Liberal Minority Government 2025 - ???

[Cloud Cover]

Speaking of rare earth... very informative and explains why we're reliant on China:

I wonder how long it will take for the Feds and the B.C. government to try and stop hobby and part time guys like me from sawing our own timber and selling it on marketplace as part of an all out effort to keep the unionized mills afloat.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I wonder how long it will take for the Feds and the B.C. government to try and stop hobby and part time guys like me from sawing our own timber and selling it on marketplace as part of an all out effort to keep the unionized mills afloat.

BC's allowable annual cut is 60M m3... we can cut that every year without endangering the eco-system.

For many years we're been undercutting by up to 30M m3 due to economic, policy, environmental and consultation issues.

You'd need a couple of hundred more sawmills, going full speed 24/7, to catch up and that's not going to happen because they've all left for Alberta and the southern USA.

So I think the 'back yard loggers' are pretty safe

 

[Cloud Cover]

We also don’t provide the same products. We’ve been cutting 200 year old Douglas Fir in posts from 4inches to 10 inches and as long as 16’. You’d never get that from Home Depot lol.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/david-eby-forestry-industry-trump-tariffs-9.6938080

 

[Altair]

Speaking of rare earth... very informative and explains why we're reliant on China:

I'm glad this person is saying exactly what I've been saying.

Chinese are doing it because it's extremely dirty.

Chinese are doing it because they tossed environmental standards and emission standards in the trash

Chinese can produce it for extremely cheap prices because of those two reasons, and nobody in the west is going to be able to compete without massive subsidies to do it.

Advanced economies are cooked without Chinese REE.

All this to say, not buying Chinese this or Chinese that for fears of enriching the enemy, that boat sailed a long time ago.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I'm glad this person is saying exactly what I've been saying.

Chinese are doing it because it's extremely dirty.

Chinese are doing it because they tossed environmental standards and emission standards in the trash

Chinese can produce it for extremely cheap prices because of those two reasons, and nobody in the west is going to be able to compete without massive subsidies to do it.

Advanced economies are cooked without Chinese REE.

All this to say, not buying Chinese this or Chinese that for fears of enriching the enemy, that boat sailed a long time ago.

More importantly, the West has largely outsourced its carbon footprint so our politicians can pontificate about the duty of others to safeguard the planet, and get re-elected by their ill informed electorates

 

[Eaglelord17]

More importantly, the West has largely outsourced its carbon footprint so our politicians can pontificate about the duty of others to safeguard the planet, and get re-elected by their ill informed electorates

False environmentalism. Remember somehow it is better for the planet to import goods made with no environmental controls shipped by super tankers which burn more more fuel than anything else out there, than it is to make it in country with environmental controls and ship a short distance.

The real story there is outsourcing our lower and middle class jobs to foreign lands so our politicians and CEOs can make more money at the expense of our citizenry.

 

[Cloud Cover]

Canada’s once famous electronic communications and telecommunications hardware manufacturers were driven by environmental and related political harassment to relocate their manufacturing plants to Mexico then China.

 

[brihard]

I'm glad this person is saying exactly what I've been saying.

Chinese are doing it because it's extremely dirty.

Chinese are doing it because they tossed environmental standards and emission standards in the trash

Chinese can produce it for extremely cheap prices because of those two reasons, and nobody in the west is going to be able to compete without massive subsidies to do it.

Advanced economies are cooked without Chinese REE.

All this to say, not buying Chinese this or Chinese that for fears of enriching the enemy, that boat sailed a long time ago.

And what a bunch of us are saying is that this is a critical, potentially crippling strategic vulnerability. The west must do what it must to develop its own independent sources of Rare Earths. Lynas out of Australia is doing it with their new plant in Malaysia. MP Materials is digging them up in Mountain Pass, California. Vital Elements bought out the old Avalon project at Nechelacho, NWT and is moving it towards production. Numerous other projects have foundered from China weaponizing their control over spot prices.

