And he's out

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
38,033
3,368
113
Pedneault intends to become Green Party co-leader again with Elizabeth May
May says she's happy he is returning to the role

Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Emilie Bergeron
Published Jan 27, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 1 minute read

OTTAWA — Jonathan Pedneault says he intends to return as co-leader of the Green Party of Canada.


He says that the party has asked him to return to co-leadership with Elizabeth May after he stepped back from the role in July.

Pedneault, who has worked for both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, says he chose to quit as co-leader after getting “life altering news” about his health.

After his situation improved, he says, he took advantage of the pause in his political life to get back to his previous work in conflict zones, which brought him to Syria.

Pedneault says the election of Donald Trump in the United States convinced him he “couldn’t stand on the sidelines anymore.”

May says she’s confident Green party members will vote to affirm Pedneault as co-leader again and she’s happy he is returning to the role.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
38,033
3,368
113
Liberal leadership rules ripe for abuse
Our next PM could be chosen by 14 year-olds who aren't Canadian citizens or by bot farms in Russia, China or India.


Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Jan 27, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read

A select group of Canadians, and some non-Canadians, who signed up at the Liberal Party website will choose our next prime minister. At 5 p.m. on Monday, the Liberals cut off registration for the election of their next party leader and our next PM.


Now, it’s all up to whoever signed up.

This is utterly insane that in 2025 the leader of a G7 country will be picked via an online voting system run by a political party with no external oversight even as we face the spectre of foreign interference.

Sure, the Liberals claim they have practices in place to ensure the integrity of the vote. The party that lessened voter identification rules for federal elections now says they will have “strict identification verifications” for their leadership vote.

We have a real problem with how parties, all parties, choose their leaders and candidates in this country and it needs to change. We need a push to ensure that any party wishing to contest in a federal election follows the same rules as Elections Canada sets out for a general election.


Anyone voting must be a Canadian citizen, they must be over the age of 18 and they must cast their ballot in the district where they live.

Instead, we face the real possibility that our next PM will be chosen by 14-year-old non-citizens of Canada or perhaps by Conservative Party members who signed up to become Liberals for this race. Given that the voting system, yet to be announced, will be online or telephone-based and that we could also have bot farms in Russia, India or China choosing our next prime minister.

This is not a problem just of the Liberal Party but since they are the ones currently in power, the ones changing leaders and therefore our PM, we need to be concerned.

“Before any individual is able to vote, they will be asked to confirm their eligibility as a Registered Liberal, including that they are not a member of any other federal political party,” a spokesperson for the Liberal Party said in response to questions.


It’s concerning that the Liberals seem more concerned that you are not a member of the NDP or Conservatives than whether you are a Canadian citizen. The party moved to “tighten” their rules to say that only citizens and permanent residents are able to vote in party leadership races but they have no way to vet this and ensure this is the case.

The party spokesperson did say that they have “the ability to remove registrants from our lists, and will be removing fraudulent profiles well in advance of any leadership vote” and that leadership campaign teams have the ability to challenge registrations. Still, compared to a democratic vote following national legal standards, the winner of the Liberal leadership will have no democratic legitimacy or mandate.


The last time we switched prime ministers in such a fashion was Paul Martin in 2003. The last time we selected a PM in this way who was not already a sitting MP was John Turner in 1984. Both of those examples were well before the general public knew about the problems of foreign interference in our elections.


We need to change the rules, for all parties and not just the Liberals. A few years ago, this is an idea I would have resisted but in the age of widespread foreign interference it is vital.

At the federal and provincial levels, we need to change our systems.

While it looks like Mark Carney is the frontrunner to become Liberal leader and PM, the truth is we don’t know. A group of rowdy Conservatives from Western Canada could be rigging the system to implant their person, or the dictators in Beijing could be picking theirs.

Neither scenario is good for Canada, but both are sadly possible.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
38,033
3,368
113
Power to call for parliamentary pause ’not absolute,’ challengers tell Federal Court
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Jim Bronskill
Published Feb 13, 2025 • 3 minute read

OTTAWA — Two Nova Scotia men are asking the Federal Court to declare the current suspension of Parliament illegal because there must be a “reasonable justification” for hitting the pause button.


