Legislation – Partisan Issues

Why The USMCA “Non-Market” Clause is Not a “Trump Veto” and Is Actually Good For Canada & Mexico

There is much hype on the so-called “non-market” clause in the USMCA (aka. NAFTA 2.0): ‘Astonishing’ clause in new deal suggests Trump wants leverage over Canada-China trade talks: experts SOURCE Chinese embassy in Canada condemns ‘US veto’ clause in North America trade deal SOURCE Beijing attacks USMCA clause seen as blocking efforts to expand trade with Canada, Mexico SOURCE Alarm bells ring over non-market economy clause SOURCE and it many political opponents wrote things like: Conservative MP Michael Chong accused…

VIDEO: How Much Responsibility Do Facebook Google & Twitter Have To Block Russian Misinformation?

In an era of apparently undeniable Russian state sponsored interference in American and UK Elections social media companies like Facebook, Twitter & Google have been called to account for their part in the ‘attacks’. This begs the question, how much responsibility do internet and social media companies really have for blocking misinformation by primarily foreign entities? In this video Bloomberg explores Keith Rabois’, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and PayPal Vice President, opinion that social media is just another form…

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Is Toronto City Council Too Large: Toronto vs New York vs Vancouver vs LA vs Chicago

There has been much debate in recent weeks about the size of Toronto City Council. Currently there are 47 elected councilors in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and newly elected Ontario Premier (and former Toronto City Councillor) Doug Ford announced he is reducing that number to 25. You can make solid arguments on both sides of this issue: Reasons To Keep Toronto City Council at 47 Better representation The cost of each councilor only about 0.00008% of Toronto’s $14.2B annual budget…

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How Much Does It Cost To Grow Cannabis Inside vs Outside & Why The Canadian Government Wants It Grown Outside

The Canadian Federal Government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has legalized recreational cannabis (pot) as of October 17th, 2018. As a result of this legalization, cannabis companies have been massively expanding their traditional indoor facilities to meet the expected new demand. Indoor hydroponic facilities offer very good security protections but are vastly more expensive than outdoor facilities. How Much Does It Cost To Grow Marajuana? The cost to grow cannabis below is in 2018 Canadian Dollars and represents the average reported…

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GM Wants Regulation For Zero Emissions, Zero Crashes and Zero Congestion Vehicles

Let’s be clear that General Motors and all automobile manufactures do NOT want government regulation to mandate a Zero Emissions, Zero Crashes and Zero Congestion world, but they do want laws that: approach those achievable goals are shared in many jurisdictions apply to everyone In the video below GM President Dan Amonn explains GM’s GOALS of Zero Emissions, Zero Crashes and Zero Congestion and that their investments are very long cycle that need to be based on consistent regulations to avoid…

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VIDEO: What First Nations Really Think About Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion

Support for the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline continues to rise and now has the support of more than 2/3rds of Canadians. Further, another poll released on May 18 2018 shows support for the expansion has also continued its surge in BC, now sitting at more than 60% of BC residents. However, the media has frequently given the impression that First Nations do not support the expansion and that is simply inaccurate. David Chartrand, VP of the Metis National Council points out that nearly all…

The Very Unexpected Way That Blocking Canadian Oil Exports INCREASES The Price of Gas in Canada By $.15 Per Liter

You would expect that if petroleum products can not be efficiently transported to world markets, that there would be an oil and gas oversupply in Canada and that would drive the prices down. However, it turns out that two factors cause that not the be the case: the majority of large petroleum contracts in Canada (and around the globe) are transacted in US dollars the Canadian dollar is a “petro-currency” meaning that petroleum exports are so important to the economy…

The Unintended Consequences of Government Meddling In the Steel Industry

It is well established that even well intentioned government intervention in industry very often ends up causing more problems than it solves. Today one of the issues facing the United States is a loss of jobs in the steel industry and so President Trump claimed this is a National Security Issue and so used his unilateral power to impose a 25% tariff on imports of steel into the United States. On its face, this seems like a good idea. Simplistically,…

Can Alberta Outlast BC If Oil Shipments Are Restricted?

Alberta is used to energy shocks and can quickly adjust to the environment, especially an oversupply. BC gets 80% of its gasoline from Alberta which cannot possibly be replaced with tanker trucks from the US… because BC does not have any pipelines their either. Also, yesterday the Premier of Saskatchewan has said his province will also cut off BC if Alberta does. Put simply, BC is completely beholden to Alberta for Energy and Alberta is beholden to BC for very…

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The National Infrastructure Act: How The Federal Government Can Get Infrastructure Projects Like The Trans Mountain Pipeline Done Fairly

The current Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline debacle agonizingly demonstrates that even medium scale infrastructure projects are easily stalemated in Canada. This has scared away vast sums of foreign direct investment as investors look for easier, more reliable places to put their money. This is a crisis and it appears that the Trudeau Federal Government is taking it seriously. Prime Minister Trudeau announced yesterday that his government would be introducing legislation to ensure this pipeline is constructed in a timely…

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Twinning the Kinder-Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline Is Now Too Big To Fail

Should the Province of Alberta buy the Trans Mountain Pipeline from Kinder-Morgan if they want to walk away from the project? That question was posed to Alberta Premier Rachel Notley today and she responded with an emphatic ‘Yes!’. It has become abundantly clear, whether you are for or opposed to this particular pipeline or not, that having the relatively simple twinning of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline fail to be built would signify the end of even medium scale infrastructure…

The Dutch Have Reduced Prison Populations 50% AND Crime 39% in a Decade

In the last decade the Dutch have reduced prison inmate populations by 50% and those sentences average to about 90 days in jail. Many people expected this drastic reduction of inmates to lead to a notable increase in crime because: Dangerous, proven criminals are being quickly released back onto the street There is virtually no deterrent effect to being jailed in the Netherlands Contrary to this expectation the fact is that Dutch system has also reduced crime by nearly 40%.…

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Facebook Cambridge Analytica Scandal Is a Crisis For All Online Companies

There is a crisis at Facebook because of the constant negative media coverage of the Cambridge Analytica scandal causing users to question staying on the product and that has caused Facebook stock drop a truly staggering $70B in value in 11 days. It’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, owns 28.2% of the company so he has lost $20B personally. There is a also crisis being experienced by some Facebook users that have finally realized Facebook and nearly all other ‘free’ online services…

Should You Have The Right To Know You Are Talking To An AI Bot?

The US congress now has an Artificial Intelligence “Caucus” considering regulating how Artificial Intelligence (AI). One the items they are looking into is figuring out if citizens should have a right to know that they are talking / chatting with an Artificially Intelligent piece of software or a human. Many people feel tricked when they find out that they have been talking or chatting with an AI when the default assumption has been that people are talking or chatting with…