[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[crazy canuck]

Yeah, you'd have to be in pretty good shape to want to do both on the same day. I don't think anybody actually does that.

It would've been better if they had just said you can ski in the morning and have lunch by the ocean in the afternoon.  That combination is a lot more likely.

Yeah I'm used to a formulation more like that in Southern California. Up in the mountains with snow and then afternoon in shorts in the desert.

Its been a long time since we could say something like that.  We don't have enough snow into late May on the local mountains to be able to wear shorts by the ocean after skiing in the Morning.

Damn climate change 

[viper37]

No snark intended but does anyone actually want to kayak and ski in the same day?

Generally I think to enjoy Canada you have to appreciate the "outdoors".

I still have access to our cottage, I can never find the time to go.

[Josephus]

I used to go to Montreal regularly. They do have cities.

Of course and I'd love to go to Montreal especially. But whenever I've spoken to Canadians they're all outdoorsy types who love hiking and the countryside - which I get their country is stunning for that, if you like that kind of thing. As BBoy says like going to a steak restaurant and ordering a pasta.

I'm about as anti-outdoorsy as you get. Just saying.

[viper37]

Canada Post strike is suspended until May.

[Josephus]

Canada Post strike is suspended until May.

Not sure if that's official yet. I think the gov't said we are extending your current contract until May and if you don't go back to work we MAY force you to. In legalize.

[crazy canuck]

Josephus has it more correct than Viper. But both of you are missing an essential step that still needs to occur. The labour board still has to consider the minister's position and make its decision as to what should be done. The reason that is an important step is if the labour board makes their decision in a way that is flawed either party could judicially review that decision in court.

The background is this, the minister has made a direction under the labour code, determining that the negotiations will likely be unsuccessful. The minister has further determined that the best way forward would be to extend the contract until May to allow the parties additional time to come to a negotiated collective agreement.

The labour board could reject either of those determinations. For example, the labour board could come to the conclusion that the parties have shown some movement in their negotiations, sufficient enough to conclude that an agreement might be made.  Also, and this is a bit more likely, the labour board could conclude that there is no point to simply extending the contract until May and instead direct that a collective agreement be concluded by way of an interest arbitration.

One of the things about this labour dispute that is fascinating to me, and shows how much the world has changed, is that nobody has argued that the post office fulfils an essential service. If that designation was made then the amount of workers that could go on strike would be significantly limited.  That is one of the things that made postal strikes in the past, I'm talking 50 years ago, so violet on the picket lines. These days, unless you're one of the few people directly affected, it's hard to notice that a strike is actually going on.

[Josephus]

Hmmmm.  I never knew until today that Calgary doesn't have fluoride in its water system although it recently voted to bring it back next year

[Grey Fox]

My town stopped fluorideing out water back in 2000. It was too hard on the filtering machines.

Study show that it was highly successful at preventing cavities in children.

[HVC]

Who knew the dentist lobby was so strong in Canada

[Josephus]

Woah! Hearing Freeland quit cabinet

[crazy canuck]

Trudeau told her on Friday he was going to shuffle her to another cabinet position. Instead she resigned from cabinet. 

Significant she wanted to make clear that she had disagreed with the PM over policy.

[Neil]

In the old days, this would be an unsurvivable loss for the PM and he'd have to resign.  Obviously in modern Westminster systems, the party leader is usually the only MP that has any kind of power with the public and I would expect that he'll muddle through until his upcoming electoral massacre next year. 

Freeland was supposed to be the brains behind this government and she brought the international institutional respect (because everybody thinks Trudeau is a lightweight).  Punting her out of the Cabinet (because that's what this was, make no mistake) might have some interesting shocks in the Liberal Party, but they're all running scared at this point, so I don't expect any kind of caucus revolt. 

[Barrister]

Freeland posts her resignation letter to X/Twitter.  It's pretty savage for such things.  It talks about "costly political gimmicks" and "keeping our powder dry".

Also worth noting she was supposed to release the government's "fall" economic update TODAY.

https://x.com/cafreeland/status/1868659332285702167

[Barrister]

Freeland was supposed to be the brains behind this government and she brought the international institutional respect (because everybody thinks Trudeau is a lightweight).  Punting her out of the Cabinet (because that's what this was, make no mistake) might have some interesting shocks in the Liberal Party, but they're all running scared at this point, so I don't expect any kind of caucus revolt. 

It's amazing how after 9 years as PM, one of the principle impressions of Trudeau is that he's an intellectual lightweight.

It's also funny this is the third female senior cabinet minister to resign from Trudeau's cabinet - again suggesting that Trudeau isn't actually very comfortable with strong women.

[Sheilbh]

In the old days, this would be an unsurvivable loss for the PM and he'd have to resign.  Obviously in modern Westminster systems, the party leader is usually the only MP that has any kind of power with the public and I would expect that he'll muddle through until his upcoming electoral massacre next year. 

I think it'd be pretty fatal in other Westminster systems. Certainly very challenging in the UK or Australia.

But reading and joining in in this thread it feels like Canada's kind of got the worst traits of a Westminster system (strict party discipline/whip) and the worst traits of a US Presidential system (people not being easily replaced/forced out when they're failing)