Friday, March 14, 2025
Prime Minister and His Cabinet to Be Sworn In Today
A Government Canadians Don't Deserve
• A
Government Canadians Don't Deserve
Carney's Carny at Dofasco
• Crass Photo Op to Say Liberals Care About Working Class
Canada-U.S. Relations
• The Role of Shapeshifters in Integrating
Canada
Into the U.S.
Economy
For Your Information
• Canada Increases Its Own Tariffs on Imports from the U.S.
Prime Minister and His Cabinet to Be Sworn In Today
A Government Canadians Don't Deserve
The new leader of the Liberal Party, Mark Carney, is to be sworn in as Canada's 24th Prime Minister on Friday March 14. Since his election he has met with the Liberal caucus in parliament, put his assets into a blind trust, and sworn to fight for Canada. By staging a photo-op carny at ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton to tell Canadian workers they can depend on the Liberal party to protect them, he has also picked up where Justin Trudeau left off.
Trudeau's Legacy
Despite attempts by former Liberal Leader Jean Chretien to tell us what a laudable job Justin Trudeau did as Prime Minister, his legacy is one of pay-the-rich schemes, studded with corruption of myriad kinds, from the SNC Lavalin scandal to the scandal involving the WE charity, to personal manipulations of conflict of interest guidelines to get past the Ethics Commissioner, defamation of individuals with impunity, betrayal of his promise to get rid of the first-past-the-post method of counting votes to secure a majority and the most vacuous rhetoric imaginable to say his government defends women, children, Indigenous Peoples and LGBTQ2S+ rights.
Under his
auspices, Canada's indebtedness to the institutions of the
international financial oligarchy has increased manifold as everything
he has done is designed to pay the rich in every field of endeavour.
This includes throughout the COVID pandemic but also before and after.
The Trudeau regime has increased Canada's integration into the U.S. war economy and it directly contributed to its war machine. It has also adopted holus bolus the orders of the U.S.-led and commanded "Five Eyes" intelligence agencies, their takeover of Canada's electoral process and the personal affairs of Canadians under the guise of curbing "foreign interference" from China, Russia and whatever countries are deemed to be enemies of democracy and thus Canada.
The Trudeau government also became infamous for helping entrench the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine and being a major contributor to the U.S./NATO proxy war to isolate and defeat Russia.
It will forever be despised for supporting the genocide in Gaza, criminalizing those who oppose Zionism, the apartheid Israeli state, the sale of Palestinian land to settlers, claiming they are anti-Semitic.
The Trudeau government's support for the criminals it helped put in power in Haiti and attempts to undermine governments which do not toe the imperialist line in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean are presented as crucial to uphold the U.S. as "indispensable nation" and its "rules-based international order." This makes Canada a prime violator of all international laws and conventions adopted by the United Nations since World War II.
Now the Trudeau government is ended, his much touted "sunny ways" lie in tatters. It is hard to find a single person who is not glad to no longer have to see his face on TV or put up with his arrogant flair to repeat talking points. His dismal end will not even leave an impression on anyone's mind.
When Justin Trudeau gave his "victory speech" following the 2015 federal election, he said: "Over 100 years ago, a great Prime Minister, Wilfrid Laurier, spoke about sunny ways. He knew that politics could be a positive force. And that's the message that Canadians have sent today.
"Canadians have chosen change. A real change. Sunny ways, my friends, sunny ways."
These sunny ways, Trudeau said, mean taking a positive approach and having a vision which he says he received from the people who adopted this vision and that his was a popular movement.
He said, "This is what positive politics can do. This is what a hopeful vision and a platform and a team together can make happen. Canadians from all across this great country sent a clear message tonight: it's time for a change in this country, my friends. A real change. [...]
"We won this election because we listened. We did the hard work of slogging it across this country. We met with hundreds of people in the dead of winter in the arctic and with thousands of people in Brampton in the middle of this campaign.
"You built this platform. You built this movement. You told us what you need to be successful. You told us what kind of government you want. And we built the plan to make it happen. In coffee shops and in town halls, in church basements and in gurdwaras, you gathered, you spent time together with us, and you told us about the kind of country you want to build and leave to your children... And you will always be at the heart of the government we will form."
And guess what? Despite trite talk about "difficult times
ahead," Canada's new banker Prime Minister with admittedly a little
more intellectual clout, is picking up where Trudeau left off. He too
knows "what kind of country you want to build and leave to your
children. ... And you will always be at the heart of the government we
will form."
On the eve of his swearing-in as Prime Minister and the swearing-in of his new cabinet, Carney said that he's "building a government that will deliver what our country needs most." "We're going to protect Canadians during this crisis and build a stronger economy for the future," he said on "X."
