Whadda week. This blog would like to deviate from the usual financial and housing swill to wade into the political slop. After all, it’s an election year in Canada (and Alberta) and already Americans are obsessing over the 2020 presidential contest. The news has been thick in the last few days. What has happened since Monday could keep resonating for months. Years, maybe. Hope you were listening.
On the byelections:
Jagmeet got his seat, but given the fact he’s a party leader and the NPD did everything but give free tummy rubs in Burnaby South, it was a lousy result. Six in ten voters rejected him. One in ten chose the God-talks-to-me Mad Max moppet. And 70% of people stayed home. Maybe there’s a case to be made for compulsory voting. In Toronto the Cons had a strong win and the PPC crashed & burned. In Montreal it was a Libfest as the T2 gang took a riding the Dippers had held for over a decade. Without a whimper.
Conclusion: The NDP will be crushed in Quebec and Singh will be running in his first and last federal campaign. The Libs will benefit from the Dipper disaster, but lose seats in Ford’s Ontario. Max is already toast. BC is nuts.
On Jody:
Putting non-politicians in government is dangerous. Since it takes time to learn effective lying and be totally indoctrinated into a party, leaders who promote newbies take on tons of risk. Because JWR was a woman, indigenous, a skilled lawyer and from the West she was catapulted into cabinet. The PMO’s cronies thought they could muscle her just like everyone else but, alas, JWR was a problem. She had ethics.
Her testimony to the justice committee was historic. Cabinet and caucus confidentiality was broken. The PMO was decimated. The prime minister was implicated in an orchestrated attempt to thwart due legal process and protect a corporation (which, by the way, spent $30,000 on hookers for Muammar Gaddafi’s debauched kid). If you thought Justin Trudeau represented something new, fresh, egalitarian, progressive and clean in public life, you were shocked. If you’d had your ass handed to you by a PM afraid of democracy and now run a pathetic blog, well, not so much.
Does the JWR-Lavalin thing have legs enough to defeat T2? Unknown. That’s up to the oppo guys to keep the story alive and explain how power corrupts.
On Cohen:
How could you not like a convicted felon on his way to prison in a nice suit who spoke well and didn’t get fussed when repeatedly called a piece of crap by legislators on national TV? Whether Trump’s former lawyer was credible or not is immaterial. He tabled documents that seemingly prove illegal or unethical acts. There will be consequences.
Meanwhile the Republican strategy of going all ad hominem didn’t work. It belied fear and desperation. More importantly, it made viewers wonder why they didn’t refute what the disgraced lawyer had to say, instead of trashing him. It’s human nature. People gravitate to the underdog. They identify. Especially when there is grace under fire. Cohen won.
On Kim:
The Hanoi Summit failed for America and was another massive win for the porcine dictator of North Korea. There was no agreement because no pre-summit talks had framed one. There’s a reason leaders don’t do this kind of thing – it doesn’t work. Only an egomaniac like the current US president would think his personal charm, charisma and glow could alter international relations, turn rockets into ploughshares and score him a Nobel.
Kim was never going to bomb the US, since that would mean instant death. His. North Korea gave up nothing in this charade other than halting some tests. In return for nothing, the little strongman received more than ever dreamed of. He got to stand with the US leader as an equal, to share a stage with his flag and the stars-and-strips on display, to become a demigod in his homeland and to relish the leader of the free world begging him for concessions after flying for an entire day to be his supplicant. Twice.
Yes. A week to remember. But no contest for the year to come. I guess we should talk about how to get ready.
159 comments ↓
Now that Housing Bubble #2 Is Bursting…How Low Will It Go?
https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/now-that-housing-bubble-2-is-bursting-how-low-will-it-go/
Mad Max is already toast.
__ __ __
10% of the vote in Burnaby-South is a coup for a party that I had no idea was fielding candidates nationwide until just a few days ago.
The PPC doesn’t have to win a single seat to do incredible damage to the Reform-Cons later this fall.
Going to be a interesting election campaign watching T2 dig himself out of complicated ethical quagmire self-engineered in much the same way SNC-L does business offshore! Will the PPC and limping NDP buffer the Grits in the turbulent months to come?
Meanwhile Scheer is dog-paddling for name recognition while fighting a two-front battle against the PPC and the Grits.
Going to be interesting summer.
Today’s play list, MUST PRES PLAY ALL 3
– The Danish National Symphony Orchestra –
Once uppon time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efdswXXjnBA
Good, Bad, Ugly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkM71JPHfjk
For few dollars more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT1NJwEi6nw
The comment section today is going to be OFF THE HOOK! :D :D :D
What a corrupt little continent we live on.
You’re wrong about a lot. Ask the Japanese feel safer now. Thanks Trump!
How do we get ready Garth? Other than being well balanced and diversified.
This is the best GF blog entry I’ve read to date. Feel free to ” deviate” more often!
Perhaps one of the big papers will pick you up to give Lord Black a run for his money.
Part of me would like to think that Canada cares a lot about obstruction of justice but I work for the federal government and two of my colleagues this morning had never heard the name Jodi Wilson-Raybould when I brought it up. I think the average Canadian is a lot less informed than the people on this blog might realize.
#116 Renter’s Revenge! on 02.28.19 at 8:06 am
#156 IHCTD9 on 02.28.19 at 3:28 pm
Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline
New Book, Canadian authored, Disclaimer: I have it on hold at the local library not read it yet
I heard them on the radio; premise is statistical data and trends: basically Female Education globally as well as urbanization and increase in standard of living equals societies heading to below replacement birthrates. Once there they say no place has ever come up past 2 per female.
“we’re thinning ourselves deliberately, by choosing to have fewer babies than we need to replace ourselves. In much of the developed and developing world, that decline is already underway, as urbanization, women’s empowerment, and waning religiosity lead to smaller and smaller families.”
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37585564-empty-planet
@6 bsallergy on 02.28.19 at 5:30 pm
How do we get ready Garth? Other than being well balanced and diversified.
A cabin in the woods, freeze dried food, a gun with plenty of ammo. Develop a taste for squirrel meat (tastes like squirrel) and you’re set.
If ever there was a year to ‘Sell in May, and go away’ this would surely be it.
oh boy… I fear for the comments section today. I’m out.
#157 Dissident on 02.28.19 at 3:44 pm
#116 Renter’s Revenge! on 02.28.19 at 8:06 am
Not your life, not your business.
=========================
On the one hand, you’re right. What you do with your life is nobody’s business but your own.
On the other hand, what people do is everybody else’s business. We have lots of laws forcing you to do certain things, like pay taxes, and stopping you from doing other things, like hurting other people.
China had their one child policy because they had too many people. Maybe one day in the future we’ll have a minimum one child policy because there aren’t enough people!
Reading between the lines and tea leaves…sounds like Garth is going to form his on party..who wouldve thunk
why is it that all daddies boys with hair issues are bullies
love is love hate is hate
I love that some dude named ‘Rick’ has his puked on what the entire country of Japan think, 5 minutes after the summit.
@ #5
Garth, you have a pretty well heeled crowd that reads your Blog and/or with time on their hands and a high interest in public/financial affairs, not only of Canada but the World.
Which gives me pause.
I wonder how the topics you wrote about today truly resonate with the average Canadian trying to make ends meet (e.g., the 60% with mortgages and 70% that have debt)? I hope the SNC-Lavalin scandal resonates with Canadians, but I do not know. As you say, leave that to the oppo people.
I watched all 3+ hours of Jody’s testimony. The opposition parties said little as the Liberals were doing a very good job on their own of self-destructing within their own ranks – the Liberal questioning seemed petty and desperate to me with the sole purpose of rendering Trudeau harmless (on that, they did a poor job).
My CONCLUSION [wish] was:
If only Jody could be CLONED another 337 times…I’d vote for that woman without hesitation. Imagine a Government based on the Rule of Law, integrity with its roots in truth saying, plus a whole lot of poise and dignity under fire.
THAT Government would be something to behold. It would not get better than that (Jody).
Voting should not be compulsory!
The word on the street is that people don’t vote because they feel like they are being played by dishonest, corrupt, privileged people called politicians. Until people are compelled by politicians, they’ll continue to refuse playing a corrupt game called “elections”!
No Name #3 – Aye, but this is one of the best versions of Once upon a time in the West:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC20KYQxtWs
Thanks Garth, that’s how I saw it too. Was reading the comments section on the jwr testimony on the CBC page: it was surprisingly civil and informed. There was discourse but no histrionics and no one sabatoging the section with drivel…
There’s a shred of societal dignity left. And speaking of, I’d vote for her in a heartbeat.
Surely there must be some card carrying Libs calling for a leadership review? If not now, when?
