So, the TPP got signed, in case you missed the entirety of the news cycle yesterday. The Supply Management system was almost entirely left intact, and what tiny bit of market access that TPP countries gained will be more than compensated to the dairy farmers with very generous subsidies, and thus the Dairy Cartel was sated. Also, the auto parts content rules were kept largely intact as well, not that Unifor seems to care, as they’re going full-on protectionist and crying doom. Harper of course was touting the deal, while the Liberals sounded broadly supportive but wanted more details plus a full discussion in parliament when it comes to enabling legislation. The NDP, however, are still warning doom and taking the tactic of “Nobody trusts Stephen Harper” and latched onto Unifor’s claims that 20,000 jobs were imperilled. So there’s that. Economist Trevor Tombe takes us through why the deal is good for the country, while Andrew Coyne laments the timidity of maintaining the barriers we did.
https://twitter.com/stephaniecarvin/status/651093562784923648
I'm confused by @RalphGoodale's focus on trade deficits on @PnPCBC. Don't we have a flexible currency? I think we do. #cdnecon #elxn42
— Trevor Tombe (@trevortombe) October 5, 2015
Pro tip: If you're using the trade balance to argue for or against a trade agreement, pull your head out of your butt.
— Stephen Gordon (@stephenfgordon) October 5, 2015
On the campaign:
- Stephen Harper touted the TPP deal.
- Thomas Mulcair promised more funding for the arts.
- Justin Trudeau released the party’s full platform, as well as promising more grants for students. He later promised to end boil-water advisories on First Nations reserves within five years.
Good reads:
- 92 percent of calls to the National Security Tip Line are “nonsensical” or unrelated. But we need a Barbaric Cultural Practices Tip Line to waste more resources.
- Former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Danny Williams is telling people that if they can’t vote for the Liberals or NDP then they should not vote at all.
- The Federal Court of Appeal denied the government their stay on the niqab ban decision (judgment here).
- The details on that convicted terrorist stripped of citizenship are apparently a breach of privacy, so don’t expect them from the government.
- Bruce Hicks grades the parties performances vis-à-vis the Caretaker Convention through the election. For the Conservatives and NDP, it’s not pretty.
- Stephen Gordon reminds us that the Liberal and NDP fiscal frameworks are essentially built on the Conservative baseline.
- Susan Delacourt contrasts the spirit of suspicion and generosity that both Harper and Trudeau respectively offer in the election.
Odds and ends:
The latest Conservative ads attacking Justin Trudeau feature not stock photography but stock b-roll, from places like Italy and Pittsburgh.
Jason Kenney complimented a resettled refugee learning English without an accent, and immediately people freaked out.
https://twitter.com/cmathen/status/651142641229238272
https://twitter.com/cmathen/status/651142973674029056
https://twitter.com/cmathen/status/651143412180119553
https://twitter.com/cmathen/status/651145509764132864