FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Mar 9

As if in a “war”, we must prepare to battle COVID-19

by bcurry

With an estimated 100,000 people confirmed to have COVID-19 in a 100 countries, including over 500 cases in three dozen U.S. states, it’s time that countries begin to tackle the continuing spread of the virus as if it were a war. All essential resources at the federal, state, provincial and local levels must be diverted to preparing for the worst scenario.  Our policies need to shift from containment of an outbreak to “mitigation,” which means acknowledging that the tried-and-true public health measures of isolating the sick and quarantining their contacts are no longer enough. The virus is quickly spreading.  So steps must be taken to minimize deaths from the disease and to slow its spread so that hospitals are not overwhelmed.  Furthermore, priorities must be directed to protecting the most vulnerable, especially the elderly with underlying health conditions.

The first and foremost policy is to ensure that good and reliable information about the virus and prevention is made continuously to the public. Avenues of misinformation must be dealt with in order to avoid a panic and the hoarding of medical supplies by persons at less risk to the health impact of the virus.  Front line medical and other emergency personnel must be provided with the proper equipment and logistical support to deal with outbreaks.  Facilities must be set up to deal with extensive testing for COVID-19 and mandatory self-quarantine in homes or designated facilities must be enforced.

As in the cases of quarantining persons on military bases coming from cruise ships or hot spots who may have been exposed to the virus, the military may need to be activated to assist in enforcing policies and practices. Hot spots will have to be treated as if they were war zones.  No one is suggesting at this time that we shut down complete cities as was done in China, but various options will have to be considered to mitigate any larger local outbreaks. Hopefully, given timely and accurate information by the authorities, every citizen will do their share as part of an overall mitigation strategy.

COVID-19 has been in the U.S. and Canada for some time, and the likelihood of its spreading is certain. Much of the news lately has tended to concentrate on the global and domestic economic impacts.  However, the time has come to lay out coordinated and enhanced national strategies to combat this increasing threat to the public’s health at large, and the most vulnerable persons in particular.  Every available resource that countries have must be used to buy more time for the development of a vaccine and for the research to be done for treatments. Comforting words no longer suffice.  What one needs now is deliberate and speedy action.  After all, we are at war.

Canada COVID-19 US

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Mar 6

International Women’s Day and Wage Inequities Between Women and Men

by bcurry

March 8th is International Women’s Day which is observed annually around the globe. The Day is a powerful reminder to keep working hard on eliminating gender-based stereotypes while celebrating women’s achievements, creativity and strength.  It is also a day to recognize the fact that a lot more work is needed to be done to reduce and even eliminate inequities in employment wages and benefits received by women in comparison to men for work of equal value.

For years now Canadian working women have reported earning almost a quarter less than male counterparts despite strides by women attaining education and acceptance in higher-paying professions. A new pay equity study this past year by Leger Research shows that women took home an average pre-tax salary of $51,352 in 2019 compared with $67,704 for men — a 24 percent gap.  In addition, the study also found that men received more than twice the additional compensation of bonuses or profit sharing than women.  It should be noted that, according to a survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Canada’s gender wage gap in 2018 ranked 5th largest among 29 countries.  The OECD found that the United States, South Korea, Japan, and Israel had the highest disparities, while Belgium, Greece and Costa Rica the lowest.

The federal government and six Canadian provinces — Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Ontario and Quebec — have enacted pay equity legislation in an attempt to reduce pay inequities between men and women. Needless-to-say, Leger Research also found that traditional job identities persist with women outnumbering men by about four times in health care, while men are three times more prevalent in higher-paying technology/IT, finance and manufacturing jobs.  In addition, women are still overrepresented in part-time work and lower paying service jobs.  However, even where qualified women are working alongside men in the same profession, there are still discrepancies in pay levels and benefits, especially when it came to employers’ parental and child care leave provisions.