Wow, the boomers better start saving their kids are broken,
https://www.thestar.com/calgary/2019/02/28/nearly-half-of-canadian-parents-financially-supporting-kids-into-their-30s-survey.html
The prime minister was implicated in an orchestrated attempt to thwart due legal process and protect a corporation (which, by the way, spent $30,000 on hookers for Muammar Gaddafi’s debauched kid).-GT
/////////////////
Whats that work out to?
$30,000 for a hooker?
How many nights is that?
+++ JW-R for the new $10 Bill +++
Yes, folks it’s time to vote who should adorn the next $10 Canadian bill. Jody Wilson-Raybould’s face on the bills…
Someone with the fortitude to stand up to the scurrilous, scheming, sycophantic, sleazy, suckupping, sinister, surreptitious, snaking scumbags who slavishly surrender to the seigneurs of SNC-Lavalin.
A constant reminder in your wallet to stand up to those who would bend the law to line their greasy pockets.
+++ JW-R for the new $10 Bill +++
Yes. A week to remember. But no contest for the year to come. I guess we should talk about how to get ready.
//////////////////
By praying for a 5-10% rally in preferreds and selling that garbage before BOC cuts rates and they tank another 10%?
Amma right!?!?
No cut is coming. – Garth
They now are starting at 6:30 PM ET tonight.
One thing’s certain, T2 is not 1/8 of the man his father was. Or his grandfather. He’s either just a stupid dolt, whose drama teaching experience in no way prepared him for the hard knocks of public life, or he’s a con man and a crook. I am leaning to the former.
He appears to be a well meaning, party dude who used his family name to get to be PM, and then used his PM position to photo bomb selfies and dress up in fancy socks. When the heat was turned up, he just did whatever was easiest, smoked a lot of dope, and hoped no one noticed.
If the Libs want to get out of this mess alive, here’s a thought…..why not make Wilson-Raybould into Liberal Party leader and potential PM? She’s 10 times the man Trudeau ever was, and while he appears to be an integrity-less spine lacking doofus, she is really one of the most honest people I have ever encountered.
#17 Dolce Vita on 02.28.19 at 6:01 pm
I wonder how the topics you wrote about today truly resonate with the average Canadian trying to make ends meet (e.g., the 60% with mortgages and 70% that have debt)?
/////////
Hey Dolce you might want to check your numbers.
I believe that home ownership rate is in the high 60% range and of those only about half have a mortgage.
Kim can’t simply give up his nukes – looking ahead post-Trump they’re the only thing standing between him and those who want to see him share the fate of S. Hussein and M. Ghaddafi (“We came, we saw, he died” cackled one of them famously in the denouement). Suicidal he ain’t, so the rockets stay.
If the Libs want to get out of this mess alive, here’s a thought…..why not make Wilson-Raybould into Liberal Party leader and potential PM? She’s 10 times the man Trudeau ever was, and while he appears to be an integrity-less spine lacking doofus, she is really one of the most honest people I have ever encountered.
///////////////
Agreed. They would probably get my vote if they did that.
On this, the 35th anniversary of Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s famous “walk in the snow”, would it not be fitting were the son to emulate the father?
“Conclusion: The NDP will be crushed in Quebec and Singh will be running in his first and last federal campaign. The Libs will benefit from the Dipper disaster, but lose seats in Ford’s Ontario. Max is already toast.”
Great news for the Conservatives! I never understood why anyone would even contemplate voting NDP? It’s just wrong!
“The PMO was decimated.” Bring on the RCMP criminal investigation and lock him up!!!! What a gift to Mr. Scheer! A Conservative majority win is now in sight! Bye Bye Liberals!
“Cohen won.” No he didn’t. A little presumptuous on your part don’t you think Garth? Here’s an accurate prediction for y’all…………….Trump will win again in 2020 because the Democrats are imploding on themselves catering to the far left psychotic fringe in their ranks. Just look at the line up of damaged goods and socialists polluting the Democratic leadership.
“The Hanoi Summit failed”………..yes it did and Trump said it best when he said, “Better no deal than a bad deal”. Has nobody on this blog read Trumps “The Art Of The Deal” ????
What a great week for all!
#8 Dave Ahem on 02.28.19 at 5:36 pm
I think the average Canadian is a lot less informed than the people on this blog might realize.
——————————————————
Or you could say, ‘I think the average Canadian is a lot less informed than the people on this blog(period)’
Turdeau should maybe get Jeffrey Epstein on board with Libs…….given his skills and connections at negotiating and circumventing what were otherwise legal slam dunks.
Banana Republic is not a clothes store
Pass the popcorn
Voting for Mad Max is exactly what Canada needs.
Think of it as middle finger to all the elites who control you.
All you Liberals and Dippers out there
Vote Mad Max
Can it be any worse?
Nope
Would it have not been better T2 to bury SNC right from the get go…I mean he would be admired by all of Canada…I guess he really does not care about winning…SNL is his next gig
fantastic blog
I laughed so hard
Wow, I’m actually paying attention to Canadian politics, I think I watched most of JWR live yesterday, super credible….. I just don’t think enough Canadians will care what this shows about T2 and the Cons leader kinda looked foolish to me for the resignation claims, I don’t think we’re there yet and I’m rooting for those guys….. Politics looks difficult…. Interested in the recommended preparedness
#68 JD on 02.27.19 at 8:53 pm
@No74/Politico:
A different perspective on Venezuela:
http://johnpilger.com/articles/the-war-on-venezuela-is-built-on-lies
—
Another perspective on Venezuela. (There are more articles than this if you look around. I posted some on GF earlier.)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3192933/Hugo-Chavez-s-ambassador-daughter-Venezuela-s-richest-woman-according-new-report.html
Being the ex-President’s daughter pays off: Hugo Chavez’s ambassador daughter is Venezuela’s richest woman
By PETE D’AMATO FOR DAILY MAIL ONLINE
PUBLISHED: 18:13 EST, 10 August 2015 | UPDATED: 01:43 EST, 11 August 2015
The daughter of Hugo Chavez, the former president who once declared ‘being rich is bad,’ may be the wealthiest woman in Venezuela, according to evidence reportedly in the hands of Venezuelan media outlets.
Maria Gabriela Chavez, 35, the late president’s second-oldest daughter, holds assets in American and Andorran banks totaling almost $4.2billion, Diario las Americas reports…
…Others close to Chavez managed to build up great personal wealth that was kept outside the petrostate.
Alejandro Andrade, who served as Venezuela’s treasury minister from 2007 to 2010 and was reportedly a close associate of Chavez, was discovered to have $11.2billion in his name sitting in HSBC accounts in Switzerland, according to documents leaked by whistleblower Hervé Falciani….
Jody played the PM & PMO like a Machiavellian Stratovarius violin. Selfie Boy’s camera batteries have run out.
Never mind $30,000 for hookers, it might be much higher than that.
https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2019/02/28/snc-lavalin-spent-195m-on-escorts-booze-for-libyan-dictators-son.html
Socialist Populism always fails because at some point the rubber face mask gets ripped off….
Then you see that its always really about insiders, party schmucks, and apparatchiks getting handouts and favors.
Unfortunately by now the wealth creators have left and no one is there is pick up the pieces, create great ideas, work hard ot create wealth, etc.
Capital has left Canada, oil companies, mining companies, Tech, Doctors, Innovators, etc have left….
Watching a great country collapse is difficult to watch
But necessary….
Its time to bring the grownups back to power to clean up the mess left by idealistic kids with no economic or business experience…
Business or great ideas are not evil when the threat of punishment is there, its only evil when it believes its above the rule of law that it does evil……
vis a vis SNC
The rule of law makes a just society…
without it you have chaos.
“I guess we should talk about how to get ready.”
We are on the same page, Garth.
The year to come, as you mentioned, will be much, much worse, for those of us who survive that long.
All the pieces are coming together now.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/28/middleeast/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-indictment-intl/index.html
Trump’s hunt for distraction now has an ally in Netanyahu.
War against Iran together?
95% Likely.
Canada’s internal chaos will make us extremely vulnerable.
Stock up on fuel, canned goods and electric storage and production.
PREPARE
BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH!
If You Strike a King…
On Jody:
I am reminded of the old saying: “If you strike a king, you must strike to kill”. She may just have done so…
I watched a lot of her testimony. She came across to me as 100% sincere and ethical.
Best defense for Trudeau: “You can’t handle the truth ( boy). … You’re god damn right, I did order the code red” And I’d do it again! To save jobs!
It’s easy to take the moral high ground and sound the hip hip hooray for Wilson-Raybould. That’s if you don’t have to govern a federation of disparate interests (yellow jackets anyone?), or confront domestic companies who have to pay bribes in order to expand contract opportunities in far away places with questionable governments. Real politics demand compromise.
