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PM Justin Trudeau's Canada

BurlOak said:
I understand why Trudeau hasn't resigned - because he's a narcissist who doesn't think any rules apply to him.
But what I find most amazing is that not a single Liberal candidate has dropped out.
After the biggest scandal in several generation (the Ethics Commissioners report), not one did.
Now an even bigger scandal arrives (socially, not legally), and still not a single Liberal has enough morals to walk away from this disastrous leader.
Somehow, I don't think Canada can recover if Trudeau is elected and somehow remains PM.
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I think he issue he is going to have is he can't call out anyone
gabe said:
Exactly, He might lose a few far left supporters. its bit like the snowflakes on Twitter boycotting Chick-fil a. In real life, people didn't care, the lines up went from Bloor St to Timbuktu. Majority of voters know Trudeau is not a racist bigot.

Jagmeet is really milking this. It's not going to get him votes. I'm sure he has said and done stupid things too when he was young.

"Facepalm"

Mr. Singh, is Justin Trudeau a racist?

That's going to be a question I think Canadians might have to answer, but I don't think it's actually the most important question, because whether he is or he is not doesn't change the fact that his actions have had a really serious impact on Canadians.
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I don't think JUstin will feel any real impact in terms of votes however Singh if he drags this on could lose a ton of votes.
 
I gotta say. Trudeau's fiscal policy here is concerning. I don't buy their justification for this level of deficit spending. I also really detest their misleading use of stats, like quoting the federal debt/GDP ratio, as opposed to what most economists use when comparing countries, the total government debt/GDP ratio. With that ratio, Canada is at ~91%. Just 10% below the 90s panic level. Source.

Keeping the federal debt/gdp ratio at ~30% is still a high level. And their plan would blow up plenty quick if even a mild recession happened. Simply going to zero growth, would probably push their annual deficit into the the $30-40 billion range. A recession would probable push the deficit to $50+ billion for several years.

It's unfortunate that the Conservatives are pushing tax cuts before a balanced budget. That would have been their best sales pitch to centrists/moderates like me. If everyone is going to be fiscally irresponsible, then I guess the question for me becomes is what kind of spending I want.
 
Of all the things to vote-buy...

It makes sense if you take into account that Trudeau considers Canada a post-national state.

Liberal promise to wipe out citizenship fees would cost $100M a year
Expert says it could be viewed as 'political positioning' to immigrant voters
Kathleen Harris · CBC News · Posted: Oct 01, 2019 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: October 1

The Liberals are promising to eliminate the application fee for Canadian citizenship, removing what some immigrant advocates have called a key barrier for many newcomers.

Tucked in the party's platform released Sunday is a promise to make the path to citizenship "more affordable." The estimated cost is $400 million over four years.

"Becoming a citizen allows new immigrants to fully participate in Canadian society and the process of granting citizenship is a government service, not something that should be paid for with a user fee," the platform reads. "To make citizenship more affordable, we will make the application process free for those who have fulfilled the requirements needed to obtain it."

The processing fee is now $530, which was hiked from $100 by the previous Conservative government. There is also a $100 "right of citizenship" fee.

Cost is considered a hurdle for many newcomers hoping to become Canadian citizens, especially low-income refugee families.

The Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) has pressed the government to eliminate it.
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Andrew Griffith, a former senior immigration official and author on immigration issues, said while he has long railed against the "steep" increase brought in by the Conservatives, he doesn't see the need to eliminate fees entirely.

Becoming a citizen benefits Canada in terms of improved integration and participation and benefits the citizen with the right to a Canadian passport and voting rights, he said. Griffith said a fee of $300 would reflect that balance.

"Waiving the fees completely, at a cost of some $100 million a year, is excessive and will likely be perceived as political positioning to attract immigrant voters, rather than being evidence-based," he said.

"To my knowledge, no Western country offers free citizenship."

According to Elections Canada, there were 337,265 Canadian citizens added to the national register since the 2015 election.

