How Trudeau's policies could lead to Trumpism in Canada

How Trudeau's policies could lead to Trumpism in Canada

Postby Oscar » Wed Mar 22, 2017 9:02 am

How Trudeau's policies could lead to Trumpism in Canada

[ http://canadians.org/blog/how-trudeaus- ... ism-canada ]

March 21, 2017 - 7:41 am

An Angus Reid Institute poll recently found that 47 per cent of Canadians want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to "employ a hard approach" with US President Donald Trump, "even at the risk of damaging the relationship between the two countries." But instead of doing that, Trudeau seems focused on soft-pedalling:

Women's rights – Rather than denouncing Trump's sexism, the prime minister facilitated a women entrepreneurs roundtable that served to distract from Trump's misogynistic views. Globe and Mail columnist Leah McLaren has written, "These are the things we do for trade deals [but] was it really necessary for our feminist Prime Minister to make such an utter mockery of women's rights (which are under real threat in the United States at the moment) while he was on a social visit to casually secure broader points of the North American free-trade agreement?"

Migrant rights – Rather than rescinding the Canada-US Safe Third Country agreement, Public Safety minister Ralph Goodale is sharing information with the US Homeland Security secretary John Kelly, a retired four-star US Marine Corps general who has considered deploying 100,000 National Guard troops to round-up unauthorized immigrants in the US. Commenting on the asylum seekers fleeing the situation in the US across the Canadian border, Goodale says, "We are working now on both sides of the border to determine exactly where these people are coming from, how and why."

Water – Rather than condemning Trump's proposed elimination of $300 million in annual funding to clean-up the Great Lakes, Environment minister Catherine McKenna says she believes Trump's appointee who heads the Environmental Protection Agency understands the importance of the Great Lakes to the economy. The New York Times has noted, "[EPA head Scott] Pruitt has harshly criticized the role of the federal agency, saying much of its authority should be dissolved and left to the states."

Trade & energy – Rather than working to remove the investor-state provision and water as a tradable good from NAFTA, the prime minister has highlighted the importance of expanding tar sands exports to the US, including backing the 830,000 barrel per day Keystone XL pipeline. At a recent conference in Houston for oil executives, Trudeau stated, "Nothing is more essential to the US economy than access to a secure, reliable source of energy. Canada is that source.” Support for Keystone XL is inconsistent with the science of limiting the warming of the planet below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Civil rights – Rather than withdrawing Stephen Harper's Bill C-23, which allows armed US border guards to detain people in airports, bus, train and ferry stations in Canada, the prime minister celebrated the passage of an enabling bill in the US Congress. In his (less than reassuring) defence of C-23, Trudeau says, "If we didn't have preclearance in Canada, people would be passing customs in the United States. And in the United States, American laws dominate and control the behaviour of people in border crossings. When you're doing preclearance in Canada, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canadian laws are in place, so there is extra protection."

But concessions to a bully will only mean further demands for more concessions. There is also now pressure to align Canadians tax and regulatory policies with those being implemented by the Trump administration in the United States.

Lower corporate taxes?
The Toronto Star has reported, "Finance Minister Bill Morneau is suggesting the federal budget [to be tabled on March 22] will have the room to deal with whatever economic shifts could ensue as the Trump administration takes over in the US. Morneau provided no details when asked about how Trump’s election win has impacted the budget preparation process. But he said he will exercise prudence as he plans upcoming investments 'to ensure that we have the capacity to deal with the environment that we find ourselves in'."

CBC adds, "Trump's promise of massive personal and corporate tax cuts, as well as a trillion dollars in infrastructure spending, is a key factor in this 'prudent' approach, the government source said."

The Globe and Mail's Campbell Clark has commented, "It’s corporate tax cuts that would really put pressure on the Liberal government in Ottawa. Canada touts its lower corporate taxes, but Mr. Trump promised to cut the US rate from 35 per cent to 15 per cent. 'That would turn the tables on us', said Bank of Montreal chief economist Douglas Porter. It would spark concern that Canada could lose business investment to the United States."

Deregulated water protection?
Trump has already repealed the Stream Protection Rule that was intended to protect almost 10,000 kilometres of streams from the practice of dumping mining waste in streams during mountaintop mining.

When Trudeau met with Trump in Washington in February, they talked about "shared regulatory outcomes that are business-friendly". Just days after that meeting, the Mining Association of Canada released a report citing regulatory delays and uncertainty as reasons mining investments could move outside the country.

And the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) has already expressed concern about "any potential competitiveness imbalances" between Canada and the US. CAPP vice-president Ben Brunnen says, "We're keenly aware of the importance of a level playing field where investment can flow over the border quite freely."

Greater inequality?
Beyond concessions to Trump, Trudeau on his own already supports free trade deals that contribute to inequality and that feed the anger that Trump was able to capture to win support for his election.

The Tufts University CETA Without Blinders study shows that Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement signatory countries would lose 230,00 jobs, and that in Canada it would transfer 1.74 per cent of national income from labour to capital (meaning any economic gains will flow overwhelmingly to owners of capital rather than to workers) and that due to rising inequality and unemployment the average income in Canada is projected to fall by $2,650 by 2023.

We need real change from the federal government, not policies that take us toward Trumpism in Canada.

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]
Oscar
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