The Labour Day weekend is upon us and Canadians get to enjoy a few more days of summertime reprieve. For your reading pleasure through the holiday weekend, here are a few important news items that have been underreported by legacy media, the government-subsidized newsrooms. From Canada’s seemingly unlimited financial support of the war in Ukraine to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s sleight of hand placing tariffs on CUSMA goods, this news directly impacts Canadians’ immediate economic standing and future prosperity – so it is important to take note for when reality hits this fall.
Untold billions of dollars to Ukraine
The Canadian prime minister stood with President Volodymyr Zelensky before cameras in Kyiv to announce the commitment of another $2 billion for the Ukraine war effort. To be more precise, Carney was reannouncing the announcement he made at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis in June: $2 billion to Ukraine for military equipment and supplies, air defence capabilities, and the purchase of drones. Carney repeated the statement a few times that Canada is the largest per capita donor to Ukraine. The total commitment is now $22 billion. These commitments (essentially “IOU cheques”) Carney is giving to Zelensky represent borrowed money; future generations of Canadians will be paying it back and Canadians will also be paying millions of dollars of interest per week for this commitment of borrowed money. On the finer point of just how much Canadians are committing to Ukraine, Blacklock’s Reporter reported this week that the details of federal aid are being censored by the Department of Finance. The Canadian government expects that there will be a need to give considerably more – untold billions of dollars. Consider that Ukraine is reliant on foreign aid that will total US$162.9 billion if “the war extends into 2026.” Postwar reconstruction will take 10 years and more than half a trillion of American dollars.
The theatre of war and the theatre of Canadian politics
Political commentators have observed that the Carney’s press event in Kyiv was a scramble to stay relevant after he was conspicuously absent at the recent Coalition of the Willing meeting of world leaders in Washington DC. Macdonald-Laurier Institute senior fellow and defence policy expert Joe Varner observed, “The government was struck by the fact they weren’t invited to Washington. I think that, in part, drives the prime minister’s trip to Ukraine.” Carney fidgeted as he looked into the cameras and said, “We are working through with our allies and the coalition of the willing, and with Ukraine, the modalities of those security guarantees on land, in the air and the sea, and I would not exclude the presence of troops.” Carney was making unconditional commitments of money with no parliamentary oversight, as well as an unexpectedly new commitment of the possibility of Canadian troops in Ukraine — with no parliamentary debate. Carney’s theatrical performance made headlines in Canada’s legacy media, but it was not carried in international news. The diminishing relevancy of Canada on the world stage was best exposed in the juxtaposition of two news photos released a day apart; there are the leaders of the western world huddled in Washington, and Carney grinning away with local city councillors in his Ottawa’s riding of Nepean.
Carney skating offside to breach CUSMA trade agreement
Carney has not only been “elbows up” but has been skating offside in placing retaliatory tariffs on American goods that are covered under the current CUSMA trade agreement. Former NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair explained what many south of the border are describing as the Liberals’ purposeful sabotaging of the free trade negotiations. Mulcair explained: “As the dust settled on the histrionics and bluster of team Trump, it became clear that the Americans had been careful not to breach the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement (CUSMA). On that, the Americans were right. How could Trump claim that he wanted to renegotiate CUSMA if he didn’t respect the deal that we already have? When we imposed those counter-tariffs, the idea was to do just that: counter the American move. Instead, Canada wound up applying tariffs even on goods that are exempt under CUSMA.” U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra explained further in this Global News new clip: “Canada is the country that has pulled the rug out from USMCA.” (In late August Carney announced that, as of September 1st, he is scrapping all tariffs on U.S. goods that are compliant with the CUSMA agreement.)
Ottawa requiring more advice on “how Washington works”
Blacklock’s Reporter revealed last week that the federal government hired a U.S. consultant for tips on “how Washington works.” The American expert came at a price tag of $177,000. Blacklock’s Reporter made the point that this expert’s counsel was sought despite the work of 13,235 employees at Ottawa’s department of foreign affairs and Canada’s fully staffed embassy in Washington. This high-priced Ottawa hire came one day after the Canadian Embassy disclosed it had paid another series of American consultants at US$2,000 per hour for “a deep dive into the conservative media landscape, right wing messaging analysis and workshops on adapting messaging on key issues to Canada.”
Sam Cooper makes public the unmentionable
For at least the last five years investigative journalist Sam Cooper has been ahead of the pack exposing the hard news about the scandalous activities of the Chinese Communist Party in Canada. In the last five weeks he has published stories that go at the very heart of the Canada-China-United States triangle of controversy involving fentanyl – stories that no government official will comment on, stories that no legacy media will report. Cooper has exposed the behind the scenes details of Canada and U.S. police handling of fentanyl production in Canada. Apparently, the Canadian government and the RCMP refused to act on American intelligence information about a B.C. fentanyl superlab and that fueled distrust between the country’s police service and was at the crux of the U.S.-Canada tariffs dispute and the demand for a joint police effort in combatting fentanyl on Canadian soil. Cooper tapped his sources in the U.S. administration to report that President Donald Trump has been informed that the RCMP and Carney have shown no signs of improving their efforts to work with U.S. agencies and tackle the fentanyl crisis. In another damaging media report, Cooper cites U.S. officials who say Canada’s fentanyl czar has admitted to having “no authority” over the RCMP. This failure on Canada’s part is “undermining Carney’s assurances of historic border measures” and it is impacting Canada-U.S. trade negotiations. Canadians must read Cooper’s The Bureau to understand what the government and legacy media are keeping from the public.
RCMP “no longer fit for service”
In a revealing opinion piece this week in The Bureau, former senior Mountie Garry Clement delivers a rather sobering take on Canada’s national police force, uncovering harsh realities that politicians would rather not be publicly discussed, that the RCMP is “no longer fit for service.” In his article “Mounties, Overstretched and Overmatched by Foreign Mafias, No Longer Fit for Service,” Clement reported that the RCMP is presently bogged down in small-town contract policing, temporary duty assignments, and VIP security. He states, “RCMP is plugging local holes and babysitting politicians instead of targeting the global networks.” He claims that the understaffed force is burnt out, morale has collapsed, sick leave is skyrocketing, and the institutional culture is fraying. Clement also suggested that RCMP leadership is handcuffed by its own incompetence and having been politically neutered. His underlining point is that, with mounting national security threats, Canadians must be reassured the Mounties will be able to answer the call of duty.
The Canadian National Exhibition’s telling tale
The final news item for this Labour Day weekend relates to Canada’s stark youth unemployment numbers, now at levels “typically seen during a recession” according to a CIBC report. Youth employment participation rate today is little more than one in two (54 per cent), and more than one in three unemployed youth (37 per cent) have given up trying to find a job. Perhaps there is no clearer example of how bad it is than the story of the job search held by the Canadian National Exhibition. The CNE advertised 6,000 short-term jobs associated with the 17-day exhibition in Toronto. It had more than 54,000 people register for interviews. Let the hopelessness of these sad numbers sink in as the gates of the CNE clang shut this holiday Monday and we lament the end of our summer break.
Chris George is an advocate, government relations advisor, and writer/copy editor. As president of a public relations firm established in 1994, Chris provides discreet counsel, tactical advice and management skills to CEOs/Presidents, Boards of Directors and senior executive teams in executing public and government relations campaigns and managing issues. Prior to this PR/GR career, Chris spent seven years on Parliament Hill on staffs of Cabinet Ministers and MPs. He has served in senior campaign positions for electoral and advocacy campaigns at every level of government. Today, Chris resides in Almonte, Ontario where he and his wife manage www.cgacommunications.com. Contact Chris at chrisg.george@gmail.com.
