Liberal Minority Government 2021 - ????

[singh1947]

yes most likely.....but there is a risk and he just doesn't strike me as a big risk taker.

Wait the few months get the guaranteed pension. He knows he will lose the general for the NDP, get dumped by the party. Collect the pension then onto the blue sky of boards, speaking fees and international think tanks. Winning!

I do wonder how long his speaking career will last since I don't think Sajjan's did - or is he just doing MP duties still?

While I'd welcome Sikhs having a more global role these guys compromise on core principles.

So it may be better for everyone involved for them to fade quietly from the spotlight..

 

[Spencer100]

I do wonder how long his speaking career will last since I don't think Sajjan's did - or is he just doing MP duties still?

While I'd welcome Sikhs having a more global role these guys compromise on core principles.

So it may be better for everyone involved for them to fade quietly from the spotlight..

Nothing about what I said had anything to do with him being a Sikh.

I find most of my daily dealings with people (who happen to be Sikh) great. The problem and strength of the Sikh community is that there is the stand out factor (putting that badly sorry). Being in the logistics business daily interactions.

I think the great part is you see Sikhs now in the CPC, Liberal, NDP etc. They are not one block of people.

 

[singh1947]

Nothing about what I said had anything to do with him being a Sikh.

I find most of my daily dealings with people (who happen to be Sikh) great. The problem and strength of the Sikh community is that there is the stand out factor (putting that badly sorry). Being in the logistics business daily interactions.

I think the great part is you see Sikhs now in the CPC, Liberal, NDP etc. They are not one block of people.

Of course, I was just saying that while I like to see representation the commonality seems to end there.
They're vegetarian for example & the whole christmas drama with a red or green turban.
Meanwhile, he doesn't mention the entire Sikh month of remembrance occurring simultaneously.
Sikh religion isn't a personal affair - he's been confronted about aspects of the Maryada (code) he's been publicly lax about.

When you wear a uniform, well you guys know the rest..

 

[Spencer100]

Of course, I was just saying that while I like to see representation the commonality seems to end there.
They're vegetarian for example & the whole christmas drama with a red or green turban.
Meanwhile, he doesn't mention the entire Sikh month of remembrance occurring simultaneously.
Sikh religion isn't a personal affair - he's been confronted about aspects of the Maryada (code) he's been publicly lax about.

When you wear a uniform, well you guys know the rest..

I guess most of that is for the greater Silk community to deal. I am not on very firm ground here.

As is the saying here is I am way out of my lane!

like I am in the first east bound 401 collector at 400 interchange and that topic is the west bound ramp to 400.

 

[singh1947]

Bill Morneau on euphoria of Trudeau’s 2015 victory to ‘one of the worst moments’ in his political life

Morneau’s new memoir Where To from Here highlights positive role Ottawa can play, takes shots at Trudeau and warns of threats of increasingly partisan politics

www.theglobeandmail.com

Former federal finance minister Bill Morneau sees a bright future for Canada. What he doesn’t envision is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leading the country to this promised land.

The book also warns of the threats posed by our increasingly partisan political process, with Mr. Morneau taking direct aim at the take-no-prisoners approach employed by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, the party’s former finance critic.


Mr. Morneau’s recurring theme, backed by stories of his battles with the PMO, is that the tactics and people needed to win elections seldom yield the strategies and talent needed to run a government.

While in cabinet, Mr. Morneau said the PMO’s short-term political goals – winning that day’s headline – came to dominate long-term planning, a problem that became more acute after Gerald Butts resigned as the Prime Minister’s principal secretary in February, 2019. He pointed in the book to consistent overspending on support during the pandemic, with the size of programs recommended by the Finance Department boosted by the PMO “because the numbers sounded good.”

One such intervention, early in the pandemic, saw the PMO surprise the finance minister by increasing the amount of money available to business under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy in an announcement that came just a few hours after Mr. Trudeau agreed to far more modest plans. Mr. Morneau said this “was one of the worst moments in my political life.”

Early in the book, Mr. Morneau highlights the euphoria that came with the Liberals’ sweeping 2015 election victory, when Mr. Trudeau’s “sharp intelligence and charisma” helped propel the party into power. “Soon after the election, I came to realize that while his performance skills were superb, his management and interpersonal communication abilities were sorely lacking,” he said.

Globe editorial: Canada’s immigration plan should involve more than just big numbers

Ottawa needs an immigration strategy that focuses on boosting productivity and living standards

www.theglobeandmail.com

The word “goal” appears seven times in the Immigration department’s latest annual report to Parliament, a document that purportedly lays out the Liberal government’s vision of how to bring a historic number of permanent residents to Canada in the next three years.