“Social ownership can be public, collective or cooperative ownership, or citizen ownership of equity.” Wikipedia
Socialism begins at birth. Humans are social animals. If it was not for “socialism” we would not survive.
And now back to the real estate bubble:
UBS released their real estate bubble index
http://www.chpc.biz/history-readings/ubs-re-bubble-index
… not much change in the list of most expensive housing markets.
“Does the JWR-Lavalin thing have legs enough to defeat T2?”
=====================================
Absolutely. The opposition will be all over this. T2 will wish he had resigned today.
Cohen- **Yawn** a liar lies and other liars sift through his lies to see which lies they want to lie about. Ever has politics been so.
Hanoi – No deal today, but the table is set for the end of the Korean War at the next summit. Trump plays a long, patient game. Not like politicians who are concerned about today’s headlines.
Now that was funny. – Garth
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2019/02/22/SNC-Lavalin-Criminal-Record-Corruption/
What did SNC do? Why should we care? A primer.
Quebec has wagged Canada for so very long. Trudeau thought he could use that to his advantage – he who wins QC can usually hold the throne. All his egotistical “woke” persona has landed him in a place where he can’t do anything but say JWR is wrong, but can’t say why. And Gerald Butts resigning for no apparent reason – it’s like a comedy of errors. The Liberal Party is trying to survive this, but so far they’ve been Outwitted, Outplayed, and likely Outlasted by this Indigenous Woman who took her job seriously. Don’t mess with her. Hahahahahaha
“How could you not like a convicted felon on his way to prison in a nice suit who spoke well and didn’t get fussed when repeatedly called a piece of crap by legislators on national TV?”
====================================
A complete joke. The Democrats should use their energy and resources to find a real leader to compete against President Trump. But instead, they keep shooting themselves in the foot and look like idiots doing it.
T2 says his priority is to keep Canadian jobs must have went over well in Oshawa and the Alberta oil patch . His To the moon speech today had me floored I almost expected him to say see ya there soon .What bigger shiny new thing can he point at for a distraction.
Great post and how very true!
“North Korea gave up nothing in this charade other than halting some tests.”
====================================
I bet that South Korea and Japan appreciate that.
Don’t forget about all the rich people who don’t pay taxes!!!!!!!!!!!
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/zero-income-tax-high-income-canada-1.4087033
6,000 people with incomes of 100k or more (that’s ‘rich’?) had legal losses to offset against income. Total non-story. – Garth
—————-
Panama papers too.
#36 expat on 02.28.19 at 6:48 pm
PSST: someone tell this FLORIDIAN that the term “elite” is already too 2016/2017.
The pendulum has already swung in the opposite direction. That occurred with Trump’s victory down south and Ford’s up here.
Clearly you didn’t notice.
-Look up the term banana republic. We just saw the system working as it should, with potential incriminating testimonials on both sides of the border. That’s not what a banana republic is. It’s even funnier coming from someone in FLORIDA.
-And how many times does it have to be said a vote for that PPC party is a vote for the liberals????? Bernier is just a sore loser. Anyone who votes for him is easily manipulated, and acting on emotion rather than logic.
It’s not hard to understand.
MF
So what exactly is the attraction to the Federal liberals? Seriously? Why does anyone vote for them. I’ve always thought that it was because they want more government programs. Well since we got a left wing government in Alberta and Ottawa:
– our Child benefits were cut in half.
– cost of everything has gone up
– cannot deduct my kids sports programs anymore or anything else useful
– increased deficit to pay for bigger government. Alberta hired 40k staff but nothing changed.
– taxes increased across the board.
– I don’t see any added services or other changes at all. Only increased red tape for any project
So why this left wing push, where are these programs? Please give me some examples. And no I don’t care about SJW issues. How does this help me progress in a career and provide for my family and enjoy some sort of retirement some day. They only thing that should matter.
#46 wrote
It’s easy to take the moral high ground and sound the hip hip hooray for Wilson-Raybould. That’s if you don’t have to govern a federation of disparate interests (yellow jackets anyone?), or confront domestic companies who have to pay bribes in order to expand contract opportunities in far away places with questionable governments. Real politics demand compromise.
___________________________________________
Nice try.
SNC bribed McGill managers with 22.5 million in CANADA!
If you have to win business with bribes you are a failed business or doing business where you should not….
SNC is a corrupt organization – period
By default, registered voters that don’t show up at the polls are supporting a plurality. The “winning party” may rightfully count the abstainers among their ranks since, as they’ve made clear, they support whoever, and ‘whoever’ always wins.
Can mandatory voting change this? If people who couldn’t care less are forced to the polls under threat of financial penalty, a lot more votes will actually be cast for ‘whoever’ rather than implied.
In the last Vancouver civic election the names on the ballots were randomized instead of alphabetized in an attempt to overcome a suspected bias towards the beginning of the alphabet and the top of the list.
Power to the people.
About Jody
Wilson-Raybould is a descendant of the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk and Laich-Kwil-Tach peoples, which are part of the Kwakwaka’wakw, also known as the Kwak’wala-speaking peoples. She is a member of the We Wai Kai Nation. Wilson-Raybould carries the Kwak’wala name Puglaas, which roughly translates to “woman born to noble people”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m85N5CFvUMg&list=PL4ZnssN9UVqDgRkhs7GK4EnrmqwkfkGbn
Dividend increases: TD, CIBC, Stantec
Rub tummy
It really is time Trump be impeached!!!
Trump sold 20% of united states Uranium to Russia, and was rewarded with $145M..and then despite him being subpoenaed to turn over all communication, his team used bleachbit on all his electronic devices before smashing the devices with hammers.
After that he and Melania met with the AG in a private plane on the PHX airport tarmac..he claims they only discussed their grandkids and golf though, yeah right Donald!!
Guys who’s with me? The above acts HAVE to punished!!
Lol..ugh the hypocrisy is sickening. Im sure if Cohen had anything incriminating on 45 he could swing a deal that didn’t include prison time.
Oh well, Garth. If your ass got handed to you by Harper at least he got a chance to feel those legendary buns of steel.
Singh lacks personal charisma, doesn’t appear to have a razor sharp intellect, and will be remembered for not disowning those connected with the Air India disaster. People who take an interest in politics and care about how the country is run have memories like elephants. As for Jody, I think Canadians are proud of her. I imagine her parents are very proud of her…. Nice to see someone step up and do the right thing where electoral pandering in Quebec is concerned. And Gerald Butts needs to ‘butt out’. You stepped down, buddy. Now just go quietly into the night.
But where did that little story published in the Buffalo Chronicle go to..? Not a peep from the Canadian media. Pretty sure we haven’t heard the last of it. Especially if people like Butts tries to take Jody down. According to the Chronicle First Nations groups were ‘outraged’ by the behaviour described as ‘bribes through third parties’. Reminds me of that line from The Untouchables. ” If one of theirs comes at you with a knife, you pull a gun”.
Garth says it’s no contest for the year to come. I agree. The Jag is keeping all options on the table, staying alert, and keeping all powder dry.
If the PCs were smart they would be wise to a appoint her as their Attourney General if they win the election.
Quebec will probably elect more Liberals, let’s hope Ontario elect less.
Reagan walked away from negotiations with Gorbachev four times.
I am interested in Garth’s suggestions, on how to prepare. It sure seems, to be a scenario, where one throws the salt over one’s shoulder… We have quite a mess potentially world wide…long term what are the ramifications, of bring 650 Million, people into the Western world’s developed economy. Well one trend is to realize that the race to comparitive advantage, and specialization, looks great on an Economist, Chalk Board, but any of us who studied Econ… know those assumptions, are just that… So now in many Western Economies, the traditional businesses have left or transformed, and frankly those remaining in Business and Government, aren’t really needed in the same fashion they were in the past… The Genie let out of the Box, with the Industrialization of China, is that the rest of the world, will have to increase their productivity… and really compete for work, and productive contributions, to excell… And of course the Cost of overhead that is Goverment, is getting unaffordable, so changes, will be needed and drastic ones.. if we are to maintain our current standard of living.. The Idealism to affect these Theories, will have to be questioned. We have seen enough of these Theories… I suggest we will be forced to “Back To Basics”, and sooner than will be comfortable..
Has this sunk the Liberals for an election in the fall? Stranger things have happened, but overall Canadians seem less aware of the world around them than ever before. Electoral math is likely in Liberals favour (e.g. starting with all of Quebec seats and most of Atlantic).
However, I am struggling to see if it matters. If the Conservatives do get enough to form a gov’t, it will be a minority. Not much will change (spending won’t be reduced, deficits climbing, pipelines not likely to be approved or built, etc).
Economically, things aren’t looking so hot in any event. Banks results were mediocre at best. GDP is anemic at last forecast, and might be coming in lower. International companies still looking to exit the oil patch.