It will not require the west to pile in billions of dollars and fully run these industries as state enterprises. There’s plenty of room for public/private partnerships if needed. One way or another though our governments must provide a safety net to these supply chains so that China’s hands aren’t around our throat. The best time to do this was twenty years ago as the problem was becoming very apparent. The second best time is not.

In the interim, China’s economic extortion that leverages this control must be fought and punished.

China as a state is an adversary to Canada. Any pretending otherwise is naive. We must, as a country, look very critically and skeptically at their investments in Canada and assess how they can use those investments to harm our security, independence, and interests.

 

[dapaterson]

Would you have preferred he not attend? And would you also have preferred RCAF keep a CC-330 permanently on standby for the PM for the very rare instance of an unforecast trip halfway around the world? Please clarify what you’re cranky about.

There's a lot to unpack...

The RCMP protective service doesn't take stat holidays off. They are expected to be on duty. Does CAF support get holidays?

The RCAF has a few issues here: first, they may have oversold the CC330 as it is still a nascent capability; getting crews (air and ground) in sufficient quantity while maintaining the CC150 AAR and strat lift may be more than they can manage right now. But either the VVIP function must be provided by the RCAF or not; if the answer is "not", and wet lease is an option for VVIP, then there's a set of conversations to be had about the RCAF structure.

Finally, there's 412 Sqn in this discussion. The Challenger fleet is getting on in years, has limited payload of personnel and cargo (apparently fitting a surfboard into the cargo hold is a real pain in the ass), and limited range. Might be time to replace the CC144 fleet with Global Express 6500s... With the added bonus of a common type with the Saab Goldeneye.

 

[Quirky]

Would you have preferred he not attend?

Yes. He had no business being there. This was Marky going on a one day vacation to an Egypt resort to poke his nose into an issue that doesn’t concern Canada.

 

[Czech_pivo]

Yes. He had no business being there. This was Marky going on a one day vacation to an Egypt resort to poke his nose into an issue that doesn’t concern Canada.

Lol - right.
So you don't want a G7 country to be seen as participating on a possible historical event such as this. Our country has alot of respect in that part of the world, Jordan being a case in point as 1 country that wants us at the table. Add to this the new story on Canada and the UAE working on AI collaboration on data centers.
Back to the kiddie table for us under your scenario.

 

[brihard]

Yes. He had no business being there. This was Marky going on a one day vacation to an Egypt resort to poke his nose into an issue that doesn’t concern Canada.

The world leaders who were present were invited. Also sounds like there was opportunity for a lot of unusually constructive engagement. I’m glad our PM correctly assessed the usefulness of attending.

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/canada-playbook/2025/10/15/inside-carneys-chaotic-egypt-trip-00608807

 

[JLB50]

Stellantis moving Jeep Compass production originally slated for Brampton plant to Illinois

Stellantis moving Jeep Compass production originally slated for Brampton plant to Illinois

Stellantis has announced plans to move production of its Jeep Compass to Illinois, after previously pausing production at the Brampton, Ont., plant in February as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

www.ctvnews.ca

knew it was coming but still sucks

I realize that Stellantis embraces a wide range of basically American and European car companies. Money talks. And if Canadians show their displeasure by simply not buying Stellantis’ American vehicles (i.e. Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, RAM trucks) in favour of other competitors, then Stellantis will learn quickly that they have made a stupid and very costly mistake by caving in to pressure from the Trump regime’s demands. It’s not as if it’s a ‘Hobson’s choice’ for Canadian buyers. There are other cars, trucks and 4X4 vehicles that can do pretty much the same job as that of a Stellantis company vehicle. Stellantis is counting on Canadians to retain their brand loyalty despite getting stabbed in the back. Canada is not an insignificant market. Hopefully, Stellantis will become a classic example of what not to do to Canadians. Or as the Chinese would say, “kill the chicken to scare the monkey.”

 

[QV]

Huh, it almost seems like the provinces most hostile to the US (Premier Ford in this case) are paying an economic price.