On March 8th, it is incumbent upon governments and businesses to recognize the on-going pay inequities faced by women in both Canada and the U.S.  As a society, we need to encourage and require employers to ensure that women are fairly rewarded for their work and societal contributions.  It is just the right thing to do, especially since our changing information economy will have a greater need for the participation of more highly educated and talented women and men.

Canada Minimum Wages Women's Issues

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Feb 28

Canada is very likely heading into a major recession, especially in light of COVID-19

by bcurry

Canada’s growth slows to its weakest pace in almost four years as economic woes bite. Statistics Canada has now revised the third quarter annualized growth down to 1.1 per cent from an initial 1.3 per cent. In addition to recent rail and pipeline shutdowns and the slowdown in oil and gas and mining sectors, the Canadian economy is going to have to brace for the effects of COVID-19.  For example, Chinese tourists to Canada accounted for 7.3 per cent of our tourism receipts. Exports of iron, copper, lobsters and lumber are also at risk due to weaker demand from China. No one knows for sure how long the COVID-19 outbreaks will last and how severe it will be in North America. Given China’s current COVID-19 closures, global supply chains are being seriously impacted here and in Europe. Like the SARS outbreaks in 2003, some experts expect that COVID-19 could last anywhere from seven to eight more months.

The immediate economic impact this week has been on the stock markets with the Canadian TSX and the U.S. Dow losing its greatest amounts in one week since the Great Recession of 2008. With trillions of dollars loss in one week, nothing like this has been seen before and we are no longer simply talking about the expected stock market correction in Canada and in the U.S.

Over the past year, I have been warning of a possible recession because the very weak underlying factors around manufacturing and consumer spending. Instead, corporations have been using profits to pay shareholders and buy back company shares, instead of reinvesting in capital, R & D and labour.  Now, multinational enterprises like Apple, Hyundai and Samsung are seeing their Chinese supply chains shut down resulting in expected reduced future earnings.

The question for North American industries is what will happen should the COVID-19 virus spread to manufacturing plants and the service industries for example. COVID-19 is here and all one can do is to prepare for any possible pandemic.  Remember that the only way to contain the virus is through quarantine and isolating affecting individuals.  Should one employee test positive, an entire establishment may have to be closed and employees would be required to go into self-quarantine.  No one wants to exaggerate the threats, but one has to realize that the economic situation in Canada is already weak. COVID-19 could be the one major event to trigger a major recession in the coming months. Both Canadians and Americans need to be prepared for such an outcome.

Canada COVID-19 Global Economy Trade with China

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Feb 22

Use of Non-Violent Civil Disobedience by Anti-Pipeline Protesters

by bcurry

Throughout modern history we have seen examples of non-violent civil disobedience in the form of staged sit-ins, marches, blockades, hunger strikes and other tactics used to raise awareness about issues that are taking place in society. Among the best known examples are the movements led by people such as India’s Mahatma Gandhi, South Africa’s anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela and of course Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  One of the main principles of civil disobedience is to maintain respect for the rule of law even while disobeying a specific law considered to be unjust.  In addition, those demonstrating peaceful civil disobedience were willing to go to jail without resisting arrest by the authorities.

In the last two weeks in Canada, one has seen protests by certain indigenous groups in support of members of the Wet’suwet’en nation opposed to the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline being built through their territory in British Columbia. Protesters attempted to illegally block the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, forcing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to enforce a court injunction against the blockade.  However, within the

Wet’suwet’en nation there are major divisions between elected Band leaders who support the project in terms of its economic benefits and some hereditary chiefs who oppose the project on the basis of protecting traditional lands.

The hereditary chiefs wanted the RCMP to leave their lands, which they are prepared to do. In support of the hereditary chiefs, protesters from various native groups blocked rail lines across the country, bringing passenger rail service and rail freight traffic to a halt during the past two weeks of blockades.  Freight rail service is said to have fallen by 18%, and hundreds of rail employees have been temporarily laid off.  Court injunctions were obtained against the blockades, but the authorities had as yet to move in to dismantle the barricades.  What is also interesting is that non-native anti-pipeline groups have taken the opportunity to join in these civil disobedience activities to promote their own causes.