But…portfolio now structured accordingly…
Batchford has a great piece on the SNC’s history of corruption charges
The CBC has nothing
The Globe doesn’t really either
It shows who they are aligned with
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/christie-blatchford-why-all-this-effort-by-the-liberal-government-on-behalf-of-snc?video_autoplay=true#comments-area
Ever wonder why 70% of Burnaby stayed home?
Fourth paragraph. Best summary of Canadian politics ever, hands down:
“…..Since it takes time to learn effective lying and be totally indoctrinated into a party,…..JWR was a problem. She had ethics……”
Definitely Order of Canada Material. (And she won’t have to share that honour with the since-removed Lord Balk of Crossdresser.)
Trudeau is a mere shadow of his fathers’ intellect.
Ms Wilson-Raybould has played him perfectly.
Trudeau and his minions called her, emailed her, texted her AND had meetings with her over months.
All of which is certainly verifiable.
She has said nothing.
Waiting to pounce.
She resigns still saying nothing.
Saying nothing until the howls of outraged citizens demanded answers….which she still insisted she was not able to answer.
The bombshells she lobbed at the PM, the PMO and any other politician and beaurocrat insisting the Attorney General “help” SNC avoid a conviction were oerfect.
Trudeau and Butts…..amateur hour.
And now that “Pinky” has no “Brain”……
JT is toast.
JW-R….. smart, serious and ready to gut the Liberal Party from stem to stern…..hopefully during the election.
proof that it’s possible to take matters in your hands. Before this past August, although I
#62
Fake news. You’ve turned the story around. Shame on you.
#62 the ryguy – In cabo
Haha…
Let SNC fail. There are a lot of engineering firms based in Canada who would be more than happy to pick up the slack.
– CIMA+ based in Quebec
– WSP based in Quebec
– Stantec based in Edmonton
– Associated based in Edmonton
And lots of others. Also with engineering firms it really doesn’t matter where the head office is based. Many US based firms operate extensively in Canada and employ a lot of local staff in many offices. Money flowing to head office is a drop in the bucket. Look at AECOM, Jacobs, Tetra Tech.
#62 the ryguy – In cabo on 02.28.19 at 7:59 pm
“Lol..ugh the hypocrisy is sickening. Im sure if Cohen had anything incriminating on 45 he could swing a deal that didn’t include prison time.”
====================================
Still LMFAO. I will never forget the Cohen testimony.
Seriously though, Cohen does have something on 45. He said that Trump spoke in “Code”… There is something there, but it’s in “Code”.
#24 BlogDog123 on 02.28.19 at 6:16 pm
+++ JW-R for the new $10 Bill +++
I would put her on the $100 bill. That will be turned into coin later.
#30 yvrguy on 02.28.19 at 6:29 pm
If the Libs want to get out of this mess alive, here’s a thought…..why not make Wilson-Raybould into Liberal Party leader and potential PM?
—
I would do the impossible: vote for the Liberals.
Moving from yesterday’s blog because no-one may look back at those comments any longer:
To
#110 DLee,
#117 Tater,
#120 yorkville renter,
#139 MHM..,
and #153 Dissident
thank you all so much for responding to my question. I am now re-assured that I’m not quite alone in my choices.
To the Omniscient’s correspondent of yesterday inquiring about mutual funds etc, I might be living proof that it’s possible to take matters in your hands. Before this past August, although I had an RRSP and another smaller investment account, I had not done so much as reading my statements. The advisor was having fund with her commissions or perhaps not even cared enough to have fun.
Realizing the cost, I moved to self-directed alternatives without knowing what would be next. The Omniscient rejected me (assuming that I was less intelligent or thinner than his liking!) and that was that. Ego hurt, intellect heightened. I spent about two full months of reading only (and almost only) about investing.
Fully appreciating that knowing is different from doing and after those days and nights of studying I was still uninitiated by all accounts, it was nevertheless time to dive in. Now the portfolio is filled with a bunch of ETFs and individual stocks across different sectors and things look very good!
So yes, it’s doable. Perhaps you need to ask the Omniscient to reject you and to do so in as a hurtful and unfair manner! You’ll immediately find your way around, guaranteed!
” Dividend increases: TD, CIBC, Stantec
Rub tummy” — JSS
I can relate …. however, when people were buying preferred ETFs looking for a steady yield (they got it), are now looking at a long climb back …. just to break even. Investing seems to be a looooong term game.
On the Deniers of Corruption money flooding Canada from China:
https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-is-b-c-immigration-program-a-back-door-for-millionaire-house-buyers
What kind of goofy denial complex is this politically correct lie about zero impact of Chinese foreign nations illegally dumping ill gotten non taxed gains into Canada. Do Deniers think that protecting foreigners they’re stalling a backlash against all Chinese and that Canadians at large are so racist against Chinese we’ll start attacking 3rd generation immigrants lumped in the pile? Trudeau might spread those lies but real Canadians can handle the truth. And like every other country that was washed over by PRC corruption, the right measures might have been taken before the destruction.
Cohen… It made viewers wonder why they didn’t refute what the disgraced lawyer had to say, instead of trashing him. It’s human nature. People gravitate to the underdog. They identify. Especially when there is grace under fire.
—-
On the show that I saw, in the casting of the Democratic majority Cohen was supposed to be the hero, and Trump got the punchbag, underdog role.
The Republican response was appropriate. Congressional hearing is a political theater, courts are for prosecution. Especially, if Cohen is convicted already and “he tabled documents that seemingly prove illegal or unethical acts”.
But if you want some samples of refute, you can always find one, at places, outside of law, where there is no danger of hastily improvised legal defense against last minute submissions.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-02-28/house-just-hit-new-low
The Rosenstein hearing will be much more interesting.
It’s funny how we are all watching the same screen but seeing 2 different movies.
I just finished watching Scott Adams’ podcast and well he has just about the opposite opinion on the news as Garth does. “Who the hell is Scott Adams, he just draws cartoons and writes books!” Ya well watch it. He can see through spin and create it.
On Cohen, he said nothing that hasn’t been a Democrat and left talking point since 2016, perhaps before. There is no “there” there. Every single one of his points was designed to kick the democrat hornet’s nest and make them look like fools but no new information was given. If anything, this public spectacle is going to clear the Donald of any wrong doing. Brilliant if it was planned, the Democrats will have nothing on the Don come 2020. In some ways it was smart to bring it to trial now, and not in 2020. All doubt will be removed.
For example, it is not illegal in any way for the Donald to pay Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about what may or may not have happened years ago, if he used his own money and not “campaign financing” as they call it. Rather the question should be “did Daniels extort Trump?” You don’t kiss and tell, that’s the rule. So this will be a nothing burger. If anyone goes to jail it will be Stormy and she should probably be considering that before she makes anymore noise. Affairs are not illegal.
Cohen also called Trump a racist in the testimony, which is going to make a lot of people look like fools, especially the Dems who jumped on it. You cannot testify that someone is a “racist” or a “sexist” or a “martian” or a “lizard” because that is only your opinion. Opinions do not matter. You have to say something like “I saw Trump decide not to hire a certain person with the best credentials because they were black, and he stated that was the reason”. Unless you can provide a consistent series of evidence, the claim cannot be accepted. There is no proof just because you “think so”. All that claim did is make a bunch of democrats look really stupid. Not that they needed help.
When you call someone else a “racist” or a “sexist” or a “pastafarian” or even a “democrat”, what you are doing is “mind reading”. You can’t do it unless the person has either stated their opinion or has some sort of a membership. I’ll give you a tip people; you can’t read minds unless you are an alien lizard. Sarcasm off you cannot read minds. You think you can, but you can’t. You are “projecting”. “Mind reading” is a big mistake.
AOC tried to make a big point that Trump inflated the value of his assets for insurance purposes. What a crock, everybody does that. It only determines how much coverage you have, not what the insurance company is going to pay in the event of a loss. You can insure your car for a billion dollars if you want to, but if you wreck it you get replacement cost. No crime here.
He also had 2 different values for his businesses, one based on the market value of the cash flow, and one based on the property value for tax purposes. That is so normal as to be mind boggling that anyone doesn’t get it. Every business does that. But the Dems are making it into a criminal offense. Good luck. We already pay capital gains on the difference between property value and business value.
What we are going to find out from the Cohen testimony is that Trump did nothing illegal, although many of his business transaction were unsavory. That’s it. Nobody who does business with unions gets away without doing something unsavory. And the one point Cohen was consistent on, the only thing he could be said to be consistent on, was that there was no collusion with Russia in the elections.