The plan spells out how many newcomers are projected to arrive through 2025, growing to a record annual intake of 500,000 people. And it calls those targets a goal.

They are not; those quotas are simply a means to an end. Left unasked, much less answered, is the question: What is Canada’s immigration policy trying to achieve?

The Trudeau government, like its predecessors, leans heavily on platitudes – diversity and multiculturalism are good! – and blandishments about immigration supporting population growth and economic prosperity.

The Liberal government is also shifting away from using the existing ranking system, creating greater ministerial latitude to admit workers in sectors where critical labour shortages are deemed to exist. Unsurprisingly, those shortages exist in lower-wage industries that cannot, or will not, pay higher salaries or otherwise adapt to labour scarcity.

The shift from selecting high-skills immigrants to filling lower-wage labour gaps is a mistake that amplifies the distortions wrought by expanding the temporary foreign workers program. In both cases, Canadian immigration policy is pulling in the wrong direction, by subsidizing low-wage employers and dampening the pressure to innovate.

Opinion | More evidence that economic growth is not being shared

Our study finds that roughly three quarters of the gap between productivity and median wages can be explained by growing inequality.

www.thestar.com

Many Canadians pride themselves on living in an inclusive country. But our economy may be less inclusive than most realize.

Although our national GDP has more than doubled since 1976, the median worker’s real wage has barely increased since that time. Economic progress should be assessed by the purchasing power of median wages, not, as is too often the case, by profits or share prices.

On the other hand, labour productivity grew 1.1 per cent per year. This has meant the hourly wage earned by the typical worker (in 2012 dollars) grew from $16.40 to $17.40, while the worker’s hourly productivity grew from $37.60 to $60.20.

Put another way, while productivity grew 60 per cent, the typical worker’s wage only grew 6 per cent.

Why weren’t productivity gains shared equally? Our study finds that roughly three quarters of the gap between productivity and median wages can be explained by growing inequality.

The Canadian economy has been far from inclusive over the past 40 years. However, there are reasons for optimism.

Since 2000, median wages have grown 0.53 per cent per year, reducing the wage-productivity gap to less than half its pre-2000 rate — that’s good news. And 2013 to 2019 saw the growth rate for median wages rise to 0.75 per cent per year — a trend in the right direction.

Opinion: Data Dive with Nik Nanos: Canadians think the country is headed in the wrong direction. That means trouble for Trudeau

It might have felt like the first “normal” holiday season in several years, gathering with friends and family without any restrictions, but the mood of Canadians is not very festive. The news is neither good for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals nor Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.

Every December for the past 16 years, Nanos has conducted an annual tracking survey. For the most recent survey, when asked about the direction of the country, 43 per cent believe we are going in the wrong direction, while 40 per cent say Canada is headed in the right direction.


Although the numbers this year are three points apart and just within the margin of error for the survey (3.1 percentage points, plus or minus, 19 times out of 20), they are notable. There are only two occasions in the past 16 years when “wrong” track was numerically higher than “right” – 2013 and 2014, the last two years of Stephen Harper’s Conservative government.

Middle-aged Canadians, a key battleground for all the parties, are the generation most likely to be negative about the direction the country is going (48 per cent wrong, 39 per cent right). Of note, while people in the Prairies were the most negative (59 per cent wrong, 31 per cent right), individuals in Quebec were the most positive (46 per cent right, 34 per cent wrong).

When asked about the performance of the governing party, Canadians were more likely to rate the performance of the federal Liberal government negatively. About four in 10 gave a rating of very poor (28 per cent) or somewhat poor (13 per cent), while one in three gave a positive rating of very good (7 per cent) or somewhat good (26 per cent). The rest said their performance was average.

The outright very poor score of 28 per cent is numerically the third-highest negative score on record since 2007 for any federal government, with the two other more negative scores being the two precursor years to the fall of the Harper government.

At the close of 2022, ballot tracking by Nanos suggests that the Conservatives stand at 34-per-cent support, followed by the Liberals at 29 per cent and the NDP at 22 per cent. About just as many people would consider voting Liberal (45 per cent) as consider voting Conservative (42 per cent). Historically the Liberals have had a larger pool of accessible voters – that is, people who are open to voting Liberal. Yet that advantage over the Conservatives has disappeared.