Federal lawyers contend in response that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s advice to the Governor General to prorogue Parliament is not subject to review by the courts, and that the ultimate judgment rests with the voting public.

The court will hear arguments from both sides of the dispute during a two day-hearing that gets underway this morning.

In their application filed last month, David MacKinnon of Amherst, N.S., and Aris Lavranos of Halifax seek an order setting aside Trudeau’s decision to advise Gov. Gen. Mary Simon to exercise her power to prorogue Parliament until March 24.

MacKinnon and Lavranos also request a declaration that this session of Parliament has not been prorogued.

On Jan. 6, Trudeau fought back tears as he announced plans to resign as prime minister once a new Liberal leader is chosen.


Trudeau also said Simon had agreed to his request to prorogue Parliament, wiping the legislative slate clean and pausing the business of the House of Commons and Senate.

MacKinnon and Lavranos asked the court to expedite a hearing of their application for judicial review, citing the urgent U.S. threat of steep tariffs on goods from Canada.

They maintain that Trudeau’s decision effectively denies Parliament the ability to carry out its constitutional functions in the “exceptional and compelling” circumstances posed by the tariff threats.

“While a prime minister does have the power to advise the Governor General to prorogue Parliament, such power cannot be used in the absence of reasonable justification,” they say in their written submission to the court.


“It cannot be used to enable the government to ‘ride herd’ over Parliament. That, quite simply, would be tyranny, which must be firmly rejected by this Court.”

Section 5 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms requires that Parliament sit at least once every 12 months.

MacKinnon and Lavranos disagree with the notion that this is the only limit on prorogation powers, and argue in their application that the very existence of Section 5 “demonstrates that a prime minister’s discretion to advise prorogation is not absolute.”

“Prorogation is not universally available at his or her slightest whim,” they add.

The pair argue the section provides no guidance on when, and under what circumstances, a prorogation can lawfully begin. “That is an altogether different question,” they write.


MacKinnon and Lavranos also argue that unwritten constitutional principles indicate Parliament, not the executive, is supreme, and that to maintain authority to govern, the government must remain accountable to — and retain the confidence of _ Parliament.

In an affidavit filed with the court, MacKinnon, who has worked extensively as a lawyer, says there is no one in Parliament able to pass legislation or otherwise conduct business to assist the government in the event urgent legislative steps need to be taken.

“In particular, I am concerned that Parliament is unable to react to or otherwise deal with the looming, unprecedented economic and political threat that Canada faces from the U.S., as announced and repeatedly stated by President Donald Trump,” MacKinnon writes.


In its written submission to the court, the government asks that the case be dismissed.

Federal lawyers say the basis for the current prorogation and its duration are entirely consistent with the exercise of the power in Canada and that it has met the only constitutional requirement — that Parliament sit at least once every 12 months.

“During the brief period of the prorogation, only five scheduled sitting weeks of the House of Commons will have been interrupted and the executive branch of government has and will continue to function effectively,” the federal submission says.

“Any intervention by a court would be contrary to binding authority and unwarranted.”

The prime minister’s advice to the Governor General is given in keeping with a well-established constitutional convention and is not reviewable by the court, the federal submission adds.

“The government will be accountable to the House of Commons and, ultimately, the electorate for the decision to prorogue.”
 
  • Like
Reactions: Taxslave2

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
38,033
3,368
113
Liberal Party denies Ruby Dhalla translator for French debate
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Kyle Duggan
Published Feb 13, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 1 minute read

OTTAWA — The Liberal party will not accommodate leadership hopeful Ruby Dhalla’s request for a translator at the upcoming French debate in Montreal.


Party spokesman Parker Lund said only the candidates and the moderator will be allowed on the debate stage and no translation will be provided.

Dhalla said in a recent interview that her campaign planned to ask this week for a translator for the French debate because she is not fluent in the language.

But she plans to attend either way and will make opening and closing statemets in French.

Dhalla said in a statement on Thursday that she remains dedicated to learning French, which would be her fifth language.

“As leader, I will always champion a Canada where every citizen, regardless of language, is included in the conversation about our future,” she said. “While I acknowledge the Liberal party’s decision, I see this as an opportunity to demonstrate my commitment to representing all Canadians.”

The Liberals have two upcoming leadership debates planned, one in French on Feb. 24 and an English debate the following day.

