Roundup: Deficit is coming in lower than expected

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It is on or about day ninety-four of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Russian forces are claiming that they have captured a rail hub in Donestk, while they continue to pound Severodonetsk, with some 90 percent of the city’s buildings damaged. Ukrainians are calling for Western allies to deliver weapons faster, though there is talk that it looks like this aggressive push by Russia has depleted their arsenal.

The invasion is also not accidental in terms of location or timing—the eastern part of the country are a trove of natural gas and critical minerals, and when Russia invaded, it cut off Ukraine’s exploration of natural gas reserves in the Black Sea, which could have been used to help wean Europe off of Russian oil and gas. Because aren’t all wars really about resources?

Closer to home, the Fiscal Monitor was released, and the deficit figure is coming in much lower than anticipated, because in large part the economy is overheated which is generating a lot of revenue (and inflation does help in terms of collecting higher taxes on higher prices). But as Kevin Milligan points out, this means that the obsession by the Conservatives with the deficit is becoming really misplaced—the massive spending in 2020 to get us through the pandemic is behind us, and we’re not in that situation anymore. Not that facts matter—this is really an exercise in people’s feelings about the deficit, and the perceptions that are not grounded in facts.

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/1530246817589252098

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/1530247609792663552

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/1530248376364593153

Good reads:

  • Dr. Howard Njoo says that physical distancing and masking can help to stop the spread of monkeypox, though we are not at the stage of mass vaccination.
  • Jean-Yves Duclos says that we sent part of our emergency federal medical stockpile to Ukraine to assist there.
  • Ahmed Hussen announced more funds for women’s shelters, and advocates are saying that this is not enough for what is needed.
  • Provisions in the budget implementation bill give the immigration minister new powers to target certain occupations or skills  for fast-tracked permanent residency.
  • Marco Mendicino issued new mandate letters for the RCMP, CSIS, CBSA, and the Correctional Services.
  • David Lametti says that the government will be tabling their new gun control legislation on Monday.
  • The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Parliament can’t legislate away the right to apply for parole, even for multiple murders (and it’s only about the right to apply).
  • It sounds like Stéphane Dion is going to be appointed ambassador to France.
  • Western premiers met, and demanded more healthcare funds, because it’s a day that ends in y.
  • Justin Ling delves into how 4chan radicalises and mobilises young men into domestic terrorism and extremism.

Odds and ends:

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