Roundup: Parsing the dinner at Mar-a-Lago

So much of the weekend was spent parsing what happened at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, particularly given that Justin Trudeau didn’t put out an official readout of the meeting (probably because Trump is not officially in government yet), while Trump posted about it on his social media where he called it “productive.” The takeaways appear to be that the tariffs threats cannot be avoided immediately, because Trump believes in them and wants to use them to balance the budget (good luck with that), but that we may be able to carve out exceptions. There was also talk about the border and fentanyl, according to Dominic LeBlanc, and talk about more drones and helicopters to patrol the border (but who knows where the helicopters and personnel will come from—we are not flush with excess capacity).

None of this was good enough for Pierre Poilievre, who took to the microphones on Sunday to claim that Trudeau went in a “position of weakness” (because that’s Poilievre’s go-to line these days), and lamented that Trudeau came home “empty-handed,” as though these things are done in a day, particularly with a mercurial chaos agent like Trump. Poilievre also says he wants a cap on asylum seekers, because he claims there are too many bad actors, and said he would allow a reprieve in the ongoing filibuster if there is a border plan that meets his approval on the table. But when asked what he would do different, Poilievre says he’s not the prime minister, and walked away. So…that happened.

In a fight between Canada and the US, with the incoming US President engaged in disinformation about the Canadian border, Pierre Poilievre sides with the US.

Emmett Macfarlane (@emmettmacfarlane.com) 2024-12-01T19:19:43.012Z

Meanwhile, Doug Ford insists that the premiers are “unanimous” that they want us to accelerate defence spending to reach our NATO target sooner than later. No word yet on what fiscal demands they will give up from the federal government to reach that spending target faster (because the money has to come from somewhere).

Ukraine Dispatch

A Russian drone hit a residential building in Ternopil overnight, killing one and injuring several others. Drones also targeted Kyiv the night previous, and killed three in a strike on Kherson. Russians claim to have overtaken the settlements of Illinka and Petrivka in Donetsk region. Ukraine says it will increase the use of unmanned ground vehicles over the coming year.

Good reads:

  • Steven Guilbeault says he is disappointed that an agreement on a plastic pollution treaty could not be reached during talks in South Korea.
  • The federal government has signed a modern treaty with the Manitoba Métis Federation, though more details will be hammered out in future negotiations.
  • The cybersecurity bill has hit a snag in the Senate because a particular drafting/numbering error in the bill that has derailed progress.
  • Canada Post claims to have offered a framework for the negotiations as the labour dispute continues, but no work when mediation will resume.
  • The CBC visited an immigration detention facility to get a sense of what they are.
  • Here’s a look at how police in Cameroon target gay men in the hopes of getting bribes, and how they want Canada to advocate for those laws to change.
  • As well, here is how Ghana has been using new anti-LGBTQ+ legislation as a scapegoat from the other problems the country faces, as democracy backslides.
  • Pierre Poilievre told a crowd in Aurora that municipal governments are “bursting with cash,” and are wasting it all and don’t need any more federal money.
  • Kevin Carmichael notes that the ongoing filibuster and shenanigans in parliament are getting noticed in the international business community, and it’s not good.
  • Shannon Proudfoot observes the version of Trudeau that exists in Poilievre’s head, and how Poilievre seems to think it would be different if he were in charge.
  • Pauls Wells reflects on the current state of affairs, including Canadians who will always be willing collaborators, and Trudeau reminding himself he’s still the PM.
  • My weekend column worries that a “Team Canada” approach to Trump may no longer be possible with too many domestic political agendas at play.

Odds and ends:

Need a copy of my book “The Unbroken Machine,” or “Royal Progress,” which I contributed to? Want to give a copy as a gift? Dundurn Press is having a 25% off site wide sale!

Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2024-11-18T23:53:05.945Z

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One thought on “Roundup: Parsing the dinner at Mar-a-Lago

  1. Polievre isn’t meeting the moment. It’s probably just me, but it feels like his routine is getting stale. “Carbon tax election” sounds like a non sequitur.

    His speech about municipalities was confounding

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