Let me provide the domestic Davos speech. It is really not that hard to understand.
The Trump administration is a mobster organization. No agreement is worth anything and can get changed at any time. There are no guardrails or judicial checks to keep things constrained, the only check left is the stock market. And even this one is manipulated and exploited through various predictions with insider information.
So, it is the same with the bridge. It was an opportunity for extortion. What leverage does Canadian government have? None. Go to court? What court? Who is going to go enforce whatever judicial decision? It used to be that countries would be bound by their word, because that would be the only trust there is. That is gone. And it is not coming back.
As a citizen of course I want to tell the U.S. to take a long walk off a short bridge. The PM would probably like to tell felon 47 the same thing. In his case he must try to do what is best for Canada having inherited this deal with a lunatic. We win by having the bridge open which is good for our auto workers and other businesses. We lose something as it will take us longer to recoup our investment. The U.S. however loses big time as this really yet again highlights to the whole world what an untrustworthy and corrupt country they have become which I think will be a very longstanding label. However as citizens we can voice our displeasure by not spending our money in the USA.
I normally enjoy your writing but I think on this one you are way off - in normal circumstances caving in the bridge deal would be seen as a huge political misstep, but we are not in normal circumstances. The Gordie Howe Bridge is not the “hill to die on”, but rather could be viewed as a chess parable in giving up a decent piece in order to gain a more significant advantage later on. The thing to keep in mind is that in economic and geopolitical terms Carney is playing chess while Trump, in his purely transactional way, is playing checkers. It wouldn’t be prudent, in my view, to give Trump the reason for him to upend the table at this point in the game.
And lastly, please don’t ever compare the Carney government to any of the J Trudeau governments - Carney is attending university while Justin was merely in kindergarten.
Very much agree with everything you've said. The one thing that I agree with is that Carney and Team Carney need to do a much better job at communications. We still don't know him very well and we've been dating for over a year. If I am going to commit, and I dearly want to, I have to see more of what makes him tick. "Forward Guidance" needs to be regular, but with tempo changes so that we can get the read of the man and his thoughts. What/who does he read. Hockey, football, basketball or baseball? What makes him laugh? Socks, barefoot, or shoes in the house? Let's give high government office a makeover such than any new leader of any nation would feel out of place not taking the Canada questionnaire. I think the answers by PP would be icky, but Erin O'Toole might be cool. Anyway, great comment!
This is a perfect reason to justify cutting back (and not just a little) on F-35s. If Trump is going to dishonor contracts worth billions, it's hard to justify giving the US more billions for aircraft that won't be delivered on time nor on budget - if at all - because "Trump". Announce the purchase of a large quantity of Grippens and then let them wait to see if more F-35s will be bought (or not).
Ok ok. I take your point- a little over dramatic but I do see your point here. In my opinion, this is one of a whole series of issues that will / continue to roll out, and strategic decisions have to be made on the basis of “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. So I’m not as worked up about how it went down. I like your idea for a Davos speech for Canadians…something that addresses the bigger picture - so we all are reminded how well we are doing, in the face of the disgraceful, erratic, US administration right now.
I'm not sure he can give the speech you want. "I am trying to safeguard Canada's sovereignty and economy as best I can until the lunatic down south is gone in 2.5 years. Until then I am trying to avoid either making severe concessions to him or pointlessly antagonizing him" is not something he can really say without pointlessly antagonizing Trump.
And in addition: “I am preparing Canada and like minded countries for a world where the US is a main source for political instability for decades to come.”
It so pisses me off that Carney seems to kowtow to Trump on the digital services Tax, the CanCon tax, the bridge. And on top of that the changes he has made to the senate appointments, the lawful access the environment, and so many other things. I voted Liberal because I felt that Carney would be better than Poilievre and still do, but I am so disappointed in him right now. Also I liked what Justin was trying to achieve.
I would recommend reading the Wall Street Journal article on how Carney organized the European allies to create at least somewhat of a counterweight to the Trump mobster administration.