The party will announce the new leader at an event in Ottawa on March 9.

According to the party’s recently published procedures, the advance voting period begins at 8 a.m. on Feb. 26 and runs through to the convention. Members can cast their preferential ballots in advance online.

The voting period on March 9 runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
27,351
10,130
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
The Liberal party will not accommodate leadership hopeful Ruby Dhalla’s request for a translator at the upcoming French debate in Montreal.
No deck stacking there, & Ruby Dhalla (posing herself as another “outsider” who might be a threat to Mark Carney’s coronation) who’s a former scandal ridden Liberal MP (you can Google your own research with respect to her Maids/Nannys and their withheld passports, etc…) will be handicapped ‘cuz she came up with the money to stay in the leadership race, but…it’s 2015-ish so…
1739624932959.jpeg
So from strictly Liberals voting for Liberals for Liberal leadership & ultimately to take the chair of the Prime Minister without a federal election…Carney is at 38% & Freebird is at 29%…so not much of a spread at only 9%…so gotta whittle away some of the candidates that might be pulling votes away from Trudeau’s anointed Carnage.
The Liberals have two upcoming leadership debates planned, one in French on Feb. 24 and an English debate the following day.
Of coarse, the first debate will take place in Montreal, & then the next debate will take place in…Montreal? ‘Cuz Montreal!

Currently, Mark Carney is to Trudeau what Kamala Harris was to Biden, parachuted in with Trudeau/Telford/Butts backing behind the scenes puppeteering because he’s such an “outsider”…? That smells like a five days expired trout in a rubber boot, but it’s what they’re selling.
1739627589672.jpeg
1739627806700.jpeg
(YouTube & “IS CARNEY CLOSING THE GAP? History shows this honeymoon won't last!”)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Taxslave2

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
115,015
13,455
113
Low Earth Orbit
No deck stacking there, & Ruby Dhalla (posing herself as another “outsider” who might be a threat to Mark Carney’s coronation) who’s a former scandal ridden Liberal MP (you can Google your own research with respect to her Maids/Nannys and their withheld passports, etc…) will be handicapped ‘cuz she came up with the money to stay in the leadership race, but…it’s 2015-ish so…
View attachment 27542
So from strictly Liberals voting for Liberals for Liberal leadership & ultimately to take the chair of the Prime Minister without a federal election…Carney is at 38% & Freebird is at 29%…so not much of a spread at only 9%…so gotta whittle away some of the candidates that might be pulling votes away from Trudeau’s anointed Carnage.

Of coarse, the first debate will take place in Montreal, & then the next debate will take place in…Montreal? ‘Cuz Montreal!

Currently, Mark Carney is to Trudeau what Kamala Harris was to Biden, parachuted in with Trudeau/Telford/Butts backing behind the scenes puppeteering because he’s such an “outsider”…? That smells like a five days expired trout in a rubber boot, but it’s what they’re selling.
View attachment 27543
View attachment 27544
(YouTube & “IS CARNEY CLOSING THE GAP? History shows this honeymoon won't last!”)
Who are you voting for?
 

Taxslave2

House Member
Aug 13, 2022
4,287
2,490
113
If I had a liberal membership card, I would vote for Freeland. She will be the easiest for Conservatives to beat. The less known are going to be booted by the party one way or another.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
27,351
10,130
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
Who are you voting for?
My Ninja pick was told he couldn’t run, I’m assuming ‘cuz of his Ottawa adjacent riding might detract from where Carney will be parachuted into…so I’ve got no dog in that hunt…& Trudeau/Telford/Butts didn’t want the competition for Carney’s limp wristed numbers once a real federal election eventually gets called some day.

(Nepean MP Chandra Arya says he's been informed by the Liberal Party of Canada he's not permitted to run in the leadership contest to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau)
MP Chandra Arya said in a social media post he was informed over the weekend by the Liberal party that he would not be permitted to take part in the leadership race.

While Arya said he was “carefully considering” his next steps, he said the decision to exclude him “raises significant questions about the legitimacy of the leadership race and, by extension, the legitimacy of the next Prime Minister of Canada.”