Now that the federal government has exhausted consultations with those representing the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, there is a clear indication that the economy is being hurt by the rail shutdown. The time has come for the authorities to move in and dismantle the illegal blockades, hopefully in a non-violent manner.  Since part of civil disobedience is the real possibility of being arrested and jailed, the protesters — both native and non-native — have to be willing to end up in jail.  Violent resistance is not among the principles governing the use of civil disobedience.  It is now up to the protesters to confirm their adherence to those principles and either dismantle the blockades or be arrested.  Not doing so will only hurt their stated causes and loose any public support and possibly even the support of many native peoples.  The federal government has made it clear that it remains willing to continue its reconciliation policies and initiatives with indigenous peoples.  The protesters, whether you choose to agree or disagree, have made their point.  Further hurting people across the country is not the way to go!

Canada Native Issues

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Feb 14

Treating Tweets By Donald Trump As Gospel And The Impact on Governance

by bcurry

At no time in American Presidential history has technology created serious concerns regarding the separation of powers and the obstruction of justice. When the American President tweets out something, his administration, his followers and the general public treat it as gospel.  Gone are the normal press conferences of the past, only to be replaced instead by tweets and short media scrums.  The problem is over how to draw a line between the ad hoc public declarations of the President and perceived interference in the justice system.  Remember, the justice system is expected to be an independent part of governance and rightly so.  Besides Congress and the Executive, the justice system through its various branches is designed to ensure independence and impartiality in its decision making processes and in enforcement of the law.

However, Attorney General William Barr has now stated that President Trump’s criticisms of the handling of his friend Roger Stone’s sentencing has undermined the legal system, and he is not able to do his important job. Although there may be no direct evidence of interference by Trump, his tweeted assertions that the Justice Department’s Prosecutors’ push for a sentence of up to nine years for Stone’s convictions was too harsh could only be perceived as an attempt to influence the Attorney General.  Subsequently, the AG decided to overrule his own prosecutors and withdraw the sentencing recommendation, giving the appearance of caving in to Presidential pressure.  Instead, the AG’s office suggested that the prosecutors instead lay out factors for Judge Amy Berman Jackson to consider in sentencing Mr. Stone but defer to her on the length of the final sentence. With this outcome, the four prosecutors resigned from the case in protest, with one actually leaving the Justice Department.

As the New York Times notes, speaking up could have put Mr. Barr at risk of losing the backing of the President, but remaining silent would have permitted Trump to continue attacking law enforcement and all but invited open revolt among the some 115,000 employees of the Justice Department. Previously, the President had made it difficult for Mr. Barr to maintain the appearance of independence, threatening the AG’s credibility by repeatedly calling for federal investigations of Trump’s perceived enemies.  Trump had suggested to the president of Ukraine that he work with Mr. Barr and the President’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani to investigate for personal political benefit some of Mr. Trump’s political opponents: i.e. Joe Biden and his son. This action of course formed the whole basis for the impeachment hearings and trial against Trump in Congress.

Even more serious, is the fact that public statements by any President, in whatever format, are considered as the administration’s official position. Despite the fact that the President’s staff often is forced to follow up with a further explanation of just what the President’s assertion was, Trump’s initial tweet will always be taken by his followers as gospel.  This may play well with Trump’s base of support, but will often undermine the credibility and sanctity of the three separate legs of governance and democracy.  Even the Republicans in Congress are now beginning to realize that the powers of the President have to be restrained as intended under the Constitution, given the importance of the intended checks and balances provided by the three arms of government.

