And how exactly should we act? You paint a dire, if not accurate portrait of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - but what’s a well-meaning and hopeful person meant to do? I ask honestly and genuinely.
There is a lot of work to do. We can't look to any politician to save us, for one, and we can't imagine that protecting Canada is going to happen through some kind of military fantasy. We need a made-in-Canada industrial policy that brings manufacturing back, that de-emphasizes the importance of oil and gas and that removes some of our reliance on the US economy. We need price controls and public housing. We need to stop worshiping at the altar of profit and actually seize much of the profits that are being made off our backs.
A nuclear deterrent would only be one part of it. We’d require security guarantees from other nations alongside a massive conventional buildup in any case
Maybe get involved at every single political level you can because currently there are laws preventing Elon musks money from buying our politicians but that could quickly change, and then it will be an even steeper fight.
Neoliberalism is so embedded in the way people think about the world around them that the first step is getting people to realize that it’s not the natural state of the world; it has been pushed for decades so others can profit, and we collectively need to learn to imagine something different. After that, we need to find people who are capable of that sort of thinking and imagination to run as provincial and federal representatives to change the system, and, while we work to find them, we need to push our current politicians and political parties to start investing in people again and stop selling us austerity.
I so agree with the point about following the logic of the status quo leads to O’Leary land and I think you can argue that people — shitty it not— who double down on it are at the very least reading the tea leaves.
It would have been nice to see a few facts to bolster your argument. How exactly was Canada's sovereignty sold? As a small market, we have limited options. For example, it is not possible to have an auto industry here where we make the entire car. Our market is just too small and our demands for variety too great. Our only option was to integrate with a larger market. So we made the best deal we could at the time. In retrospect, the US has turned out to be a much worse partner than anyone could have imagined. Maybe even bad enough that Europe would be a better partner. However, it's hard to imagine how we can be part of the European auto supply chain when there is an ocean between us.
I knew the program would make furious so I ignored it. CBC billed it differently: ‘what do you think about Trump’s 51st state comments’ but it’s utterly depressing to think O’Leary was fit for the program. Glad I ignored it.
Get your Possession Acquisition License, buy a NATO 5.56 chambered rifle and head to a range for practise. It’s that time.
Why does CBC treat a takeover of our country as a mere matter of “pro and con”?
International law, psychological identity, tradition - all indicate that “takeovers” are inherently violent aggressions that are universally feared and hated. Except by the CBC, which chooses to pretend that it's “just another (value-free) idea”. In no other country IN THE WORLD would anyone treat such an idea as a mere neutral proposition! Ukraine is fighting to the death against this very issue right now! Yet CBC plods along, presumably supporting the views of its masters (a CONservative board, likely, but who knows, is there some American direction somewhere?).
This irresponsible journalism is why millions of Canadians who used to rely on it, now view CBC as a completely untrustworthy source of opinion or news.
Wow! Nora, this was a powerful piece, and there is one particular quote that resonated with me: "Capitalism and nationalism have been bedfellows for a century but they are not natural bedfellows. As global alliances unravel and the global economy starts bending in response to trade restrictions, Canada is in for a rocky ride."
And how exactly should we act? You paint a dire, if not accurate portrait of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - but what’s a well-meaning and hopeful person meant to do? I ask honestly and genuinely.
There is a lot of work to do. We can't look to any politician to save us, for one, and we can't imagine that protecting Canada is going to happen through some kind of military fantasy. We need a made-in-Canada industrial policy that brings manufacturing back, that de-emphasizes the importance of oil and gas and that removes some of our reliance on the US economy. We need price controls and public housing. We need to stop worshiping at the altar of profit and actually seize much of the profits that are being made off our backs.
I wrote a book about this! https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459753105-the-social-safety-net
I mean, I think a military solution has to be part of it. We can’t rebuild our economy if they decide to just stroll in and take it
A military solution would involve a nuclear deterrent.
Yes
What are our chances of achieving a deterrent without a US invasion to prevent it?
A nuclear deterrent would only be one part of it. We’d require security guarantees from other nations alongside a massive conventional buildup in any case
Maybe get involved at every single political level you can because currently there are laws preventing Elon musks money from buying our politicians but that could quickly change, and then it will be an even steeper fight.
Neoliberalism is so embedded in the way people think about the world around them that the first step is getting people to realize that it’s not the natural state of the world; it has been pushed for decades so others can profit, and we collectively need to learn to imagine something different. After that, we need to find people who are capable of that sort of thinking and imagination to run as provincial and federal representatives to change the system, and, while we work to find them, we need to push our current politicians and political parties to start investing in people again and stop selling us austerity.
I so agree with the point about following the logic of the status quo leads to O’Leary land and I think you can argue that people — shitty it not— who double down on it are at the very least reading the tea leaves.
It would have been nice to see a few facts to bolster your argument. How exactly was Canada's sovereignty sold? As a small market, we have limited options. For example, it is not possible to have an auto industry here where we make the entire car. Our market is just too small and our demands for variety too great. Our only option was to integrate with a larger market. So we made the best deal we could at the time. In retrospect, the US has turned out to be a much worse partner than anyone could have imagined. Maybe even bad enough that Europe would be a better partner. However, it's hard to imagine how we can be part of the European auto supply chain when there is an ocean between us.
No positives from annexation. Kevin Leary is a toadstool who was placed on a pedestal because of his wealth.
There is no positive. Stop giving air to the orange buffoons lip-spittle!
Try starting at the top and then reading line by line down the page.
Not you, network news really. Keep on writing and informing!
I knew the program would make furious so I ignored it. CBC billed it differently: ‘what do you think about Trump’s 51st state comments’ but it’s utterly depressing to think O’Leary was fit for the program. Glad I ignored it.
Get your Possession Acquisition License, buy a NATO 5.56 chambered rifle and head to a range for practise. It’s that time.
Why does CBC treat a takeover of our country as a mere matter of “pro and con”?
International law, psychological identity, tradition - all indicate that “takeovers” are inherently violent aggressions that are universally feared and hated. Except by the CBC, which chooses to pretend that it's “just another (value-free) idea”. In no other country IN THE WORLD would anyone treat such an idea as a mere neutral proposition! Ukraine is fighting to the death against this very issue right now! Yet CBC plods along, presumably supporting the views of its masters (a CONservative board, likely, but who knows, is there some American direction somewhere?).
This irresponsible journalism is why millions of Canadians who used to rely on it, now view CBC as a completely untrustworthy source of opinion or news.
Wow! Nora, this was a powerful piece, and there is one particular quote that resonated with me: "Capitalism and nationalism have been bedfellows for a century but they are not natural bedfellows. As global alliances unravel and the global economy starts bending in response to trade restrictions, Canada is in for a rocky ride."