Another week gone and another week closer to the Holidays and the Holiday blogs, including the epic fan favourite – the top Christmas Movies of all time according to me. But in the interim, we have to cover some ground and discuss some topics of mutual interest along the way.
And these topics are going to be true Crude Observations because there is a lot of stuff going on that I feel needs the proper treatment. There won’t be a lot because a) I don’t want to bore you, and; b) I have a lunch date.
But you deserve to know and appreciate some of the stuff that is happening in the world and, even, locally because one or more of these may actually matter.
Using my own money to bribe me.
That’s right. Politicians gotta politic and the latest and greatest is the announcement from Justin Trudeau and his sock puppet sycophants is that us peons are going to be granted some minor price relief on our holiday shopping because the prince has seen fit to allow for use to pay marginally less for any and all items that we may or may not use to celebrate the holiday season. This includes a borad cross-section of items including diapers, beer, wine, coolers, puzzles, gaming consoles and take-out food from McDonalds. All the stuff that us regular shlepps rely on to get us through the holiday season. Oh, and Christmas trees as well – artificial and real. What a saint, right?
On top of that, there is the thinly veiled bribe of $250 for each and every taxpayer who earns less than the princely sum of $150,000. That’s 18 million of us unwashed rubes in case you were wondering.
We don’t of course know if we can afford any of this largesse since the government has declined to publish a fall update, although most prognosticators seem to think we have blown past the deficit targets the Liberals said they would live by.
And to be sure, there is no new money being allocated to health care, seniors, defense spending (you know, to restore the military and meet our international commitments), support for other marginalized groups.
Nope, just a crass vote-buying exercise wherein Juston Trudeau and his cabal of money wasters hope to hoodwink enough John and Betty Canucks with their flim flam show so they can hold on to power even if they are years past their best before.
Given these goodies are set to expire on February 15th, mere weeks before the carbon tax is set to jump, I am assuming that the LPC will be calling an election forthwith to capture this dwindling goodwill and put us all out of our misery.
COP2979
I’m not sure anyone knows this, but there is a major UN sponsored climate conference happening as we speak in Russia of all places. Wait. It’s not in Russia? Well where is it? Baku? Azerbaijan? You’re kidding right? Isn’t Azerbaijan a major oil-producing country ruled by a ruthless dictator? And they are hosting a climate conference? What in the actual F…
Folks, what are we even doing. This annual rich country guilt-fest and shakedown has completely jumped the shark. The Fonz has moved on. Is anyone actually attending? Where is Trudeau? Where is Biden? Where is Trump?
Usually these conferences are preceded by relentless media attention and preaching and this year? Not so much. It feels like it ended even before it started. I’m not even sure what the objective is for this one. Money? Methane? Look, I’m the first to admit that a Donald Trump election has stuck a fork in the environmental movement, but it sure feels like the writing has been on the wall for these COP boondoggles for a while.
I guess the benefit of them slowing down is less hot air, right?
The only thing I have read about COP2979 is that a number of delegations have pulled the pin, including Argentina and that the commitment from rich countries was going to end up being vague and non-commital.
Oh well.
What if they threw a G20 and no one cared.
Was anyone actually aware that there was a G20 meeting this past week in Brazil? I guess that is one reason why there was no senior leader presence in Baku for the COP fest. What? Did no one check their calendars before they planned conflicting meetings on different continents that required the presence of the same individuals?
Again, what is going on here? It all feels so performative. Joe Biden went to the Amazon for the first time! Yay? He didn’t fall in! Double yay! Very little was accomplished! Quel surprise.
Look, here’s all you need to know about the G20 meeting.
Trudeau and Biden are lame-duck attendees. No one cares. They are all freaking out about Trump and when they gathered to take the “all hands” -photo both Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau were nowhere to be seen or found. And no one cared! Or even noticed!
Trump’s Cabinet picks are next level crazy.
I mean we should have seen it coming based on the evidence before our eyes which is basically the last Trump presidency and the army of grifters, toadies and sycophants he is surrounded by, but this is next level crack-pottery.
Let’s just get this out there – it feels like there are a few things on your CV that will guarantee you a job in the Trump White House. You must have at some point been on Fox News where Trump saw you. You must be easy on the eyes. You must be white. You must be willing to sell your soul for a government paycheque and a seat at the kids table. It helps if you are a billionaire.
Look, some of the names he nominated are, relatively, normal. Some are… Less so. Conspicuously absent in many of his appointments are: competence, direct and relevant experience, impartiality, profile. But they sure look good in a group photo.
What does this mean for Canada? Umm, we’re screwed.
Keystone XL, the third time is the charm, right?
That’s right. It’s back baby! And even shinier than before. Donald Trump has announced that he wants to resurrect the Keystone XL pipeline, which is great news for Canada, right? Except that he wants to cut back on imports of dirty Canadian oil and also wants to put a tariff on it.
So, Donald Trump wants less Canadian oil and wants people to pay more for it and is proposing to have it shipped to the US via a pipeline no one wants.
Look, I’m as pumped as the next guy that there is a possibility that yet more billions of dollars can get wasted by private corporations on a 36-inch tube from Alberta to Texas, but can we all be serious for just a nano-second? It’s NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN. Ne-ver.
That said, it’s a fun ride and we can call it Kenney’s revenge since the existing line that the government of Alberta gave money to TransCanada to build can now finally be used for something other than shipping maple syrup to the border.
AIMCO – we have a new leader.
It’s been a rough few weeks for Alberta’s pre-eminent and only provincially owned money manager. Was it only a hiccup ago that the provincial government canned the entire board and the senior management team for underperformance in returns and out of control costs? Why yes. Yes it was.
And we all said it was politically motivated. And of course we were right. (note – doesn’t mean it wasn’t deserved – sometimes two lines can intersect).
At any rate, we were assured that a robust search was underway to find a replacement Chair and new board members and lo and behold, a leader has emerged.
And his name is Stephen Harper. Some of you may recall him from his stint as pre-Trudeau Sith Lord of Canada and the perpetrator of all things dark, evil and right wing. He also wrote a book about hockey and played a Beatles song on the piano.
And now? Boom. He’s back and in charge of something in the range of $150 billion of Alberta’s money.
Look, we all knew it was coming. He’s probably the most connected conservative on the planet. Politics has taken over AIMCO and the world is coming to an end, right?
Nah. I don’t think so. I’m going to go contratian here.
I think he’s a good choice. He clearly has governance experience with that job he had about a decade ago. He is respected in government circles. His post government career has been fairly mundane and predictable. Consulting for law firms, board seats. Sure he has that ideological side that people are uncomfortable with, but he isn’t jamming it in everyone’s face. He has actually been involved in the private equity space with a couple of high quality funds.
He has the gravitas and reputation to steady the ship. He’s doing the job pro-bono. His only dog in the fight is to manage AIMCO properly. He’s not going to be manipulated. If the UCP tries something he doesn’t like, he will tell them. And if they try to force him, he will walk. No one wants to be the government that made a former Prime Minister quit or, god forbid, fire them.
Will AIMCO become a top performer because he’s there? No. There are deeper issues affecting that.
Is there a risk we have to live through an endless Alberta Pension Plan pitch? Of course, he wrote the damn firewall letter.
But we have a rule-following economist and former prime minister of the country who understands governance and who actually wants what’s best for the province now leading one of the largest investment funds in the country.
He isn’t stupid. He isn’t crooked. He isn’t obviously corruptible.
I’m good.
Have a good weekend. It’s snowing here.
