Roundup: A bad case for a dumb idea

Posted on by

The flirtation with separatist sentiment in Alberta is bringing all the boys to the yard, and suddenly they’re all trying to make a cockamamie case for why this is a real threat. Yesterday it was respected tax economist Jack Mintz who decided to stray way outside of his lane, and insist that Alberta has a better case for this than Great Britain does with Bexit, which is patent nonsense both on its face, and in every single one of his nonsense arguments. And yet, in the rush to pander to the angry sentiment in Alberta and to offer up simplistic solutions and snake oil to what is a series of protracted (and in some cases intractable) problems that require time and patience to resolve. Mintz later went on the CBC to defend his column, and made a bunch of other nonsense arguments that presumes that the US would be a better customer for Alberta oil…despite that the actual pipeline capacity going from Alberta to the US is minimal and don’t think they could easily build more if they can’t even get Keystone XL over the finish line there.

https://twitter.com/EmmMacfarlane/status/1075414877890502656

https://twitter.com/EmmMacfarlane/status/1075415929394102272

Meanwhile, Tyler Dawson makes the case that such a separatist movement not only lacks logic, it also lacks a real leader or the intellectual heft to actually make it something viable. Andrew Leach takes Mintz to task on his assumptions about demand for Alberta oil. Jen Gerson tells Alberta that while they have legitimate grievances, the insistence that Ottawa is simply out to get them risks becoming a pathology, while the separation talk is terrible, and simply burning the system down won’t help anyone. Can I get an amen up in here?

https://twitter.com/EmmMacfarlane/status/1075469089450078208

Good reads:

  • At his year-end press conference, Justin Trudeau said he hadn’t spoken to Chinese president Xi over the detained Canadians, but said the third one was different.
  • Trudeau also downplayed any national unity concerns over Quebec and Alberta’s spat over oil pipelines.
  • Trudeau says the next election will be about “positive” Liberals versus “divisive” Liberals. (Because it’ll be the “No, you’re being divisive” election).
  • Trudeau and Jean-Yves Duclos are still talking about the possibility of basic income.
  • A member of the prime minister’s youth council resigned over his comments about the gender impacts of construction workers in rural areas (ignoring the data).
  • Just as the government removed pretending to practice witchcraft from the Criminal Code as a “zombie law,” a woman in Timmins was charged with it. Oops.
  • Here’s a look at the Roxham Road border crossing site, which still sees the bulk of irregular migrant arrivals.
  • Chinese planes buzzed our military surveillance monitoring North Korean sanctions.
  • The largest public sector union is moving toward a strike position.
  • Here’s a look at how industry may be affected if we banned Huawei from the G5 network in Canada.
  • Senators are considering hauling the Public Works officials before committee to answer for their ignoring acoustics concerns in the new Senate chamber.
  • Andrew Scheer said Alberta didn’t need the $1.6 billion in assistance, but they needed pipelines. (I mean, if you can wave a magic wand…)
  • Rachel Notley keeps ruling out a PST, despite the fact that it may be good for the province’s coffers.
  • Susan Delacourt judges Trudeau’s end-of-year press conference, and his talk about learning nuance and downplaying anger in places like Alberta.
  • Andrew Coyne considers Brian Pallister’s proposal for a “Grand Bargain” on interprovincial trade.

Odds and ends:

Apparently Saudi Arabia is behind in paying for those LAVs. Oops.

Want more Routine Proceedings? Become a patron and get exclusive new content.