“No deal” in Korea was a forgone conclusion with the Cohen spectacle going on at home. Any deal Trump would have made would have been declared a “distraction and a failure” by CNN, who is really the #1 enemy of the people. Nothing they report is true in any sense of the term. It’s all spin. I think it’s safe to assume that terms were discussed and it is now up to Kim to go home and think about them. A deal is probably closer than it was even if it wasn’t signed.
I forgot, the whole Cohen affair is a huge breach of attorney-client privilege. Nothing said in the Cohen testimony will be admissible in court. It’s all for public consumption.
#62 the ryguy – In cabo
Um, that was Clinton, not Trump. And it’s a nothing burger anyway because it was ownership of the company, not the uranium itself, so Russia only got cash. No US produced uranium actually went to Russia. They have their own.
Russia does accept nuclear materials for disposal, but they don’t need any.
Garth
Any chance of taking JWR into your team. She shares a similar renegade appeal to your good self and you could use her to keep your porsche driving matcha latte sipping staff in line. Who cares if she knows nothing about finance. She might be able to serve ice cream up in Belfountain!
On reading today’s blog and coming across “leaders who promote newbies take on tons of risk.”, TwinkleToes muttered: “I resemble that remark!”
For more than two years, the United States and the world have had two competing narratives: that an elected president of the United States was a Russian agent whom the Kremlin helped elect; and its rival narrative that senior officials of the Justice Department, FBI, CIA, and other national intelligence organizations had repeatedly lied under oath, misinformed federal officials, and meddled in partisan political matters illegally and unconstitutionally and had effectively tried to influence the outcome of a presidential election, and then undo its result by falsely propagating the first narrative.
It is now obvious and indisputable that the second narrative is the correct one.
This fiasco has shown that the United States is nearly equivalent to a place like Pakistan, where the state security apparatus is compromised and almost totally corrupt. Just shy of an assassination.
Could anyone even fathom it was THIS BAD?
#72 Ronaldo on 02.28.19 at 8:25 pm
#62
Fake news. You’ve turned the story around. Shame on you.
—
You’ve turned the shame around.
I like the Mad Max moniker.
Maybe I’ll vote for him?
Today’s post reminds me why I keep coming here. Thought-provoking analysis — Thanks.
@ #56 MF on 02.28.19 at 7:52 pm Re: “Mad Max”:
Did you read his platform? In its entirety?
Great ideas if he can swing it and doesn’t become corrupt. Or if he, too, can “drain the (canadian) swamp”.
131 IHCTD9 – from yesterday
Yes, it’s a rich benefit, and some people will always try to game the system when the benefit is inversely related to income. However, isn’t this already the case for the current systems – Welfare, EI and whatever else is available?
I confess I don’t know what’s available because like most people, we chose to work because we’ve
determined it is the better option for our families.
But there are always “leaks in the bucket” when people
choose to work less, or not at all, and productivity is lost, all just to receive the maximum benefit.
Any thoughts on a Universal basic income benefit? It could replace OAS, EI, CCB. sounds pretty commie, but I believe we are getting much closer to it.
Sorry, not quite on topic today…..
#83 Nonplused on 02.28.19 at 9:14 pm
“Um, that was Clinton, not Trump” – shhhh.
“And it’s a nothing burger anyway” – hahahahahaha.
WARREN BUFFETT’S ADVICE….
Ignore the daily news or the gyrations of the markets.
Buy fabulous companies at reasonable prices, hold on for the long-run, and sit back and become rich…..
I think JWR Saga is just starting. I watched every minute. Butts and Morneau are probably on the war path.
I can a have a one hour conversation with anyone. Take one sentence of what they said to me and turn it into any narrative that I want.
Hold your praises until the implicated peeps get their rebuttal.
Serious Jiffy Pop coming.
Beautifully written — laugh out loud good. Your political material is even better than the financial stuff and your spell checker is now working!
2019 is looking up… keep it coming.
signed: “The porcine dictator”
So this week we’ve had (a) another hearing of evidence pointing to trump being corrupt, (b) a beautiful testimony by our former AG pointing to the corruption in Canada’s PMO (and system in general), (c) the PM of Israel getting hauled to court for corruption charges.
I’m feeling pretty darn cynical about politics these days, and I’d be surprised if this doesn’t become part of the zeitgeist and start to impact platforms, voter engagement and election results.
#90 John in Mtl on 02.28.19 at 9:46 pm
I have. It seems to follow the usual script: you’ve been neglected, everyone is corrupt, I’m going to change it. Blah blah blah.
Doesn’t change the fact that it will siphon off votes from the blue guys and give the Libs a way to squeak by.
MF
@#57 Jay on 02.28.19 at 7:53 pm
So what exactly is the attraction to the Federal liberals? Seriously? Why does anyone vote for them. I’ve always thought that it was because they want more government programs. Well since we got a left wing government in Alberta and Ottawa:
______________________________
most people voting lib are just voting against the cons and vice versa. sad how many folks don’t even know the party platforms.
and i’d say the current libs are about as far left as the current cons are too the right. mushy middle the way Canadians like it.
While some points are correct on NK dicky, there are some aspects of Trump’s game with this guy worth pointing out:
1. timely ‘vodka for general’ problems in EU;
2. a limo made to match a US President for NK dicky seen by many (while his people starve);
3. limo trains as bulletproof as the car while his people starve;
4. good surface to air missiles (by somebody)should he take a plane?;
4. USA laying out the economic red carpet over the military mud rug – ie choices to make for all to see
and of course we know what Trump got so far:
5 Americans hostages out
6 peace offers made
7 effort on item 4 in eyes of SK and the world
It is at NK dickys door now to grow or burn while we all hopefully better understand some of what is this dictator’s mindset.
@#84 Vinella Ice on 02.28.19 at 9:15 pm
Garth
Any chance of taking JWR into your team. She shares a similar renegade appeal to your good self and you could use her to keep your porsche driving matcha latte sipping staff in line. Who cares if she knows nothing about finance. She might be able to serve ice cream up in Belfountain!
____________________
try to keep up dude.
Garth sold the belfountain real estate
I’m thinking “NO MORE” politicians on dollar bills any where!
Let’s consider putting First Nation chiefs on bills for a change.
Just a thought
I understand that in part they might act as a strangle on income in tandem with bonds but I look at them as financially-engineered cancer on their own.
I wiped out half my prefs position in mid Sep and the rest late Oct (all luck, nothing prescient), I think it might be time to get back into them but only in the next 3-5 months after the remaining downtrend that I think is still in the cards is played out (the squiggly indicators on the chart put me on the fence with prefs until then).
————————————————————————–
#25 yvrguy on 02.28.19 at 6:20 pm
Yes. A week to remember. But no contest for the year to come. I guess we should talk about how to get ready.
//////////////////
By praying for a 5-10% rally in preferreds and selling that garbage before BOC cuts rates and they tank another 10%?
Amma right!?!?
No cut is coming. – Garth
The most disturbing thing about the while testimony was this statement from Telford as recounted by JWR;
“Wilson-Raybould said the pressure escalated later that month with contacts from PMO officials. Butts and Trudeau’s chief of staff Katie Telford “summoned” Prince to a Dec. 18 meeting, saying the situation was getting worse and that they felt she wasn’t doing anything.
According to Wilson-Raybould’s testimony, Telford suggested they could line up people to write op-eds to say what she is doing is “proper.”
The fact that they were confident they could also strong arm the media to go along says a lot. Thankfully there are one or two principled journalists still out there.
Ok Garth, enough spoon feeding your follower’s with your unnecessary spin of Politics & Justice happening down South. The charade played out on live TV yesterday of Michael Cohen was nothing more than a pathetic circus act by Dem’s & Prosecutor’s, setting up a Criminal, who is already discredited, shamed and disbarred on his way to prisonfor his guilty plea on 5 charges, to be given a Centre Stage Finale by attempting “to sing to the prosecutor’s” as part of his favours. He has a thick neck to call any sitting President “a Racist, Liar and Cheat…. Patience everyone until the conclusion of this 2 year farce is exposed by AG Mr. Barr when he finally concludes the real truth. Too many media outlets selling left side continous crazy spin!
According to Scott Adams, Trump is a brilliant 3d chess player and all that disagree with this are just too simple minded to see the brilliant depth of every one of Trump’s actions. Scott Adams thankfully sees this clearly and objectively and is here to explain it to all the simpletons. SA talents are wasted on comics.
#103 not first
According to Wilson-Raybould’s testimony, Telford suggested they could line up people to write op-eds to say what she is doing is “proper.
————————————————————————————————
A movie from the 70’s depicting corruption in the 40’s. Ya. Op-Ed’s that’s the ticket, nothing changes,
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/9497f578-7995-43d9-ada3-c12958e16a58
With two new criminal referrals after the testimony for lying to congress Cohen won nothing but probably another 5 years in prison. Cohen completely debunked the fake Russia narrative. No Prague meeting, no knowledge of collusion, no Trump sex tapes and no Russian extortion. Of course anyone who does not suffer from TDS already knew all this. A copy of a cheque paid to your lawyer (whom you presumably pay for services) is proof of nothing. Trump has been giving Cohen checks for 10 years for legal and other services.
