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Free Speech and Inflation top US Voter Concerns; Climate Change a Non-starter according to Polls

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News release from the Friends of Science

A new poll from FIRE, championed on X by Elon Musk reports that free speech is a critical US voter issue on par with economic issues; climate change is a non-starter, far down the list, says Friends of Science Society. Climate change has lost steam among Canadian voters; a major push-back against the costly carbon tax is happening nation-wide.

CALGARY, AB, Oct. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — On Oct. 24, 2024, Elon Musk on “X” wrote: “Major vibe shift” as FIRE, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression reported their recent poll results with free speech ranked higher than health care, crime and immigration; climate change was second from the last of twelve issues, says Friends of Science Society. The poll was conducted by the prestigious National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago.

Even a September 9, 2024 Pew Research Centre poll of the ‘most important’ voter issues had climate change last on the list of 10.

It appears that one of the benefits of Elon Musk’s take-over of Twitter, now “X,” has led to an opening up of the debate on climate change and other topics, to the point where leaked documents show that the Centre for Countering Digital Hate out of the UK specifically targeted him and his platform to be shut down prior to the US election, as reported by the Express Tribune, Oct. 22, 2024.

People are now asking “What if CO2 is Good For You?” Climate fearmongers on “X” are met with a barrage of scientific papers and biting memes pushing back, says Friends of Science.

On November 11, 2024, just 6 days after the US election, the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29), countries signatory to the UNFCCC, begins in Baku, Azerbaijan, a petro-state. This year’s focus is on climate finance. S&P Global reports that the target for a climate fund for developing nations is $1 trillion dollars while imposing more stringent Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) emissions reductions, especially in Europe and other Western industrialized nations where that money is expected to come from.

Robert Lyman is a former Canadian federal public servant of 27 years, diplomat of 10 years, and a retired energy economist, predicted in June of 2024 that COP29 will fail, as have all the previous COP conferences.

Friends of Science Society issued a report by Robert Lyman titled “Europe on the Brink” which summarizes key points in Prof. Samuel Furfari’s analysis of Mario Draghi’s report on European Competitiveness. Both Europe and Canada seem to be on a climate-policy driven path toward economic destruction, thanks to their commitments to NetZero goals, says Friends of Science Society.

Friends of Science Society’s analysis of “Getting to Net Zero” shows that poverty, degrowth and deprivation await citizens. Video explainer here.

For most Canadians, the climate change has fallen from public interest with a September 2023 poll showing a 93% concern for economic issues, only a 7% concern for climate change. A more recent poll using different metrics showed 70% of Canadians are focussed on immediate concerns like housing and the cost of living. Provinces are pushing back on the burdensome carbon tax.

As reported in the Western Standard of Oct. 30, 2024, David Suzuki and 4 other broadcast colleagues want CBC, the national broadcaster, to make climate emergency a daily news issue. Author Seth Klein proposes a War Measures Act style economy; much like that outlined in the US House Judiciary’s report on the “Climate Cartel” which is reviewing Mark Carney’s “GFANZ.” Friends of Science Society rejects their climate catastrophe activism and rebuts their claims in this video.

Canada’s Climate Action Network (CAN-RAC) in “Paving the Way” is pushing for an emissions cap in Alberta, and for COP29 a phase-out of fossil fuels, an increase in foreign spending on climate finance and a tripling of renewables. The manufacturing of renewables requires vast quantities of oil, natural gas and coal, as explained in IEEE Spectrum’s publication of Vaclav Smil’s “To Get Wind Power You Need Oil,” thus these groups are asking the impossible, says Friends of Science Society.

Regarding Canada’s proposed emissions cap, Robert Lyman summarizes a Deloitte report in “A Dire Assessment,” showing that “If production is curtailed as Deloitte projects, GDP in Alberta’s oil and gas sector would be $16.2 billion (20%) lower compared to the baseline in 2040. In the rest of Canada, GDP in the sector is projected to be $2.7 billion lower by 2040 compared to the baseline.”

About:
Friends of Science Society is an independent group of earth, atmospheric and solar scientists, engineers, and citizens who are celebrating its 22nd year of offering climate science insights. After a thorough review of a broad spectrum of literature on climate change, Friends of Science Society has concluded that the sun is the main driver of climate change, not carbon dioxide (CO2).

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2025 Federal Election

Columnist warns Carney Liberals will consider a home equity tax on primary residences

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From LifeSiteNews

By Steve Jalsevac

The Liberals paid a group called Generation Squeeze, led by activist Paul Kershaw, to study how the government could tap into Canadians’ home equity — including their primary residences.

Winnipeg Sun Columnist Kevin Klein is sounding the alarm there is substantial evidence the Carney Liberal Party is considering implementing a home equity tax on Canadians’ primary residences as a potential huge source of funds to bring down the massive national debt their spending created.

