FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Feb 21

Is There a Difference Between a Failure to Tell the Truth and a Lie?

by bcurry

As a student of the English language, I find that the use of certain phrases and words is becoming somewhat confusing. This is particularly true within the “bafflegab” found in political speeches, government pronouncements and social media.  For example, decorum dictates that one should suggest that the person wasn’t exactly truthful or had misrepresented the truth.  We never imply that the person lied, as lying is considered disreputable in societal terms, except apparently when applied to politicians.

A “fact” is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “a thing that is indisputably the case”. A “lie” is defined as “an intentionally false statement”.  Usually facts are founded on science-based investigations or the results of thorough studies.  Yet, now we hear about something referred to as “alternative facts”.  I suppose it is O.K. to cherry pick and manipulate the facts if it can be rationalized.  However, wouldn’t such actions border on encouraging “lies”.

Then there is the new phenomenon referred to as “fake news”, which appears to alter facts in order to better reflect one’s preconceived ideas or opinions. Editorialists are known to interpret events and facts to support their views and opinions on issues.  Journalists on the other hand are supposed to base their reporting on the facts as they are known.  How reliable the facts are is in turn based on the dependability and accuracy of their sources.  Thorough fact-finding requirements do not occur in the case of “fake news”, which has increased with the growth of ‘social media’.  Recent studies have shown that about half the population depends on social media for their daily news, including fake news.

We also have individuals who, after being interviewed or speaking, declare that they “misspoke” at the time. Otherwise, they did not mean to say what they said at that time.  This gives the impression that they didn’t think before their mouth uttered certain statements.  Politicians apparently misspeak a lot nowadays.  However, they never lie!  All any of us can do is obtain our information from as many ‘reliable’ sources as possible.  We will then hopefully be in a better position to discern what are facts, lies, opinions or fake news.  Good luck, you’ll need it.

Canada Donald Trump Federal Government Justin Trudeau US US Politics

Leave a comment »
Feb 20

Just How Open Is Canada to Accepting Refugees?

by bcurry

In recent months — especially since the start of President Trump’s administration, his travel ban involving seven predominantly-Muslim countries and indications of plans to increase the deportation of illegal immigrants — a substantial number of people have crossed into Canada via the Manitoba and Quebec borders with the U.S. They are doing so in order to claim refugee status, despite having entered the U.S. as refugees or illegal immigrants. A number come from predominantly-Muslim countries such as Somalia. They are crossing at open border points to avoid being turned around at Custom’s land crossings due to the ‘Safe Third Country Agreement’ with the U.S. This agreement has been in effect for more than 12 years.  The agreement’s premise is that the U.S. is a perfectly good place to claim asylum, and people have to apply in which country they arrive in first.  So far, we are not talking about thousands such as is the case in Europe, but hundreds.

Already, there are some Canadian politicians, such as Michelle Rempel and Tony Clement of the federal Conservative Party, who are demanding that the federal government act to stop the flow of people illegally crossing the United States border into Canada. Just how you do this is not easy given the length of the open border!  Unlike President Trump, Canada has no intention of building a wall along the border. The resources necessary to police the entire border are simply not there.  These refugees, including women and children, are not seen as a security threat and normally present themselves to Canadian authorities in order to apply for refugee status.  The easiest way to stop the illegal border crossings is to suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement and allow people to request refugee status at official border crossings without endangering the lives of these people.

Public opinion in the past has been favourable as to the number of refugees coming to Canada. A recent poll by the Angus Reid Institute suggests that close to half of Canadians polled say the government has hit the mark with 40,000 total refugees (Syrian and other nationalities) expected to be entering the country this year. However, 41 percent say that the total is too high in what has become a notable split of opinion.  The reports of an increasing number of refugees crossing into Canada could influence future public opinion on the matter. The above poll also found that one-in-four Canadians believe that this country should have responded to President Trump’s executive order by adopting the same policy – including a temporary ban on Syrian refugees.