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Feb 8

Trump Administration’s “Industrial Militarism” Highlighted In Attack on China’s Huawei

by bcurry

Nowhere is it more clearly demonstrated that President Trump is using industrial clout to carry out “industrial militarism” than in his attack on Huawei to block the tech giant’s global 5G expansion. 5G stands for fifth-generation networks which are essentially a faster and more reliable version of wireless connectivity and mark a massive leap forward in such wireless technology.  Numerous industrialized countries are moving to build a 5G network, such as Canada whose 5G network could be in place around 2020. Huawei is the largest global company in 5G development and installation and is involved in 140-plus countries around the world. In Canada, companies such as Telus and BCE, or Bell Canada, are partnering to build 5G technology along with Huawei. Their Canadian rival, Rogers, is working alongside Swedish telecom Ericsson— a main Huawei rival. As a result, Ottawa has come under increasing pressure from the U.S. to block Huawei from developing its 5G technology in Canada, as critics warn it could present a national security risk.

Recently, U.S. Attorney General William Barr made the case for an all-out economic war on China’s Huawei in order to block the tech giant’s global 5G expansion. He even called on America’s “allies” to join what amounts not only an international strategic offensive against Huawei but also against China itself. He further suggested that the U.S. and its allies, including Canada and Britain, align their financial and technological forces to support European firms, Nokia and Ericsson, Huawei’s major 5G competitors. By getting governments to become involved in a business sector, such as the telecom sector, this position would contradict the traditional American principle of supporting free-market enterprise.  It would be blatantly perceived as causing a geo-strategic economic confrontation with China, similar to what occurred during the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

So far, a number of countries, including Canada and Britain, have rejected the idea of participating in any U.S. takeover of Nokia and/or Ericsson. Interestingly, although use of Huawei equipment has been banned in the U.S. since 2012 over fears it’s a security risk, some two dozen U.S. telecom companies have used Huawei’s equipment to provide services in remote regions. In Canada, a number of communities in provinces such as British Columbia and Saskatchewan, are using Huawei equipment to service non-core 4G in rural regions in particular. So far, there is no evidence that China has used network equipment for cyber-espionage.

As critics of “industrial militarism” argue, is it really up to Americans to fight the People’s Republic of China and its authoritarian regime — with its state-run enterprises and dirigiste economic policies — by adopting some of the same statist interventions? As one expert rightly noted, an extended trade war between the U.S. and China and threats by Trump to ban certain Chinese tech firms from the American supply chain, could further divide the global tech scene. Left unchanged, that could result in a world where technological progress among countries is far less uniform, cost-effective and integrated.  In Canada, competition in the telecom sector is alive and well. Huawei, Swedish telecom Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and others are all being allowed to compete freely in pursuit of the lucrative market.  This is expected to greatly improve telecom services to Canadian consumers, especially in rural and remote regions.

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Feb 4

Trump’s Latest Visa Restrictions Will Have A Negative Impact On Canadian Immigration

by bcurry

Well, here we go again! The Trump administration has just introduced restrictions on immigration to include six more countries, including Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation. You may remember that President Trump first introduced a travel ban in 2017, closing U.S. borders to citizens from seven countries, most of them with Muslim majorities. He is now targeting Nigeria, Sudan and Eritrea, already among the largest sources of refugee claims lodged by people crossing irregularly into Canada from the U.S.  The 2017 decision also signalled the end of the American program giving Haitians a reprieve from deportation.  That move prompted thousands of Haitians to seek asylum in Canada, with sometimes hundreds crossing at unmarked border points in a single day.

According to the most recent data available from Canadian authorities, Nigeria is currently the largest source country for border crossers, making up 14,621 of the 50,635 claims lodged between February 2017 and September 2019. The bizarre thing is that many of those crossing irregularly from the States are applying for refugee status in Canada, often as a result of lapsing temporary visas in the U.S.  There is little doubt that the latest visa restrictions are part of Trump’s attempt to do his level best to ensure that more refugees stay out of the U.S.  However, the policy has prompted thousands from these countries to seek asylum in Canada. Imagine, seeking asylum from government policies in the U.S.