Like the old King Canute who thought he could hold back the tide, good luck with that!
Carney's Carny at Dofasco
Crass Photo Op to Say Liberals Care
About Working
Class
On Wednesday, March 12, Mark Carney went to Hamilton's ArcelorMittal Dofasco to stage a photo-op election campaign type event. CPAC transmitted the event live, repeating the Liberal description of the event not as a campaign stop but as "a tour of a steel plant in Hamilton."
This was the day Trump's 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports went into effect and Canadian officials were at the White House trying to get the U.S. administration to change its mind about imposing tariffs on Canada. Underscoring the opportunism of the new Prime Minister and the Liberal Party, he went to Dofasco to tell the workers the Liberals care about them and will protect them.
Dressed in orange
safety garb complete with glasses and
helmet, flanked by similarly dressed Karina Gould and Anita Anand,
Carney spoke to what appeared to be a similarly dressed gaggle of
photographers and reporters with a few steelworkers present for good
measure. Carney said he chose to visit
ArcelorMittal Dofasco because it is an "exceptional company" due to the
"relationship that the company has always had with its workers."
What that relationship is he did not say. Hamilton workers know full well that it means: no union and toe the line otherwise face the full force of the "persuasive" power of the state and you will be compensated, maybe.
Despite U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum going into effect that day, Carney did not have a word to say which concretely deals with the product Canadian steelworkers produce and Canada's need for steel which could change the situation in their favour. On the contrary, after saying tritely that it was a "difficult day for Canada," and repeating the Liberal narrative that the tariffs are "unjustified," he assured whoever was listening, "I, we, my colleagues and the government want to make absolutely clear that we stand foursquare with you in this and we are doing several things."
What are those several things? He told the photographers that concurrent with his visit to the steel plant, the Finance Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs were announcing reciprocal tariffs on U.S. steel and U.S. aluminum, so that "our tariffs match American tariffs."
He then lamented
having to respond with tariffs, stating, "we
believe in open borders and free and fair trade." This was followed by
more promo for the Liberals. Without specifics, he promised the
Liberals will "make sure that all the proceeds from our tariffs go back
to support workers in the
affected industries."
What kind of support? Is he referring to the half a billion dollars the federal and provincial governments gave Dofasco two years ago to get rid of their blast furnaces and build electric arc furnaces, same as they did for Algoma Steel in Sault Ste-Marie? The workers know who benefits from these pay-the-rich schemes.
Carney said the government would "double down on the partnerships we have with the industry," and that both Ontario and federal governments have turned ArcelorMittal Dofasco into a "world leader" and "remarkably competitive company." There will be "more opportunity," he pledged.
He claimed that the steel industry in Canada is stable. Referring to a 30-year working life, he asked, "who is going to be here for another 30 years? Another 30 years after that, another 30 years after that? I know there is multi generations of workers here and your children and your children's children will have opportunities to work at ArcelorMittal Dofasco."
Not true.
Dofasco, which employed about 8,000 workers 30 years
ago, presently employs 5,000 workers. It is also expected that with the
introduction of electric arc furnaces (and the elimination of blast
furnaces) the Dofasco workforce will be significantly reduced.
In the case of Stelco, also in Hamilton, there were about 8,000 workers 30 years ago compared to the present workforce of 600 workers.
As his finale, Carney said that he and the Liberal Party care about the working class, just as does Donald Trump! "We understand, I understand. I respect President Trump's concern for American workers and American families. We respect his concern about fentanyl ... that's why the Canadian government moved very quickly with a comprehensive response that's had a huge, huge impact."
The workers know full well where Trump is coming from and to suggest as Carney did that it is because he cares about the working class really clinches for them where Carney also comes from. Nonetheless, he promised a "renewed and relaunched" relationship with the U.S.
He said, "we are ready to sit down with the Americans, with the U.S. government. I'm ready to sit down with President Trump at the appropriate time, under a position where there's respect for Canadian sovereignty and we're working for a common approach, a much more comprehensive approach for trade."
Carney promised that "we're all going to be better off for workers here in Canada, which is our concern [and] workers in America, which is [Trump's] concern."
"We are all going to be better off when the greatest economic and security partnership in the world is renewed, relaunched," he said. "That's possible. You have a new government, but the same commitment, and that commitment is built rock solid on the commitment you have all made here at ArcelorMittal Dofasco."
The workers do not need Carney to tell them how the Liberal Party defends Canadian workers or what commitment the workers have made at ArcelorMittal Dofasco. This is an offensive way to imply they have common cause with the Liberal Party of Canada or any cartel party for that matter.