Hours later, leadership contender Dhalla appealed to Arya’s disappointed supporters, promising to be “very strong voice” for them and saying that she would become the first Canadian prime minister from the Indo-Canadian community, but to balance that out, because she’s not completely fluent in French, she won’t be allowed a translator for the French language debate, etc…😉
If I had a liberal membership card, I would vote for Freeland. She will be the easiest for Conservatives to beat. The less known are going to be booted by the party one way or another.
Crazily, after almost a decade of parroting Trudeau, Freeland’s only 9 points behind Carney in the Liberal polls. How different are they? Is Freeland an ‘outsider’ too? She was disconnected from Trudeau sort of between the day she was suppose to present their failure of a budget announcement, and the day Trudeau announce his intention to resign at some future date, etc…?
 
  • Like
Reactions: petros

Taxslave2

House Member
Aug 13, 2022
4,287
2,490
113
While Arya said he was “carefully considering” his next steps, he said the decision to exclude him “raises significant questions about the legitimacy of the leadership race and, by extension, the legitimacy of the next Prime Minister of Canada.”
Whoever said it was to be a race? IT was always intended to be a coronation. The only reason for the pretense of a race was to garner $350000 from as many wannabes as possible.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Serryah

Taxslave2

House Member
Aug 13, 2022
4,287
2,490
113
Crazily, after almost a decade of parroting Trudeau, Freeland’s only 9 points behind Carney in the Liberal polls. How different are they? Is Freeland an ‘outsider’ too? She was disconnected from Trudeau sort of between the day she was suppose to present their failure of a budget announcement, and the day Trudeau announce his intention to resign at some future date, etc…?
Don't forget these polls are for party members only. Freeland has had a few years to buy support.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
27,351
10,130
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
Canada PM Trudeau to announce resignation as early as Monday, Globe and Mail reports

I'm sure the anti-Trudeau people will be throwing New Years Eve level parties at this.
…& months later still PM Trudeau is still at it. The prime minister’s position is unchanged constitutionally. He is presumed to hold the confidence of the House of Commons until the House (that’s prorogue’d) says otherwise…which it can’t, because it’s prorogue’d.
At this stage of his political career, a Justin Trudeau press conference should be like living next to the highway. With little more than two weeks left in office, the prime minister’s musings should be irrelevant background noise, with no spending implications whatsoever…but…

Yet the announcement on Wednesday in Montreal that the federal government plans to hand over nearly $4 billion to a consortium to develop high-speed rail between Quebec City and Toronto was a reminder that Trudeau’s still got it when it comes to brazen disregard for the taxpayer.
But he has sort of resigned and it is clear that his government would fall had he not prorogued the House. As such, the “caretaker convention” should be in place, discouraging a lame-duck government from blowing a hole in the next lot’s budget. This is a clear violation of that convention. Oh well…
Trudeau is so dazzled by the graphite and glitter of the high-speed rail project that he obviously cares little for such niceties.

He was in his element in Montreal, waxing lyrical about Canada lagging behind as the only G7 nation without high-speed rail. He identified the winning Alto consortium — Atkins Réalis (formerly SNC Lavalin😉),
1740008331671.jpeg
Air Canada and French train operator SNCF Voyageur — that will now co-develop the plan to bring to life a line connecting Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, Laval, Montreal, Ottawa, Peterborough and Toronto.
The dedicated 1,000-kilometre electrified route would allow trains to travel at 300 kilometres an hour, halving the time it takes to get from Montreal to Toronto currently. Trudeau said it will improve the bonds between cities, raise productivity, reduce costs for businesses, boost inter-provincial tourism, take cars off the road, induce weight loss and reverse aging.

Transport Minister Anita Anand (who will have held that cabinet position for 60 days now) was on hand to recite the first verse from the Book of Trudeau: i.e., “We can’t afford not to (spend).”

“How could they (the next government) not invest in the potential to add $35 billion a year to the economy once this project is complete?” she asked, rhetorically.

The real question is: Even if we had the fiscal space (which we don’t), it’s not your fiscal space, so what gives you the right to commit billions of dollars when you won’t even be in government to sign the phase one contracts?
1740008908903.jpeg
(Is this one of those “10% for the limp guy!” Things?)

