Opinion
Fun and Games with Justin and Chrystia
Over the last few months, the Canadian ruling party has been playing hide and seek with democracy.
Chrystia Freeland poses with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau . Photo source fair use
There have been games like “Pay off your friends Charity,” “ Let’s Conceal a Deal,” “House of Commons Party Feud,” in which Trudeau answers NO questions and the Conservatives ice the ruling party with the topic ‘Things you expect a responsible government to say and do,’.
On the hit parade, “Put your close ally under the bus,” or to paraphrase a popular children’s song, ‘The wheels on the bus go thump, thump, thump, all through the town. The man on the ground goes No more debt. No more debt. No more debt. All through the town.’ We can’t forget the timeless favourite, “Don’t Go Breaking the Bank,” an upbeat rewrite of the Elton John and Kiki Dee classic 1970s song. The Stampeders get into the hit column with “Clap for the Hatchet Man,” a particularly cruel rendition of “Clap For the Wolf Man,” and Alan Parson performs “I wouldn’t want to Be Like You,” closely followed by the Leslie Gore 1960s anthem, “It’s my party and I’ll hide when I want to.” Disney enters the fray with the Aladdin singalong favourite, “A Whole New World,” but look out, this one Jafar (or George Soros) may not be the one defeated in the battle of good and evil. Not to forget the star of the year, Covid19, we bring back the Police classic, “Don’t stand so close to me,” without a mask that is….The last track on the Trudeau mini album is “Criminal Prime,” by our own Larry Gowan who now frontlines Styx.
Boy, this is going to turn out bad….
If you buy now, you can receive a BONUS track, written by Justin Trudeau himself with vocal stylings by Sting with background vocals by George Soros and Donald Trump, “Canadians would,” featuring the catchy chorus ‘This is my Canada, my rules, my way. Vote for me and you will stay. In Canada, in Canada.”
On the book store shelves, the classic psychoanalytical book, “I’m Okay, You’re Okay,” has been re-issued and retitled as “I’m okay, you’re in debt,” and Ayn Rands “Reason Shrugged,” is back on the lists. A close best seller is Dr. Seuss with “It’s All a Scam,” a rhythmic examination of political influence peddling. On the romance side, there is the scathing scandal centre, “Rideau Hall,” loosely based on Peyton Place. Our last entry on the list is the self-help book “How to Make Foreign Powerful friends, and Alienate Canadians,” a book that Dale Carnegie foolishly assumed was a way to make the world a better place. But globalists know better, don’t they?
Well, it is now time to say farewell until the next scandal or Trudeau pas erupts in our parliament-less democracy, but let us consider what might be the board game that Mr. Trudeau plays with his associates…Trudopoly…..
Keep your sense of humor alive folks, these days it may be one of the best ways we can cope with our democratic boondoggle happening before our eyes!
From the Fraser Institute
By Alex Whalen and Tegan Hill
Back in the summer at a meeting in Halifax, several provincial premiers discussed a lawsuit meant to force the federal government to make changes to Canada’s equalization program. The suit—filed by Newfoundland and Labrador and backed by British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta—effectively argues that the current formula isn’t fair. But while the question of “fairness” can be subjective, its clear the equalization program is broken.
In theory, the program equalizes the ability of provinces to deliver reasonably comparable services at a reasonably comparable level of taxation. Any province’s ability to pay is based on its “fiscal capacity”—that is, its ability to raise revenue.
This year, equalization payments will total a projected $25.3 billion with all provinces except B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan to receive some money. Whether due to higher incomes, higher employment or other factors, these three provinces have a greater ability to collect government revenue so they will not receive equalization.
However, contrary to the intent of the program, as recently as 2021, equalization program costs increased despite a decline in the fiscal capacity of oil-producing provinces such as Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. In other words, the fiscal capacity gap among provinces was shrinking, yet recipient provinces still received a larger equalization payment.
Why? Because a “fixed-growth rule,” introduced by the Harper government in 2009, ensures that payments grow roughly in line with the economy—even if the gap between richer and poorer provinces shrinks. The result? Total equalization payments (before adjusting for inflation) increased by 19 per cent between 2015/16 and 2020/21 despite the gap in fiscal capacities between provinces shrinking during this time.
