Excellent article.

Main points for me:

1. Horizon Europe, digital sovereignty and technology, GDPR. YES! And absolutely we should be strengthening our privacy laws. We should be moving towards GDPR and we should be pushing for right to repair, etc.

2. Green Alliance, climate collaboration, and collaboration on the Arctic. YES! But see the impacts of CETA/ISDS/ICS too.

3. Freedom of movement. Yes, but: Europe’s model of immigration has the opposite values than ours. We shouldn’t let European phobic attitudes to immigration hamstring us from developing further ties, e.g., with the north african and sub-saharan francophonie. But we should definitely, absolutely further develop Erasmus+ and other EU-Canada youth exchange programs. And it should become extremely fluid and frictionless to recognize European professional credentials in Canada. An Italian doctor or a Greek nurse or a Spanish engineer or a German tradesperson should be able to start practicing in Canada within weeks at worst. EDIT: Also, linked with deepening research collaboration: Canadian temporary permits (study, work) should start to be recognized as means to expedite or eliminate EU visitor visas. We welcome fantastic international students who come from places Europeans over-scrutinize (the Maghreb, Africa, Iran, India, …) and are in a disadvantage for research collaborations and/or research visits in the EU.

4. But I would be squarely against closer political and monetary integration with the EU. We absolutely do not need the Euro or the Stability and Growth Pact, and we do not need the various Orbans, LePens and Melonis, or the various debt-phobic Germans and Dutch having any kind of veto over our policies or say over our politics. The Norwegian, Swiss and Icelandic models are good models of EU-collaboration, and we can of course develop our own. We can be very very very good friends, but just like we don’t need to be anyone’s 51st state, we also don’t need to be anyone’s 28th member state.

Finally: for that matter, we should be looking for similar degrees of integration with Japan-Korea-Australia, etc. We are uniquely positioned to unite Pacific and Atlantic. To quote Carney: “if US no longer wants to lead, Canada will”.

They will be beautiful tariffs, everyone says so.

My understanding is we already have sensibly restrictive gun laws but a problem with illegal guns coming in from the States.

Don’t cherry pick the phrase, give the rest of the context of what he said.

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When it comes to opposing Israeli apartheid itself, sure, almost no. I guess the difference is the Liberals will not oppose the ICJ and ICC, whereas the Conservatives would align with Trump in smashing them. That’s a low bar.

When it comes to crushing the opposition here in Canada, hell yea, there is a difference: Poiliievre wants to deport activists, ICE style.. The Liberals haven’t gone to any such extreme.

Ultimately, look, we don’t have a presidential election, we have 343 MP elections in as many ridings. If the Conservatives have any chance at winning your riding, rally around whoever is not a fascist to defeat them, be that NDP, Liberal or Bloc. KEEP THE MAPLE MAGA OUT. In any other riding, do vote for Palestine. A Liberal minority is still a great outcome for Canada anyway.

The reason I don’t appreciate this framing is that while it contains a kernel of truth (Carney hasn’t come out swinging against Israeli policy, and evidently some of his brief government’s actions are questionable) it also distorts the truth in several ways.

For example, what does “pro genocide” mean? I would say that Ben Gvir is unambiguously “pro genocide”, like the guy wants to go kill all Palestinians. Is that Carney’s position? No. Then you have for example the German government that are actively trying their best to refuse to face reality and are therefore functionally pro genocide. Is that Carney’s position? No. And since “genocide” is such a signifier of unambiguous evil, is being “pro genocide” just not forcefully being “against genocide”, the way that South Africa and Ireland are? In that case for example are, I dunno, …say, Portugal, or Mexico, or Sweden “pro genocide”?

At the same time, Carney has talked about the territorial integrity of Gaza, putting Palestine and Ukraine (and Canada!) on the same rhetorical space. Is that what a “pro genocide” politician would do? I don’t think so.

So, I don’t appreciate the framing at all. A phrase like “Carney is pro genocide” is just plain misinformation.

PP is not interested on “handling” Trump, just capitulating to him.

Netanyahu, the wanted by the ICC, is visiting Orban, who for his favour is ripping up Hungary’s participation to the treaty of Rome. Israel is aligned with the USA, and now with Hungary and therefore Russia. Even if we ignored that it is itself an apartheid state, accused of genocide at the Hague, Canada has no business with the friends of our enemies.

It’s not that obvious to most people. I only came to realize it recently, from Gary Stevenson’s explanations.

You know what, let’s not let patriotism get in the way of common sense politics. We shouldn’t be targeting them just because they back Trump.

We should be targeting them because they are billionaires. That’s enough, regardless of who they support.

To quote Bill Burr: ‘These fucking billionaires. They need to be put down. You know, like fucking rabid dogs. They’re rabid with fucking greed and just going out and just dividing everybody.’

Make billionaires millionnaires again.

So basically, the same reason as the housing crisis.

Disgusting. This is Canada, we strive for equity, cherish diversity and value inclusion.

The might go to Bernier.

CBSA do your job eh.

Molon Labe motherfucker.

Meanwhile, Canadians: “I’m actually terrified to go to the US because of ICE”.

Please please please people don’t parrot brain-dead American takes that not voting for Carney is voting for PP. We are running a parliamentary election in a Westminster system. There is no single election, there are 338 elections. We don’t elect a prime minister, we elect a parliament.

Think, and vote strategically.

While it is absolutely true that the blackmail holds in ridings where it’s a competitive Conservative-Liberal race, it is a shit take in ridings where eg the race is between Conservatives and NDP (where Liberals would be the spoiler) or where the race is between the Liberals and the NDP, or the Bloc or the Greens (a Liberal minority dependent on the NDP/BQ/GP is actually a possible outcome that keeps PP out power and can moderate Carney’s neoliberal tendencies).

So, basically if the conservatives have a chance to win your riding, vote whoever has the highest chance to keep them out. Otherwise, vote your conscience.

I’m not interested at being respectful towards Trump.

Israeli authorities routinely kidnap Palestinian civilians and convict them through kangaroo military courts and disappear them in prisons run by a “Jewish Power” extremist.

This isn’t a “two assholes” situation. One party in the conflict has the other under brutal occupation and apartheid, and is in the process of ethnically cleansing and genociding it. Calling it a “two assholes” situation is ignoring that dynamic. Sort of like saying the Apartheid regime in South Africa and the ANC are somehow on equal moral footing. Bull Shit.

Jews lived in the area for millennia. So did non-jews (like, read the Torah, bro). Christians and Muslims have lived there since Christianity and Islam became religions respectively. Why should Jews get exclusive national determination in that bit of land? Who has claim? No one has claim. All have claim.