The political calculus becomes even more problematic with NDP support in the twenties. With the Liberals under 30 and the NDP over 20, the Liberals get squeezed by vote splitting, creating opportunities for both the Conservatives and the NDP. The split of Liberal-NDP progressive voters is the dream scenario for Mr. Poilievre, creating similar winning conditions that propelled Stephen Harper into power.


However, when people are asked whom they would prefer as prime minister, Mr. Poilievre trails Mr. Trudeau by four points. So, while the Conservative Party is ahead of the Liberals by five points, this lead does not currently extend to its leader.

The Conservative advantage is likely more attributable to the vulnerability of a government that has been in power since 2015. Every government has a best-before date.

 

[singh1947]

Bill Morneau on euphoria of Trudeau’s 2015 victory to ‘one of the worst moments’ in his political life

Morneau’s new memoir Where To from Here highlights positive role Ottawa can play, takes shots at Trudeau and warns of threats of increasingly partisan politics

www.theglobeandmail.com

Globe editorial: Canada’s immigration plan should involve more than just big numbers

Ottawa needs an immigration strategy that focuses on boosting productivity and living standards

www.theglobeandmail.com

Opinion | More evidence that economic growth is not being shared

Our study finds that roughly three quarters of the gap between productivity and median wages can be explained by growing inequality.

www.thestar.com

Opinion: Data Dive with Nik Nanos: Canadians think the country is headed in the wrong direction. That means trouble for Trudeau

Basically,

if we cut immigration, strengthen the military & nationalize resources (public or private & sovereign wealth fund) we could be a bigger Norway.
That's my deep dive into policies that won't get implemented by any party nor approved by D.C.

Summary of each quoted article:

1. Bill Morneau complains Trudeau's gov lacks business/management expertise & uses policy to chase headlines
2. Advocates tying immigration to economic health ala pre-Mulroney (NAFTA related?)
3. 1976-2000 was worse for workers than the period since. Most easy offshoring is done
4. Bad news for Trudeau since most Canadians think country being steered in wrong direction ala Harper 2013/14.

Morneau wants more businessmen to run for office however, so much power rests in international bodies now.
Nation states aren't really the primary regulatory or economic agents anymore - certainly not in the cultural or tech sphere.
National Govs will be made up of the try-hard Upper-Middle Class or Managerial class like Trudeau.
If you were a big billionaire why deal with Canada directly when your interests are met at the WTO or through a brokered FTA?

Still optimistic overall, and especially so because of article #3.

--
Back to lurking.
Enjoy reading other's thoughts over parroting my own.

ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂਜੀ

 

[daftandbarmy]

Meanwhile, no one likes the leaders...

More than 40 percent of Canadians prefer different leaders than Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre to be leaders of their parties in the next election. (Globe and Mail/Nanos)​

Canadians twice more likely to prefer that the Liberals have someone other than Justin Trudeau leading them in the next election (51%) rather than having Justin Trudeau be the leader (25%). Seventeen per cent had no preference and seven per cent were unsure what they preferred.

Over four in ten Canadians (45%) prefer that the Conservatives have someone other than Pierre Poilievre leading them in the next election, whereas three in ten (30%) prefer that Pierre Poilievre be the leader. Seventeen per cent had no preference and seven per cent were unsure what they preferred. Men were significantly more likely to prefer Pierre Poilievre as the leader (39%) compared to women (22%).

More than 40 percent of Canadians prefer different leaders than Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre to be leaders of their parties in the next election. (Globe and Mail/Nanos) – Nanos Research

nanos.co

 

[Brad Sallows]

Doesn't seem to be any filter for political affiliations. Common sense suggests that NDP supporters would prefer someone leaning more their way than either Trudeau or Poilievre. If I assumed the Liberals had a base of 25% of the people, Conservatives had a base of 25%, and NDP had a base of 20%, I'd expect something near:
25% pro-Trudeau, 45% against.
25% pro-Poilievre, 45% against.

 

[ArmyRick]

Another year done for Trudeau. Or is Trudeau finally done?

 

[Edward Campbell]

Another year done for Trudeau. Or is Trudeau finally done?

My guesstimate is that Justin Trudeau can run again - the Liberals don't have any real bench strength and the LPC in 2023 is, effectively, little more than a cult of personality - and while I expect the CPC to get more votes - maybe >?33% to <29% - I will not be surprised if the Liberals get a fmall plurality of total seats (e.g. LPC: 125 - CPC: 123 - BQ: 50 - NDP: 35 - Others: 5) and, with NDP and Green support - form a weak but stable minority government. The only way that the CPC gets a plurality is to have Pierre Poilievre change his style. He needs to appeal to women - soccer moms, etc - in suburban Ontario and BC; he doesn't but Trudeau and Singh do.