Whatever happens to ArcelorMittal Dofasco is not their doing and at no time have the governments of Canada and Ontario defended Canada's workers. They are not even demanding that companies like Stellantis and others reimburse the huge "stimulus" packages they were given to expand their facilities in Canada even as they close them and move to the U.S. Or that Amazon which has peremptorily closed its seven warehouses in Quebec must reimburse the people of Quebec for all the benefits it has received paid for from the public treasury.
The experience of steelworkers at both Stelco and Algoma going repeatedly under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) shows how governments pass laws to permit the oligarchs to make a killing by shafting the workers. At Stelco we managed to salvage the pensions of part of the work force but not to have a defined-benefit plan for new hires. So too the workers in Alma, Quebec and the salt workers in Windsor, Ontario and other places prevailed to the extent that they refused to cooperate with demands for concessions fully backed by governments at all levels. Others such as the more than 20,000 Nortel pensioners saw their pensions cut to 60 per cent of their original amount, with other benefits like health insurance eventually cut off as well.
The security of
the workers lies in their fight for their rights and the rights of all,
not in this or that cartel party promises to protect them!
Workers in every sector of the economy from education, health care, transportation, communications, and every sector of industry are familiar with the argument that when it comes to workers standing up for the dignity of labour and the claims they are entitled to make to improve their wages and working conditions and uphold the well-being of Canadians, governments say they are threatening national security, the economy, and must come under the dictate of oligarchic rule.
They do not speak in our name.
Canada-U.S. Relations
The Role of Shapeshifters in Integrating Canada Into the U.S. Economy
In mythology and folklore, shapeshifting is the ability to fundamentally change or transform oneself through magic and other means. It is found in ancient literature and cultures and is a common literary device in fantasy and children's stories, examples being humans changing into vampires, werewolves and other supernatural creatures.
But there is another form of shapeshifting that is found in the political affairs of Canada, the U.S. and elsewhere. In this form, political figures and political parties supposedly change their essence and turn into their opposite.
For example, let
us look at the behaviour of successive
federal governments regarding free trade and the integration of Canada
into the U.S. economy and war machine. In recent days, both the
governing Liberal party and opposition Conservatives are portraying
themselves as "Captain Canada" in
terms of standing up for Canada in the face of the tariff and
annexation threats levelled by the Trump administration against the
country.
Yet it is these parties over the years that have acted like a pro-wrestling tag team in regards to integrating Canada into the U.S. economy and military machine, whether it has been the various free trade agreements, NORAD and NATO, or other mechanisms. Indeed, economic integration, instead of diversified trade, has resulted in over 75 per cent of Canadian exports going to the U.S. This has created a situation where Canada is in an extremely vulnerable position in regards to U.S. pressure.
When in opposition, at various times over many decades, both of these parties have claimed that they were against the economic takeover of Canada by the U.S. or opposed to this or that trade agreement such as the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the U.S. of 1987. But when in government, whether Conservative or Liberal, they have both acted in support of further integration. In so doing, they have acted on behalf of the private corporate and financial interests that long ago gave up on nation-building in Canada.
While donning
"Captain Canada" hats, what solutions are these political
"shapeshifters" pushing for the country to undertake in the face of the
Trump administration's tariffs and threats? Lo and behold, they are
advocating even more extensive integration of Canada into the U.S.
economy and
military machine, and more U.S. control over our natural resources,
including strategic metals, all the while waving their hats frantically
and shouting themselves hoarse that "Canada is Not for Sale."
Canadians deserve better. We have a deep desire for an independent, self-reliant, diversified economy. Shapeshifters have not brought this about in the past nor will they in the future. Far from it. They are a big part of the problem. Instead, new forces and new forms of popular resistance are step-wise being brought into being to empower the people and move the country in a new direction which serves Canadians and the peoples of the world.
For Your Information
Canada Increases Its Own Tariffs on Imports
from
the U.S.
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's current point man engaged in talks with the U.S. administration, announced that the federal government has imposed 25 per cent tariffs on U.S. goods worth $29.8 billion. These are in addition to 25 per cent tariffs Canada imposed on $30 billion in imports from the United States at the beginning of March.[1] The latest tariffs are in retaliation for the 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on March 12.
LeBlanc said the new levies target $12.6 billion in steel products and $3 billion in aluminum products. The counter-tariffs will also apply to other products, including computers, sports equipment and cast iron goods.
"We will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminum industries are being unfairly targeted," he said.
According to the CBC, LeBlanc said Trump's attack on Canadian industry is "unjustified and unjustifiable" and the government must retaliate as the U.S. inserts "disruption and disorder" into what was once one of the most successful trading relationships in the world.