 

[Remius]

Lol - right.
So you don't want a G7 country to be seen as participating on a possible historical event such as this. Our country has alot of respect in that part of the world, Jordan being a case in point as 1 country that wants us at the table. Add to this the new story on Canada and the UAE working on AI collaboration on data centers.
Back to the kiddie table for us under your scenario.

An imagine the backlash and optics of not going after being invited…

 

[HavokFour]

Huh, it almost seems like the provinces most hostile to the US (Premier Ford in this case) are paying an economic price.

Remind us again which came first, the American initiated (global) trade war or the "hostility".

 

[Altair]

And what a bunch of us are saying is that this is a critical, potentially crippling strategic vulnerability. The west must do what it must to develop its own independent sources of Rare Earths. Lynas out of Australia is doing it with their new plant in Malaysia. MP Materials is digging them up in Mountain Pass, California. Vital Elements bought out the old Avalon project at Nechelacho, NWT and is moving it towards production. Numerous other projects have foundered from China weaponizing their control over spot prices.

Encouraging developments, sure. Still a drop in the bucket compared to what the Chinese are doing and their proven reserves are much larger than the USA and Canada combined but encouraging none the less. It remains to be seen if we can get the mining and refining done in a way that move market share, and what it's going to cost us to do it.

It will not require the west to pile in billions of dollars and fully run these industries as state enterprises. There’s plenty of room for public/private partnerships if needed. One way or another though our governments must provide a safety net to these supply chains so that China’s hands aren’t around our throat. The best time to do this was twenty years ago as the problem was becoming very apparent. The second best time is not.

If the Chinese are making more and making it cheaper, what incentive is their for private industry to buy local?

In the interim, China’s economic extortion that leverages this control must be fought and punished.

Can't fight them until the replacement is in place, if it ever is.

America as a state is an adversary to Canada. Any pretending otherwise is naive. We must, as a country, look very critically and skeptically at their investments in Canada and assess how they can use those investments to harm our security, independence, and interests.

I fixed your post.

 

[Jarnhamar]

An imagine the backlash and optics of not going after being invited…

That's exactly it. Carney was stuck going either way because if he didn't attend people would be setting their hair on fire about it.

The world leaders who were present were invited. Also sounds like there was opportunity for a lot of unusually constructive engagement. I’m glad our PM correctly assessed the usefulness of attending.

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/canada-playbook/2025/10/15/inside-carneys-chaotic-egypt-trip-00608807

I find that article just describes some atmospheric diplomacy. Informal conversations in a room. Security-sector reform” and “stabilization force” are diplomatic boilerplate. There’s no evidence Canada brokered anything, led anything, or caused a shift in regional policy.

If Carney accomplished "more in 4 hours than 6 months of regular diplomacy" then we should get rid of our diplomats et el and just fly Carney around the world non-stop. That statement is an expected attempt to make Carney look good. Carney’s team is essentially spinning an awkward delay into a “productive summit.” I'm sure Carney could have fallen off the jet Biden style and Politico would have praised him for it somehow.

All to be expected. But yes, not going would have been way more irritating then just going.

 

[Quirky]

Huh, it almost seems like the provinces most hostile to the US (Premier Ford in this case) are paying an economic price.

Another win for master negotiator PM MC. Get those elbows up up up!

Other than the jobs, this isn't such a big deal, no one buys shitty Stellantis vehicles anyway.

Back to the kiddie table for us under your scenario.

If you didn't know already, we are at the kiddy table and have been for a long long time. Canada is not in any position to assert dominance or influence beyond its borders, hell we can barely control the mess within.

 

[QV]

Remind us again which came first, the American initiated (global) trade war or the "hostility".

It appears you are easily triggered. Step back for a moment and think it through. This is way beyond America being mean because Trump. Have you considered the Americans are cognizant they are no longer in a fiscal position to afford what they've been paying all along and that one function of the "trade war" is to put pressure on everyone else to pay more? Have you also considered the nature of threats in the world and do you think it prudent for "the west" to rely on big daddy America, or should these rich G7s shoulder some of that burden and the whole alliance is stronger for it?