The snowflakes just don’t understand negotiations. I think I saw the same narrative during the NAFTA negotiations. The NK negotiation isn’t over. So far I wouldn’t call the release of hostages, soldier remains returned and no more nuclear or missile testing nothing. I think Japan would agree it is nice not to have missiles flying over head ever few weeks. More than the past 3 presidents have achieved with NK combined.
But for those who have not clued in yet, this latest summit and the walk away was done to send a message to China. They took notice. Trump is two steps ahead of everyone else.
Btw speaking of failures what did Obama get from his meetings with the Cuban dictator? Or what did he get for his $150 billion and lifting sanctions with Iran? He got nothing from Cuba and more terrorism from Iran. That is what they used the $150 billion for. Terrorism. Those were failures. Good thing Trump came along to clean things up.
Old gringo on 02.28.19 at 10:45 pm
I’m thinking “NO MORE” politicians on dollar bills any where!
”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
What is a dollar bill these days?
how about a 2 dollar bill;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIsDyBxPujM
#8 Dave Ahem on 02.28.19 at 5:36 pm
Part of me would like to think that Canada cares a lot about obstruction of justice but I work for the federal government and two of my colleagues this morning had never heard the name Jodi Wilson-Raybould when I brought it up. I think the average Canadian is a lot less informed than the people on this blog might realize.
No, what you should say is that the average civil servant is a lot less informed than the average Canadian.
We are almost there. Nope we are here.
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him. “
Cohen won?
BAHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…….
DELETED
There’s something very strange about the JWR thing. Nobody, and I mean NObody, goes through the whole process of being nominated by the riding association, being vetted by the party, becoming a party-attached MP (or MPP), and having portfolios in cabinet, without always, constantly, daily, hourly being “pressured”, swayed, threatened, punished, and rewarded for towing the party line, doing the party’s and leader’s bidding. This is the life of a party-attached MP regardless of which party.
There is simply no believable way that JWR rose up through the ranks of a major political party being the integrity-angel this affair makes her appear – it’s an impossibility.
So what’s her game? A sudden epiphany? Did she find Jesus?
#28 Penny Henny
I noticed that error afterwards PH, good eye!
About 40% (2016 data, 38% specifically).
I think it was Robertson Davies that said Canada did not lack good writers; rather, good readers.
Davies would have liked you.
1 data point a trend does not make but this headline gives pause as well (Garth, from your least favorite business web site):
“Credit concerns emerge in Canada as TD Bank, CIBC miss estimates”
A misnomer headline really. To me, the substantive news was about BAD DEBT:
-Toronto-Dominion, Canada’s second-largest lender by assets, set aside $850 million for soured loans in the quarter ended Jan. 31, up 23 per cent from a year earlier and the highest level in at least two years.
-CIBC’s provisions more than doubled across the bank, surging to $338 million — also the highest in at least two years. Most came from Canadian personal and small-business banking, the lender’s largest division, which saw a 41 per cent jump in provisions to $208 million.
SAY WHAT YOU WILL Garth but this data, singular as it is, does not bode well for the economy.
Hope for the best but hard to find any good news nowadays it seems.
I like JWR and what she did but let’s hold the horses on saying things like she would be good as the liberal leader or our new PM because she has ethics or for what she did.
I may be mistaken but I think most of the masses has the same ethics as JWR in similar situations. What it boils down to is protecting your own ass if you can spot the conflict of interest and that’s what Jodie did.
I was in a similar position having been asked to fulfill sales orders on projects that had yet been delivered because the director told me that he had worked out deals with the affected clients to reimburse them in the form of discounted implementation fees. The net effect was that the clients got the equivalent or more discount amounts as the subscriptions my company would be charging and reporting as monthly recurring revenue. Win – Win right?
The only problem is that it is accounting fraud and worst part was only my name was recorded in the system as fulfilling the sales orders as any communication to fulfill were informal.
I eventually reported what was going on to the head of accounting as I was being questioned more about why accounting had to reverse entries as clients were complaining because they weren’t getting their kickbacks fast enough or didn’t understand how the invoices broke down.
Do I deserve to be the leader of operations for my bravery? Who knows. All I know is that after I left the company on good terms and afterwards when leadership positions opened and I applied back, I never heard a peep from HR for even a phone interview.
Anyways, my point is that calling out things that are wrong like JWR is most likely a one way street to getting booted because the organization and the people in it are corrupted in one level or another.
To be a good PM one must run on a platform that acknowledges this level of corruption and bring in people like JWR and Garth as ethical sub leaders that pull versus push others to do the right thing for the people of Canada.
What’s with the right wing yahoos moaning about the Telford quote about “lining up people to write op-eds”? Journalists don’t write op-eds; they are usually written by guest writers i.e. anyone. As a literal card carrying Conservative these people embarrass me sometimes with their complete ignorance as to how the basic world functions. I swear sometimes I can’t figure out how they managed to actually get out of bed, brush their teeth and put on pants before leaving the house. Oh wait, no, most of them are probably still in mom’s basement. That would explain a lot.
Why do you focus more on Trump than Trudeau? Do you have a crush on him?
Trudeau does not move markets. – Garth
Pathetic Make Believes CRUSHED by the Islanders, 6-1!
LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!
Lost 4 out of last 7 games, terrible mismanagement of their options at the trade deadline, and now going downhill yet again.
The most disappointing fake sports franchise on earth.
A perfect metaphor for the sinkhole that is Toronto and the GTA.
Still more news about Toronto deplorables – guess what else they are up to now!?
http://torontopolice.on.ca/newsreleases/43327
Yep, Toronturds are now STEALING DOGS!!
This poor pup was alone for barely a minute, when it was snatched right off of Yonge Street.
Dogs! The most valued and sacred of humanity’s friends, just another target for the overwhelming selfish criminality for GTAholes.
Will the downward spiral of life in the GTA ever end?
No wonder house prices are so high there. Don’t worry, they will only go up, up, UP!
Bwaahaahaahaaahaaaaaa!
@#113 Big Al
“A sudden epiphany? Did she find Jesus?”
+++++
Nah.
Took a look in the mirror in Ottawa and said,
“I dont want to do this any more.”
@#118 Martha Martha Martha
“Why do you focus more on Trump than Trudeau? ”
+++++
In the grand scheme of things on Planet Earth.
Trudeau is irrelevant.
….But he does have nice hair and stuff.
@#117 Elcheapo, yah, the Chief of Staff of same PMO that recently announced an enormous subsidy-bribe to the media asserts her ability to line-up multiple op-eds for no other reason than to provide cover for clear wrong-doings, and we’re just dumb right wing yahoos for being concerned about it.
All parties try to influence the media, and always have. However, a line has clearly been crossed here, and if you can’t see it, well… that pretty much negates your right to call others yahoos. If you are really a card-carrying Conservative, please consider burning it and joining some other party. You’re an embarrassment.
Anyway, I’m off to brush my teeth, just as soon as I can figure out how to put my pants on (got ’em inside out and backwards last time, but at least I realized it after two days).
#115 Dolce Vita on 03.01.19 at 2:38 am
…
“Credit concerns emerge in Canada as TD Bank, CIBC miss estimates”
…
-Toronto-Dominion, Canada’s second-largest lender by assets, set aside $850 million for soured loans in the quarter ended Jan. 31, up 23 per cent from a year earlier and the highest level in at least two years.
-CIBC’s provisions more than doubled across the bank, surging to $338 million — also the highest in at least two years. Most came from Canadian personal and small-business banking, the lender’s largest division, which saw a 41 per cent jump in provisions to $208 million.
SAY WHAT YOU WILL Garth but this data, singular as it is, does not bode well for the economy.
…
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There are many more data points regarding the poor health of the Canadian economy. You find them every day – slowing GDP, auto sales down, negative equity in auto trade ins, etc. While I know that newspapers all drift to “bad news”, the fact is that good economic news here is hard to come by.
Here is one for today:
https://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/newsalert-economic-growth-slowed-to-0-4-per-cent-annual-pace-in-q4-statcan
That Canada’s economy is going downhill should be no surprise. I am actually surprised it has held up in the last few years as well as it did.
Emergency interest rates forever, allowing huge asset bubbles to emerge, accompanied by huge consumer, business and gov’t debt. Huge self inflicted blows to Canada’s energy and mining sectors. Trade troubles with US (and collateral damage from US fights with China). High energy, labour, and regulations helping the decline of manufacturing. Most of these are gov’t created.