Unfortunately, Canada shares one of the world’s longest borders with another country. The situation in the U.S. means that Canada has to devote more resources to policing its borders. In addition, the onus is now on Canada to physically accommodate and financially assist the thousands of new asylum seekers while their request for refugee status is reviewed and adjudicated by the Immigration and Refugee Board. Needless-to-say, the process is costly and time consuming, sometimes lasting months and even years.  For example, in 2017 according to the Immigration and Refugee Board, over 8,000 Haitians sought asylum in Canada. In 2018, that number was only about 1,500.

Homeland Security argues that the past and new restrictive visa measures were the result of failures by countries to meet U.S. security and information-sharing standards. Perhaps, what the Americans should be doing is to discuss with those countries ways and means to meeting such requirements.  Instead, the U.S. appears quite content to carry out exclusive policies when it comes to immigration and travel, most often targeting countries that they simply don’t like for one reason or another. Meanwhile, Canada, with its laws and its Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program for refugees seeking protection from outside of Canada, has to deal with the overflow of desperate individuals and families fleeing the Trump Administration’s inhumane and extremist policies. Go figure!

Canada Immigration Immigration Policies U.S. Canada Border US

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Jan 26

Liar. Liar. Lie Your Pants On Fire.

by bcurry

Do you remember this little rhyme when you were a child? I do.  Having listened to Donald Trump’s speeches and having read his tweets over the last three years, one cannot believe that it doesn’t apply to the current President of the United States? I don’t need to go into outlining each and every account since most major American news media has clearly recorded the hundreds of outright lies.  Now, the President’s staff do try to downplay Trump’s lies and inaccuracies but to no avail.  They suggest that the President was misquoted or misunderstood.  Indeed, no one has ever apologized for his “gross misstatements” or downright “lies”.  Interestingly, the Democrats are focusing on Trump’s character as they argue in the impeachment trial for his removal from office.

Trump has come up with every excuse under the book. He frequently claims that he doesn’t know people who he has had business with or have had their pictures taken on several occasions with him.  His number one co-liar is of course Rudi Giuliani who claims to be Trump’s personal lawyer.  Indeed, the impeachment trial has shown just how Giuliani is the President’s personal henchman.  The problem is that Giuliani has a tendency to open his mouth before first thinking about what he is saying.  Even Fox News has questioned why Giuliani was working in Ukraine as the president’s attorney, instead as a government official or an appointed presidential envoy with an official title. The impeachment proceedings have made it very clear that the President was initially withholding military aid to the Ukraine as a club to get the Ukraine authorities to launch a fraud investigation into past dealings by Joe Biden and his son with the Ukraine. Of course, despite all the evidence, Trump denies the allegations, seconded by Giuliani who proclaims that the President did no wrong. Instead, Giuliani is on record as proclaiming that “Joe Biden is a crook and he sold out the United States of America — in Iraq, in Ukraine, in China” without ever offering a thread of proof.

Meanwhile, despite being on trial, the President is calling the shots for the Republican Senators in the impeachment trial. The President’s defense has yet to offer any new evidence or witnesses to counter the charges that were brought forward.  All you get are “conspiracy” theories and deny, deny and deny some more.  After all, Trump did nothing wrong as the President has publicly declared a hundred times before.  Can one really believe him?  Unfortunately, with a Republican controlled Senate, there isn’t any chance that the President will be impeached.  Too bad!

Impeachment Proceedings US US Politics

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Jan 19

U.S. Lags Behind Most Other Countries In Paid Maternity Leave

by bcurry

The U.S. provides no paid leave for mothers.  Any kind of leave is regulated by federal labour laws.  The U.S. ranks right up there with Lesotho, Liberia, Swaziland, and Papua New Guinea which are the only other countries found to not guarantee leave with income to new mothers.  Not something to brag about!  For the majority of American workers at companies with fewer than 50 employees, there is no legal right to paid or unpaid leave to care for a new child or recover from childbirth.  Furthermore, recent studies show that the current laws disproportionately impact women of color and low-income women, who are less likely to take unpaid leave.

