The reverberations from Doug Ford’s capitulation on the electricity “surcharge” was mostly met by mocking—Howard Lutnick mocking him on Fox, and Trump mocking him after his indignant “electricity affects people’s lives,” as if the tariffs don’t. Along the way, CNN fact-checked Trump’s claims that Canada is one of the highest-tariffing countries, when in fact we’re one of the lowest (Supply Management excepted).
Lutnick makes fun of Doug Ford who has agreed to suspend tariffs on electricity coming Ontario to the U.S. Lutnick says Ford "thought he'd be the big man and tackle Donald Trump." https://t.co/5aTBRQEyPY
— David Pugliese (@davidpugliese) March 12, 2025
But remember, Ford was the guy who was going to stand up to Trump. https://t.co/TAXdMlyAnB
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) March 12, 2025
Closer to home, the Dominic LeBlanc announced the retaliatory tariffs to the steel and aluminium tariffs, but also clarified that the meeting with Lutnick today is about tariffs and not renegotiating NAFTA as Ford claimed. (When asked later, Ford insisted that tariffs are NAFTA, which is obvious bullshit after he got caught in a self-aggrandizing lie). Meanwhile, Danielle Smith and Ford appear to be butting heads as Smith continues to demand a diplomatic approach (as though Trump responds to diplomacy), while Scott Moe took to the microphones to demand capitulation to China on EV tariffs. Because of course he did.
As for Mark Carney, he had breakfast with Ford before heading to a steel plant in Hamilton (where he avoided media questions), and Ford later praised Carney for his command of numbers and business skills. Carney later remarked that he’ll meet with Trump “when there’s respect for Canadian sovereignty.” So, never?
PBO Report
The Parliamentary Budget Officer released a new report yesterday on the effects of the emissions cap, and it was trash, because it once again compared a scenario that doesn’t exist. This is a pattern with this PBO, and because he’s an independent Officer of Parliament, he gets no accountability except from maybe the media, and rest assured, they won’t hold him to any.
Find someone that hates your enemies as much as the PBO hates GHG emissions policies, and find someone who loves you as much as the PBO loves being the centre of attacks on the gov't.
— Andrew Leach (@andrew_leach) March 12, 2025
The PBO omitting baseline against which changes in employment and GDP are calculated and their insistence on calling them decreases, rather than decreases relative to trend is policy analysis misconduct. They could have shown both, as well as the difference. They made a choice.
— Andrew Leach (@andrew_leach) March 13, 2025
So, is Alberta oil production up or down since Justin Trudeau took office? Asking for the PBO. pic.twitter.com/fgg9BSDhtl
— Andrew Leach (@andrew_leach) March 13, 2025
Doing bad analysis of GHG policy once is excusable. Twice is a pattern. Three times is reprehensible. Four times is… https://t.co/hGx4CD3k1w
— Andrew Leach (@andrew_leach) March 13, 2025
Ukraine Dispatch
Russia launched three missiles and 133 drones in an overnight attack Tuesday night, and a missile attack on Kryvyi Rih killed one woman. Ukraine also contends that attacks on the port in Odesa are an attack on global food security. Putin visited the Kursk region for the first time since Ukraine occupied it, while Ukraine’s top army commander says the will fight in that region as long as needed. It doesn’t look like Putin will accept the US’ ceasefire proposal, at least not without a bunch of demands of his own. (Try and look surprised).
Amid the negotiations in #Jeddah and the agreement on a temporary ceasefire, on the night of March 12, #Russia attacked #Ukraine using three Iskander ballistic missiles and 133 drones of various types, according to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
#Dnipro – 10… pic.twitter.com/zSwst6WCBX
— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) March 12, 2025
Ukraine wanted to demonstrate to U.S. President Donald Trump and its European partners that it is serious about ending the war, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 12 about why Kyiv agreed to Washington's temporary truce proposal.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 12, 2025