 

[mariomike]

He needs to appeal to women - soccer moms, etc - in suburban Ontario and BC; he doesn't but Trudeau and Singh do.

Regarding that, in today's Globe and Mail,

Poilievre must do more to win over women voters, including pressing ‘anger button’ less often, observers say

Political commentators say Poilievre’s aggressive stand in debates risks alienating women who want to see practical solutions, rather than point-scoring

www.theglobeandmail.com

 

[porkpie]

My guesstimate is that Justin Trudeau can run again - the Liberals don't have any real bench strength and the LPC in 2023 is, effectively, little more than a cult of personality - and while I expect the CPC to get more votes - maybe >?33% to <29% - I will not be surprised if the Liberals get a fmall plurality of total seats (e.g. LPC: 125 - CPC: 123 - BQ: 50 - NDP: 35 - Others: 5) and, with NDP and Green support - form a weak but stable minority government. The only way that the CPC gets a plurality is to have Pierre Poilievre change his style. He needs to appeal to women - soccer moms, etc - in suburban Ontario and BC; he doesn't but Trudeau and Singh do.

Reading your post - with all the colours had flashbacks to the memo writing as punishment they had us do in BMQ..................

 

[daftandbarmy]

Shall be known as 'The Selfie Administration'...

Kelly McParland: Morneau confirms image-obsessed Trudeau's management is 'sorely lacking'​

While Trudeau's 'performance skills were superb, his management and interpersonal communication abilities were sorely lacking'

I have no intimate understanding of the mental processes of our prime minister, but if I was getting the sort of feedback on my job performance that he’s been getting, I’d certainly take a moment for honest reflection.

According to a recent survey by the Nanos organization, more than half of Canadians want Justin Trudeau to step aside and let someone else lead the Liberal party into the next election, whenever that might be. Almost as many think the country is headed in the wrong direction.

An Ipsos poll garnered similar results: half the country wants yet another election this year, even though we’ve had two in the past three years, and 54 per cent want a different Liberal leader to fight it.

This month will see a new book by former finance minister Bill Morneau, who left the government in unhappy circumstances just as the pandemic hit, praising Trudeau as a great performer but a lousy manager, his focus on short-term partisan gains over sound policy and long-term benefits.

Though thrilled at joining the Trudeau government in 2015, Morneau writes, “Soon after the election, I came to realize that while his performance
skills were superb, his management and interpersonal communication abilities were sorely lacking.”

Echoing similar points to those made by Jody Wilson-Raybould, the former justice minister and attorney general who lost her job for refusing to buckle to demands she considered unethical and possibly illegal, Morneau portrays Trudeau as distant and isolated, prone to issuing dicates to cabinet members rather than inviting consensus, fiercely partisan and keen on winning short-term punch-ups that produce positive, if fleeting, headlines. He suffers, according to the book, from an “inability or lack of interest in forging relationships” with “me and, as far as I could tell, the rest of his cabinet.”

Morneau’s concern is that Ottawa’s focus on popularity over performance is feeding an extended slide in the country’s ability to compete with rivals, maintain a strong economy and produce the money needed to pay for its social programs. In 2019 Canada fell from the top 10 in an index of the world’s most competitive countries, and was down to 14th by last year. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development recently ranked Canada last out of 38 countries in per capita economic growth, and predicted it would be the “worst-performing advanced economy over 2020 to 2030 and the three decades after.”

As has often been noted, we have a prime minister who once boasted of his lack of interest in monetary policy, doubled the debt in just seven years, insisted there was “no business case” to sell liquid natural gas to Germany — which faced a frigid winter thanks to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — only to see Berlin sign a 15-year deal with Qatar, and agreed to a dental program at a potential cost of billions of dollars solely to win temporary NDP support for the Liberal’s minority government.

There is no evidence any of this has had an impact on Trudeau’s plan to lead the party into the next election, the date of which is not entirely in his control. Supporters can point out that Canadians are even less enthused about Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, whose standing is low among men and lower among women. Morneau says Poilievre’s methods “are in conflict with almost every political value we have enjoyed as a nation for over 150 years.” And while the Tories may lead the Liberals in overall voter preference, that’s largely due to overwhelming support in western Canada, which has repeatedly proven inadequate to winning elections.

Kelly McParland: Morneau confirms image-obsessed Trudeau's management is 'sorely lacking'

Liberals face a dilemma: If they stick with unpopular Trudeau, another minority is the best they can hope for

nationalpost.com

 

[brihard]

Shall be known as 'The Selfie Administration'...