PS: That’s not 4 Billion $$$ for the monorail, it’s $4,000,000,000.00 towards the consulting towards the high speed rail. The $3.8 billion earmarked by the government has been announced but not approved by Parliament. That approval will have to be forthcoming before contracts are signed. Even if approved, that money is for consultants who will spend the next four to five years deciding where to locate stations and track. Not one shovel will break ground. Offer not valid outside of the Laurentian Triangle.
(YouTube & “Trudeau’s Announces $80B BRIBE as His FINAL ACT”)
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
115,015
13,455
113
Low Earth Orbit
…& months later still PM Trudeau is still at it. The prime minister’s position is unchanged constitutionally. He is presumed to hold the confidence of the House of Commons until the House (that’s prorogue’d) says otherwise…which it can’t, because it’s prorogue’d.
At this stage of his political career, a Justin Trudeau press conference should be like living next to the highway. With little more than two weeks left in office, the prime minister’s musings should be irrelevant background noise, with no spending implications whatsoever…but…

Yet the announcement on Wednesday in Montreal that the federal government plans to hand over nearly $4 billion to a consortium to develop high-speed rail between Quebec City and Toronto was a reminder that Trudeau’s still got it when it comes to brazen disregard for the taxpayer.
But he has sort of resigned and it is clear that his government would fall had he not prorogued the House. As such, the “caretaker convention” should be in place, discouraging a lame-duck government from blowing a hole in the next lot’s budget. This is a clear violation of that convention. Oh well…
Trudeau is so dazzled by the graphite and glitter of the high-speed rail project that he obviously cares little for such niceties.

He was in his element in Montreal, waxing lyrical about Canada lagging behind as the only G7 nation without high-speed rail. He identified the winning Alto consortium — Atkins Réalis (formerly SNC Lavalin😉),
View attachment 27611
Air Canada and French train operator SNCF Voyageur — that will now co-develop the plan to bring to life a line connecting Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, Laval, Montreal, Ottawa, Peterborough and Toronto.
The dedicated 1,000-kilometre electrified route would allow trains to travel at 300 kilometres an hour, halving the time it takes to get from Montreal to Toronto currently. Trudeau said it will improve the bonds between cities, raise productivity, reduce costs for businesses, boost inter-provincial tourism, take cars off the road, induce weight loss and reverse aging.

Transport Minister Anita Anand (who will have held that cabinet position for 60 days now) was on hand to recite the first verse from the Book of Trudeau: i.e., “We can’t afford not to (spend).”

“How could they (the next government) not invest in the potential to add $35 billion a year to the economy once this project is complete?” she asked, rhetorically.

The real question is: Even if we had the fiscal space (which we don’t), it’s not your fiscal space, so what gives you the right to commit billions of dollars when you won’t even be in government to sign the phase one contracts?
View attachment 27612
(Is this one of those “10% for the limp guy!” Things?)

PS: That’s not 4 Billion $$$ for the monorail, it’s $4,000,000,000.00 towards the consulting towards the high speed rail. The $3.8 billion earmarked by the government has been announced but not approved by Parliament. That approval will have to be forthcoming before contracts are signed. Even if approved, that money is for consultants who will spend the next four to five years deciding where to locate stations and track. Not one shovel will break ground. Offer not valid outside of the Laurentian Triangle.
(YouTube & “Trudeau’s Announces $80B BRIBE as His FINAL ACT”)
How much for Bombardier to build the trains?
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
27,351
10,130
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
Justin Trudeau, who in theory, has less than a month to go as prime minister, and yet, on Wednesday, he announced an out-of-the-blue plan to build a high-speed train between Toronto and Quebec City. A government press release said it will be “Canada’s largest ever infrastructure project,” will be called “Alto” and will cost at least $3.9 billion just for the “co-development phase.”

These are not the actions of a caretaker government quietly running out the clock. In fact, since Trudeau prorogued Parliament on Jan. 7, his government has gone on a spree of giving out handouts, making appointments and planning foreign junkets.

As one source told CBC last month, Trudeau would not be leaving until every last vacant seat in the Senate was filled, ensuring that the next government would face an Upper Chamber composed almost entirely of Liberal appointees.

And so, on Feb. 7, Trudeau appointed three more, adding to two other senators he appointed amidst the political turmoil that led to his announced departure.

Attorney General Arif Virani — who last week became the latest cabinet minister to say he’s not running for re-election —
1740058143238.jpeg— has also stayed the course on judicial appointments. On Jan. 27 he appointed a new Federal Court judge, as well as new judges in Nunavut, New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec.
 