Klein wrote in his April 23 column and stated in his accompanying video presentation:

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) — a federal Crown corporation — has investigated the possibility of a home equity tax on more than one occasion, using taxpayer dollars to fund that research. This was not backroom speculation. It was real, documented work.

The Liberals paid a group called Generation Squeeze, led by activist Paul Kershaw, to study how the government could tap into Canadians’ home equity — including their primary residences.

Kershaw, by the way, believes homeowners are “lottery winners” who didn’t earn their wealth but lucked into it. That’s the ideology being advanced to the highest levels of government.

It didn’t stop there. These proposals were presented directly to federal cabinet ministers. That’s on record, and most of those same ministers are now part of Mark Carney’s team as he positions himself as the Liberals’ next leader.

Watch below Klein’s 7-minute, impassionate warning to Canadians about this looming major new tax should the Liberals win Monday’s election.

Klein further adds:

The total home equity held by Canadians is over $4.7 trillion. It’s the largest pool of private wealth in the country. For millions of Canadians — especially baby boomers — it’s the only retirement fund they have. They don’t have big pensions. They have a paid-off house and a hope that it will carry them through their later years. Yet, that’s what Ottawa has quietly been circling.

The Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation has researched this issue and published a report on the alarming amount of new taxation a homeowner equity tax could cost Canadians who sell their homes that have increased in value over the years they have lived in it. It is a shocker!

A Google search on the question, “what is a home equity tax?” returns the response:

A home equity tax, simply put, it’s a proposed levy on the increased value of your home, specifically, on your principal residence. The idea is for Government to raise money by taxing wealth accumulation from rising property values.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has provided a Home Equity Tax Calculator Backgrounder to help Canadians understand what the impact of three different types of Home Equity Tax Calculators would have on home owners. The required tax payment resulting from all three is a shocker.

Keep in mind that World Economic Forum policies intend to eventually eliminate all private home ownership and have the state own and control not only all residences, but also eliminate car ownership, and control when and where you may live and travel.

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Steve is the co-founder and managing director of LifeSiteNews.com.
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Business

It Took Trump To Get Canada Serious About Free Trade With Itself

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From the  Frontier Centre for Public Policy

By Lee Harding

Trump’s protectionism has jolted Canada into finally beginning to tear down interprovincial trade barriers

The threat of Donald Trump’s tariffs and the potential collapse of North American free trade have prompted Canada to look inward. With international trade under pressure, the country is—at last—taking meaningful steps to improve trade within its borders.

Canada’s Constitution gives provinces control over many key economic levers. While Ottawa manages international trade, the provinces regulate licensing, certification and procurement rules. These fragmented regulations have long acted as internal trade barriers, forcing companies and professionals to navigate duplicate approval processes when operating across provincial lines.

These restrictions increase costs, delay projects and limit job opportunities for businesses and workers. For consumers, they mean higher prices and fewer choices. Economists estimate that these barriers hold back up to $200 billion of Canada’s economy annually, roughly eight per cent of the country’s GDP.

Ironically, it wasn’t until after Canada signed the North American Free Trade Agreement that it began to address domestic trade restrictions. In 1994, the first ministers signed the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT), committing to equal treatment of bidders on provincial and municipal contracts. Subsequent regional agreements, such as Alberta and British Columbia’s Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement in 2007, and the New West Partnership that followed, expanded cooperation to include broader credential recognition and enforceable dispute resolution.

In 2017, the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) replaced the AIT to streamline trade among provinces and territories. While more ambitious in scope, the CFTA’s effectiveness has been limited by a patchwork of exemptions and slow implementation.

Now, however, Trump’s protectionism has reignited momentum to fix the problem. In recent months, provincial and territorial labour market ministers met with their federal counterpart to strengthen the CFTA. Their goal: to remove longstanding barriers and unlock the full potential of Canada’s internal market.

According to a March 5 CFTA press release, five governments have agreed to eliminate 40 exemptions they previously claimed for themselves. A June 1 deadline has been set to produce an action plan for nationwide mutual recognition of professional credentials. Ministers are also working on the mutual recognition of consumer goods, excluding food, so that if a product is approved for sale in one province, it can be sold anywhere in Canada without added red tape.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has signalled that his province won’t wait for consensus. Ontario is dropping all its CFTA exemptions, allowing medical professionals to begin practising while awaiting registration with provincial regulators.

Ontario has partnered with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to implement mutual recognition of goods, services and registered workers. These provinces have also enabled direct-to-consumer alcohol sales, letting individuals purchase alcohol directly from producers for personal consumption.

A joint CFTA statement says other provinces intend to follow suit, except Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

These developments are long overdue. Confederation happened more than 150 years ago, and prohibition ended more than a century ago, yet Canadians still face barriers when trying to buy a bottle of wine from another province or find work across a provincial line.

Perhaps now, Canada will finally become the economic union it was always meant to be. Few would thank Donald Trump, but without his tariffs, this renewed urgency to break down internal trade barriers might never have emerged.

Lee Harding is a research fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

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