Kelly McParland: Morneau confirms image-obsessed Trudeau's management is 'sorely lacking'​

While Trudeau's 'performance skills were superb, his management and interpersonal communication abilities were sorely lacking'

I have no intimate understanding of the mental processes of our prime minister, but if I was getting the sort of feedback on my job performance that he’s been getting, I’d certainly take a moment for honest reflection.

According to a recent survey by the Nanos organization, more than half of Canadians want Justin Trudeau to step aside and let someone else lead the Liberal party into the next election, whenever that might be. Almost as many think the country is headed in the wrong direction.

An Ipsos poll garnered similar results: half the country wants yet another election this year, even though we’ve had two in the past three years, and 54 per cent want a different Liberal leader to fight it.

This month will see a new book by former finance minister Bill Morneau, who left the government in unhappy circumstances just as the pandemic hit, praising Trudeau as a great performer but a lousy manager, his focus on short-term partisan gains over sound policy and long-term benefits.

Though thrilled at joining the Trudeau government in 2015, Morneau writes, “Soon after the election, I came to realize that while his performance
skills were superb, his management and interpersonal communication abilities were sorely lacking.”

Echoing similar points to those made by Jody Wilson-Raybould, the former justice minister and attorney general who lost her job for refusing to buckle to demands she considered unethical and possibly illegal, Morneau portrays Trudeau as distant and isolated, prone to issuing dicates to cabinet members rather than inviting consensus, fiercely partisan and keen on winning short-term punch-ups that produce positive, if fleeting, headlines. He suffers, according to the book, from an “inability or lack of interest in forging relationships” with “me and, as far as I could tell, the rest of his cabinet.”

Morneau’s concern is that Ottawa’s focus on popularity over performance is feeding an extended slide in the country’s ability to compete with rivals, maintain a strong economy and produce the money needed to pay for its social programs. In 2019 Canada fell from the top 10 in an index of the world’s most competitive countries, and was down to 14th by last year. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development recently ranked Canada last out of 38 countries in per capita economic growth, and predicted it would be the “worst-performing advanced economy over 2020 to 2030 and the three decades after.”

As has often been noted, we have a prime minister who once boasted of his lack of interest in monetary policy, doubled the debt in just seven years, insisted there was “no business case” to sell liquid natural gas to Germany — which faced a frigid winter thanks to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — only to see Berlin sign a 15-year deal with Qatar, and agreed to a dental program at a potential cost of billions of dollars solely to win temporary NDP support for the Liberal’s minority government.

There is no evidence any of this has had an impact on Trudeau’s plan to lead the party into the next election, the date of which is not entirely in his control. Supporters can point out that Canadians are even less enthused about Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, whose standing is low among men and lower among women. Morneau says Poilievre’s methods “are in conflict with almost every political value we have enjoyed as a nation for over 150 years.” And while the Tories may lead the Liberals in overall voter preference, that’s largely due to overwhelming support in western Canada, which has repeatedly proven inadequate to winning elections.

Kelly McParland: Morneau confirms image-obsessed Trudeau's management is 'sorely lacking'

Liberals face a dilemma: If they stick with unpopular Trudeau, another minority is the best they can hope for

nationalpost.com

A challenger approaches?

 

[Rifleman62]

Good luck Japan. You will get the same answer as a desperate Germany.​

National Post ePaper

National Post ePaper offers current issues of National Post ePaper.

epaper.nationalpost.com

​

LNG likely on agenda for Japan PM’S visit, Bid to avoid reliance on China, Russia​

OTTAWA • Canadian liquefied natural gas is expected to come up for discussion later this week as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida makes his first official visit to Canada. Kishida is set to arrive in Ottawa on Thursday. It will be the first Canadian visit by an Asian head of government since Ottawa launched its Indo-pacific strategy last November, which called for closer ties with countries that can counterbalance China’s influence.

Japan is similarly trying to pivot away from a reliance on China and Russia for electricity and food.
To that end, Kishida has created the position of a minister of state for economic security, and is trying to bring nuclear reactors back online after dozens were halted following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
The country is so reliant on Russian fuel that G7 countries gave Japan an exemption on a measure that caps the price of Russian oil below market rates, to avoid Japan facing the same scramble for energy that Europe undertook last year.