So what is the source for Canada’s growth, beyond population increase due to immigration, if the consensus is to cripple resource industries and manufacturing? “Knowledge industries” right? Which is true – but it is one that is globally competitive, and which requires highly skilled (and higher salaried) STEM researchers, who tend to not want to give 50+% of their marginal dollar extracted for govt.
#27 Ace Goodheart on 02.28.19 at 6:22 pm
One thing’s certain, T2 is not 1/8 of the man his father was. Or his grandfather. He’s either just a stupid dolt, whose drama teaching experience in no way prepared him for the hard knocks of public life, or he’s a con man and a crook. I am leaning to the former.
He appears to be a well meaning, party dude who used his family name to get to be PM, and then used his PM position to photo bomb selfies and dress up in fancy socks. When the heat was turned up, he just did whatever was easiest, smoked a lot of dope, and hoped no one noticed.
If the Libs want to get out of this mess alive, here’s a thought…..why not make Wilson-Raybould into Liberal Party leader and potential PM? She’s 10 times the man Trudeau ever was, and while he appears to be an integrity-less spine lacking doofus, she is really one of the most honest people I have ever encountered.
_______________________________________
Ace baby you stole my thunder. Now all I have is drizzle……. :(
Very astute observation and comment mon amie.
She does appear to be a solid individual who didn’t roll over and bare her tummy to Captain Selfie. She could take selfie boys socks right out from underneath him as he doesn’t have a leg to stand on at this point. All he does is blather out his tempestuous coercions towards his party members and the country in general with an “I know better than you do attitude”. Well Justin all I can say is 2019 baby! Bye, bye you worthless piece of human anatomy.
Temper the rhetoric. Trash a man’s beliefs and actions, not the man. – Garth
#110 Smoking Man – You need an adjustment in room 101 for disclosing 12 + 1. Its too early in the morning and Big Brother will not be amused.
I almost spit out my oatmeal when I read “porcine”. Lolol.
Next: Brexit blunders, and some sort of Mueller reveal. These are the Days of Our Lives.
Hilarious that the T2 Liberals get caught in political manipulation of the legal system based upon changes Harper made to specifically address past Liberal corruption. (Sponsorship Scandal, etc, etc.).
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/the-tories-passed-a-measure-designed-to-catch-liberal-scandals-thirteen-years-later-it-caught-lavscam
Seems like the Liberals just can’t help themselves from illegal interference in the Canadian legal system.
https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/corbella-no-one-should-be-surprised-that-trudeau-disregards-the-rule-of-law-just-look-at-bill-c-69
They hypocrisy of the left has no boundaries, no matter what topic.
– Expound on your gender wokeness, yet when push comes to shove, act like a misogynist @hole.
– Declare the critical need to protect Canadian jobs (eg. Kaybec jobs), as you actively work to kill jobs in Western Canada.
– Profess your environmental progressiveness, and using it to kill the Canadian energy industry, all the while importing and using vast amounts of product from some of the worst shitholes in the world, and supporting every other energy consuming and energy sucking industry. As long as they create jobs in vote rich Ontario/Quebec.
– Interfering in the Canadian legal system in order to enhance their re-election prospects in one region of the country, while writing off the rest of the country.
But I guess that’s what you get when you elect a progressive feminist drama teacher to run their country.
I mean seriously,Canadians, what the hell did you expect?
Of course the Harper conservatives had their own shocking scandal.
You know the one where Harper conspired with Nigel Wright who used his own money in an attempt to pay the Canadian taxpayer back after piggy Mike Duffy ripped the taxpayer off.
Yes, the scandal was that the Canadian PM conspired to Pay. the. taxpayer. back..
To make the taxpayer whole.
Because Mikey Duffy’s expenses were ripping the Canadian taxpayer off.
Shocking right?
At least you know what you are voting for with the Liberals in the next election.
Rule of Law – not really important
Regional divisiveness – A good strategy to get re-elected. (Screw the West. We’ll take the rest)
Corruption at the highest levels – It’s the Liberal way.
Massive annual deficits – hey it never needs to be repaid right?
I hope you leftist idiots are happy with your legal cannabis.
The fact that the country likely will not survive this latest incarnation of corrupt Liberal governments, well, I guess its a worthy trade-off in order to toke up without worry.
Cuz its 2015.
Trudeau cant move markets? I 100% disagree.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-01/weaker-gdp-than-anyone-expected-shows-canadian-growth-stalling
A mans beliefs and actions are derivative from his character and anyone why has decided to divide this nation like he has, possibly beyond repair, deserves a special level of scorn.
Canadians should know preparations are being made in the event of another liberal govt. There is now way he comes out on top. Either he loses the election or he loses the country. Its that simple.
#119 50 YEARS OF MAPLE LEAF INCOMPETENCE! on 03.01.19 at 8:04 am
Pathetic Make Believes CRUSHED by the Islanders, 6-1!
LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!
Lost 4 out of last 7 games, terrible mismanagement of their options at the trade deadline, and now going downhill yet again.
The most disappointing fake sports franchise on earth.
A perfect metaphor for the sinkhole that is Toronto and the GTA.
Still more news about Toronto deplorables – guess what else they are up to now!?
http://torontopolice.on.ca/newsreleases/43327
Yep, Toronturds are now STEALING DOGS!!
This poor pup was alone for barely a minute, when it was snatched right off of Yonge Street.
Dogs! The most valued and sacred of humanity’s friends, just another target for the overwhelming selfish criminality for GTAholes.
Will the downward spiral of life in the GTA ever end?
No wonder house prices are so high there. Don’t worry, they will only go up, up, UP!
Bwaahaahaahaaahaaaaaa!
________________________________________
Thanks for your incite and prophetic enlightening. I guess I’m a little sarcastic and have a smart ass attitude. It’s a natural defense against drama, stupidity and bullshit!
Moral Highgrounders!
This looks so good on you!
How about that trust fund baby Morneau.
Remember how he lectured small business owners from his high horse!
I won’t forget. You may be able to change what you are.
You can never change who you are.
#94 conan on 02.28.19 at 10:14 pm
I think JWR Saga is just starting. I watched every minute. Butts and Morneau are probably on the war path.
I can a have a one hour conversation with anyone. Take one sentence of what they said to me and turn it into any narrative that I want.
Hold your praises until the implicated peeps get their rebuttal.
Serious Jiffy Pop coming.
—————————————————-
Sure Conan.
Butts is political poison. I HOPE he goes on the warpath against JWR. It might well send the Libs to sub-30% in the polls.
And Morneau is as articulate and media savvy as A dishrag. A rich kid promoted beyond his abilities due to an accident of birth (now who does that sound like?).
You think those two bozos can hold a candle to JWR? Good luck with that.
#8 Dave Ahem
I think the average Canadian is a lot less informed than the people on this blog might realize.
——————————————————————–
Right.
The average Canadian is oblivious to the administration of this country.
They are, however, very aware of the location of every Tim Horton’s drive through within a hundred miles of their home turf.
Coffee, donut, child benefit cheque in the mail – life is grand.
#70 crowdedelevatorfartz on 02.28.19 at 8:20 pm
Trudeau is a mere shadow of his fathers’ intellect.
—————————————————-
Quite the understatement there. If PET’s intellect were the sun, Justin’s would be like a grain of sand.
I don’t like much if not most of what PET did to Canada, but few could deny his brilliance.
#113 Big Al (Original) on 03.01.19 at 1:35 am
There is simply no believable way that JWR rose up through the ranks of a major political party being the integrity-angel this affair makes her appear – it’s an impossibility.
_____
She did not have time to rise up through the ranks due to not having spent any time as a politician.
As far as I can tell – her entire political career prior to her lofty ascent to AG consisted of 15 months as an MP for Granville BC. Before that she bounced from job to job and mostly worked on Native concerns. Only spent 3 years practicing Law.
She had the optics Trudeau was looking to project – simple as that.
Trudeau, Telford, and Butts comprised the inner circle, and it was perceived that Butts was the controlling mechanism. He resigned with a lengthy explanation that was not traditional which in itself was odd. Could it be that he was not well informed about what was taking place, and was actually in the dark? Now if this hypothetical holds, then who was really running the show? Was it Telford all along who was making the critical decisions in the PMO?
#135 IHCTD9 on 03.01.19 at 11:27 am
She did not have time to rise up through the ranks due to not having spent any time as a politician.
As far as I can tell – her entire political career prior to her lofty ascent to AG consisted of 15 months as an MP for Granville BC. Before that she bounced from job to job and mostly worked on Native concerns. Only spent 3 years practicing Law.
She had the optics Trudeau was looking to project – simple as that.
