Spyke

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canada

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PM Carney declares U.S. ties now a ‘weakness’ in address to Canadians

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Orr, we can ditch oil and gas like scientific evidence has proven countless times to be what we should be doing, and instead build on renewables.

If I'm not going to see the government using oil profits to benefit the everyday man, then then I say fuck the oil and gas industry. They fuck the worker over by replacing them with automation, and leave the taxpayer to pay for their mess such as with the oil well cleanups here in Alberta.

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NDP statement on Iran bombings

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If he can talk about the issues of American hegemony at Davos, he can hold true to that word in a statement like this.

Oh no, the U.S. is gonna negatively affect trade with us... as if Trump isn't literally out there threatening to abandon CUSMA, a deal that he made in his first term to replace NAFTA.

If their word never seems to matter, why should we hold ourselves to their standards?

canada

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U.S. demanding concessions from Canada before trade talks, sources say

The man has already moved the goalposts time and time over, why should we continue to capitulate to him?

Carney hasn't proved to me that he's the man to meet the moment whatsoever. You tell me that the man who stood by and asked "both sides" to respect international law in both Iran and Venezuela rather than call out the U.S. for the initial violation of international law is the guy to stand up to the U.S.? That the man who gave up the digital services tax the last time around is the person to stand tall and not capitulate?

The man has been talking about the possibility of not renewing CUSMA for ages now, why not take that as a sign to not engage?

canada

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Some Grocery Items Have Increased Dramatically In Price Since Last Year. 'This is Unprecedented Inflation,' Experts Say.

This just reminds me of Tanille Johnston's remark during the NDP debate, where she was talking about the removal of interprovincial trade barriers, and how she was waiting for agriculture to be mentioned.

Part of the reason food prices are so expensive isn't just because of inflation, but also because of lack of consumer knowledge paired with a lack of proper domestic production and transportation of food.

For example, many recipes online will call for olive oil as a healthy food option, but the cost of olive oil is insane. Consumers need to be informed by the government that Canadian-produced sunflower seed and canola oil are just as effective in these recipes.

Another example is sugar. If people want to remove political tensions between urban and rural areas and help loosen the Conservative grip on rural communities, you need to appeal to and support farmers. Alberta has the only sugar production plant that works with domestic sugar in Taber. All other sugar production plants import sugar cane from abroad, which costs money in shipping, uses more resources, is environmentally damaging in the harvest process, and has a lower sugar yield per kilogram than domestic sugar beets. A Domestic Sugar Policy would benefit farmers, and lower the end cost of a pantry staple to Canadian shelves. It could also help us produce our own pantry essentials that we don't currently produce domestically, such as molasses which is often imported from Guatemala, a country currently in a political crisis with María Consuelo Porras.

Why are we making and buying peanut butter when we hardly grow peanuts, importing most of them from a country actively tariffing us, when we grow sunflower seeds and can make sunflower seed butter a pantry staple with ease? It'd support domestic farmers, dropping production costs we see with peanut butter. Why is it that when I go to Dollarama, they sell beans imported from China and Turkey when we're the world's largest producer of pulses?

Inflation is an issue, but this is also a failure of domestic policy when it comes to feeding ourselves and keeping money in our own economy. By investing in domestic food production and getting domestically-produced food on grocery shelves, we keep money in the Canadian economy, lessen political divides, reduce the cost of groceries at the till, and create a food landscape that further distinguishes ourselves as different from our American counterparts.

canada

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New $10 cap on NSF fees and other measures to lower banking costs for Canadians - Canada.ca

Great!

I get the argument of saying this is a diversion from the actual issue, but even then, sometimes things happen, and even if you're getting by alright, issues can pop up suddenly.

Few months ago I was donating to Amnesty International and Save The Children. I've stopped since funds are tight, but I remember starting off was really awkward since I was told by one that there would be no immediate donation needed, to which I was later told there would be. Ended up with $150 in NSF fees because I couldn't cancel that initial donation, followed by the other trying to withdraw funds I would have otherwise had twice.

I'd have taken being $120 less in the negative any day.

canada

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Avi Lewis wins NDP leadership race in decisive first-ballot victory

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I couldn't believe it. I knew Tony (God bless that man) would come in last, but I was certain Rob would come third behind either McPherson or Lewis.

Tanille beating him out either shows that people were more peeved about the AI thing than I would have expected, that I underestimated Tanille's charm and hard work, or both.

Glad to have had Tanille ranked second on my ballot, but I wasn't expecting her to have had that much momentum. Genuinely proud of her.