Trevor Kennedy, the Business Council of Canada vice-president for international policy, said Kishida will likely seek a further commitment from Canada to sell liquefied natural gas, and mention an ongoing interest in hydrogen. “They’re stuck in a situation where they’re sourcing their LNG from Russia, and they don’t have another option,” said Kennedy, who has worked in Japan. Japan and South Korea have invested in Canada’s first LNG export terminal in Kitimat, B.C., which is set to come online in 2025.

Kennedy said both countries and Canadian firms are watching to see whether the terminal meets that timeline, given the delays other large energy projects in Canada have faced. He said the energy sector, Tokyo and Seoul also want Ottawa to boost the LNG sector by expanding the terminal or launching more of them. Otherwise, Japan and South Korea will have to rely on gas from Russia, or ask faraway countries to send supplies through waters China is trying to control.

Last month, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada’s goal is to be as close to South Korea and Japan as Ottawa is to Germany, France and the U.K. Kennedy said it’s an obvious decision, given the pair are democratic countries who share the same values. But he said it requires a sense of urgency. “We need to be more deliberate about how we engage,” he said. “A lot of it is a mindset, and just understanding that these are our neighbours.”

Kennedy said Canadian businesses have been looking past Japan for the past three decades. The country’s economic bubble burst in 1991, just as other Asian countries started posting stronger growth. Japan’s population is also aging at one of the fastest rates in the world. Yet the country remains the world’s third-largest economy, Kennedy noted, and it’s flush with capital that firms are seeking to invest abroad. Railways and telecommunications companies, for example, have barely any room to develop more services within Japan, and have been focusing on investments elsewhere.
The CPTPP trade deal, which spans most of the Pacific Rim, has helped boost Canadian exports to Japan, particularly pork and canola products.

Japanese companies are now looking to expand electric-vehicle production in North America, and Ottawa is under pressure to match American subsidies on the production of green vehicles and components. Last month, Japan’s new defence strategy called for working with allies to ward off threats from North Korea and China, and has made it legal for Japan to strike enemy bases. Tokyo is also boosting military spending by 26 per cent in just one year.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Kishida will likely take stock of a plan both countries issued last October, spanning everything from fighting illegal fishing to implementing a military intelligence sharing deal.

Kishida might also publicly endorse Canada’s desire to join the Indo-pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, a forum for co-ordinating supply chains and tax policy. Ottawa claims that all members of that group want Canada to join. Japan takes over the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven this year and Kishida’s visit to Canada is part of a multi-country tour.

Experts will watch for large-ticket announcements at the G7 leaders’ summit this May in Hiroshima.

 

[Lumber]

Good luck Japan. You will get the same answer as a desperate Germany.​

National Post ePaper

National Post ePaper offers current issues of National Post ePaper.

epaper.nationalpost.com

​

LNG likely on agenda for Japan PM’S visit, Bid to avoid reliance on China, Russia​

OTTAWA • Canadian liquefied natural gas is expected to come up for discussion later this week as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida makes his first official visit to Canada. Kishida is set to arrive in Ottawa on Thursday. It will be the first Canadian visit by an Asian head of government since Ottawa launched its Indo-pacific strategy last November, which called for closer ties with countries that can counterbalance China’s influence.

Japan is similarly trying to pivot away from a reliance on China and Russia for electricity and food.
To that end, Kishida has created the position of a minister of state for economic security, and is trying to bring nuclear reactors back online after dozens were halted following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
The country is so reliant on Russian fuel that G7 countries gave Japan an exemption on a measure that caps the price of Russian oil below market rates, to avoid Japan facing the same scramble for energy that Europe undertook last year.

Trevor Kennedy, the Business Council of Canada vice-president for international policy, said Kishida will likely seek a further commitment from Canada to sell liquefied natural gas, and mention an ongoing interest in hydrogen. “They’re stuck in a situation where they’re sourcing their LNG from Russia, and they don’t have another option,” said Kennedy, who has worked in Japan. Japan and South Korea have invested in Canada’s first LNG export terminal in Kitimat, B.C., which is set to come online in 2025.

Kennedy said both countries and Canadian firms are watching to see whether the terminal meets that timeline, given the delays other large energy projects in Canada have faced. He said the energy sector, Tokyo and Seoul also want Ottawa to boost the LNG sector by expanding the terminal or launching more of them. Otherwise, Japan and South Korea will have to rely on gas from Russia, or ask faraway countries to send supplies through waters China is trying to control.

Last month, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada’s goal is to be as close to South Korea and Japan as Ottawa is to Germany, France and the U.K. Kennedy said it’s an obvious decision, given the pair are democratic countries who share the same values. But he said it requires a sense of urgency. “We need to be more deliberate about how we engage,” he said. “A lot of it is a mindset, and just understanding that these are our neighbours.”

