cards but we all know he's not dealing with a full deck. Give Mr Carney a chance, he is going to bring us through this as only he can.
Why would scrapping that tax NOT hurt Canadians financially?
Well, the way I see it is this is a tax that we've never received, it's new, you don't miss what you've never had. And I think Mr Carney is looking at the big picture. He's aiming for no tariffs and at the moment I think that's the most important thing as so many Canadians are already being affected by the tariffs. That's just my humble opinion, sometimes you have to give a little to get a lot.
He has representatives from core heavy industries pounding on his door to do something, including their associated unions, I might add.
So what's the answer here? Concede nothing? The law has no shortage of domestic critics. It's hardly as black-and-white as you're making it out to be. The couple billion of revenue this law was expected to take in will pale in comparison to the losses on offer in the short and medium term if we can't get some relief.
I don't deny that this is depressing, but negotiations aren't fun at the best of times, and these times aren't far from the worst.
The idea is to live to fight again another day.
Our mistake was always putting all our eggs in the American basket. That won't be fixed in six months. Serious people understand this.
Even though I am a little unsettled, I’m still willing to give Carney the benefit of the doubt. He is, after all, a pragmatist and I don’t know what he has up his sleeve. I don’t like to see him negotiating with Trump either, but there is a global picture and I may only be seeing what affects me.
I share your disappointment. But I also recognize that all of this is one huge bowl of soup, and none of us are fully appreciative of everything that is going into the soup. My inclination, despite my disappointment, is to see what ultimately comes out of renewed negotiations. I’m a bit cynical, but I think Carney deserves a chance to find a way to deal with all of our US challenges. I’d note as an aside that I am finding Carney a bit more ‘political’ than I’d have liked. His position on the Palestinian genocide is little better than neutral, and I’ve no doubt he will likely lack the spine to reform Canada’s taxation system to one that is more progressive and less favourable to corporations. We will see. I thankyou for your essays; they are often informative and helpful.
Agreed. If Carney doesn't fight like Zelenskyy, we may as well close up shot, if this capitulation is any guide. At best, it's a PR disaster: such a move should have been accompanied on tv, online, etc., with an explanation.
I really wanted to see him stand firm and ensure that if it was rescinded we got something in return. I know Trump cannot be seen to lose but this is a bit much for me right now. Just terminated Facebook (sub-stack is the closest thing I have to social media next). Removed Google newsfeed. Will be moving Google Drive to Sync. Will not be using Uber or AirBnB. I have no idea how this is going to land for everyone else but for me… I’m getting out. Probably dump Substack soon too.
I agree. I’m shocked and disgusted!
I'm extremely disappointed if they've withdrawn the dst. I did not expect that. But I do know the tariffs are really hurting some major industries.
I don't know why he did that, and I guarantee you don't either. Carney doesn't tell people what he's thinking, especially when it has to do with negotiations with Trump. He's doing a dance. Sometimes he sidesteps, sometimes a twirl. Sometimes it's 2 steps back before the next move. You can't act like Trump is *normal*.
One thing this will tell us is whether trump was lying (he was) & how far he will go. He was upset at the G7 because everyone else was not including him, he was upset at the NATO meeting because they were pretty much all against him. And he was upset that Carney is well loved & accepted by them all, and signed the deal with the EU.
Trump says publicly he "has all the cards", but the tariff negotiations are his *only* cards. So he blew up.
We'll see if the dst makes any difference. I don't think it will, but then it shows him up for a liar.
Ugh. Hit enter 🤦
Trump was also upset about Iran & Israel & how much they made him look a fool. And Musk is dumping on him again.
So he's blustering & deflecting to distract.
But Carney? Someone else here complained about "3 months off". Guarantee they're going to be working their asses off all summer, Carney the most. That guy can't sit down for 5 minutes. He's got his work planned, and Trump's got until July 21 before countermeasures are applied. Carney won't break his word, and he won't give up.
If you run into an elephant and say "screw you I'm going though" you are an idiot. Give way and try not to piss the animal off.
It is disappointing. But in fairness was this the place to plant the flag. It’s a negotiation. It would be nice never to have to give away anything in a negotiation, especially when it feels like you got bullied. But sometimes a step back will buy you two forward. Let’s see how it ends before passing judgement.
We didn't vote for capitulation, giving in to someone like Donald Trump on even the smallest of issues is not how to win this war. Come on Carney, we can do better, show us how we are 'strong and free'.
I share the feeling but in practice don't feel qualified to advise PM Carney.
Good grief! I’m guessing that Mark Carney knows a little more about trade negotiating than we do. I suspect his knowledgeable team looked at this bill, which was highly unpopular here and abroad and was likely to be turfed anyway, and decided to hold on to it to throw to Trump like you throw a dog a bone. The concerns expressed through the proposed DST can be addressed in the future likely through a multi-nation agreement of some sort. In the meantime, let’s wait a bit and assume maybe Carney knows something we don’t.