While legal immigration is important to Canada, the acceptance of refugees and their numbers is contentious, especially those that come from predominantly-Muslim countries where terrorism is a concern. There is a segment of the Canadian population that wants to restrict their entry and increase security vetting.  Whether or not you agree, there is no question that the refugee issue has become a touchy one.  Hopefully, Canada will not fall into the same illogical and ideological trap that occurred in the U.S.  However, there is little doubt that the question of how open Canada is to accepting more refugees will be severely tested in the coming months.

Canada Immigration Refugee Policies Terrorism U.S. Canada Border US

Leave a comment »
Feb 12

President Trump, Please Keep Your Immigration Ban On

by bcurry

As a Canadian, I’m hoping that the President can keep some form of ban on the entry of people from certain countries. Why?  Simple, it may help Canada to fill a shortage of ‘knowledge workers’ in several industries. Needless-to-say, such a ban will hurt a number of sectors in the U.S.  A Canadian study in 2016 concluded that there will be as many as 182,000 high-paying technology jobs up for grabs in Canada by 2019. However, the country’s school systems aren’t producing enough high technology expertise to fill those positions.  Close to a million people are working in information and communications technology jobs in Canada, and almost half of all technology workers are employed in the professional and technical services industry. They also have a significant showing in health care, the public sector and in manufacturing.

The U.S. is also experiencing shortages of ‘knowledge workers’ in several sectors, forcing companies to recruit and bring in skilled labour from other countries. This includes countries such as the seven predominately Muslim countries listed in the immigration ban.  Let’s consider a couple of facts.  A recent research report by Goldman Sachs estimates that 900,000 to a million H-1B visa holders (highly skilled foreign workers) now reside in the United States, and that they account for up to 13 percent of U.S. technology jobs. Technology giants like Microsoft and Google, among some 97 American companies, have pressed for increases in the annual quotas, saying there are not enough Americans with the skills they need. The high tech sector is only one of several that will suffer because of such restrictions.  Reports are coming out of persons on visas now working in the medical field, university research and financial services.

Several American tech companies already keep satellite offices in Vancouver, British Columbia. A number of these firms are looking into the possibility of expanding their operations in Canada.  Immigration lawyers are reporting a steep uptick in inquiries from foreign-born tech workers worried their U.S. visas may disappear.  Canada is a country that welcomes immigrants with open arms, especially those with much needed skills.  Canadian entrepreneurs also have programs to help Bay Area immigrants and others relocate to Canada, particularly the hundreds of persons on temporary H-1B work visas affected by this temporary travel ban.

Canadian companies, hospitals and universities are not the only organizations ready to capitalize on Trump’s immigration executive order should it remain in place. A number of European firms and organizations are also in the market for ‘knowledge workers’, no matter what their countries of origin. Whether or not one agrees with such a travel ban, there are always those who will benefit from its shortfalls and short-sightedness.  After all, as is the case for trade and commerce, we live and work in a global labour market.

Donald Trump Immigration US US Politics

Leave a comment »
Feb 9

Don’t Compare the Position of U.S. President to Canada’s Prime Minister

by bcurry

Recently, there was a poll taken in Canada comparing approval rates by Canadians for President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau. The poll looked at everything from the handling of policies related to the economy, security, immigration, foreign policy and health care — to name a few. However, such a comparison is really like comparing apples and oranges.  The role of the executive branch in the two governments varies greatly and the constitutional powers are significantly different.

Canada follows the Westminster system based on ‘parliamentary sovereignty’ and ‘responsible government’. The Prime Minister represents the political party with a majority of seats in the House of Commons, and the Cabinet is chosen from among the party’s elected sitting Members of Parliament.  For this reason, the PM depends on the support of his/her party to make policy and to pass laws in Parliament.  The President on the other hand is elected separately and chooses his/her cabinet usually from non-elected persons who support his/her policies.  While the PM sits in Parliament, the President must work to gather support from Congress to implement his/her policies.  The PM must maintain the confidence of the House of Commons to continue to form the government.  Otherwise, loss of a confidence vote in the House would mean that he/she must dissolve Parliament and usually call an election.  Moreover, the PM’s ability to formulate policies is very much dependent on the support of his party in Parliament, thereby limiting the PM’s ability to independently issue executive orders.  The President, unless he/she is impeached, normally resides comfortably for a four-year term.