Moreover, the structure of the equalization program is also causing problems, even for recipient provinces, because it generates strong disincentives to natural resource development and the resulting economic growth because the program “claws back” equalization dollars when provinces raise revenue from natural resource development. Despite some changes to reduce this problem, one study estimated that a recipient province wishing to increase its natural resource revenues by a modest 10 per cent could face up to a 97 per cent claw back in equalization payments.
Put simply, provinces that generally do not receive equalization such as Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan have been punished for developing their resources, whereas recipient provinces such as Quebec and in the Maritimes have been rewarded for not developing theirs.
Finally, the current program design also encourages recipient provinces to maintain high personal and business income tax rates. While higher tax rates can reduce the incentive to work, invest and be productive, they also raise the national standard average tax rate, which is used in the equalization allocation formula. Therefore, provinces are incentivized to maintain high and economically damaging tax rates to maximize equalization payments.
Unless premiers push for reforms that will improve economic incentives and contain program costs, all provinces—recipient and non-recipient—will suffer the consequences.
Authors:
Addictions
Ontario to restrict Canadian government’s supervised drug sites, shift focus to helping addicts
From LifeSiteNews
Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government tabled the Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act that will place into law specific bans on where such drug consumption sites are located.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is making good on a promise to close so-called drug “supervision” sites in his province and says his government will focus on helping addicts get better instead of giving them free drugs.
Ford’s Progressive Conservative government on Monday tabled the Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act that will place into law specific bans on where such drug consumption sites are located.
Specifically, the new bill will ban “supervised” drug consumption sites from being close to schools or childcare centers. Ten sites will close for now, including five in Toronto.
The new law would prohibit the “establishment and operation of a supervised consumption site at a location that is less than 200 meters from certain types of schools, private schools, childcare centers, Early child and family centers and such other premises as may be prescribed by the regulations.”
It would also in effect ban municipalities and local boards from applying for an “exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada) for the purpose of decriminalizing the personal possession of a controlled substance or precursor.”
Lastly, the new law would put strict “limits” on the power municipalities and local boards have concerning “applications respecting supervised consumption sites and safer supply services.”
“Municipalities and local boards may only make such applications or support such applications if they have obtained the approval of the provincial Minister of Health,” the bill reads.
The new bill is part of a larger omnibus bill that makes changes relating to sex offenders as well as auto theft, which has exploded in the province in recent months.
In September, Ford had called the federal government’s lax drug policies tantamount to being the “biggest drug dealer in the entire country” and had vowed to act.
‘No’ new drug sites in Ontario, vows Health Minister
In speaking about the new bill, Ontario Minister of Health Sylvia Jones said the Ford government does not plan to allow municipal requests to the government regarding supervised consumption sites.
“Municipalities and organizations like public health units have to first come to the province because we don’t want them bypassing and getting any federal approval for something that we vehemently disagree with,” Jones told the media on Monday.
She also clarified that “there will be no further safe injection sites in the province of Ontario under our government.”
Ontario will instead create 19 new intensive addiction recovery to help those addicted to deadly drugs.
Alberta and other provinces have had success helping addicts instead of giving them free drugs.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, deaths related to opioid and other drug overdoses in Alberta fell to their lowest levels in years after the Conservative government began to focus on helping addicts via a recovery-based approach instead of the Liberal-minded, so-called “safe-supply” method.
Despite public backlash with respect to supervised drug consumption sites, Health Canada recently approved 16 more drug consumption sites in Ontario. Ford mentioned in the press conference that each day he gets “endless phone calls about needles being in the parks, needles being by the schools and the daycares,” calling the situation “unacceptable.”
The Liberals claim their “safer supply” program is good because it is “providing prescribed medications as a safer alternative to the toxic illegal drug supply to people who are at high risk of overdose.”
However, studies have shown that these programs often lead an excess of deaths from overdose in areas where they are allowed.
While many of the government’s lax drug policies continue, they have been forced to backpedal on some of their most extreme actions.
After the federal government allowed British Columbia to decriminalize the possession of hard drugs including heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, meth and MDMA beginning January 1, 2023, reports of overdoses and chaos began skyrocketing, leading the province to request that Trudeau re-criminalize drugs in public spaces.
A week later, the federal government relented and accepted British Columbia’s request.
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