Kennedy said Canadian businesses have been looking past Japan for the past three decades. The country’s economic bubble burst in 1991, just as other Asian countries started posting stronger growth. Japan’s population is also aging at one of the fastest rates in the world. Yet the country remains the world’s third-largest economy, Kennedy noted, and it’s flush with capital that firms are seeking to invest abroad. Railways and telecommunications companies, for example, have barely any room to develop more services within Japan, and have been focusing on investments elsewhere.
The CPTPP trade deal, which spans most of the Pacific Rim, has helped boost Canadian exports to Japan, particularly pork and canola products.

Japanese companies are now looking to expand electric-vehicle production in North America, and Ottawa is under pressure to match American subsidies on the production of green vehicles and components. Last month, Japan’s new defence strategy called for working with allies to ward off threats from North Korea and China, and has made it legal for Japan to strike enemy bases. Tokyo is also boosting military spending by 26 per cent in just one year.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Kishida will likely take stock of a plan both countries issued last October, spanning everything from fighting illegal fishing to implementing a military intelligence sharing deal.

Kishida might also publicly endorse Canada’s desire to join the Indo-pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, a forum for co-ordinating supply chains and tax policy. Ottawa claims that all members of that group want Canada to join. Japan takes over the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven this year and Kishida’s visit to Canada is part of a multi-country tour.

Experts will watch for large-ticket announcements at the G7 leaders’ summit this May in Hiroshima.

Except that "Japan and South Korea have invested in Canada’s first LNG export terminal in Kitimat, B.C., which is set to come online in 2025."

 

[YZT580]

Except that "Japan and South Korea have invested in Canada’s first LNG export terminal in Kitimat, B.C., which is set to come online in 2025."

All Trudeau has to do is agree: knowing that environmental assessments, first nation discussions, law suits, and protests will stop any project in its tracks whilst he will appear to be in agreement.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Reading your post - with all the colours had flashbacks to the memo writing as punishment they had us do in BMQ..................

You had to be able to read and write to do recruit training?

I'm glad I enlisted over 60 years ago when literacy was a "nice to have."

 

[Rifleman62]

Say again Lumber.

10 Jan 23

Rifleman62: Good luck Japan. You will get the same answer as a desperate Germany.​

Lumber: Except that "Japan and South Korea have invested in Canada’s first LNG export terminal in Kitimat, B.C., which is set to come online in 2025."​

​

LILLEY: Japan asks for natural gas, Trudeau offers lectures on decarbonizing

A second ally has left Canada empty handed after coming to seek a safe, reliable supply of energy as a way to move away from Russia.

torontosun.com

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LILLEY: Japan asks for natural gas, Trudeau offers lectures on decarbonizing - Brian Lilley - 13 Jan 23​

“The major countries are trying to have a stable supply of energy and also to decarbonize,” Kishida said.

Once again, an ally has asked Canada to help them replace Russian energy and, once again, Justin Trudeau has effectively said no. It happened Thursday as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Ottawa to ask for help securing natural gas and Trudeau gave a public lecture on the need to decarbonize.


Kishida’s visit to Canada was part of a five-nation tour aimed at building trade relationships. Japanese companies are looking to invest in Canada, Alberta specifically, in areas of greener energy such as ammonia and hydrogen but, right now, they need natural gas and were hoping to find a reliable partner in Canada to replace the 10% of their supply that currently comes from Russia.

“We didn’t get any concrete commitment,” Kishida said when asked about getting increased supply from Canada.

It’s clear that Kishida wanted more to come out of his conversations with Trudeau, but like his German counterpart Olaf Scholz, he heard more about net zero and decarbonization rather than offers of help.

“We know that being reliable supplier of energy is important,” Trudeau said while sharing the stage with Kishida. “But even as we do talk about things like LNG and other traditional sources of energy, we know the world is moving aggressively and meaningfully towards decarbonizing.”

Translation, we know the world needs more traditional energy right now but we want to go green, so no, we won’t help.

Kishida’s frustration was clear as he responded, saying that his country wants to move away from fossil fuels but isn’t there yet and still needs natural gas. He called it a crisis in energy ever since Russia invaded Ukraine last February and was hoping for help from Canada. “The major countries are trying to have a stable supply of energy and also to decarbonize,” Kishida said.