  • Angry
Reactions: Taxslave2

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
115,015
13,455
113
Low Earth Orbit
Justin Trudeau, who in theory, has less than a month to go as prime minister, and yet, on Wednesday, he announced an out-of-the-blue plan to build a high-speed train between Toronto and Quebec City. A government press release said it will be “Canada’s largest ever infrastructure project,” will be called “Alto” and will cost at least $3.9 billion just for the “co-development phase.”

These are not the actions of a caretaker government quietly running out the clock. In fact, since Trudeau prorogued Parliament on Jan. 7, his government has gone on a spree of giving out handouts, making appointments and planning foreign junkets.

As one source told CBC last month, Trudeau would not be leaving until every last vacant seat in the Senate was filled, ensuring that the next government would face an Upper Chamber composed almost entirely of Liberal appointees.

And so, on Feb. 7, Trudeau appointed three more, adding to two other senators he appointed amidst the political turmoil that led to his announced departure.

Attorney General Arif Virani — who last week became the latest cabinet minister to say he’s not running for re-election —
View attachment 27625— has also stayed the course on judicial appointments. On Jan. 27 he appointed a new Federal Court judge, as well as new judges in Nunavut, New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.



SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED FEBRUARY 18, 2025

Prospectus

U.S.$8,000,000,000

Debt Securities



LOGO





Canada

Canada intends to offer up to U.S.$8,000,000,000 of its debt securities from time to time in amounts and at prices and on terms to be determined at the time of sale and to be set forth in supplements to this prospectus. You should read this prospectus and supplements carefully before you invest.

The debt securities will constitute direct unconditional obligations of Canada. The payment of the principal of and interest on the debt securities will constitute a charge on and be payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada.

For each offer and sale of debt securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement, and if applicable, a pricing supplement with the specific terms of each issue.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.


What was the $8B for
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
27,351
10,130
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
How did we get here, and at what cost to Canadians beyond the Quebec-Ontario corridor? Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, now a resigned leader holding onto power until a replacement is chosen, committed Canada to a massive infrastructure project that will lock future governments into obligations that are difficult, if not impossible, to unwind. Sources indicate that this $40 billion contract includes clauses specifically preventing future governments from canceling the deal without incurring steep financial penalties.

The decision bypassed proper parliamentary scrutiny. How does a caretaker prime minister get away with making irreversible financial commitments on this scale? Where was the oversight? Where was the debate? Where was parliament?…oh, yeah, right…prorogue’d at Trudeau’s request.
Canada is running the largest deficit in its history. Our national debt exceeds $1.2 trillion. Interest payments alone cost taxpayers over $54 billion annually, more than we spend on health care transfers to provinces. Inflation pressures households. Small businesses struggle. Housing is out of reach for many. Our currency weakens against the U.S. dollar. In the midst of this financial storm, the government locks taxpayers into a megaproject that serves two provinces?
1740243977713.jpeg
History teaches that infrastructure can stimulate economies, but only when the investments align with broad national priorities. The Trans-Canada Highway united the country. The St. Lawrence Seaway opened markets. This rail project is not comparable. It binds Toronto and Montreal more closely but leaves the rest of Canada watching from the sidelines.
1740245460190.jpeg
We need leadership that prioritizes projects with national reach — energy corridors, northern development, agricultural infrastructure, trade routes to the U.S. and Asia. Instead, we are shackled to a megaproject driven by electoral math, not economic necessity. Where is the traditional voter base for the Liberals located again? Future governments will inherit this project regardless of shifting economic conditions or public opinion. It is a textbook case of political entrenchment.

Quebec has repeatedly blocked pipelines that would have allowed Alberta’s oil and gas to flow eastward, strengthening energy independence and creating jobs nationwide. Yet, taxpayers from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia are now expected to fund an electric rail line to boost Quebec’s commuter convenience. The double standard is glaring.
1740245528485.jpeg
Western energy? Too divisive, too dirty. High-speed trains in Quebec? Visionary, green progress. A prestige rail project will not improve our competitive standing. It will not lower energy costs. It will not strengthen supply chains. It will not bring back manufacturing jobs. It is a vanity project designed to buy votes.