In 2017, the Liberals loosened some rules around citizenship. They reduced the length of time that would-be citizens must be physically present in Canada. They lowered the age range for language and knowledge requirements. The fee remained the same.
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jje1000 said:
Of all the things to vote-buy...

It makes sense if you take into account that Trudeau considers Canada a post-national state.

Liberal promise to wipe out citizenship fees would cost $100M a year
Expert says it could be viewed as 'political positioning' to immigrant voters
Kathleen Harris · CBC News · Posted: Oct 01, 2019 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: October 1




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Unto to itself, I don't really have a problem with this.

I do have a problem with it in as much as we have a deficit, and there are certainly more pressing social priorities.

But at the same time; I don't think what amount to mandatory interactions with government (as opposed to elective ones) ought to be subject to fees.

I'm not a big fan of fees as method of paying for service from the government; that's surely why we pay taxes.

I think there are reasonable exceptions to that logic, for instance recovering the cost of inspections through a building permit process.

On the other hand, I think there's something wrong with making someone buy a passport to travel; when I would argue its their fundamental right to travel, and people have that innate ability; its only the government stopping you to require ID. Ergo the expense should be theirs.

Likewise, I think you should have qualify for citizenship, and be worthy of it; but not pay for it.
 
Northern Light said:
when I would argue its their fundamental right to travel
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Freedom of mobility is a charter right. But nowhere in the world is international travel a fundamental right. A passport has always been a privilege, because at some level it means the state is acting as your guarantor to other nations. I am okay with there being passport fees. And ours in Canada, aren't particularly high anyway. A 10 year passport is $160. 5 year passport is $120. That's probably pretty close to the administrative costs to provide you that document.

Northern Light said:
Likewise, I think you should have qualify for citizenship, and be worthy of it; but not pay for it.
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Agreed. And I personally think our current standards are a joke. Three out of five years to qualify for citizenship? I'd like that to be the minimum to retain residency. The pre-2017 rules were better in my opinion. The only exception to that was the credit given for pre-PR residency that I'd keep.

Changes to citizenship requirements 2017 to 2018 - Canada.ca

Applying for Citizenship? Here are the changes you need to know
www.canada.ca www.canada.ca

I think 4 out of 6 years is fair. Personally, I'd require 5 years of physical presence as a minimum.
 
jje1000 said:
Of all the things to vote-buy...

It makes sense if you take into account that Trudeau considers Canada a post-national state.

Liberal promise to wipe out citizenship fees would cost $100M a year
Expert says it could be viewed as 'political positioning' to immigrant voters
Kathleen Harris · CBC News · Posted: Oct 01, 2019 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: October 1


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I think Liberals don't understand that many immigrants actually resent policies like this. They don't like seeing other newcomers essentially "skip the line" when they themselves had to go through all sorts of trials and tribulations in order to immigrate to this great country.

My parents will see something like this and think "well, when should we expect a cheque with a refund of the fees that we paid?".
 
Northern Light said:
Unto to itself, I don't really have a problem with this.

I do have a problem with it in as much as we have a deficit, and there are certainly more pressing social priorities.

But at the same time; I don't think what amount to mandatory interactions with government (as opposed to elective ones) ought to be subject to fees.

I'm not a big fan of fees as method of paying for service from the government; that's surely why we pay taxes.

I think there are reasonable exceptions to that logic, for instance recovering the cost of inspections through a building permit process.

On the other hand, I think there's something wrong with making someone buy a passport to travel; when I would argue its their fundamental right to travel, and people have that innate ability; its only the government stopping you to require ID. Ergo the expense should be theirs.

Likewise, I think you should have qualify for citizenship, and be worthy of it; but not pay for it.
Click to expand...

As KeithZ said, freedom of mobility (travel) is guaranteed by our Charter but only with the country as that is scope of our Charter. It's not our government requiring "ID" to travel, you don't need it to leave; it's a requirement of the country of destination.

The difference between "mandatory" and "elective" interactions with the government might well be a matter of perspective. You don't have to pay a fee to file your income tax, apply for CPP or OAS (other than payroll or general tax revenue contributions) or obtain a social insurance number.
 
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