CBC has also informed Canadians that the government is also holding back tariffs on another $125 billion worth of U.S. goods that will be imposed if Trump goes ahead with a third round of what he's calling "reciprocal" tariffs on goods from around the world on April 2. LeBlanc said the talks between Canadian officials and the U.S. administration in Washington DC are "about trying to get the Americans to drop all their existing tariffs and convince the administration to spare Canada when it pushes ahead with more tariffs on April 2," CBC reported.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said, "The excuse for these tariffs shifts every day. The only constant seems to be President Trump's talk of annexing our country through economic coercion. We will not back down and we will not give in to this coercion." "We need to fight back against this nonsense," she added.
"It's not just a threat to Canadian jobs, Canadian families. It is an existential threat to our country," she said. "This is not only a fight about the economy, it is about the future of our country," Joly said.
She was responding to the latest taunts by Donald Trump who said that the only way for Canada to avoid his attempts to torpedo the economy is for the country to "become our cherished Fifty-First State," CBC reported. He said the border between Canada and the U.S., which was first set centuries ago after the American Revolutionary War and reaffirmed by a series of treaties in the years to follow, is "an artificial line of separation" that he wants to see disappear.
According to Joly, Canada will continue to exert "maximum pressure" on the U.S. through countermeasures while also being open to offering "off-ramps" to Trump to bring this trade war to a satisfactory close for both sides, CBC reported. "When it comes to Canadian sovereignty, it's very simple: it's not even on the table," she said.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne pointed out that the U.S. produces only 16 per cent of the aluminum it needs, while 60 per cent of its supply comes from Quebec alone. Trump's tariffs will push up the price of everything the U.S. produces, Champagne said.
The stand of the government of Canada is that Trump is not going to stop his attacks any time soon and Canada needs an attitude shift to become more independent and resilient, Champagne said.
Note
1. Breakdown of Imports from the U.S. Subject to Canadian Tariffs:
Candles. Glues. Umbrellas. Walking sticks and canes. Ceramic, cast iron, aluminum and steel kitchenware. Other ceramics, including statues. Gold, platinum and other precious metals. Pearls. Imitation jewelry. Steel, aluminum and iron, including dozens of semi-manufactured items made from those materials, such as: bars, rods, wire, plating, sheets, pipes and pipeline materials, rails and ingots. Fluid tanks and vats, including for gas. Steel and iron construction materials, such as screws and bolts. Sewing and knitting items, such as needles, made from iron and steel. Safety pins and springs. Radiators, heaters and parts used for stoves. Iron and steel wool and cloth. Steel and iron sinks and baths. Steel, iron and aluminum parts used for construction, such as door and window frames, bridge sections and scaffolding. Aluminum nails, tacks and staples. Garden and other household tools, including: shovels, picks, rakes, axes, shears and hoes. Metal equipment used for mountaineering, such as axes, billhooks and hammers. Metal working and construction tools such as: saw blades, files, pipe cutters, vices and clamps, anvils and other forge materials. Mining tools, including boring drills. Safes, filing cabinets, padlocks and keys. Metal fittings used in building and infrastructure construction, and fittings used to make furniture. Metal fittings used in stationery items, such as binders. Bells, metal picture frames and metal ornaments, such as statuettes. Metal items used for clothing and accessories, such as buckles, clasps and rivets. Metal plating used for signs and lettering. Water heaters. Electronics such as printers, copiers, data-processing machines and data storage units. Portable lamps. Cellphones and portable phone sets. Audio and visual equipment, including: microphones, microphone stands, speakers, amplifiers, headphones and monitors. Car windshields and windows. Wristwatches and stopwatches. Wooden furniture parts. Sleeping bags. LED and other illuminated signs. Glass and plastic parts used for searchlights. Prefabricated buildings made of wood and steel. Also prefabbed storage silos or parts of silos made from plastic and glass materials. Kids' tricycles, scooters, doll carriages and other similar toys with wheels. Video game consoles. Some holiday decorations. Sports equipment, including: skis, water skis, some golfing equipment, table tennis gear, sporting rackets, various sporting balls, fishing equipment. Amusement park rides. Brooms and brushes, including: hair brushes, combs, art brushes, paint rollers, machine brushes, floor sweepers and mops. Travel sets that include toiletry, sewing and other cleaning items. Chalk and white boards. Labellers. Smoking lighters and pipes. Toilet sprays. Camera tripods, bipods and monopods.
(CBC. List provided by Darren Major, a senior writer for CBC's Parliamentary Bureau.)
(To access articles individually click on the black headline.)
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