On the other hand, the Canadian government mandates both a leave and a benefits component, the latter being administered by employment insurance (EI) plans. Depending on the length of employment history and the hours worked, eligible new mothers can take between 17 and 52 weeks of leave from their jobs. Their employers are required to accept the employees back into their jobs, or the equivalent, at the end of the mandated leave at the same rate of pay with the same employment benefits. On top of mandating maternity leave, the government offers paid leave for one or both parents through Canada’s EI plan. A pregnant employee or new mother can take a paid maternity leave of up to 15 weeks. Subsequently, paid EI parental benefits are also offered to parents who are caring for a newborn or newly adopted child or children, most often up to one year. In addition, in Canada, many companies and public services top up their employee allocated EI amounts for maternity and parental leave.

The reality of new working motherhood in America is both hidden and horrible: millions of women, every year, are forced back to work within just days or weeks after giving birth. Isn’t it about time that U.S. governments recognize the importance of allowing new mothers to nurture their babies at least for an appropriate length of time after giving birth or following an adoption. Surely, such a rich country can afford to ensure that mothers are provided with some form of mandatory financial assistance and “return-to-work” assurances found in all industrialized countries.  Maybe it’s about time that Congress act quickly on reforming its labour laws.  The time for more debate is over!

Uncategorized

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Jan 13

American Assertions of Imminent Iranian Threat to Attack U.S. Embassies Appears to be Questionable

by bcurry

Trump’s claim made to justify the decision to kill Iranian general Qasem Soleimani that attacks were being planned to attack four U.S. embassies has not been verified by actual intelligence. Even his Defence Secretary Mark Esper stated that he ‘didn’t see’ evidence of an Iranian plot to attack four U.S. embassies. Kind of reminds you of another President’s rationale for invading and occupying Iraq after 9-11.

16 years ago on February 5, 2003, then Secretary of State Colin Powell delivered his infamous presentation at the United Nations making the case for war with Iraq. Remember that Powell insisted that the Iraqis, and in particular their dictator Saddam Hussein, were behind the attacks on 9-11 and had “weapons of mass destruction (WMD)”, including tons of the deadly nerve agent VX. This despite the fact that Iraqi insiders and American intelligence sources had confirmed that the Iraqi regime had secretly destroyed the nerve agent soon after the Gulf War in 1991. Indeed, legitimate sources concluded that all WMDs — biological, chemical, missiles, nuclear — were subsequently destroyed.  Following the occupation of Iraq and an extensive search, the Americans did not find any WMDs. The result was that over four thousand Americans and coalition troops died and almost 32,000 were wounded in action in the Iraq War.  In addition, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that about $1.9 trillion would be the long-term price tag for the war.

Unfortunately, Congress never investigated Powell’s use of the intelligence he was given. Furthermore, based on misinformation regarding the actual intelligence, most members of Congress supported the decision by President George W. Bush to invade Iraq. Now, history may have just repeated itself.  President Trump decided to kill a top Iranian commander without providing clear and unquestionable facts to justify the action.  On top of which, Congressional leaders were not consulted beforehand because Trump has accused some as being “corrupt”.  We have also now learned that Trump reportedly okayed assassinating Soleimani seven months ago.

Whether or not you agree that Soleimani should have been assassinated is not real question. Let’s face it, he will most likely be replaced by one of his underlings.  However, we now have increased the instability in the region and raised the risks to Iraqis, Iranians and foreigners.  This is unfortunately demonstrated by the tragic shooting down of the Ukraine International Airline flight 752 by an Iranian missile, resulting in the deaths of all 176 passengers and crew.  Hopefully, all sides will attempt to deescalate these new tensions and Congress will do a better job of overseeing the President’s actions then it did in the past.

Iran Iraq Today The Middle East US

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