Kishida went on to describe Canada’s abundant wealth in energy and his ongoing hope for closer ties on this file but that hope appears to be in vain with Trudeau in office. Natural gas, which can be exported overseas as liquified natural gas (LNG), is seen as a cleaner transition fuel by much of the world but not by Trudeau.

In fact, during the 2019 election, he and the Liberals mocked the idea that approving more LNG export terminals so that Canadian natural gas could replace fuels such as coal and oil could lower global emissions. Canadian LNG would lower global emissions in developing countries and in places like Japan, and Germany, give our allies a way out of their reliance on Russian products.

While LNG Canada, a massive export terminal in Kitimat, British Columbia, is set to open in 2025, the Trudeau government has delayed other project for years. Some promoters of the projects have simply given up after repeated delays.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the claim has been that it would take too long to build any infrastructure for exporting LNG and in Trudeau’s words there is no business case.

Yet last month, Germany opened the first of five LNG import terminals, the first one being completed in a record-setting 10 month time frame because the need is so great. Canadian industry could have performed a similar feat to construct export facilities but there is no will nor interest from the Trudeau government, which acts as regulator of such projects.

When our allies are in need, Canada isn’t a reliable supplier of energy, we’re a reliable supplier of lectures on decarbonizing.

 

[Halifax Tar]

Say again Lumber.

10 Jan 23

​

LILLEY: Japan asks for natural gas, Trudeau offers lectures on decarbonizing

A second ally has left Canada empty handed after coming to seek a safe, reliable supply of energy as a way to move away from Russia.

torontosun.com

​

LILLEY: Japan asks for natural gas, Trudeau offers lectures on decarbonizing - Brian Lilley - 13 Jan 23​

“The major countries are trying to have a stable supply of energy and also to decarbonize,” Kishida said.

Once again, an ally has asked Canada to help them replace Russian energy and, once again, Justin Trudeau has effectively said no. It happened Thursday as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Ottawa to ask for help securing natural gas and Trudeau gave a public lecture on the need to decarbonize.


Kishida’s visit to Canada was part of a five-nation tour aimed at building trade relationships. Japanese companies are looking to invest in Canada, Alberta specifically, in areas of greener energy such as ammonia and hydrogen but, right now, they need natural gas and were hoping to find a reliable partner in Canada to replace the 10% of their supply that currently comes from Russia.

“We didn’t get any concrete commitment,” Kishida said when asked about getting increased supply from Canada.

It’s clear that Kishida wanted more to come out of his conversations with Trudeau, but like his German counterpart Olaf Scholz, he heard more about net zero and decarbonization rather than offers of help.

“We know that being reliable supplier of energy is important,” Trudeau said while sharing the stage with Kishida. “But even as we do talk about things like LNG and other traditional sources of energy, we know the world is moving aggressively and meaningfully towards decarbonizing.”

Translation, we know the world needs more traditional energy right now but we want to go green, so no, we won’t help.

Kishida’s frustration was clear as he responded, saying that his country wants to move away from fossil fuels but isn’t there yet and still needs natural gas. He called it a crisis in energy ever since Russia invaded Ukraine last February and was hoping for help from Canada. “The major countries are trying to have a stable supply of energy and also to decarbonize,” Kishida said.

Kishida went on to describe Canada’s abundant wealth in energy and his ongoing hope for closer ties on this file but that hope appears to be in vain with Trudeau in office. Natural gas, which can be exported overseas as liquified natural gas (LNG), is seen as a cleaner transition fuel by much of the world but not by Trudeau.

In fact, during the 2019 election, he and the Liberals mocked the idea that approving more LNG export terminals so that Canadian natural gas could replace fuels such as coal and oil could lower global emissions. Canadian LNG would lower global emissions in developing countries and in places like Japan, and Germany, give our allies a way out of their reliance on Russian products.

While LNG Canada, a massive export terminal in Kitimat, British Columbia, is set to open in 2025, the Trudeau government has delayed other project for years. Some promoters of the projects have simply given up after repeated delays.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the claim has been that it would take too long to build any infrastructure for exporting LNG and in Trudeau’s words there is no business case.

Yet last month, Germany opened the first of five LNG import terminals, the first one being completed in a record-setting 10 month time frame because the need is so great. Canadian industry could have performed a similar feat to construct export facilities but there is no will nor interest from the Trudeau government, which acts as regulator of such projects.

When our allies are in need, Canada isn’t a reliable supplier of energy, we’re a reliable supplier of lectures on decarbonizing.

This angers me as well, but what did/do Canadians expect him to do ? This is exactly what he has preached all along and yet we elected him 3 times.

God damnit, we sleep in the bed we make.