Statquo and OOE Club: Canadian Politics

Great speech from Carney yesterday at Davos. I don't know if I've heard a speech from a PM like that in my lifetime. Obviously the leader of the sick country to our south didn't like it, as was evident by his speech today. Carney just told it like it is. I guess they only like that when it's directed at others and they're the ones doing it.
 
Premier Eby calling separatists meeting with Trump officials treason. Colonel, I’m concerned out west here.
 
statquo said:
Premier Eby calling separatists meeting with Trump officials treason. Colonel, I’m concerned out west here.
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I wait for official treason charges first.

tbm3fan said:
Ambassador Pete Hoekstra is an ass based on all that I read about his background. If he speaks for himself call his bluff and if for Trump, really Miller, still call the bluff.
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Hoekstra is right though. The GRIPEN is an inferior non NATO compliant plane.
 
Officer of Engineers said:
I wait for official treason charges first.


Hoekstra is right though. The GRIPEN is an inferior non NATO compliant plane.
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Ok, granted he is correct about the plane, but to make a threat about your airspace. Diplomacy, with this administration must be a inconvenient. That irritates me. Then there is the fact that the F-35 cost has skyrocketed and can Canada really afford the plane? What was it 80? A big chunk of a budget.
 
Here's the thing. NORAD sets up patrol patterns for all of North America. American and Canadian planes routinely patrol each other airspace. If your plane cannot cover your patrol area, your patrol area will have to be reduced and cover by planes (read American) that can cover the patrol area.

The F-35 is projected to be $27bil Cdn; up from $18bil Cdn for 88 F-35s. But the thing left unsaid is that we've already committed to 16 F-35s. Contract signed with zero wiggle room to get out of it. And the contract does not allow Ottawa to sell these 16 F-35s without Washington DC permission.

We also cannot commit to two different planes. The logistics just doesn't make sense to have the GRIPEN and the F-35. Pilot training alone is cost prohibitive. Ottawa may yaw and yam about the GRIPEN but in the end, the only logical choice is the F-35.
 
Officer of Engineers said:
I wait for official treason charges first.
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I meant worried about a MAGA operation to highjack and interfere with this. I know the people out here. There’s a lot that don’t want to be part of Canada. At least they say it emotionally. Do they really mean it? Maybe some of them, no. But some absolutely do. The Carney election win completely broke them. They went from waving Canada flags Freedom Convoy supporters to saying Canada is worse than Mexico and they don’t have anything shared with the rest of the country inside 4 years. On top of that they live inside the American right wing media ecosystem too. It’s easy pickings out here.

I don’t think they’ll win a referendum, but the template is too predictable. They’re Maple MAGA. They’ll lose and then say it was rigged. The scary thing, though, is there is a predatorial American government who has used the same excuse, looking at a swath of sympathetic supporters using the same grievances as Republicans, itching for territorial expansion, and oh by the way, there’s a ton of oil here. You know where I’m going..

A year ago, that sounds ridiculous.

That sounds realistic now.
 
Trump threatens to block opening of US-Canada bridge

President Donald Trump has threatened to block the opening of a bridge connecting the US and Canada until Washington is "fully compensated for everything" it has given to its northern neighbour.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge, connecting the Canadian province of Ontario to the US state of Michigan, would not open until Ottawa "treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve", Trump wrote on social media.

According to the project's website, the bridge is being funded by the Canadian government but will be publicly owned by both Canada and Michigan.

Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, said closing the "incredibly important infrastructure project" would be "awful for our state's economy".

The move could have "serious repercussions" she said in a post on X: "Higher costs for Michigan businesses, less secure supply chains, and ultimately, fewer jobs."

It is not clear how Trump could block its opening but he said negotiations would begin immediately, without elaborating.

The bridge, which spans the Detroit River and is named after late Canadian hockey legend Gordie Howe, who played for the Detroit Red Wings, is expected to open to traffic pending formal tests and approvals in the early part of this year. Construction began in 2018, but the project has been a point of contention between the countries for more than a decade.

It is estimated to have cost $6.4bn CAD (£3.4bn), according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

In the statement on his Truth Social platform, Trump said that the US should own "at least one half of this asset". He also suggested that Canada owned both the Canadian and US sides of the bridge.

The organisation developing the bridge, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, is a Canadian federal Crown corporation, an organisation that is wholly owned by the government but operates at arm's length.

Trump wrote: "The Canadian Government expects me, as President of the United States, to PERMIT them to just 'take advantage of America!'"

"I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them," he added.

He also blamed former President Barack Obama for allowing construction to begin without the use of any US steel.

But Mayor Drew Dilkens of Windsor, Ontario, on the Canadian side of the bridge, told the CBC that this accusation is wrong.

"It's just insane," he said. "I really can't believe what I'm reading."

The Moroun family - the American owners of the neighbouring Ambassador Bridge that also connects Detroit to Canada - appealed to Trump during his first term to stop construction of the new bridge, arguing that it infringed on their exclusive ability to collect tolls.

In response, Trump and then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a joint statement saying the bridge was a "vital economic link" between the countries.
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We paid for it. He endorsed it. Its publicly owned by Canada and the state of Michigan. US steel and labour was used for the Michigan side. Like he’s blatantly lying.
 
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Gun Grape said:
Yea but You took advantage of us because of that horrible trade agreement that he negotiated :unsure:
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Trumps just being Trump, sticking the knife in so he can get a rise from the Canadian government which in turn will give him an excuse to push for 'more' of whatever it is he wants on any particular day.
 
statquo said:
Trump threatens to block opening of US-Canada bridge



We paid for it. He endorsed it. Its publicly owned by Canada and the state of Michigan. US steel and labour was used for the Michigan side. Like he’s blatantly lying.
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I also have heard that with your new China deal she will ban hockey and the Stanley Cup in Canada. Or did someone get hit in the head by a hockey puck via Gordie Howe?

As far as the bridge is concerned all one needs to do is change the name. Works like a charm every single time.
 
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