The Wall Street Journal article that you referred to is absolutely excellent. It should be compulsive reading for anybody who is interested in how Mr. Carney is strategizing. There is a tremendous amount of interesting detail in that article most of which, in fact, practically all of which was not reported by our mainstream media.
I am totally on board with PMMCs efforts to build a new order of middle sized countries, And our defense industry, I just wish he wasn't quite so forgiving of trumps breaking agreements.
I don’t think PMMC is forgiving at all. The problem is that there is no way to enforce any agreements between countries. With businesses it is simple, you go to court and then you do no longer business with each other.
Between countries it is a lot harder. There is no court and if there is an arbitration element, there is no way to enforce it. That’s why The US breaking its word will do damage for decades to come. But there is nothing to be gained by being vocal about this. The current US administration and governing party has no shame.
First, your piece has the feel of a rant-waaaay to much emotional spin on the information you've presented.
Second, you dismiss the public optics of tit for tat politics (bridge in exchange for getting out of the F35 tranche) as being inconsequential.
20 years of journalism taught me: Never underestimate the power of symbolism when dealing with public policy.
Who we are screwed by, VS. who we buy stuff from is a grassroots symbol most Canadians can relate to.
It's clear the feds have given something, to get something. What that 'something' is remains to be seen. But dont crap on the folks who got that bridge opened. If the last year is any indication, Carney will have find a way for us to come out ahead on the deal, one way or another.
Let me provide the domestic Davos speech. It is really not that hard to understand.
The Trump administration is a mobster organization. No agreement is worth anything and can get changed at any time. There are no guardrails or judicial checks to keep things constrained, the only check left is the stock market. And even this one is manipulated and exploited through various predictions with insider information.
So, it is the same with the bridge. It was an opportunity for extortion. What leverage does Canadian government have? None. Go to court? What court? Who is going to go enforce whatever judicial decision? It used to be that countries would be bound by their word, because that would be the only trust there is. That is gone. And it is not coming back.
🎯
As a citizen of course I want to tell the U.S. to take a long walk off a short bridge. The PM would probably like to tell felon 47 the same thing. In his case he must try to do what is best for Canada having inherited this deal with a lunatic. We win by having the bridge open which is good for our auto workers and other businesses. We lose something as it will take us longer to recoup our investment. The U.S. however loses big time as this really yet again highlights to the whole world what an untrustworthy and corrupt country they have become which I think will be a very longstanding label. However as citizens we can voice our displeasure by not spending our money in the USA.
I normally enjoy your writing but I think on this one you are way off - in normal circumstances caving in the bridge deal would be seen as a huge political misstep, but we are not in normal circumstances. The Gordie Howe Bridge is not the “hill to die on”, but rather could be viewed as a chess parable in giving up a decent piece in order to gain a more significant advantage later on. The thing to keep in mind is that in economic and geopolitical terms Carney is playing chess while Trump, in his purely transactional way, is playing checkers. It wouldn’t be prudent, in my view, to give Trump the reason for him to upend the table at this point in the game.
And lastly, please don’t ever compare the Carney government to any of the J Trudeau governments - Carney is attending university while Justin was merely in kindergarten.
Very much agree with everything you've said. The one thing that I agree with is that Carney and Team Carney need to do a much better job at communications. We still don't know him very well and we've been dating for over a year. If I am going to commit, and I dearly want to, I have to see more of what makes him tick. "Forward Guidance" needs to be regular, but with tempo changes so that we can get the read of the man and his thoughts. What/who does he read. Hockey, football, basketball or baseball? What makes him laugh? Socks, barefoot, or shoes in the house? Let's give high government office a makeover such than any new leader of any nation would feel out of place not taking the Canada questionnaire. I think the answers by PP would be icky, but Erin O'Toole might be cool. Anyway, great comment!
