Battery Plants

Volkswagen electric vehicle battery plant.

With a little help from the Conference Board of Canada, the Financial Post is offering a self-defeating straw man on the issue of government funding for battery plants. Here’s what they write: Picking battery plants to solve Canada’s productivity crisis ‘dangerous road,’ report says. Better approach would be to cut taxes and let markets find…

Supply Management

Cows

The Globe and Mail, ever the watchful agent protecting corporate interests, published a column arguing that Canada’s supply management system for eggs and dairy should be ended (paywall, archive). I love how people think removing supply management will make dairy and eggs cheaper. They think prices are being artificially inflated, but that’s true only when…

Private Health Care is Here

Re: the McLeans article on health care in Canada titled Private Health Care is Here The more we have private health care in Canada, the more we create two types of victims: those who have to go into debt to afford the now-private service, and those who live with prolonged pain and suffering because they…

The Monarchy

King Charles

The question on Reddit: Are you in favor of abolishing the Constitutional Monarchy system? Do you feel a Federal Republic would make more sense, if not which system would make more sense? One good thing about a constitutional monarchy: the right of the monarch to abolish parliament or to refuse to give approval to a…

The NDP

Responding to this article in the Globe and the associated Reddit thread. “If an election were called tomorrow, the dynamics of the campaign could well push the NDP ahead of the Liberals.” The NDP is forcing the Liberals to move on pharmacare and dental care. As these programs expand (which they will, because Canadians want…

EV Charging

Charging cars at the streetside

The Canadian government has just passed legislation requiring that all new vehicles sold in Canada by 2035 be emissions-free, which for all practical purposes means that they must be electric. While this is not ideal (there should be much more of an emphasis on public transportation) it is necessary. Leaving aside the climate change sceptics…

Interest Rates

We just moved to a 5% interest rate here in Canada. The reason, we are told, is to combat inflation. There certainly does appear to be inflation; prices are noticeably higher after the pandemic. But are interest rate hikes the cure? The argument is that inflation is caused by increased spending, especially on debt-funded high-ticket…

The Dock Workers

Dockworkers wearing picket signs at the front gate of the dock.

There are continued calls to legislate the BC dock workers back to work. And of course employers don’t need to negotiate; they just need to wait for the federal government to make the move. But why do we always opt for ‘legislate them back to work’? Why is it never ‘legislate the companies to pay…

Making Canada Better

Canadian flag and trees

This is a response to a thread on Reddit: What’s something that Canadians should work on in order to make Canada a better country? – we need to address the creeping privatization of public health care. Governments are underfunding the current system and using this as an excuse to extend private services. – housing is…

An Exercise in Deception

US Federal Spending, per Scott Galloway

In his newsletter Scott Galloway writes the following: The only thing that’s passed for bipartisanship over the past four decades is reckless spending. Democrats want more social spending, Republicans want lower taxes. OK, let’s compromise — do both and fuck over our grandkids. He also writes: Let’s dispense with one of the most tired false…