The President is the civilian Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States. He has the authority to command them to take appropriate military action in the event of a sudden crisis and certain circumstances.  In Canada, the Queen is the head of state, and the Governor General officially represents her in the country.  The Queen is therefore the Commander in Chief, although through the Governor General as her representative.  The PM and the Government is somewhat limited in what military actions can be undertaken without Parliamentary approval, especially where new funding is required.  None-the-less, in domestic or foreign crisis, the PM and the Cabinet can react as needed under certain circumstances.  However, as in the U.S., there can be political consequences and negative electorate reactions to such actions.

Let’s face it, President Trump does not reflect all the views and positions of Republicans in both houses of Congress, especially when it comes to matters of free trade and immigration. Prime Minister Trudeau has no choice but to reflect the majority wishes of his party, which in this case is the governing Liberal Party.  Therefore, to compare the policies of a President and Prime Minister isn’t really a fair comparison, especially when you have a President issuing so many ‘executive statements’ without any direct Congressional involvement.  Furthermore, there appear to be a substantial amount of overt differences of positions between President Trump’s policies and the Republican Party.  Such overt differences could not happen in Canada given the need for Party solidarity to continue governing under the Parliamentary system. Thus, forget any irrelevant comparisons between the two and polls like the one by the National Post.

Canada Donald Trump Justin Trudeau Leadership US US Politics

Leave a comment »
Feb 5

Trump Doesn’t Get It – You Can’t Go Backwards When It Comes to Job Creation!

by bcurry

About 97 percent of clothing sold in the United States is imported, according to the American Apparel & Footwear Association. In developed economies like the U.S. and Canada, manufacturing and mining is giving way to the service and high tech sectors.  For example, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1960, 1 in 4 Americans had a job in manufacturing.  Today, it’s fewer than 1 in 10. The industrial age is over and the information age is here.  U.S. coal mining declined 25 percent since 2008, which resulted in 50,000 jobs being lost over a four-year period. The mining industry, in general, lost more than 191,000 jobs since 2014.  Trying to resuscitate coal mining is a costly waste of time and resources.  Today, renewable energy is where the growth in the U.S. is, as evidenced by the solar industry’s growth rate of 20 percent annually.  It’s noteworthy that China aims to spend at least $360 Billion on renewable energy by 2020.

How we manufacture has also dramatically changed primarily due to the impact of automation. In order to be competitive and cost-effective, companies have little choice but to automate their processes, thereby requiring fewer employees.  In addition, they require better educated, trained and skilled workers.  Moreover, U.S. and Canadian manufacturers cannot and need not compete with emerging countries which have an abundance of cheap labour. In order to be competitive, they need to innovate and increase their productivity.

Innovation is the name of the game. The tech industry employs millions of Americans and Canadians. Practically all new private sector jobs have been created by businesses less than five years old. In the digital age, the U.S. and Canada have a major advantage, especially when it comes to the growing service sector.  Consumers are increasingly looking for the provision of good, timely and more localized services.  This includes more efficient modes of communication.

Investment in new technologies and people is what drives economic growth and the creation of new jobs. We need to focus on our new, innovative industries that will put us ahead of our global competition, not on the implementation of protectionist policies. You can’t turn the clocks back to an earlier period.  Globalization and new technologies have changed all that.  Whether President Trump likes it or not, tomorrow’s transition in job creation is already happening regardless of his unrealistic promises and ineffective policies.

Coal Protectionism US US Politics

Leave a comment »
Blog at WordPress.com.