A. Thus is NOT Carney’s Bridge
B. You can’t negotiate with a Pedophile self appointed King Who operates as a lawless gangster
This is a perfect reason to justify cutting back (and not just a little) on F-35s. If Trump is going to dishonor contracts worth billions, it's hard to justify giving the US more billions for aircraft that won't be delivered on time nor on budget - if at all - because "Trump". Announce the purchase of a large quantity of Grippens and then let them wait to see if more F-35s will be bought (or not).
Yup governing is hard.
Ok ok. I take your point- a little over dramatic but I do see your point here. In my opinion, this is one of a whole series of issues that will / continue to roll out, and strategic decisions have to be made on the basis of “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. So I’m not as worked up about how it went down. I like your idea for a Davos speech for Canadians…something that addresses the bigger picture - so we all are reminded how well we are doing, in the face of the disgraceful, erratic, US administration right now.
I'm not sure he can give the speech you want. "I am trying to safeguard Canada's sovereignty and economy as best I can until the lunatic down south is gone in 2.5 years. Until then I am trying to avoid either making severe concessions to him or pointlessly antagonizing him" is not something he can really say without pointlessly antagonizing Trump.
Bingo!
And in addition: “I am preparing Canada and like minded countries for a world where the US is a main source for political instability for decades to come.”
It so pisses me off that Carney seems to kowtow to Trump on the digital services Tax, the CanCon tax, the bridge. And on top of that the changes he has made to the senate appointments, the lawful access the environment, and so many other things. I voted Liberal because I felt that Carney would be better than Poilievre and still do, but I am so disappointed in him right now. Also I liked what Justin was trying to achieve.
I would recommend reading the Wall Street Journal article on how Carney organized the European allies to create at least somewhat of a counterweight to the Trump mobster administration.
The Wall Street Journal article that you referred to is absolutely excellent. It should be compulsive reading for anybody who is interested in how Mr. Carney is strategizing. There is a tremendous amount of interesting detail in that article most of which, in fact, practically all of which was not reported by our mainstream media.
It is indeed strange that Canadian media has not picked up the WSJ story in a more comprehensive way.
I am totally on board with PMMCs efforts to build a new order of middle sized countries, And our defense industry, I just wish he wasn't quite so forgiving of trumps breaking agreements.
I don’t think PMMC is forgiving at all. The problem is that there is no way to enforce any agreements between countries. With businesses it is simple, you go to court and then you do no longer business with each other.
Between countries it is a lot harder. There is no court and if there is an arbitration element, there is no way to enforce it. That’s why The US breaking its word will do damage for decades to come. But there is nothing to be gained by being vocal about this. The current US administration and governing party has no shame.
Did you ever consider that perhaps you sometimes let the other guy take a victory lap before you jump in and tell him you ate his lunch.
The deal is to share net profit after we get our payments. Not much of a concession.
Media reports that its before debt payments, which is operating profit.
Elbows up, Evan. Did you ever see an ocean wave that did not have ups and downs?
Mmmm. You've really missed the boat on this one.
First, your piece has the feel of a rant-waaaay to much emotional spin on the information you've presented.
Second, you dismiss the public optics of tit for tat politics (bridge in exchange for getting out of the F35 tranche) as being inconsequential.
20 years of journalism taught me: Never underestimate the power of symbolism when dealing with public policy.
Who we are screwed by, VS. who we buy stuff from is a grassroots symbol most Canadians can relate to.
It's clear the feds have given something, to get something. What that 'something' is remains to be seen. But dont crap on the folks who got that bridge opened. If the last year is any indication, Carney will have find a way for us to come out ahead on the deal, one way or another.
Definitely think we caved, which makes me think we will cave on CUSMA.
One thing is for sure though, having the bridge issue resolved would make my job of selling Windsor leaving Canada to join the US so much easier
Davis speech for Canadians is already being done, it is his Forward Guidance videos, he divides it into more digestible chunks this way.
Isn't said bridge scheduled to open on July 27? Let's see what happens then before we have a meltdown.