_ _ _
I wouldn’t use the pejorative phrase “bounced from job to job”. Three years as a BC Crown Prosecutor, seven years as Commissioner at the BC Treay Commission, member of the First Nations Finance Authority ( a not-for-profit that pools the public borrowing requirements of qualifying First Nations and issues bonds on the strength of a central credit) and finally elected Regional Chief of the BC Assembly of 1st nations.
In short, the background any government would want if they have committed to repairing relations with 1st Nations. However, it is also a background that would give her a strong sense of what is right and wrong, and the perception of the same.
Trudeau’s fault is campaigning as someone tansforative who would o politics deifferently, yet ending up acting like just another another backroom Quebec pol.
someone asked about stocks yesterday?
near 90% equities vs fixed
i’m 75% in vfv xaw qqq
only 2 individual stocks
costco – luv it for years
IRDM – comm satellites , recent buy, +11% today and still rocking. low p/e , new hi speed global blanket of satellites just finished. earnings great. could close +30-50% just today.
also note there is ZERO maple in there.
as the loon gets stomped , again, this makes all the other numbers go uppa that much faster.
From yesterday:
RRSPs are for tax-shifting, not retirement. – Garth
But sin’t using them for retirement tax shifting to a time where one (presumably) is in a lower tax bracket.
Off to Mexico!!
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#113 Big Al (Original) on 03.01.19 at 1:35 am
There’s something very strange about the JWR thing. Nobody, and I mean NObody, goes through the whole process of being nominated by the riding association, being vetted by the party, becoming a party-attached MP (or MPP), and having portfolios in cabinet, without always, constantly, daily, hourly being “pressured”, swayed, threatened, punished, and rewarded for towing the party line, doing the party’s and leader’s bidding. This is the life of a party-attached MP regardless of which party.
There is simply no believable way that JWR rose up through the ranks of a major political party being the integrity-angel this affair makes her appear – it’s an impossibility.
So what’s her game? A sudden epiphany? Did she find Jesus?
*******************
Big Al
Those are assumptions, maybe she had enough of the game playing and was not about to stake her legal career on this charade (life after politics).
What you and others should be focusing on is why Trudeau allowed this to happen in the first place and Please don’t say jobs. SNC employees are experts in their field and will be picked up by other companies. Nothing lasts forever. Corruption shouldn’t be regarded as a business tool.
Maybe you should ask Garth why he got out of Politics.
The use of RRSPs
Yesterday Garth said:
RRSPs are for tax-shifting, not retirement. – Garth
*****************************************
hmmm I though Garth was becoming more friendly to RRSPs lately…
The above seems a bit strong. True, RRSPs can be used for tax shifting and they could be terrible for low income people and who will likely have a higher marginal tax rate in retirement. Anyone who expects to be in the old age clawback range could also face a higher marginal tax rate. And perhaps those who will work well past age 70 will face a higher marginal tax rate after age 70 due to required RIF withdrawals.
But many people can expect to have quite a bit less income in retirement (even many of those with Defined Benefit pensions – not every DB is anything close to 70% of income) and will likely be in a lower marginal tax bracket, or perhaps a relatively similar marginal tax rate.
If the initial tax refund is thought of as funding a portion of the RRSP then that refund-funded percentage of the RRSP will grow to MORE than cover all of the income tax if the marginal tax rate is lower in retirement. That is, whether anyone chooses to believe this or not, there will be negative income tax on the growth in the percentage of the RRSP that came from the retiree’s own after-tax funds. A few people here have presented that math over the years.
As people here used to say everyone’s mileage may differ. Not everyone should abandon the RRSP for retirement funding even with the TFSA available.
Frankly, if the RRSP does not work for retirement planning then it should be canceled. But it does in fact work very well for a goodly percentage of workers I believe. The math tells me so. Of course mere math is no match for what people simply wish to believe so all can choose their own path.
#137 AGuyInVancouver on 03.01.19 at 12:35 pm
I wouldn’t use the pejorative phrase “bounced from job to job”. Three years as a BC Crown Prosecutor, seven years as Commissioner at the BC Treay Commission, member of the First Nations Finance Authority ( a not-for-profit that pools the public borrowing requirements of qualifying First Nations and issues bonds on the strength of a central credit) and finally elected Regional Chief of the BC Assembly of 1st nations.
In short, the background any government would want if they have committed to repairing relations with 1st Nations. However, it is also a background that would give her a strong sense of what is right and wrong, and the perception of the same.
Trudeau’s fault is campaigning as someone tansforative who would o politics deifferently, yet ending up acting like just another another backroom Quebec pol.
____
She had three years doing Law work, all those other things you list off amount to a string of quasi-jobs working on Native issues. Spelling each one out doesn’t make it any more impressive. Compare her Law experience to Lametti’s – it’s a total joke. Reading JWR’s Law qualifications takes 5 seconds, reading Lametti’s takes 5 minutes.
The fact is – she (along with many other Lib Ministers) were appointed for things other than merit. Best just to accept what seems to be the fact of the matter.
That said – I love how she’s handled this coercion attempt by Trudeau. She’s carrying around enough southern brass to start an ammunition factory.
Re : 136 The Triangle.
Butts at the Committee is huge. Did he resign because of something he did, or did he resign because his advice was not heeded.
He might be appearing to support JWR. No one knows.
He might be appearing to shed some light on what JWR said about him. Know one knows.
Or, he is coming into help JT. He needs the help.
One thing for sure, it’s Jiffy Pop.
For the record, I agree with the remediation agreement. I also think JWR’s definition of “pressure” might be a little bit too West coast.
All right Howard…. rip me a new one.
#133 dharma bum on 03.01.19 at 11
Maybe not such a bad thing. It could mean that here people are not too worried about politics because the system and parties are viewed as stable.
Contrast that to the Americans. Everything single thing has now become political. The other guys are plain evil and want to harm the country and so on.
Every forum I’m on it’s Democrat’s this republicans that. It’s doing nothing but fraction the country.
MF
Why do you focus more on Trump than Trudeau? Do you have a crush on him?
Trudeau does not move markets. – Garth
———————————————————————-
Garth I get it, your blog your final say. But you’ve allowed people including yourself to smash President Trump degrade him along with his family. And Lord help us if someone speaks negatively toward Mr Socks/Trudope.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cannabis-pot-pardons-blair-goodale-1.5038887
“Liberals move to pardon those convicted of old marijuana possession convictions.”
– How disgusting that these criminal drug addicts who knowingly broke the law are now given a free pass. They deserve nothing.
Breaking the law should have ramifications. Period.
MF
How’s JT doing? Everything ok?
#9 Dogman01 on 02.28.19 at 5:38 pm
#116 Renter’s Revenge! on 02.28.19 at 8:06 am
#156 IHCTD9 on 02.28.19 at 3:28 pm
Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline
New Book, Canadian authored, Disclaimer: I have it on hold at the local library not read it yet
____
I might have to pick that one up if it’s available as an E-book on Amazon for a decent price.
My gut also says that fertility will never again reach replacement levels once they drop below it. As I said before, (IMHO) there is some underlying force of nature at work here.
So our leadership decided today to load up both barrels and shoot our feet off and then unload into our collective faces.
China now threatening to stop buying Canadian ag exports which value about $5B because we holding their CEO. Then phones up trump and tells him we might not ratify USMCA agreement. All while the country teeters on the edge of a recession.
This is a sad sad day for Canada. We are going to look back and cry over this period if we can even survive it.
Economic ‘growth’ down the drain. In fact considering the real inflation we are shrinking at around 5-8 % yearly.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/newsalert-economic-growth-slowed-0-133457002.html
BoC to cut rates this year:
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/bank-canada-cut-rates-end-2019-capital-economics-152607141.html
loonie down the drain.
Lying cheating scumbag politicians to ‘improve affordability’ by introducing 30 years mortgages, insured by us, loans that the banks will otherwise never ever make.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/rbc-morneau-theres-no-magic-bullet-solve-millennial-housing-woes-161736116.html
Keep calm and keep debt slaving.
Diversifying out of Canada and it’s economy: The best decision I ever made.
Rex says it best..
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-the-trudeau-virtuecrats-come-tumbling-down?video_autoplay=true
Here is something you might not be aware of. Jody was given a written mandate by T2 which was detailed, outlining her government position in this capacity. I have read it recently, and Jody did exactly that was required given to her by the PM. How ironic can that be?
As I may have suggested…. just not ready…..
And you can thank me for the director of public prosecutions act… which is what caught the libs up to their old games…
#141 James on 03.01.19 at 1:00 pm
DELETED
___________________________________
That was sincere mon amie. Brush up on your latin!
#127 AB Boxster on 03.01.19 at 10:24 am
“… The fact that the country likely will not survive this latest incarnation of .…” Drama queen! :)
@ #24
…and for PM.
haha..such an entertaining post Garth!